Letters: A Navajo veteran’s account of the horrors of battle

I believe it was late fall 1969. The 1/7^th Marines, A Co. 1^st Marine Division, 3^rd Platoon, which I was with, had just marched back into LZ Ross base that day.

This was a grunt company and I was proud to be among grunts (a combat rifleman).

As the evening came around that day, our squad leader, Randy Gaston, told all of us from Alpha Company he was on guard duty around the LZ Ross base that night. Myself, Gaston, and two other comrades were given a bunker watch on the south east side of the base.

Late that night as the other three were fast asleep, I noticed movements below and noises not of animal or nature. I woke everyone and reported our sighting to the command post. Keeping low, eyeballs out, and ears open to the movements, it became still. I laid down near the bunker. My three comrades were inside the bunker and then it all happened.

There was a screeching noise of mortars being fired from the night onto the LZ Ross. There was sporadic gunfire of an AK-47, with us recognizing it as the enemy attack. The sound of battle, traces of our guns, and red traces of the enemy was huge.

There were explosions far and near our position. I remember our team detonating the three clay mines in front of our positions. We deployed our M16 gunfire into our front below. I heard screams from our Marines nearby and below our post. There were explosions behind our position lighting up our area.

As the battle continued, the illumination flares fired from afar lighted the sky over the base and us. It continued bursting above us into the night. The illumination flares made the base look like day. The heavy gunfire and their traces of red, blue, and yellow zigzagged across the base.

We were given a command to stay with our position. We fired our weapons, fired our flares, and threw out our hand grenades into the unknown below our bunker. Then I realized our post was higher than the next post. I could hear hollers, screams of pain and (the sounds) of death not far away.

Our four-man team separated at about 20-feet apart to cover more ground with gunfire. Now the chopper gunships came alive. Their heavy artillery was spraying the outer range of LZ Ross base was unimaginable. The sporadic sound of M60 machine guns from above our bunker and from other bunkers made a deafening noise.

I heard the boom of artillery and the whistling sounds of mortars of ours. The enemy kept firing their mortars at us from the jungle area surrounding the base. There were about two fighter planes circling our base. This was comforting to me.

The massive medevac choppers landing to tend to the wounded was also deafening.

When the battle waned down and we were ordered to do a clean sweep of our area post at 60 meters out, which we added more or less. Who would be running out there with a measuring tape?

When daylight finally arrived and the sun was shining there was evidence of a fierce battle, which I and my comrades were (involved). There was death of about six or eight enemies below our bunker. They were all naked and covered with mud and explosive charges clinging to their torso. Many deaths of enemies were also on base.

They too were naked and covered in mud with weapons still attached to them. I found out later from our platoon sergeant the attackers were sappers. They commit suicide missions cutting through barbed wire defense. Their goal to overrun the LZ Ross was destroyed by the Marines. The news clipping showed a dozen Marines were KIA (killed in action) at over 80 enemies destroyed.

The hardest part for me at that time was hearing the news that more than two of our comrades in our company were KIA. One man in our platoon named Rhoden had his lower limbs amputated. To see your U.S. Marine Corps comrades covered with that eerie sound of a body bag, the sound of its zippers, and the ID tag tied to it was certainly sad to me. I am certain all my comrades shared the same pain.

I just wanted to share this part of my Vietnam experience like I have before. It took me awhile to complete it. I finished it in tears and my inner empty feeling. There were many other combat operations and enemy attacks my company went through.

I was thinking, maybe a veteran’s combat experience being out in a remote area is hope for a reality connection. To talk and write about my Vietnam situation, it helps me stay in gentle touch with my wife, my family, friends, and relatives. And they observe with all respect when my remembrance of my duty in Vietnam returns to me. And I have learned to live with the blessing ways of my Diné people.

Richard Anderson Sr.
Crownpoint, N.M.

