The War: Working Against Death

"I was up forward with the mortars when the ambush hit us," recalls the chunky Florida Negro. "There were Viet Cong everywhere—in the grass, in the trees and bushes, and in holes. The guy in front of me was killed. The guy behind the guy behind me was killed. There were all kinds of wounds—head, chest, abdomen, legs and arms. The captain and the sergeant major, they were killed. We formed a perimeter—really just a circle of people trying to protect themselves. "That's where I treated the wounded. I was just doing my...