Sammie Lucas
U.S. Marines – Machine Gunner
1st Battalion 9th Marines 3rd Marine Division
Alpha Company – Weapons Platoon
Hill 64, Khe Sanh 7/67-4/69
U.S. Marines – Machine Gunner
1st Battalion 9th Marines 3rd Marine Division
Alpha Company – Weapons Platoon
Hill 64, Khe Sanh 7/67-4/69
Sammi Lucas was born Feb 14, 1944 in Morganfield, KY. Morganfield was a small rural town with 3,000 people and only 9,000 in the entire county. When Sammi was growing up the town had several veterans from WWII and Korea. He attended the schools in Morganfield through his sophomore year when he transferred to Columbia Military Academy in Tennessee. He graduated and went on to Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky where he was a member of the ROTC.
Sammie was bored with school, and he saw his friends getting drafted. He thought “college isn’t working for me, but this war is going on, I gotta be a part.” He went to talk to the Army recruiter in Paduca, Kentucky and said he would join if he could be part of the airborne. They gave him an eye exam and told him his depth perception did not meet the minimum qualifications. Sammie was told they could not guarantee him a spot in airborne school. Sammie said thanks and walked across the street and joined the Marines.
In July of 1967 he was on his way to Parris Island for eight weeks of boot camp. Sammie scored well on the firing range and when it came time to select his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) he chose to be a machine gunner. He was sent to Camp Lejune for 4 weeks for Advanced Infantry Training and then three weeks of training on the M60 machine gun. After some additional training in California, in the autumn of ’67 Sammie was on his way to Vietnam by way of Okinawa, Japan. Sammie and the rest of the replacement troops waited in Okinawa until it was their time to deploy.
When word came it was time to head to Vietnam and they boarded a C-160 bound for Tan Son Nhut Air Base which was about 3 miles from downtown Saigon in South Vietnam. Sammie joined a convoy and headed to Camp Evans located south Quang Tri which was in the Central Highlands and 21 miles south of the DMZ. There they conducted numerous patrols and ambushes
By the end of January ’68 the troops were hearing rumors about the buildup of enemy forces around the Marine base near Khe Sanh. On January 23rd Sammi and 1st Battalion 9th Marines (the 1/9) helicoptered up to Khe Sanh. That night Sammi was assigned security duty. The next day the 1/9, under the command of Captain Radcliff was told to establish an outpost approximately 1,200 yard outside of the base and take up a defensive position at the Rock Quarry, approximately 600 yards from Hill 64. The hill had no official designation and Captain Radcliff named it Hill 64. The troops began to dig a trench line and hardened their position with sandbags. They also strung concertina wire around the perimeter and placed claymore mines in front of their bunkers. The 1/9 was a listening post and the first line of defense against enemy attacks. The US had obtained intelligence from a captured NVA soldier who told them the NVA planned to take Hill 64, take all the weapons and ammunition and then push on toward the main base at Khe Sanh. The Marines were on full alert and much spent of their time cleaning their weapons in preparation for the coming attack.
At 4:15 am on February 8, 1968, the North Vietnamese began shelling the Rock Quarry followed by an attack of nearly 400 NVA soldiers crawling up the hill. In the first few minutes of the attack the platoon leader, the platoon sergeant and the radioman were all killed. Sammi describe the situation as chaotic, with the enemy pouring into the trench line and throwing satchel charges into the bunkers. In no time, all the squad leaders were dead or wounded and unable to fight except for one, Corporal James Faisle. Undaunted the Marines banded together and got themselves organized. The enemy held two thirds of the hill but through individual and group efforts, the Marines began to push the enemy back. Sammi said, “most of the time it came down to an individual Marine rifleman doing what Marines are trained to do, take the initiative, and carry on.”
Sammi recalled the enemy getting as close as 10 feet from him. They were so close he couldn’t get his machine gun around and he had to use his .45 pistol to kill two or three of the enemy. About 15 minutes into the battle Sammi recalled being hit twice but still able to stay in the fight. He was hit a third time and recalled having his helmet shot off his head and the explosion from a mortar blew his pants off and badly wounded his legs. “They hit me first because I was a machine gunner.” He was able to get up and run and then walk carrying his machine gun, rifle, and a can of ammo. Eventually his legs gave out and he lay down in a shallow foxhole. He could see blood pouring from the wounds in his legs and, in an effort to slow the bleeding, he put his feet up on the top of the foxhole. The pain was intense. In the foxhole he found a carton of Phillip Morris cigarettes. He heard a voice outside his foxhole and Sammie yelled out, “you got a match? I need to light a cigarette”. The voice replied, “You can have one match. You better get it lit. That’s it”. Sammi recalled, “I lit that cigarette and lay there chain smoking. I guess I’d pass out and them come to and light another cigarette.”
For the next four hours the battle ebbed and flowed with the advantage shifting back and forth. The fighting was up close including hand-to-hand combat. The Marines began to run low on ammunition and grenades and would sometimes throw rocks to make the enemy think they were grenades.