Tuba City school district officials need to be accountable

As parents, community members, and voters of Tuba City, we are very dissatisfied with the unprofessional behavior, negligent conduct and abuse of power three governing school board members of the Tuba City Unified School District No. 15 have exhibited since their term in office as governing board members.

They were voted in by the people and swore an oath to carry out a code of conduct that would be representative to ensure that the students, parents, staff, and community were well represented and their best interests’ in education were served.  But since serving their term, they have not followed their code of conduct oath guidelines.

Over their term period, numerous complaints relating to school issues have surfaced and have been given to the superintendent and to the board members to address but they have been routinely ignored. Instead, the practice of micro-managing, abuse of power and bullying has become a recurring practice by the three board members to in an effort that serves their personal interests. Several examples that demonstrate these self-serving acts are as follows:

It’s been reported and duly noted that the presiding school board president and the board clerk have excessive school travel expenditures. It’s also been noted that they have personal interests in attending workshops at such places like Stanford, California and Washington D.C. The board president has children at both locations so she uses these occasions to visit her children on district funds, on district time and not fully attending the workshops.

The board president attends a yearly workshop in Las Vegas, Nev., called “Differentiated Instruction”, which is designed for teachers only. She happens to be a teacher across the street at Greyhills Academy High School, but she attends this workshop on TCUSD funds.

There is a higher than normal number of staff members put on administrative reassignment and their issues are not being addressed or resolved, instead the board members have waited until contract renewal to non-renew staff members with no probable cause. It seems the three of the governing board members have their own personal agenda, which consist of targeting and nepotism in some of these cases.

. Several parents have complained to the superintendent and the school board about the lack of proper education their child/children have been receiving and the attempts to improve the school education programs has not and did not happen. This resulted in parents removing their child and/or children from TCUSD No. 15 and enrolling them in different schools other than TCUSD No. 15.

These represent some of the examples of the unprofessional behaviors, negligent conduct, gross mismanagement and abuse of power being carried out at the Tuba City Unified School District No. 15.

The three governing board members have been the enablers to promote these abusive practices. This practice has become standard by these board members. There are probably more examples to share relating to staff complaints, staff dissatisfaction and staff bullying, but there is a fear for staff to come forward due to staff intimidation, a hostile work environment, reprisal, etc.

Some parents probably have complaints about the school and the educational treatment they and their child/children have been receiving. They too probably fear some repercussions.

Our school is a place to provide proper, safe and good education to our children and for the staff to work in a workplace that’s productive and harmonious, but with the adult games being played out in the background and behind the scenes for personal gain by our governing board and school superintendent is very disappointing, classless and distasteful.

Perhaps it’s time to start holding the school superintendent and the governing board members accountable. If they can’t perform their positions and jobs responsibly, then they need to be removed. Our children’s education and future is at stake!

Lawrence Tsingine
Luther Begay
Tuba City, Ariz.

Navajo support of H.R. 1028 Is ‘naïve and dumbfounded’

I would like to take this time to appeal to the Diné people, particularly those residents from the former Joint Use Area and the 1934 Bennett Freeze areas, to join us in lobbying members of United States Congress and the Senate to stop H.R. 1028, sponsored by Congressman Steve Piece of New Mexico.

It is so unfortunate that we elect tribal leaders to work hard against us. They recently supported H.R. 1028, which is naïve and dumbfounded. We have council delegates with background in law and they are supposed to represent us, not work against us.

As I have mentioned previously, I am from the Fort Wingate area. My grandparents and children were relocated from the old Fort Wingate Army Depot prior to World War II without a choice by the U.S. Department of Defense. The only assurance they were given was the land would be returned after the war. After nearly 70 years, the federal government is proposing to return the land to share with the Zuni Pueblo, which is dumbfounded and unacceptable.

H.R. 1028 is intended to cause the same impact the residents of the Former Joint Use Area and 1934 Bennett Freeze area who suffered severe undue hardships. There is too much at stake and we cannot afford to suffer the same hardships. We must unite against this troubling legislation.

