26 April 1970

26 APR 1970
The Carriers that were to take us out turned up. The Sergeant in charge was drunk along with the Chief Clerk and another. A Cpl was sent to take the orders as to what was to happen that night I complained about the state of the commander.

Rob Pothof had a tropical ulcer and so we changed jobs I took the patrol out while he went along to recce a position for the next night.

The 26th of April was a Sunday (following ANZAC day) My ambush patrol was dropped on the move so as not to alert the enemy, the APC's then did a 180degree turn, against all orders and decided to race each other back to Timothy.

Two minutes after they'd left us there was an explosion. I looked up in time to see an APC coming down to earth upside down, it had hit 60lb of Chicom (enemy equivalent to C4 plastic explosive only more powerful).

The next morning I refused to walk back in through the bloody minefield and had a heated argument over the radio with Zero Alfa. So a tank was sent out to pick us up.

That morning I had the grizzly task of searching Lt Pothof's pockets for any papers. He only had half a head. I will never forget the look of pain on what was left of his face it will stay with me forever. He must have died instantly yet he still had that look. We had only managed to find five pieces of him and as I looked at what was left of him I thought, "If your leg had been better it would be me lying there."

It was someone from the village of Lo Gom that set the mine up and off. A bloody South Vietnamese civilian.

The Cpl who has contacted me since told me the full story as to what happened that night and has agreed to let me tell his story which follows.