At one point there were only 13 Marines able to fight. Despite the enemy having superior numbers the Marines fought them to a stalemate. Artillery and mortar fire from the main combat base prevented enemy reinforcements. At 8pm, some 4 harrowing hours later, a volunteer relief force led by Captain Radcliff arrived at Hill 64. Under his command, the reinforcements engaged in hand to hand combat and slowly reclaimed the hill. By 8:15am the fighting came to a halt. 24 Marines were dead and 34 were wounded, Sammie being one of them. There were 150 dead enemy soldiers scattered around Hill 64 and blood trails leading into the jungle suggesting there were a significant number of enemy wounded.
The corpsman worked his way to Sammi and Sammi recalls saying, “I ain’t dyin’ go take care of the other guys. The corpsman took one look at my legs and gave me two shots of morphine.”
The dead and wounded were transported back to the base at Khe Sanh. Who is to say if either side won or if they fought to a draw. What would seem to be undisputable is that the U.S. Marines, despite overwhelming odds never gave up, showed their true grit, and upheld the Marine tradition.
At the Khe Sanh base they treated Sammi and the other wounded as best they could. He was then put on a Chinook helicopter and medevac’d to Tan Son Nhut which was more secure. From there he was transported to a hospital in Yokosuka, Japan where the doctors told him he was going back to the US. His next stop was Tennessee. “I never knew there was a Naval Base in Memphis Tennessee.” For the duration of his enlistment, he was a physical training instructor. For the next year he taught classes, ran, swam, taught drown proofing and lifted weights. “It was great duty.”
After Sammi was discharged from the Marine Corp. he went back to Kentucky and worked several different jobs and was married to Mary Teresa in the summer of ’69. His father in-law helped him get a job as a welder and he spent 30+ years with the Iron Workers in the New York City area. “I’ve worked everywhere from Montauk Point on Long Island to Birmingham, Alabama.”
I asked Sammi what was going through his mind amidst all the chaos on Hill 64. He said, “kill or be killed. Do what you were trained to do. You just can’t give up.”
“A couple guys in the Marine Corp. found out about my story from Hill 64. They put me up for a Bronze Star, but I always said, how much more could I ask out of life. I got a beautiful wife, my house is paid off, I have a wonderful daughter, two beautiful grandchildren….I got all that. How could I ask for anything more? I already have my Bronze Star.”
I asked if he would do it again. “Absolutely! You learn a lot of self-discipline. You can push yourself much further than you imagined you could do. I would never have imagined being wounded that bad and be able to carry on.”
“I don’t know how I ever got out of there alive.”
Sammi, thank you for your service with the Marines. It’s hard for the rest of us to comprehend the chaos of close quarters fighting, the feeling of being overrun and outnumbered and the pain from your injuries. Thanks to you, the rest of us only read about it.
Semper Fi!!
Sammie was bored with school, and he saw his friends getting drafted. He thought “college isn’t working for me, but this war is going on, I gotta be a part.” He went to talk to the Army recruiter in Paduca, Kentucky and said he would join if he could be part of the airborne. They gave him an eye exam and told him his depth perception did not meet the minimum qualifications. Sammie was told they could not guarantee him a spot in airborne school. Sammie said thanks and walked across the street and joined the Marines.
In July of 1967 he was on his way to Parris Island for eight weeks of boot camp. Sammie scored well on the firing range and when it came time to select his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) he chose to be a machine gunner. He was sent to Camp Lejune for 4 weeks for Advanced Infantry Training and then three weeks of training on the M60 machine gun. After some additional training in California, in the autumn of ’67 Sammie was on his way to Vietnam by way of Okinawa, Japan. Sammie and the rest of the replacement troops waited in Okinawa until it was their time to deploy.
When word came it was time to head to Vietnam and they boarded a C-160 bound for Tan Son Nhut Air Base which was about 3 miles from downtown Saigon in South Vietnam. Sammie joined a convoy and headed to Camp Evans located south Quang Tri which was in the Central Highlands and 21 miles south of the DMZ. There they conducted numerous patrols and ambushes
By the end of January ’68 the troops were hearing rumors about the buildup of enemy forces around the Marine base near Khe Sanh. On January 23rd Sammi and 1st Battalion 9th Marines (the 1/9) helicoptered up to Khe Sanh. That night Sammi was assigned security duty. The next day the 1/9, under the command of Captain Radcliff was told to establish an outpost approximately 1,200 yard outside of the base and take up a defensive position at the Rock Quarry, approximately 600 yards from Hill 64. The hill had no official designation and Captain Radcliff named it Hill 64. The troops began to dig a trench line and hardened their position with sandbags. They also strung concertina wire around the perimeter and placed claymore mines in front of their bunkers. The 1/9 was a listening post and the first line of defense against enemy attacks. The US had obtained intelligence from a captured NVA soldier who told them the NVA planned to take Hill 64, take all the weapons and ammunition and then push on toward the main base at Khe Sanh. The Marines were on full alert and much spent of their time cleaning their weapons in preparation for the coming attack.
