Life in Nam was dangerous and unpredictable. You never knew where or when or what might prove to be deadly.
I remember one night shortly after New Year’s 1970. I had just come back from R&R in Hawaii with my wife. Everything was unreal to me. I was back in country but couldn’t quite believe it. We were watching a movie or something and then we got word that Critch ( 1LT Don Critchfield) and his team were overdue. They should have reported but didn’t. Our CO, Bill Kelly didn’t know where they were. Kelly was trying to locate them. A tense few hours passed and we got word that the team was pinned down on Nui Ba Den Mountain where a battle was going on. No one knew exactly where they were or if they were safe. I remember Kelly took it very seriously. We stayed up late. Finally we got word they were ok. I’d never heard of Nui Ba Den but, to this day, I haven’t forgotten that name or how it felt to sit helplessly waiting for word.
Recently I learned that Critchfield had a worse moment to do with Peanut Butter and someone we shall call PJ. Bob Swartz relates the following story:
“i remember PJ. He almost choked critchfield to death one night, by accident ….this particular evening, Critchfield took a big spoonful of peanut butter and then headed for the officer's latrine. He had trouble swalloing the pb, you know how it is. He rounded the corner and PJ came out of the darkness and grabbed him by the throat, not menacingly, but just grabbed him. Then he started espousing about Colville. This set Critchfield choking on the lump of peanut butter. He could not speak, he could not breathe, he could not even struggle. He was dying slowly from asphyxiation. Then PJ moved on….i think, with some certainty, that it took place on st. patrick's day. how about that. well, we were all upset at colville for some reason. everyone got blasted, and Kelly got up on the roof over Colville's room and started doing a little irish jig. a few of us threw full cans of beer at him, just to hit the roof really. anwyay, Colville came out and said it was time to go to bed, and that pretty much broke it up. we all went to our rooms. PJ for some reason went and talked with Colville, and became quite sympathetic. It was sometime after that that Critchfield almost met his maker. check this with critch” – 1Lt Robert Swartz
“Absolutely A perfect version of my recollection. I think the only thing that saved me was likely that I was too drunk to resist and was sort of viewing it as an out of body experience. I'm also pretty sure PJ and sanity were never close friends ... Even sober.”
