I am proud to have served with the First Cavalry Division

8 months In-country
Taken at Quan Loi on Aug 12, 1969

Early college years and starting a career

The years between that 5th grade announcement on the playground and my second year at Cuyahoga Community College didn’t include one bit of discussion about Southeast Asia. My interests throughout that time of life included all things mechanical, dabbling in stage crew and sports announcing in high school, and a focus on industrial management in college. I was interested in the social studies classes that I was required to take, but there was no question that working with building facilities would be my life’s work.

In my third year of school, now at John Carroll University, the imposition of the military draft started to rear its ugly head. The rumors of the local draft boards checking to make sure that we were carrying a full credit hour load became so intense that they became believable. Discussions about avoiding the draft were an easy ice-breaker at parties.

I learned that The New York Times was publishing a daily report of the hearings in Washington related to the Militarty Draft, so I subscribed. The legislation under consideration was to convert from the unfair system of drafting the oldest first, up to age 35, to a lottery based on one’s birthday.

I decided that a lottery was more in my favor, especially since drafting by age was more likely to capture me. The first lottery was drawn in 1970. My number would have been "113". The highest taken that year was 195, so even if I had been able to postpone one year, I still would have been drafted.

Note this well: I wasn’t objecting to the military draft or serving my country, as I had learned in 5th grade. My older brother Bill had answered the call by serving in the Air Force from 1962-1966. I’d just rather not have my lifestyle interrupted.

I took my chances with the draft. I was working full-time and I wasn't carrying enough college credit hours per semester. Although the change to a lottery system had not gone into effect, I was swept up in the draft. Here is the dreaded order to report:

Note: I was eventually deferred from February until August so that I could complete the semester, but the ruling couldn't be reversed. They needed the bodies.

Duty station: Fort Knox, Kentucky

I arrived at Fort Knox, Kentucky in August, 1968, just before Labor Day. We arrived just in time to sit around with nothing to do over the holiday. I guess we learned pretty quickly how true the adage of "hurry up and wait" was going to be. Our training lasted until early November, 1968. During the entire training cycle there was always uncertainly of what our next assignment might be.

Part of the induction process included a battery of exams which would ostensibly identify an appropriate assignment for each recruit. During the exit interview I was given this advice by the reviewer: "Trainee, you have scored at the top in the mechanical aptitude section of the test. With your score, you'll never be assigned to 'Nam..." I couldn't decide how serious he was, but I arrived in Vietnam within three months of his prediction."

It was somewhat of an urban legend that being assigned to Fort Polk would be the worst possible fate, since infantry and Vietnam would be inevitable. We would not know until the final orders were issued. Then, about two weeks before the end of basic training I received orders to report to the Medical Facility where prescription eyeglasses were issued. I was surprised when they gave me a prescription for sunglasses that was stamped "EM ASG RVN". I had no idea what that meant but soon figured it out. “Enlisted man is assigned to Republic of Vietnam."

Basic Training Platoon
Taken at Fort Knox, September, 1968
None of these soldiers was KIA in Vietnam

Duty Station: Fort Polk, Louisiana

Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Training Brigade

Fort Polk was the least desirable training site for draftees. Based on my mechanical aptitude and engineering background, I had been counting on a better assignment, perhaps with the Combat Engineer battalions. There was still hope, I figured, since by this time I had also received training for driving 10-ton Army trucks. In the flight on the way to Fort Polk, I had unsealed my personnel records and placed my State of Ohio steam engineer's license on top, in plain view. Then, as we entered the Fort Polk base, we drove under a large arch which clearly announced "Tiger Land: Birthplace of Combat Infantrymen for Vietnam." This was quite a letdown. Fort Polk training was a miserable experience, and some even suggested that actually arriving in Vietnam was almost a relief.

There were many negatives about Fort Polk: a spinal meningitis scare, the freezing nights and blistering hot days and the swamps of the national forest, where we did a lot of training. But I have to relate my most memorable event:

My most memorable event: During a training exercise I was driving a 10-ton water tanker. An artillery simulator started a brush fire and the training Drill Instructor ordered me to pull up next to the fire so that he could spray water on the flames. When I engaged the pump it locked the transmission, and suddenly a change in wind direction caused the truck (and me) to be entirely surrounded by the fire. The DI yelled at me to "get the truck moving or you'll own it." All ended well, but whenever I see those Army trucks I am reminded of my days at Fort Polk.

