“A little after midnight, I saw movement in my night-vision scope and alerted the squad leader to warn the rest of the men who laid on ambush. The VC kept coming, his rifle slung over his back.

We let him get close, hoping there were more behind him but soon decided he was alone. When he reached the edge of our kill zone, he spotted one of our Claymore mines. I thought he would run, but apparently, he had never seen one of the US explosive devices.

He picked it up to inspect it just as my squad leader clicked the igniter.

In the light of the explosion, I saw the top half of the VC literally disappear in a pink cloud. Oddly, his legs and lower torso remained standing for a few seconds. I swear they even took a couple of steps before they fell over.”
– Anonymous US soldier. 199th Light Infantry Brigade, III Corps. 1969 Vietnam
————
As we always say here at Battles and Beers (TM) Every soldier has a story, and every story deserves to be told.