Bob Riordan Remembers LZ Margo and the DMZ Operation
by First Lieutenant Bob Riordan
Golf Company, BLT 2/26
"Our lead platoon secured that area, but I spent the night on the trail next to Mike's body bag and thought about our other losses.
"Obviously, he and the others have not been forgotten."
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1stLt Bob Riordan
Golf Company, BLT 2/26
After Khe Sanh
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After serving briefly as Golf Company Executive Officer at the end of Khe Sanh, I became CO in early May with Pete Post having already resumed his previous XO responsibilities. Pete was the rock and heart of Golf as he served his entire tour with the company, a rare occurrence for infantry officers in Vietnam.
It took a while for us to resolve the chaos left us by my predecessor but we survived that and other challenges over the next several months. Then we found ourselves in early September at The Rockpile seeking refuge and recovery after several days patrolling south and east of that base in monsoon conditions.
Having a brew at Charlie-2. The Golf Company staff catches a rare moment of relaxation between constant patrols at C-2, a few weeks before leaving for LZ Margo and the DMZ operation. Back row from left: Company commander 1stLt Bob Riordan, executive officer 1stLt Pete Post, an unknown Marine, Company Gunny Pete Peterson. To Riordan's lower left is Weapons Platoon Leader Sgt "Que Paso" Lopez. Below him are 1st Platoon leader Lt Bill Wentworth and 2nd Platoon leader Lt Bob Winn. In the front row, middle, is 3rd Platoon leader Staff Sergeant Emerick and to his left is battalion radioman Cpl Billy Rock. The rest are currently unidentified. 1stLt Tom Domogala took over 3rd Platoon when he joined Golf Co. a few weeks after this photo. Photo courtesy of Bob Riordan.
What follows are edited excerpts of what I have written previously about LZ Margo and its aftermath.