Remember the Tigerland sign at Fort Polk
"Birthplace of Combat Infantrymen for Vietnam"
Picture provided by
Robert "Bob" Hermann - 1968-1969 - 101st Airborne Division - RVN

Duty station: An Khe, Vietnam

Camp Radcliffe

As a new guy in Vietnam, I was in total amazement of the complexity of the military machine. Being assigned to The First Cavalry Division meant lots of helicopters, total air mobility, and a different sort of training. Our first assignment was to Camp Radcliffe for a 3-day school about how the First Cav operates in the field. We learned how to rappel from helicopters, what to look for in the field, and the precise use of live hand grenades.

Welcoming sign as we approached Camp Radcliffe at An Khe
This view is provided by a Facebook site

I was then assigned to a front line unit, Company D, 2/8 Cavalry. The headquarters base of Camp Radcliffe in An Khe was located in the Northern part of the South Vietnam (I Corps), but the First Cav was in the process of moving South to III Corps, closer to Saigon and adjacent the border of Cambodia. At the conclusion of in-country training we boarded helicopters and moved south. I do not have pictures from this area.

First Cav Patch painted on side of the mountain
This is the first image you see when approaching
Camp Radcliffe from the air
Many images of this view are found on the Internet

Duty station: Tay Ninh

Fortunately, my time with Company D coincided with a lull in the fighting in South Vietnam. We eventually rotated onto the rear-support base at Tay Ninh. After encouragement from Mike Ginn, an Army buddy, I made contact with the head of the personnel section when he happened to be next to me in the chow line. SFC Colman invited me over for an interview and I joined S-1 soon thereafter. S-1 was a good match for my skill set. Although Tay Ninh was a rear support base, it was a favorite target for incoming rockets. We saw our share of "incoming" and suffered our losses.

I considered the assignment to S-1 an absolute life-saver. I had taken a typing course as a high school summer class, where Mr. Wile gave prophetic advice to the boys in the class: "take this typing class seriously...it could save your life!"

March 7-11, 1969 at LZ Grant: It was while I was at this support base that our division suffered heavy attacks on LZ Grant, one of our forward bases. The enemy activity in the area was intense, and on March 8 LZ Grant repulsed the heaviest attack to date. On this night, an enemy rocket drilled down into our below-ground command center, killing our top commanders. We were all devastated.

We stayed at Tay Ninh until June 14, when our battalion moved to the Division Headquarters at Phuoc Vinh for three weeks of in-country stand-down. I was assigned to LZ Grant until our battalion moved to Quan Loi.

View from Slick

Aerial View of LZ Grant

Picture provided by Terry Moon*"
*See link below

Gary Frisoli & Joe Talian
Moving from Tay Ninh to Phuoc Vinh
Picture taken at Tay Ninh (1969)

Bob Wilson & Jazz Blue Mercer
Picture taken at Tay Ninh (1969)

Andy Valpatic (Indiana)
Picture taken at Tay Ninh (1969)

Chuck Morgan
Picture taken at Tay Ninh (1969)

Dan Solario and Rick Ekstrom
Picture taken at Tay Ninh (1969)

Duty station: Phuoc Vinh

Our introduction to "Palace Guard" at Division Headquarters came on the first day as we walked from the choppers to our quarters. "Hey trooper," bellowed our first sergeant, "get those boots shined!" Our previous 5 months had been filled with incoming rockets and loss of our friends. Now we were being told to shine our boots. Our reaction to these sorts of strap demands was predictable. I volunteered for minesweep duty every morning that I didn't have guard duty and stayed away from the brass whenever I didn't have urgent work to do. It was at this time that I started flying on almost daily missions to our forward bases. I even volunteered for plenty of latrine duty assignments. (Nobody bothered you when you were burning the tailings.)

2nd/12th Newsletter: In researching my collection of letters I discovered that I sent home a newsletter dated July 3, 1969. The "news" covers every company in the battalion, including cautions about malaria and marijuana. It gives us a sense of activities in the battalion at the time. In my note home I told my parents that I edited and distributed the newsletter. This may be the only one in existence for the 2nd/12th.

Click here to read the 2nd/12th Newsletter from July 3, 1969
(this may have been the first and last newsletter)

We all worked hard. I somehow became the go-to person for writing letters to the next of kin of our troopers who were killed in action. We were greatly affected by each KIA and worked hard to get the details correct. I would analyze the battle report, compose a letter, take it out (by chopper) to the Colonel for additions and corrections, and then manually type the final letter. In times of heavy casualties I would stay up all night to get the letters perfectly typed. We didn't have word processors, so if I made a mistake, I would start over. Every letter was accurate and signed by LTC Boon.

