Platoon Leader to First Platoon
by John Baxter
by John Baxter
So for a little over 5 months, 1st Platoon, A Company,3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry had a 26 year old lieutenant as its leader. While these letters rekindled the memory of events 46 years ago, most of my vivid memories are scrambled. I can recall events but they are only snapshots and I am not sure I will ever put them together chronologically.
Reflecting 46 years later, those five months were a period of conflict between the the futility of why are we doing this and the command pressure to kill as many of the enemy as possible because that was all that seemed to matter. My letters change over that period. The newness wears off and I sense being caught in the middle-take no casualties but kill. The reality is that the role of a rifle platoon leader is one of the loneliest jobs I can think of. I do not say this out of pity for me. I volunteered albeit under duress and took my chances. The platoon leader does not have the comradery the enlisted man has especially when the platoon operates alone. However, the nature of the Army is that officers are better off. We only had to stay in the field five to six months and you had to be there for most of your one-year tour. While we made mistakes on balance we did the best we could. I will always be indebted to all of you for your support.
Reflecting 46 years later, those five months were a period of conflict between the the futility of why are we doing this and the command pressure to kill as many of the enemy as possible because that was all that seemed to matter. My letters change over that period. The newness wears off and I sense being caught in the middle-take no casualties but kill. The reality is that the role of a rifle platoon leader is one of the loneliest jobs I can think of. I do not say this out of pity for me. I volunteered albeit under duress and took my chances. The platoon leader does not have the comradery the enlisted man has especially when the platoon operates alone. However, the nature of the Army is that officers are better off. We only had to stay in the field five to six months and you had to be there for most of your one-year tour. While we made mistakes on balance we did the best we could. I will always be indebted to all of you for your support.