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Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
 
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Vietnam 1969 Tet Offensive: The Delta Dogs An Infantry Company's Battles During the 1969 Tet Offensive Veteran Ronnie Janes of Columbia is featured in a soldier's book detailing a two-month journey on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Delta Dogs, written by Major George A. Durgin, U.S. Army, was authored in Vietnam in 1969, where a North Vietnamese prison camp was overrun by the Delta Dogs. The book includes a detailed description along with over 80 photographs, illustrations, and maps. Major Durgin published the daily journal he kept in Vietnam because he wanted the friends and relatives of his fellow soldiers to understand how these young men met the challenges of being combat infantrymen - both those who were wounded and those who returned unscathed. The Delta Dogs tells the real, gritty story of direct life-and-death combat engagements in Vietnam. Too often, these engagements resulted in the death of young American soldiers. The book was written as the events happened. One scene in the book recounts the bravery of Spc. 4 Ronnie L. Janes. He was the first to cross a chest-deep waterway. Lieutenant Claybaugh followed behind and, upon reaching the far side, called out for Janes to help him up. Janes gave him a hand as he struggled to climb the steep bank. Then, Janes helped Spc. 4 Michael L. Wilkins, the radio telephone operator, out of the water. He next assisted Spc. 4 David E. Styles, the medic. Lieutenant Claybaugh and Wilkins advanced out of the hedgerow into an open rice farm, and soon the four infantrymen were moving forward in the empty rice paddy. Enemy fire continued from other locations ahead. Lieutenant Claybaugh was the first one hit. He cried out, "I am burning!" Then he went silent. Mike Wilkins, radio man, was hit second, and David Styles was hit. When someone shouted that he had been hit and cried out for help, Janes yelled back for him to be quiet, warning that the enemy was using his cries to pinpoint their position. Despite the warning, Styles kept calling for help. Meanwhile, Spc. 4 Mike Wilkins had died with his hand pressing the send button on his radio. Everyone on the company radio frequency could hear the desperate cries for help, the sound of gunfire, incoming rounds, and explosions. Ronnie Janes again shouted for Styles to be quiet, but the medic continued crying out until another volley of enemy fire silenced him forever. Janes lay between Styles and Wilkins, about eight feet from each. Just 20 years old, he realized he had drawn enemy fire every time he moved. He later recalled thinking that if he lay motionless, the enemy might think he was dead. For several hours, Ronnie lay still under the burning sun. He prayed, "God of the universe who created all things, grant me mercy." Eventually, after a long period of silence and no bullets being fired in his direction, Ronnie slowly inched his way back to the hedgerow. Once out of the rice paddy, he rejoined the battle with the rest of his platoon. Ronnie Janes was able to return home. He owned a hardware store and an appliance store and his ministry always comes first. This story was posted on 2025-05-25 22:40:00
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