I am asking you to write or contact the Congressional representatives and advise them to oppose any further developments of H.R 1028.

Vern Charleston
Farmington, N.M.

Hopi leaders need to make Right decision regarding water

On the front page of Tutuveni, April 5, 2016, Chairman Honanie said on the water issue, “We are two nations, one voice.” Both tribal leaders of the Navajo and Hopi tribes had pledged to cooperate to present a unified position.

Unfortunately, this was not the case in the past and will not be in the future. Unless the Hopi chairman sells our Hopi water rights just to please the two senators. This may be the case as this chairman wants to please everyone.

Leadership is not to please everyone, but to make hard decisions on behalf of the Hopi Sinom. Leadership is to get things done and accept the results, good or bad.

The fact is that the Spanish government recognized the Hopi (Moque) as a independent nation of 1680 specified in the map, which was accepted by the U.S. government in 1848 in the Treaty of Gaudelope Hidalgo. Our water rights go beyond 1680 when the Navajos were not even around. There will be no compromise on this fact.

Senator McCain is only interested in the water rights of Phoenix. He tried to do this on Feb. 14, 2012, when he introduced SB 2109 into the U.S. Senate. I would guess that the two senators have the same thing on their minds when they got the two chairmen together.

In 2012, both tribes rejected SB 2109 because the Sinom of both tribes objected to the bill. The Hopi Tribal Council finally had to approve H-72-2012 on June 15, 2012.

In my opinion, the Hopi Tribe is winning in the courts and that must continue. I believe that the Hopi Tribe has a very strong case.

Caleb Johnson
Kykotsmovi, Ariz.

God’s graces passed on to 2016 Navajo graduates

We wish to congratulate you on your graduation success! May God’s graces be with you as you step ahead towards your dream. The future is all yours now. Go for it! May the Lord bless your steps and watch over you. You have worked long, hard hours to this goal. Our congratulation to you. May God be with you every step of the way as you continue your life’s journey.

Best wishes on such a happy time in your life. May these wonderful religious quotes from the Bible be your guide for the future: “Be strong and courageous. Don’t be terrified. Don’t be discouraged, for God will be with you wherever you go. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

We’ve watched you as you’ve grown from our precious little child to become a woman/man of beauty, ready to face the world. We stand in awe as you graduate, with what God’s done in your life. And we pray that you will go from here with your hope and trust in Christ. On this day that you graduate, we want you to know, dear son/daughter, how very proud we are of you, in the person you’ve become, especially for your faith in God, and what He’s done in your life. We pray that you will go from here with the Lord as your guide.

As you graduate this month, we pray that you will know how very proud we are of you though it may not always show. We thank the Lord every day for all He’s done in you and through the years that lie ahead, know God walks there, too. We thank the Lord every day for who you have become and for all that He will do in you. In the future years to come so may you know His blessings as you graduate today and place your future in God’s hands so you’ll never go astray. We want to help you celebrate your very special day.

This moment you’ve been waiting for has finally come your way. We give all glory to the Lord for bringing you to this place and now that you have graduated, go forth and take God’s grace. Let us now share in your joy as together we celebrate what God has done in your life. Today, as you graduate we pray that you will go on to what God has already planned for you to have such an awesome future when you place it in God’s hands.

God has brought you this far to take you further still, into a future full of promise as you focus on His will and as you press on in Him. Remember His plan for you, for this is your life’s purpose and the work He’s called you to. I just want to congratulate you as you graduate today. It’s a treasured moment in your life no one can take away. May you know God’s hand upon you as you go forth from this place, into a future of expectation, with an abundance of God’s grace.

Congratulations and God bless you on this wonderful achievement. Don’t let your heart be troubled and don’t be afraid. A failure is just God’s way of saying, “Excuse me, you’re moving in the wrong direction.”

Janet C. Etcitty
Albuquerque, N.M.

 

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