At 4:15 am on February 8, 1968, the North Vietnamese began shelling the Rock Quarry followed by an attack of nearly 400 NVA soldiers crawling up the hill. In the first few minutes of the attack the platoon leader, the platoon sergeant and the radioman were all killed. Sammi describe the situation as chaotic, with the enemy pouring into the trench line and throwing satchel charges into the bunkers. In no time, all the squad leaders were dead or wounded and unable to fight except for one, Corporal James Faisle. Undaunted the Marines banded together and got themselves organized. The enemy held two thirds of the hill but through individual and group efforts, the Marines began to push the enemy back. Sammi said, “most of the time it came down to an individual Marine rifleman doing what Marines are trained to do, take the initiative, and carry on.”
Sammi recalled the enemy getting as close as 10 feet from him. They were so close he couldn’t get his machine gun around and he had to use his .45 pistol to kill two or three of the enemy. About 15 minutes into the battle Sammi recalled being hit twice but still able to stay in the fight. He was hit a third time and recalled having his helmet shot off his head and the explosion from a mortar blew his pants off and badly wounded his legs. “They hit me first because I was a machine gunner.” He was able to get up and run and then walk carrying his machine gun, rifle, and a can of ammo. Eventually his legs gave out and he lay down in a shallow foxhole. He could see blood pouring from the wounds in his legs and, in an effort to slow the bleeding, he put his feet up on the top of the foxhole. The pain was intense. In the foxhole he found a carton of Phillip Morris cigarettes. He heard a voice outside his foxhole and Sammie yelled out, “you got a match? I need to light a cigarette”. The voice replied, “You can have one match. You better get it lit. That’s it”. Sammi recalled, “I lit that cigarette and lay there chain smoking. I guess I’d pass out and them come to and light another cigarette.”
For the next four hours the battle ebbed and flowed with the advantage shifting back and forth. The fighting was up close including hand-to-hand combat. The Marines began to run low on ammunition and grenades and would sometimes throw rocks to make the enemy think they were grenades.
At one point there were only 13 Marines able to fight. Despite the enemy having superior numbers the Marines fought them to a stalemate. Artillery and mortar fire from the main combat base prevented enemy reinforcements. At 8pm, some 4 harrowing hours later, a volunteer relief force led by Captain Radcliff arrived at Hill 64. Under his command, the reinforcements engaged in hand to hand combat and slowly reclaimed the hill. By 8:15am the fighting came to a halt. 24 Marines were dead and 34 were wounded, Sammie being one of them. There were 150 dead enemy soldiers scattered around Hill 64 and blood trails leading into the jungle suggesting there were a significant number of enemy wounded.
The corpsman worked his way to Sammi and Sammi recalls saying, “I ain’t dyin’ go take care of the other guys. The corpsman took one look at my legs and gave me two shots of morphine.”
The dead and wounded were transported back to the base at Khe Sanh. Who is to say if either side won or if they fought to a draw. What would seem to be undisputable is that the U.S. Marines, despite overwhelming odds never gave up, showed their true grit, and upheld the Marine tradition.
At the Khe Sanh base they treated Sammi and the other wounded as best they could. He was then put on a Chinook helicopter and medevac’d to Tan Son Nhut which was more secure. From there he was transported to a hospital in Yokosuka, Japan where the doctors told him he was going back to the US. His next stop was Tennessee. “I never knew there was a Naval Base in Memphis Tennessee.” For the duration of his enlistment, he was a physical training instructor. For the next year he taught classes, ran, swam, taught drown proofing and lifted weights. “It was great duty.”
After Sammi was discharged from the Marine Corp. he went back to Kentucky and worked several different jobs and was married to Mary Teresa in the summer of ’69. His father in-law helped him get a job as a welder and he spent 30+ years with the Iron Workers in the New York City area. “I’ve worked everywhere from Montauk Point on Long Island to Birmingham, Alabama.”
I asked Sammi what was going through his mind amidst all the chaos on Hill 64. He said, “kill or be killed. Do what you were trained to do. You just can’t give up.”
“A couple guys in the Marine Corp. found out about my story from Hill 64. They put me up for a Bronze Star, but I always said, how much more could I ask out of life. I got a beautiful wife, my house is paid off, I have a wonderful daughter, two beautiful grandchildren….I got all that. How could I ask for anything more? I already have my Bronze Star.”
I asked if he would do it again. “Absolutely! You learn a lot of self-discipline. You can push yourself much further than you imagined you could do. I would never have imagined being wounded that bad and be able to carry on.”
“I don’t know how I ever got out of there alive.”
Sammi, thank you for your service with the Marines. It’s hard for the rest of us to comprehend the chaos of close quarters fighting, the feeling of being overrun and outnumbered and the pain from your injuries. Thanks to you, the rest of us only read about it.
Semper Fi!!