Vietnam 1968 LZ Jake

 Late 1968 I spent several weeks at LZ Jake, a montagnard
village near the Cambodian border.  I was with the 1st Cav.
working as an RTO, this was prior to the Cav. going in to 
Cambodia.
 I liked the people, they were happy and totally different
from the Vietnamese.  The one thing you had to watch was 
theft.  Couldn't leave things laying around.
 I remember these little soldiers packing old World war 2
BARs that were heavy and larger then the men carrying them.
They had colored scarfs and wore old style fatigues.
 LZ Jake was a special forces outpost, on a hill, with a wood
fence surronding it making it look like a castle on a hill.
 Below in the valley there was a landing field for aircraft.
 The Special forces bunch had a log ship on call, had a 
generator with a freezer, T.V. etc. and were selling us 
Cav boys beers when we humped up the hill.
 I am still not sure how much the SF guys took advantage 
of the Montagnards but they seemed to go along with what 
was requested of them.
  I am still upset over the US leaving these people behind.
They were are real allies in the war.  We offered very little
or no assistance to them to get them out, but brought out
all the politicians from the Vietnamese govt.
  Someday if I can get to South Carolina I would like to 
visit the survivors of this group and maybe get another 
bucu bracelet.