When our Battalion S-3, Major Robert "Bill" O'Keefe, was killed when his helicopter was shot down (June 19, 1969), I was in a quandry of whether I should still compose a letter, since the casualty was so high in rank. Nonetheless, I followed procedures, did the research, wrote a draft and sent it out to Lieutenant Colonel Boon for additions and signature. The following day I was told to catch the next command and control chopper to LZ Grant and report to LTC Boon. I thought I was in trouble for writing the letter for him, but instead, he thanked me. I was eventually assigned forward to LZ Grant to be more available to LTC Boon. This forward assignment lasted until we moved to Tay Ninh.

I spent a lot of time in the air. The priority level for me finding room on a chopper generally was low, compared to getting ammo, food and supplies to the troops on the front lines. I would often squeeze in among the supplies. By spending so much time in the air, both to deliver the letters for signature by the colonel, or delivering supplies and precious ammo to troops in battle on the ground, we knew were always a shooting target for the enemy. And we did draw fire in the heavier battle zones. We were proving the concept of air mobility, and we received a citation and ribbon for this more than 50 years later.

Base perimeter green line
Picture taken at Phuoc Vinh (1969)

Log mission out of Phuoc Vinh
I rode these missions every day for about 3 months
Picture taken at Phuoc Vinh (1969)

I always took my cue from the Door Gunner
When the M60 was rested I could relax
Picture taken out of Phuoc Vinh (1969)

S-1 at Phuoc Vinh
Picture taken at Phuoc Vinh (1969)

Moving from Phuoc Vinh to Quan Loi
Rick Ekstrom, Dean Ross, Kimo Kaanahe
Picture taken at Phuoc Vinh (1969)

Duty station: Quan Loi

Quan Loi was a large rear-echelon fire support base built among the perfectly aligned trees of an old French rubber plantation. There were very few permanent buildings. We lived and worked in Army tents stretched over wood frames.

I was intrigued with the French influence of the area. Remembering that this country was named French Indochina in our 5th grade social studies classes, there were still plenty of French nationals here. The original buildings were generally white stucco masonry structures with red tile roofs.

It was rumored that the landing strip we used was actually a French country club and golf course that had been bulldozed for the runway. I have a good picture of the landing strip that I will eventually post here.

I flew in and out of Quan Loi quite a bit. One day, while walking past the troops waiting for flights, I heard a familiar voice calling "Hey, Mike." It was Terry Dautel, a University School classmate whom I had not seen in years. In contrast to my uniform of fatigues, baseball cap and M45 pistol, Terry was wearing full combat gear, gas mask, helmet, and M16. I had to ask: "Terry, you're geared up to the hilt. What is your MOS?" He replied "I'm a Chaplain's assistant, and I'm here to meet our Chaplain. I never leave the base."

I had seen action on the green line of LZ Grant, but it was at Quan Loi, on August 12, 1969, that I experienced my most significant ground attack by the NVA.

In August 2018, I sent this email to family and friends:

Sunday marks the anniversary of the most terrifying event of my life. You and I have discussed my activities in Vietnam in a general way, but I have never shared this particular experience:

On the night of August 12, 1969 our base at Quan Loi, Vietnam was strategically surrounded and attacked by a sophisticated battalion of the North Vietnam Army. We were temporarily overrun.

My actions that night were referenced in a book by Steve Koppenhoefer, an officer whose company suffered serious losses, including a soldier who received the Medal of Honor. I had volunteered to leave our company’s staging area to pick up an urgent message from the headquarters bunker. The book quotes me as saying “This is the darkest night of the month; we can’t even see our footsteps. If we’re going to be attacked, tonight is the night.” Then later, my radio broadcast to our companies: “...all units be advised...heavy enemy movement has been detected...attack is imminent.”

Within minutes the first round of gunfire was so close that it told us the base perimeter had been breached. Rick Ekstrom and I established a second defensive position in a drainage ditch where we spent the remainder of that moonless night, totally isolated from our company. We later learned from blood trails on the ground that the enemy had encircled our position but chose not to engage us so as to not reveal their presence. Those circumstances, especially our isolation that night, still haunt me.

This is a one-time email of this nature. I promise not to send more. But on this quiet day of reflection for me, almost 50 years later, I thank you for your understanding and support. Mike Logsdon

September 12, 1969
Picture taken at Quan Loi

Monsoon season
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Jim Carmen washing Jeep in the rain
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Shorty Reeves
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

George Partaledis [Massachusetts]
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

After overnight guard duty at Quan Loi
We stood green line guard every 2nd night
I'm holding a M-79 grenade launcher (my favorite guard weapon)
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Sonny Larrimore welcoming troop replacements
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

"Incoming" - Always on our mind Day and Night
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

C-130 Cargo plane stuck in the mud
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Green Line after overnight sapper attack
47 NVA KIA inside the green line at daybreak
Picture taken at Quan Loi (August 12, 1969)

