Army Brig. Gen. William Ross Bond was killed by a sniper April 1, first U.S. general to die in ground combat in Vietnam. The following are excerpts from letters to his wife, Theodora, who made them available to Associated Press writer H.L. Schwartz III. Washington (AP)--- "I scarcely know where to start to give an insight into what is here and our — the brigade's— role in it. I believe it best to rough out the shape in totality and then you will have a feel for countless details I shall pour at you. . . "My troopers are in the jungle, formidable jungle that clings to the sides of two main roads and surrounds the rubber plantations. The jungle is triple canopy. You can see perhaps three to five yards on the ground and in this fantastic growth the enemy builds incredible bunkers in which he lives, operates from and controls his people. This jungle covers an area larger than from Baltimore to Annapolis to Fredericksburg, Va., and I search it constantly by sections by means of particularly brave infantry. . ." (In the minutest detail, Bond describes deployment of major elements in his 3,000- man brigade.) "The rifle companies go out from the bases and patrol in the jungle and look for the enemy. They remain out about 5 to 12 days. It's tough. We supply them and visit them by chopper in tiny little clearings. Sometimes not at all. When they make contact they shoot to eliminate. We kill about 30 to 1. The great trick is to find the enemy in the jungle silently and efficiently. . . "The men, as I wrote, are magnificent— so brave and so uncomplaining and so dedicated to their task. I have no disciplinary troubles to speak of. Fantastic." "Today was a bit more quiet than yesterday (when) we had to kill about 30. They are tough and mean and dedicated. So far this month I am proud to say we have had only six men killed. I try desperately to lose as few as one can. They are so wonderful and alive and gallant." "With the dry season here I hope to open up some roads which have been closed since 1960. Highway 2 from the south. . . This will bring fish and other seafoods north by truck overnight and cut the price of fish in my province 25 to 40 percent perhaps. At least the Vietnamese tell me this. Correspondingly, rice and vegetable price will drop. But more important the crops will move freely in the area and provide a market for the local farmers and over a period of time greatly expand the economy." "I went to the hospital to see some 20 people I have there. They stay about a week and then are flown to Japan and thence to the United States. . . The morale of the men in the hospital defies description. They just grin and bear it, from ghastly wounds to less serious ones." "The weather in the province stays cool and at night it is extremely pleasant. During the day it is 95 in the sun. I assisted in opening a new, small firebase to the north of my area and I am intrigued with the beauty of the place. The jungle green-clad and the mountains stand behind it toward Dalat some 300 to 400 feet high and rolling gentle coming down to a beautifully winding river 400 feet wide. Absolutely wild. Elephant herds can be seen occasionally and great purple-winged jungle birds rise when a helicopter beats the air. Wild pig and boar can be seen on occasion and the monkeys and fish abound. We have implaced some artillery in a safari camp and from this base patrol outward as far as 10 miles hunting for the enemy. It's a primeval place. Very beautiful." "Just had the first trooper killed in the brigade this month. Damn. Hit in the stomach with a bullet, deep, deep in the jungle yesterday late. We got him out with an ambulance helicopter and hook. We took him to a hospital and surgery. A magnificent effort but he died from shock and surgery. Very sad. We did kill two of them. But that is not enough for me." "Yesterday was a long day with much action and agony in small packages. We had three killed and killed several of them. But I hate to lose a single man. Savage little actions deep in the jungle with great gallantry on the part of our troopers. In one case, they were crossing a small jungle stream when the VC fired on them, killing two and wounding one. We summon artillery and aviation rockets and eventually get rid of them. The other was 30 miles away and involved a platoon deep in the jungle with a young lieutenant who kept becoming more and more excited. I had to stay up in the air above him until almost 8 p.m. to get him quieted down with my vioce and gentle commands lest more get hurt. Eventually he came around, thank heavens. I felt I had earned my Scotch when I returned to my forward base at 11:30 p.m." "The interesting thing in longer terms is what assignment they will give me when this is over. One does not ask. One simply hopes. . ." "The other day, yesterday, I visited a civilian hospital here in Xuan Loc. 180 beds. A terrible place, simply terrible. . . This province is large in size and small in population with 120,000 people. It has one hospital with 180 beds and four doctors only in Xuan Loc. . . The doctor rate is appalling. Somehow you would believe the government of the United States would do more in this field. . . I believe we should start a school — medical— in some capital city and really turn out a modest number each year. The medical school in Saigon simply cannot meet the demand. Above all one deplores the dirt and the appalling lack of facilities and equipment. Their eyes follow you around, mute, questioning, hoping for some assistance. We do what we can. It is most difficult." "Today in the cool of the evening I went to a tiny hamlet where five ‘soldiers' militiamen had killed five Viet Cong in a very gallant little fight. I presented them with medals. They are terrible decent and honest and courteous. They assembled with their village elders. . . They are tired, very tired, but resolute and proud. "‘Oh,' they seem to say, ‘how utterly nice it would be to have it all over with.'" "A group of our Montagnard forces has discovered an enormous cache of arms to the northwest in deep jungle just on the border between my area and the 1st division area. We shall go up there with a battalion today for seven or eight days to see if we can find and zap the enemy. The caches included virtually new material which means, of course, it was brought in through Cambodia in large quantities by our enemy friends who continue to disclaim this. . . ." "The budget shows cuts in defense spending and this is predicated on cutbacks here. More for conservation, education, medical attention. All this seems sound to me. One deplores the Democrats attacking the GOP for what they — the Democrats-- created in the last eight years." (Bond was not a member of either political party. In keeping with a tradition among many career U.S. Army officers, he never voted in a presidential election.) To a friend high in the Pentagon— who made a March 31 letter available to The Associated Press on condition his name not be used— Bond spoke of deep concern for the Army's immediate image: "The Army of the ‘70's will have to be particularly and sharply professional, as we all know. It is the Army that your son and his contemporaries will inherit and run. In 1980, you will be three years retired and me, maybe before that." Bond was killed the next day.
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