S1E6- Surviving Operation Buffalo at Con Thien
Ed Stanley and Freddy Garcia both fought with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines, "The Walking Dead," at Con Thien on July 2, 1967, the first day of Operation Buffalo. Recorded at the 1/9 Reunion in San Diego, August 2024.
Freddy enlisted at 116 pounds, too light to make weight until he was told at his physical to get back in line and leave his shoes on. He went from the Khe Sanh Hill Fights on 861 to Bravo Company's fight on July 2, where he was wounded twice and was one of the 27 Marines who made it out. Ed came to the 1/9 by way of New Orleans and a deferred FBI offer, was wounded in the back during a sweep with tanks, and was sent back to the battalion from Japan just in time for Operation Buffalo.
They talk about the medevacs, the long silence after coming home, and how the 1/9 reunions finally gave them a place to talk about it.