B-40 rocket damage to barracks
Picture taken at Quan Loi (August 12, 1969)

Basecamp road through the rubber trees
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

2nd/12th Battalion S-1 at Quan Loi
This was our base of operations for 4 months
Picture by TCB (1969)

Barbed wire we placed each night
to slow down sapper attacks
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Quan Loi sleeping quarters - nets & M-16s
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Rick Ekstrom and CPT O'Neill
Picture taken at Quan Loi (1969)

Sappers after night attack
Picture taken at Quan Loi (August 12, 1969)

Duty station: LZ Don

In September 1969 the First Cav began construction of LZ Don. After the green line perimeter had been cleared we moved the S-1 shop out to LZ Don.

This was the first time that many of the clerks had seen anything resembling field conditions. For the first few days we cleared the tall weeds and began building our sleeping positions. We used sandbags and corrugated sewer halfs for sleeping positions. The orders were that everyone had to be sleeping behind sandbags by the 2nd night.

We used a large tent for the S-1 "shop." We set up our typewriters on desks made out of ammo boxes. We opened up the tent flaps for light. We were still adament about keeping the paperwork flowing. The letters home, the personnel records, the officer rating reports, and especially the awards and decorations all needed to get done.

GUARD DUTY: This forward base brought a new experience for the staff of S-1: take total responsibility for staffing a green line bunker. (On the larger bases we were assigned guard duty about one a week.) Now that we were on an LZ the S-1 shop had to supply 5 guys for the bunker each night. Rick and I traded off responsibility for sergeant-of-the-guard for our bunker, and 4 clerks were duty-rostered to fill out the guard each night.

Being in an active combat zone, we all thought we were living on borrowed time. Nonetheless, it was at this point in my tour that I started to plan my life after Vietnam. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity for an early release.

Because there were so many troops returning from Vietnam with just a few months left to serve, the military initiated a policy that if you have less than 150 days remaining in your Army career when you return from overseas, you will be immediately released from active duty.

I had a very good job waiting. If I extended in 'Nam I could be home on April 1, 1970, rather than August 28. I extended 65 days, but I was convinced that even though the Bien Hoa base was much safer, I really was on borrowed time.

I was able to make a "deal" to take the morning report clerk position at the enlisted records group at Bien Hoa (near Saigon). I departed S-1 (on LZ Don) in early November, went to Sydney, Australia on R&R, and then returned to Bien Hoa to fill the position.

We built LZ Don in September 1969"

Our sleeping position was called a "shelter half"
No sleeping until the sandbag walls were complete
Picture taken at LZ Don (1969)

Randy Nazzarie
Picture taken in TOC bunker at LZ Don (1969)

Battalion Courier - Ken Williams
Thanks to Michael Dow for help with ID
Picture taken at LZ Don (1969)

Mud road at LZ Don
Picture taken 1969

This picture brings back strong memories. I can remember standing
in the chow line on a dry day when a chopper landed.
There was dust everywhere. It was our only hot meal for 3 days,
and we could see the outline of our food in the dust on our plates.
I've never worried about dirt at picnics ever since.

"Mule": a vehicle for loading supplies into choppers
Picture taken at LZ Don (1969)

Battalion Courier Don Muskopf
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Artillery behind our shelter half
It's no wonder that we have hearing problems
Picture taken at LZ Don (1969)

Mike Logsdon
Picture taken at LZ Don (1969)

Duty station: Song Be

I have added picures in support of the 8th MOB website. Please let me know if I have mis-identified any of these images.

By the time the S-1 staff set up quarters at Song Be I had already moved from LZ Don to Bien Hoa. These pictures are a result of my visit at Christmas. I traveled to Song Be from Bien Hoa with Don Muskopf so that I could spend Christmas with my long-term buddies.

Don Muskopf waiting at Airstrip HQ
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Mike Ginn as Santa with his .45
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Bob Magruder, Sonny Larrimore, Rick Ekstrom
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Note the French influence
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

Laundry detail
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

We took a risk driving through this country section
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

Band playing for us on Christmas Day
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

The First Cav section at Song Be FSB
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Local province chief giving speech
Christmas Day 1969
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Local village near Song Be
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

Local Montagnards along the road
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

We supported the local village with our US dollars
Picture taken in the Song Be region (1969)

First Cav 2nd Battalion HQ
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Local school performing on Christmas Day 1969
Picture taken at Song Be (1969)

Duty station: Bien Hoa, Vietnam

I returned from R&R in Sydney, Australia and settled into my new position in Bien Hoa. But conditions in Bien Hoa were decidedly different from my lifestyle out forward. We were required to turn in our M-16s, had to wear clean uniforms every day, and we had specific work hours. Actually, the new job was incredibly boring. I was homesick for the action out at the firebase. I had built a strong friendship base there and even though it was a lot more dangerous, I really missed it.

