either didn t remember the password or didn t say the password quick enough, and on the way back into the perimeter he was shot. this is and i don t know if you d talked to freddie owens yet or not. but this is one of freddie s buddies that died in freddie s arms because, again and i won t say it was carelessness, but it was a lapse. a mental lapse. so we talked an awful lot about that. now, again, the rest of the guys went back, 2nd of the 7th, 1st of the 7th went back to thanksgiving dinner and whatever. and we got back and my battalion commander said, we have another operation. and it s in we weren t back very long before we were out in bong song. but i think a better unit because i didn t have to tell them. make sure you ve got your water. make sure you ve got your ammunition. your weapon is ready to fire. you don t need to be smoking on a trail so these guys can pick you out. you need to make sure security is out. once burned, you become a better unit. and i think
and shares his thoughts on what should be done to avoid a similar fate. sunday at 3:30. book tv. every weekend on c-span 2. now more oral histories from the vietnam archive at texas tech university in lubbock. these stories focus on the november 1965 battle of the idrang valley. bill beck was an assistant machine gunner whose actions at a clearing called landing zone x-ray earned him a silver star. in this hour-long interview he recalls a routine mission on a sunday afternoon that turned into a life and daeth struggle. i m doing an oral history video interview with mr. bill beck. we are in washington, d.c., crystal city hilton. it s november 12th, 2005, about 1:15 p.m., and we are here commemorating the reup, the 40th anniversary reunion of the battles in the idrang valley, x rarks alb ray,albany, and falcon. columbus. tell me about those days in novemb november. before you all get in, tell me about tony nadal and the guys around you, your buddies, before you all