The Monroe Sun: Monroe veteran to represent Connecticut during national Purple Heart tribute
In the late 1960s, U.S. forces fought to protect the South Vietnamese from being overrun by communists to the north of the country. The 101st Airborne Infantry was setting up a fire support base in the Ho Bo Woods in Củ Chi, Vietnam, when soldiers from Unit B left to ambush a contingent of the North Vietnamese Army.
“I was on radio watch,” said John Alberghini, a U.S. Army Specialist 4, with Unit A.
Those on radio watch called for support when their unit was under fire, asking for “Huey” (helicopters) and Cobra gunships. Alberghini said enemy forces targeted the radio and everyone around it, and always knew where it was.