Secret Weapon Luck Strikes at Lunchtime | Sentinel

The experiences of a Special Forces officer in Vietnam in 1967. Despite his extensive training, his survival in a particular incident relied on luck and a turn of events during a patrol mission. 

Key points: 

1. The officer was responsible for Special Forces A-Team A-104 in I Corps, Quang Ngai Province, Ha Thanh District, a region fraught with conflict.
2. During a recon mission, the officer’s unit captured a VC (Viet Cong) soldier who revealed key supply and infiltration routes.
3. Despite the dangers, they decided to venture into a rarely patrolled area based on the captured soldier’s information and successfully ambushed two VC supply columns.
4. The incident incurred the wrath of the local VC, who called in a more robust VC force to find and confront the officer’s unit.
5. In an ill-defended position during lunchtime, the officer’s unit was surrounded and faced heavy fire from the VC.
6. Without any air or artillery support, the officer made the risky call to use their camp’s heavy mortar for support despite its unreliability at max range, resulting in a potentially life-saving distraction.