Lt CARLTON EPPS
FO for D/1/35; FSC, 2/35th; XO, "A" Btry;
Asst S-3
My
term as an FO for D/1/35 was from June - Sep, 1968. My call sign was
"Cowboy 30".
When
I joined Company D, it was commanded by 1LT Allen Espree. The 1st and 2nd
rifle platoons were each lead by an Armor branch 2nd LT, and the weapons platoon
by a SFC E-7. I was assigned leadership of the 3rd rifle platoon as an
additional duty.
I
was next packed and ready for a chopper ride back to Pleiku for duty as the
Battalion AO, when I was tabbed to instead provide fire support for a PRU
(Provincial Reconnaissance Unit) part of The Phoenix Program. (As God
would have it, my peer Lt. Steven Huffstutler, (KIA), became the AO.)
After
the PRU assignment I served as FSC (Fire Support Coordinator) for the 2nd
Battalion, 35th Inf., XO for A Btry 2/9 FA, and an Asst. S-3 under then Maj.
Jerry Orr.
I
was on duty in the BN TOC during the night-time attack on Camp Enari, when the
helicopter carrying Lt. Huffstutler went down.
Needless
to say, I remain both grateful and sad over the sequence of events and the
outcome.