Mr. Drake Erbe received his draft notice while teaching. (The school kids applauded as he read it.) Instead of getting drafted, however, he chose to go to OCS at Fort Benning, Georgia. While at OCS, he served as chapel choir director. Before the Army, he had planned to become a professional opera singer. He was commissioned a second lieutenant, and went to the 5th Mech at Fort Carson, Colorado. He then formed a Redeye (missile) platoon at Fort Bliss, Texas, and ran an operations readiness test before deploying to Vietnam in August 1969. His unit, Company B, 1st/46th Infantry Battalion, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, was awarded the Valorous Unit Citation. With pride, he says he never lost a man. He received a field promotion to first lieutenant. Erbe relates his experiences during an 11-day battle against an NVA division in the Hiep Duc Valley, better known as Death Valley. The worst day was the fourth day of the engagement, when Erbe and his platoon sergeant were pinned down together in a hole as a sniper fired recoilless rifle rounds over their heads.

Key Words: Tam Ky, Hiep Duc (Death Valley), B-52 Arc Light