Walt Philbin Remembers (continued)
I Find Out About Brown-Bey
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I recall that time on LZ Susan, our stop between Margo and the DMZ, because I got a fever there that night.
Since I had been about ten months in-country and hadn’t had an R&R, I asked Lt. Green if he wouldn’t mind me taking one then. He agreed and I flew out and went to Bangkok.
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When I got back I ran across one of the Whiskey gunners named Lanahan at the airport in Danang or maybe one of the LZs past Dong Ha or wherever as I made my way back up to the extreme northeast coastline east of Con Thien where 2/26 was at the time [editor’s note: The Cua Viet segment of the operation was the last before the BLT returned to the ships.]
Lanahan told me that while I was gone, Brown-Bey had gotten killed, a shrapnel wound in the neck from a 130mm round.
"Soul Brothers" at Camp Carroll prior to the DMZ operation. LCpl Lancaster "Lanny" Brown-Bey is second from right. Known for his expertise on the 81mm mortar, Brown-Bey was killed on October 1, 1968, when the 81s platoon landed on LZ Duster in the DMZ. Photo courtesy of Eloy "Rod" Rodriguez.
LCpl Mike Lanahan was a mortarman on LZ Margo and in the DMZ. Photo courtesy of Alan Green.
I remember being pretty well devastated.
And I remember how just before I went on R&R, Brown-Bey had regaled me about what I had to look forward to in Bangkok since he had already gone.
And he reminded us once again that he had less than 30 days left in the Nam.
