James Christian Freidt

The following was written by James Sheppard who served with Pfc. Freidt:

This story, while starting out as an account of a difficult night maneuver, turned out to reveal several inaccuracies in our KIA Database. After input from other members of the platoon, this story evolved into a much more accurate form than I originally envisioned. I never meant the story to be perceived as criticism for any command decisions involved....but simply a story of one of the scariest nights of my life! While at the time this story was written, it was believed that Jim Freidt was our Battalion's first casualty, 1st Cavalry Division level documentation revealed that an "A" Company man was killed in action some 6 hours before Freidt...making Jim the second man killed in action for our Battalion.

We had yet to realize the seriousness of the conflict we were about to embrace. Third Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion (Mechanized) 50th Infantry departed the Main body of Charlie Company to establish a night position about 1000 meters North of the village of Phu Ha near the South China Sea. We were to form up as a blocking force the following morning as the main body of Charlie Company was to sweep through the southern part of the village toward us in the early morning hours.
We set out on foot about an hour before dark. Lt. Bob Driscoll, our Platoon Leader, recalls that earlier in the day someone from the 2nd platoon had tripped a grenade booby trap. Although no one was killed in that incident, several were wounded…and the trails in our vicinity were loaded with booby traps. For this reason, we were ordered to stay off the trails wherever possible as we moved toward our night position. We proceeded up a beautiful draw…lush with green brush and jungle growth… below high ground rising to our right. Before taking the main elements of the platoon up to their night position, Platoon Leader Lt. Bob Driscoll split off one squad to set up an ambush position to the northwest of the platoon. Their orders were to rejoin the main platoon element just before dawn, and the reformed platoon would move to the appointed blocking position.

This was our first field mission alone, our first platoon sized overnight mission. Having yet to experience any contact with the enemy, I believe we had no idea of how potentially dangerous the mission really was! I can vividly remember the laughter and playful joking as we made our way up this slope. We emerged on a knoll with scattered brush and also a loose perimeter of fox holes…obviously having been used before as a night position. The night was extremely dark….no moon.

In Vietnam one learned to love the full moon phase. It lit up the paddies and jungle almost like day and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army generally stayed at home…lest they be easily spotted. But the dark nights opposite the moon's full stage were the worst. This night was one of those very dark nights…which would prove to be a lifesaver for Lt. Driscoll and me. You could hardly see your hand in front of your face…and even the new Starlight Scopes we used showed no images to speak of.

The mood quickly changed. The men of 3rd platoon silently took up occupancy of the foxholes, which were in a circular configuration around the top of the knoll at an elevation of about 100 meters. There was a large foxhole in the center of the knoll. Lt. Driscoll and I, as well as the Platoon Leader settled in and radioed our position to the Company Commander, lest we be spotted by other friendly elements and be mistaken for the enemy. The approximate coordinates of the squad set out on ambush were also reported. The night was rather uneventful…very quiet.

The darkness brought on a grim silence to all the men…suddenly becoming aware that this was a precarious position…and if we were attacked, we were basically on our own! There were communication and situation reports throughout the night back to the Company Commander.

The time approached and passed for the ambush squad to rejoin our position. Finally, unable to delay any longer, Lt. Driscoll ordered the platoon to begin down the slope towards the daybreak blocking position. Lt. Driscoll and I remained behind, fully expecting the squad to return at any minute and then we would "catch up" to the main element of the 3rd Platoon.

The rest of the 3rd Platoon, less the missing squad, set out in the dark and moved down the hill toward a position north of Phu Ha. Minutes seemed like hours. Then it began, subtle at first. A strange whiff of something foreign to us yet common to this land. That fishy smell we experienced in the seaside villages. Then we thought we heard muffled voices…sing song…that unmistakable dialect we came to identify so well. An enemy element was near…very near! We could not be sure if the enemy element was searching for us, or just passing by.

There were occasional "blips" of squelch were popping from our radio. The blips on the radio would be a dead position giveaway! Lt. Driscoll gave the sudden order to "turn the damned radio off". In a flash I had that thing off! We crouched there in the dark…back to back…M-16s at the ready as the sounds of movement were all around us. At one point a voice shouted, from no more than a few dozen meters away: "MEDIC"! That was a sure sign that the enemy was near…since we had agreed NEVER to call "Medic" in combat. We always called for our medic by his first name.

The enemy was "fishing" for us…and I fully believe they expected our platoon to still be in our night position and unable to resist firing upon an unseen but well heard enemy! God only knows what size enemy element had watched us take up our night position and had then moved in for the kill! Lt. Driscoll later said to me that he had seen men in dark pajamas carrying AK-47 Assault Rifles walk right past us in the dark. He only saw them for a second or two as they passed within a few feet of our foxhole! They did not see us! I believe the enemy expected to encounter a larger force…and when they probed the perimeter and found the outer foxholes empty, they assumed we were all gone! Silence soon followed.

Then it began to get light. Just as the first signs of light began to appear, we heard the explosion.

Pfc. James Christian Freidt became the first Charlie Company Soldier and second man in the battalion killed in South Vietnam. The platoon had moved down the mountain from our knoll position and was advancing along a path between reeds in a meadow by a small stream when Pfc. Freidt hit a trip wire attached to a grenade. The explosion took Pfc. Freidt's life. Several others were wounded.

Lt. Driscoll now wanted to rejoin the Platoon…and fast. He was frantically calling for a Medivac Chopper. The missing squad would have to find their own way.

Lt. Driscoll and I plodded our way down the hill towards the area where Pfc. Freidt had been killed. Lt. Driscoll was constantly in communications between him, the main Platoon element, and the Company Commander. Everyone requesting situation reports on the casualties.

On a final serious note, it was very sobering to witness that loss. Suddenly the war became very real….as one of our own 3rd platoon members became one of our Battalion's first two KIA's that day. By the time Lt. Driscoll and I reached the sight, the Medivac Helicopter had already taken Pfc.Freidt's body away…and only a few items of his remained…some bloody clothing and a partly shredded pack of cigarettes.

Lt. Driscoll moved ahead quickly to rejoin the rest of the Platoon. Lt. Driscoll left me behind with a few men to police the area and rejoin the Platoon and rest of Charlie Company. We divvied up what was left of the cigarettes.

The missing squad finally made their way past the position and we all linked up at Phu Ha Village. The missing squad later reported, "We moved too far beyond where we were supposed to situate for the night. It was very dark and I had to rely on all the men to help find what we thought was the ambush site. We set up the squad on a knoll in a defensive position looking down on a draw and trail. We made so much noise getting to that position that it is a wonder the entire Viet Cong Army did not hear us coming! It was a frightening night, we were lost! We had an idea of the general direction we needed to go to get back to the Platoon, but was not absolutely sure until we heard the booby trap explode."

We found nothing in Phu Ha Village. Any element of surprise we may have held for the Blocking Position was lost when the exploding booby trap took Pfc. Freidt's life. Although Pfc. Freidt was one of the first two casualties our Battalion suffered on that day in October of 1967, over 160 from our Battalion were to follow and pay the ultimate sacrifice.
Pfc. James Freidt was killed in action on the morning of 10-11-1967, when, at dawn, his 3rd Platoon was moving to join the rest of Charlie Company on a Cordon and Search of Phu Ha Village near the coast of Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province.

He is buried in Mandan Union Cemetery - Mandan, ND.