Vietnam-era Rangers recall time behind enemy lines

On Feb. 19, 1968, after seven hours in the thick Cambodian jungle, a five-man reconnaissance team headed to safety after scouting out a battalion bivouac area.

"We had to cross a trail. We didn't usually use trails," Delbert Ayers of Pheonix said. He was one of about 250 Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol members who served in the Vietnam War.

The elite Army force, which later became the 75th Rangers, worked in small teams of five or six, traveling 50 or 60 miles out to monitor enemy activity. Members showed no rank.

Fifteen men who served on these teams came together for an informal reunion in Mount Pleasant.

"We can speak to people who understand," said Michael Rubinstein of Long Island, N.Y., who served on a team from 1970 to 71. "It's very hard to come back from the animal instincts and then all of a sudden go, 'Poof. I'm civilized.' It's a big difference," he said.

On that trail 30 years ago, team leader Robert Johnston skidded and fell. When he stood up, he was face to face with a young North Vietnamese soldier.

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.