Welcome to Professional
by Steve Cruthis
We just arrived at FB Professional. Everyone was told to bail out of the birds as soon as
we hit the FB because they were hit everyday. We bailed out, nothing happened. We made it to the bunkers ok and were told that they
would hit us that night, they were hit every night. Again nothing happened. Being the smart guy I thought I was I figured it was
some more S-2 Army bullshit. We heard the other companies were being hit hard. The next morning we were told we were going to be
hit. I heard an explosion on the other side of the FB and figured someone was throwing grenades. I was outside the bunker fixing my
ruck, the Americal arty position was just above my head. Two bunkers away was a quad 50. I figured I was pretty safe..,,,wrong
dummy...about 1 second before it hit I could hear the baby coming at me, the sound of a mortar coming down. It hit the arty pit
just above my head and completely leveled it, the concussion knocked me and another guy down the hill into a trench. The gooks just
kept pounding the FB with recoiless and mortars. I buried my face in the ground thinking this is the end, what a shithole to die
in. The guy next to me was reciting the Lords prayer. All I could feel was explosions and the ground shaking.
After it was over, I couldnt believe anything was left of the FB, but only 2 guys
were KIA. A recoiless round had hit the other guys ruck sack. When we came back to
Professional in late June the same bunker I was in had been hit by an RPG, very few of
the orginal guys I had come to Tam Ky with were left. Just a real sad feeling.
Steve Cruthis
A/1/501