Southern Cross information
for 3/21 INF 23 INF
196 BDE 23 INF
For date 681124
3/21 INF 23 INF was a US Army unit
196 BDE 23 INF was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Quang Tin Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, LZ BALDY
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "Cautious Enemy Caught Unaware."
LZ BALDY - An alert "Charger" from the 196th INf. Bde. owes his life to a safety-minded, but absent-minded Viet Cong who had his rifle on safety during a recent surprise face to face encounter. D Co., 3rd Bn., 21st Inf. had set up a defensive position in a rice paddy in "AK Valley" deep in the vital Que Son Valley rice region. 1LT Keith L. Young of Berryville, Va. moved out along a dike to check his platoon's security when the company came under enemy fire. "An enemy soldier stood up on the dike about 10 meters away and pointed his AK-47 rifle at me - I thought it was all over," the lieutenant said. "I drew my .45, fired and saw him fall," he added. When the enemy's weapon was examined, the safety was still on and a full magazine was in the rifle. The young "Charger" platoon leader will always be thankful his .45 caliber pistol was not on safety.
The source for this information was 6811_112_scr supplied by Les Hines 01/05/2000
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Last updated
12/18/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023