Our First Contact
Gene Fox, Commanding Officer
A Company, 2/12th Cavalry
October 1965
Everyone was wondering when we would make our first contact.
One fine morning - you know the kind that I mean: hot as hell, 110% humidity, industrial strength wait-a-minute vines tugging at you, no water. We were pushing through the secondary growth, three platoons on line. I decided to check on our progress and called the Platoon Leader (Club 1-6), SFC Norm Weifenback on the radio. He started to give me a report when the radio went dead. I tried to get him back on the push, but no luck.
I was sure this was it but I didn't hear any gunfire. Finally, he came back on the line. I said, "Club 1-6, this is Club 6, what is your situation?"
His answer came back over the air, "Captain, we had contact, a wild pig jumped out of the underbrush and ran through the platoon at about thirty miles an hour and scared the hell out of everyone.
This wasn't exactly what I expected and I could see the headlines now, "Cavalry Company Routed by Pig". I decided not to pass this information up to Battalion.