Tango 1-1: ninth Infantry Division LRPs within the Vietnam Delta

LRPs had been all volunteers. They had been within the spine-tingling, brain-twisting, nerve-wracking enterprise of Lengthy Vary Patrolling. They diverse in age from 18 to 30. These males operated in precision actions, like strolling by means of a jungle quietly and having the ability to inform whether or not a person or an animal is transferring by means of the comb with out seeing the reason for motion. They might sit in an ambush for hours with out transferring a muscle besides to ease the security off the automated weapon of their hand on the first signal of bother. These males had been good as a result of they needed to be to outlive.

Referred to as LRPs for brief, they had been despised, revered, admired and typically considered a bit of quick on brains by those that watched from the sidelines as a group began out on one other mission to hunt out the enemy. They had been males who can take a child or small baby of their arms and make them cease crying. They shared their final smoke, final ration of meals, final canteen of water. They had been form in some methods, lethal in others. They had been males who believed of their nation, freedom, and fellow males. They had been a brand new form of soldier in a brand new kind of warfare.

LRPs stand out in a crowd of troopers. It’s not simply their tiger fatigues however the best way they stroll, speak and stand. They had been proud warriors as a result of they had been members of the Lengthy Vary Patrol.