Send me an email: weazie7420@comcast.com
| Full Name | Harvey A. Schaller | Arrived LZ or Proximity | Feb, 1969 |
| Service Branch | USMC | Previous Duty Station | Camp Pendleton |
| Date Entered | 9/1/1967 | Main Job | Rifleman |
| Date Discharged | 6/1/1979 | Rank When There | E-3 |
| Highest Rank | E-6 | Date Left Proximity | Sep. 1969 |
| MOS | 7401 | Next Duty Station | Weapons Instructor, MCB Camp Pendleton |
| Boot Camp Location | San Diego | Medals Recieved | Marine Corps Cood Conduct, Navy Good Conduct, CAR, VC, VS, |
NOTE:
Harvey found the LZ web site while surfing the USMC web site. Harvey is retired and living in Onset, MA.
While I was only in-country about a month I was sent to LZ Russell on 16 Feb and was on an LP off the side of the hill opposite the arty dump ( I think it was the west side).
After reading some of the other accounts I find that we were in the same situation...NVA between us and the wire and our own 50's shooting at us. Scary as hell. We pretty much stayed put most of the time they were taking fire on the hill, but had to move twice to get into position to make a break for the wire. We got into position about the time some real heavy stuff started to come in. At that time we could hear Sgt O'Conner (I think that was his name) yelling, "where's the LP, are they OK?" Then he started yelling that they (the CP) needed the radio. We tried to get in but again the 50's started to fire. Finally, in desperation we all started to yell "Merry Christmas M.....F....., we're Americans, we're coming in". We made in and the radioman and his radio both got dragged to the CP. Soon after that the heavy fire let-up some, and it was clean-up time.
It wasn't a pretty sight. I extracted one body from a bunker and found that I had only the torso (I think this was Lt. Hunt). Right after that, the bunker collapsed. While we were doing the clean-up we came upon an NVA soldier sitting in a cross legged position with his AK-47 on his lap. I guess it was just the confusion or being keyed-up, maybe even anger, but the poor ba..... moved forward and the four of us that were there emptied our magazines.
After reading Pat Donohue's account of what happened based on reports he found, I have drawn my own conclusion. He said that a large amount of supporting fire was directed at LZ Russell, and that there was no order to direct at the hill itself. Taking into consideration that some friendly fire did hit the hill, and there was such a need for the radio we had I have come to the conclusion that the order was verbally changed at LZ Stud only to redirect their fire on us under the assumption that we had lost