VETERAN PROFIle: The Anonymous Battle, Part TWO

By Jessica Ginet

(Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series about the Anonymous Battle as told to Veterans Life by those who were on the ground in Vietnam at the time.)

Looking back 44 years ago when he was a young 18 year old grunt in the Army, Vietnam Veteran Paul Evans simply said, “We formed our own bond because of how we were treated when we got back.”
Evans, now 62, remembers being the baby of Charlie Co., 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Calvary Division. Evans had been in the field for only two weeks when he found himself in the middle of the Anonymous Battle occurred on March 26, 1970.
Evans arrived in country on Feb. 21, 1970, from Travis Air Force Base. He was assigned to a replacement company for the 1st Cavalry and after an initial stint as a perimeter guard, Evans was assigned to Charlie Company, 2/8 Cavalry.
That unit was assigned to Tay Ninh, along the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon.
“The unit had a bunch of walking wounded and I thought, ‘Oh, Lord, what did I get myself into?’”
Evans was a rifleman in Charlie Company when they found themselves on top of North Vietnamese bunkers by the Cambodian border. He closed his eyes, visualizing that day long ago, and began to describe his recollection.
“I had a hard time adjusting to the jungle. It was hot that day and muggy. We went from point platoon to rear marching in a single column when it hit. I was by an anthill. It was loud. I was scared and laying face down on the ground.”
During those first few moments, Evans heard a lot of small arms fire.
He recalled two of the men in the point team were taken out. Confused by all the commotion, Evans remains thankful for their field first sergeant, Sgt. Dawson, who pulled him up, literally, by the back of his pants, and set him straight.
“I was scared. I didn’t know what to do besides fire.”
So that is exactly what Evans did, spraying the jungle with a constant stream of rounds out of his M-16. Added Evans, “Yes, I was the baby of the unit and I was known for clowning around. But in battle, I straightened up, got pissed off, and fought.” Evans and the other men in Charlie Company were pinned down for eight hours fighting the North Vietnamese. He recalled what smelled like freshly cut timber in the air. After hours of fighting, as darkness approached, Evans remembered seeing a tank driving through the jungle. The tank, with Aunt Jemima emblazoned on it, was Alpha Troop arriving to their rescue.
“They told us to settle down.” Evans said, “They said they were going to get in and get us out and then they went to fight.”
And that’s exactly what Alpha Troop did.
At the end of the battle, two of Alpha Troop’s men were dead and 40 were wounded. In yet another show of heroics, Alpha Troop loaded up the Charlie Company survivors, the dead and the wounded, into tanks and armored personnel carriers (APC).
Said Evans, “Captain Hobson, my CO (Commanding Officer) was running around giving orders. He had a cut on his face from shrapnel. We were told to get on the vehicles so we could get out of there.”
Evans jumped onto the top of an unarmed APC and noticed the wounded men inside the vehicle. A respite from the constant barrage was near.
Alpha Troop took the men of Charlie Company to a clearing away from the bunkers and fed them a hot meal.
“They didn’t make us do guard duty; they told us to rest,” Evans recalled. “The next morning they fed us a hot breakfast and after that we drove to FSB (Fire Support Base) Illingworth.
Evans served in Vietnam for 10 months, from Feb. 20, 1970, until Dec. 27, 1970. He remained in the Army for a total of eight years and then after his discharge, served for one year with the Texas Army National Guard.
On June 24, 1979, Evans reenlisted, this time with the Navy, as an Aviation Bosun Mate. He served 12 years in the Navy on active duty, finally retiring in May of 1991.
Living in Olalla with his wife Debra Evans, whom he calls the love of his life, they were married on an auspicious March 26, 1992. On that day, Evans just happenedto read a magazine that was seeking Anonymous Battle survivors.
He responded. To his amazement, it was (retired) Capt. John Poindexter, Alpha Troop’s commander, and the savior of so many lives during the Anonymous Battle. He was seeking to have those brave men who fought relentlessly in the Anonymous Battle acknowledged by the United States Government for their service and actions on that day.
Evans hesitated several times when asked about the medals he had received for his service, especially when discussion turned to his Bronze Star. “I don’t feel like I deserve it,” he said.
The men of Charlie Company attended a Charlie Company reunion in 2012 in Branson, Mo. They keep in touch via email, phone and Facebook.
“I was a grunt,” Evans said, reflecting on Vietnam, adding, “I was a proud grunt.”