I wrote a story for the 12th Cav website about returning to LZ Don to be with my old buddies for Christmas. These final 65 days were going by very slowly. I discovered a quirk in the rules which state that if you are overseas more than 12 months, you may take a 7-day leave. I immediately applied for a 5-day pass to Tokyo, Japan, and it was granted. I always thought there was a huge advantage to handling your own paperwork.

I departed Vietnam on March 31, 1970, stopped in Denver to visit Rick Ekstrom and his wife at Ft. Carson, and started my full-time job at University School on April 4th. Because we were opening a new school building, I didn't take any sort of break in routine until the following summer.

My last 65 days
Tough assignment: Rear echelon Morning Report clerk
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (Christmas, 1969)

Locator sign above my desk in Bien Hoa
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (1970)

Mike Logsdon with 10 days to go
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (March, 1970)

Administrative building for 15th Admin Company
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (1969)

Rick Shuey
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (1970)

Charles Renfro
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (1970)

Gateway to the World
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (March, 1970)

Mike Logsdon (standing)
Bien Hoa sun - Less than 10 days to go in-country
Picture taken at Bien Hoa (March, 1970)

After 40 years I wish I would still weigh 140 pounds

Update!
The Agent Orange Registry

In the spring of 2014 I received a letter from the VA encouraging me to participate in the National Agent Orange Registry. The letter appeared to be a general message to those who served during the Vietnam era, and while I understood that I qualified, I wasn’t very interested in re-hashing old news. But after a presentation at the First Cavalry Division reunion in Chicago in June I knew that I needed to step up to the plate. The Cleveland interviews morphed into a general physical, including x-rays and detailed questions about my specific in-country area of operations. I was asked to identify specific maps of field support bases and forward LZs (landing zones).

My experiences with the First Cavalry put me in every defined category. I served in a line company in the field as well as on support bases, both forward and in the rear (although never very far from incoming enemy rockets). I flew on many combat missions as well as walking flank for the engineers doing mine-sweep missions on the village roads. My most dangerous assignment was on LZ Grant, almost on the Cambodian Border. It was by bad luck that I served briefly at Phuoc Vinh, the Headquarters of the First Cav. Why was that so unlucky? The greatest number of gallons of Agent Orange herbicide dumped anywhere in-country were sprayed around this base. I have always enjoyed taking pictures of my experiences, so my pictures are proof of the barren landscape.

Phouc Vinh base perimeter defoliated by Agent Orange

These duty assignments earned the award of the “Air Medal” for participation in more than 30 flights involving combat assault missions. The missions, along with many nights on front-line guard duty in the defoliated perimeters of our LZs qualifies me for the Veterans Administration’s classification of “boots on the ground.”

I don’t want to proceed before I compliment the Cleveland Stokes Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) on their high quality of service. For all sorts of reasons, especially the renown Cleveland medical community, the Cleveland VA is at the top. I think Northeast Ohio is fortunate to have such good service.

As a “Christmas present” in December 2016, the VA recommended additional tests, this time focusing on my prostate. These exams resulted in a diagnosis of Gleason level-8 prostate cancer.

In June, 2017 I began an 8-week “radiation therapy” program. With the VA is directly across the street from my employer, The Cleveland Botanical Garden, I simply walked over to arrive for the very first appointment. I was back at the Garden before most of the staff arrived for work. I would be remiss if I didn't give credit to my colleague, Mark Hoover, the head gardener, for keeping me positive during this time.

The effect of radiation on our organs is cumulative. It took at least a month to shake the effects of the radiation. My colleagues politely tolerated my disposition. But truth be told, at a National Airedale hunting/working event in September, almost two months after the end of the radiation treatment, I scored my worst performance points ever for handling my dogs in competition. Could the radiation still be affecting my demeanor? Absolutely!

In September, 2020, the good readings began to be less favorable. My medications were changed and testing regimen increased. At this writing I'm tolerating the changes and staying in the safety zone. I'll write about the new treatment approach in an upcoming segment.

November, 2021: I have been tolerating the new drug regimen and certainly understand the consequences of getting off-track. I experience the normal side-effects of dizziness hot-flashes. I don't look forward to the infusion procedure every six months.

11/13/21 JML

Bob Magruder
Picture taken at LZ Don, Sept, 1969

Bob Magruder
Picture taken at LZ Don, Sept, 1969