Seeing the world in the service
BY: CAMMIE WRIGHT
Cammie@nordaknorth.com
It was August 22, 1968. Four th Infantry Army generator mechanic Randy Anderson was stationed at Dak To, Vietnam. Just a year
earlier, Dak To saw heavy fighting, with 376 U.S. troops killed or listed as missingpresumed dead and another 1,441 wounded during an
intense 20-day offensive. R o c k e t s f r om t h e surrounding hillsides began to bombard the base. “We were told to get low, as low as we could to the ground,” Anderson said. “I thought, ‘It’s all over.’ We were hit hard by rockets. The Tet offensive began in January, so there was a lot of action there.” Reinforcements arrived within 10 minutes, Anderson said. U.S. planes dropped Napalm across the hillside and ended the threat. “It felt like a lot longer at the time,” Anderson recalled. “The Napalm looked like shingles floating out of the sky. It blew up trees, blew up the ground.” Anderson was stationed in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Germany throughout his 24-year career with the Army. He has 14 medals and ribbons, including a Bronze Star.
