The Trail
“For the times they are a-changin'”—Bob Dylan That a dog could undo something that had withstood the draft riots of the Civil War and the resistance to Korea, Vietnam and two World Wars is patently ridiculous. Yet that’s what began to be felt in Charlie Company after Bob took point at 0745 on April 6, 1970, a few miles from the Cambodian border. Circling overhead in his tiny scout helicopter, Battalion Lt. Col. Trobaugh thought he had the ideal LZ (landing zone) for the lift ships (helicopters) to pluck us out of an area real bushy and heavy. After a short while, Bob walked across an old Armored Personnel Carrier track and emerged onto a single-lane dirt road lined by thick vegetation on both sides. Footprints in the mud jumped up and hit him between the eyes. “Fresh NVA (North Vietnamese Army) slicks!” He was standing smack dab on the Ho Chi Minh Trail! The squad stopped. The platoon stopped. Bob ushered us back into the safety of the bush. Of all things, we had a new CO, Capt. Al