On the afternoon of February 19, 1968, John's Alpha Company had crossed the Ca Ty River west of Phan Thiet to conduct a search and clear operation when his unit suddenly came under intense small-arms- and automatic weapons fire from a superior-sized enemy force, killing or wounding almost everyone in his platoon. John Colone and his squad took the blunt of the murderous wall of enemy bullets. Also critically wounded himself, Colone tried desperately to maneuver his men out of the killing field to cover, but each time one of his men attempted to raise up

     In early July, a postcard arrived at John and Anne's home in Pinckney, Michigan. The card was from Jerry Berry, a fellow paratrooper and the battalion combat photographer/reporter, who served with Colone in Vietnam.

     Berry was searching for John and other fellow "Currahees" to informed them of their unit's reunion in Reno, NV, that month (July 16-18) and that he (Berry) was writing a book about the odyssey of their battalion's first year in Vietnam (October 1967 to October 1968). John's wife, Anne, anxious to inform John of the card's arrival, decided rather than call him at work, she would place the postcard with the rest of the day's mail and watch John's surprise when he read it. To her surprise, John could not bring himself to pick up the postcard and read it. "Several days passed," says Anne Colone, "before John could bring himself to pick the postcard up and read it. A few days later, John walked up to me and said, "We're going to Reno."

     On July 16, in the lobby of the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada, Colone embraced members of his unit for the first time since being medevaced from that hot, dry rice paddy 30 years before. With teary eyes, Colone and members from his squad embraced one another and reminisced of a place far away and long ago, when they were young and professional soldiers.

     During the three-day reunion in Reno, John and Anne heard numerous stories from his fellow paratroopers describing what they saw and experienced, but most important, what they suffered to survive, persevere and prevail under extraordinary conditions.

     "I recall Sgt. Colone's concern for his men," says Jerry Berry, the combat photographer and reporter for the Currahee Battalion. "His men had the highest respect for him and his leadership."

     "Sgt. Colone would often remind his men of the battalion order-not to destroy or injure anything or anyone that did not need to be. He never lost sight of the fact that our unit's mission in Vietnam was to find, fix and destroy the enemy in his means to carry on the war against the people of South Vietnam."

     The group also heard from John's platoon leader, Joe Alexander, a 2nd Lieutenant at the time, who was wounded five times during the battle attempting to maneuver his men and call in air support.

Lt. Alexander refused medical aid for himself until his men were taken care of first.

     Colone heard from others in his squad describing that awesome afternoon in the rice paddy. Gary Purcell, now retired with General Motors Corp., recalled, "John was dragged from the rice paddy bleeding profusely from his wounds. I held his head in my lap and in my heart I knew he was dying, but I kept telling him he was going to make it and to just hold on until the 'dust-off' got there."

     As the battle ensued, Purcell had to leave his squad leader to help other soldiers and defend their position.

     A short time later, a member of Sgt. Colone's platoon checked Colone's condition. Detecting no signs of life, he told the medic that John was dead and that the medic should concentrate on those who were still alive and could be saved.

     As his fellow soldiers undertook the difficult task of placing their dead comrades into body bags, John was "toe tagged" as dead. As several of the casualties were placed aboard the helicopter for transport back to LZ Betty, the paratrooper's base camp, a slight movement was detected from John's body bag.

     The rest is history. John was medevaced to the aid station at LZ Betty, from there on to the Black Horse Hospital at Nha Trang, from there to Japan and eventually back to the United States, to where he fully recovered after many months of hospitalization.

     John Colone enlisted in the U. S. Army on June 16, 1966. After completing his airborne training, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 506th Airborne Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. After completing war game exercises in the swamps and mountains of Georgia and Tennessee, his battalion was deployed by ship to South Vietnam-arriving at Cam Ranh Bay on Oct. 25, 1967. On November 11, 1968, the "Currahees" made the first of their many combat assaults by helicopter to find, fix and destroy the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces operating in the southern region of the Central Highlands (II Corps) at Phan Rang, Song Mao, Bao Loc, Phan Thiet, and Da Lat.

     John Colone was awarded a number of medals, among them the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal.

     As for John Colone, "Vietnam completely changed my life," he says. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about the good, bad, and the ugly of Vietnam. I served with some of the finest soldiers who ever wore the U.S. military uniform."

Epilogue

     There are more stories such as this one of other members of the "Battle at Ca Ty River" that should and will be told for the sake of posterity. John Colone and those who fought with him are true patriotic heroes. They fought the battles, remained steadfast in their dedication to duty, and suffered in silence as our nation diminished their role in an unpopular war.

     True heroes often go unrecognized unless their specific stories are told, and there are many other fine soldiers that served in Vietnam who deserve to have their stories told. I will tell the stories of other members of the Currahee Battalion-officers, NCOs and enlisted men in my book titled "They Called Us Currahees" to be published later this year. The book will include many true stories such as this one, along with pictures and personal interviews with fellow paratroopers during and after battles. It documents the serious side of war, as well as the humorous side of our tour of duty in Vietnam. The book will be completely factual, without hype, and tells of the many heroic and ultimate sacrifices that the men called "Currahees" like John Colone made for our country.

     Currahee is a Cherokee Indian word meaning "Stand Alone". This name was given to John's airborne unit back at Camp Toccoa during World War II, and symbolizes the organization's strength, independence and ability to endure.