Twenty years ago and some change, I was in Panama, as part of Operation Just Cause. It was my first combat experience, and I was a young E4 M60 Machine Gunner fresh out of Ranger School, serving with 3/75 Ranger.
The morning after our parachute assault on Omar Torrijos Airfield, my company got the mission to move down town and take down the La Commendancia (their White House).
The lead squad got taken out by a fragmentation grenade, and my Assistant Gunner and I ended up being the first two inside the building to get a foot hold. Once the rest of our squad entered, we began to systematically clear an entire floor of this huge building.
At the far end of the building, we cleared a rather large arms room. Sitting on a desk in this arms room, was a pair of WWII Zeis field glasses (the real tall ones).
As a kid, I remember my Gramps telling a story of how he found a pair of German field glasses in WWII, but was afraid they were booby trapped, and left them lay.
I was proud as could be of my find, and quickly snatched them up and slung them around my neck with the leather strap. I figured old Gramps would be pretty proud of my find, and planned on giving them to him when I got home.
Hours later, we had finished clearing the building, and were pulling security outside, waiting for relief. I was exhausted, as we had been on the go for about 72 hours. After the long flight, 0100 jump, and two back to back missions, I was spent. the strap from the field glasses was rubbing my neck, and I was already loaded down with a huge amount of ammo, grenades, and the machine gun. I took the field glasses off, and threw them down, never to see them again.
Twenty years later, it still bugs me that I did not keep them, and wish I would have displayed a bit more intestinal fortitude in keeping my found treasure.
The chances of me finding a pair of Zeiss field glass on this trip to Afghanistan is most likely less than a million to one. If that chance comes along, I can promise you this, I will not throw them down this time.
Ranger Skippy
The morning after our parachute assault on Omar Torrijos Airfield, my company got the mission to move down town and take down the La Commendancia (their White House).
The lead squad got taken out by a fragmentation grenade, and my Assistant Gunner and I ended up being the first two inside the building to get a foot hold. Once the rest of our squad entered, we began to systematically clear an entire floor of this huge building.
At the far end of the building, we cleared a rather large arms room. Sitting on a desk in this arms room, was a pair of WWII Zeis field glasses (the real tall ones).
As a kid, I remember my Gramps telling a story of how he found a pair of German field glasses in WWII, but was afraid they were booby trapped, and left them lay.
I was proud as could be of my find, and quickly snatched them up and slung them around my neck with the leather strap. I figured old Gramps would be pretty proud of my find, and planned on giving them to him when I got home.
Hours later, we had finished clearing the building, and were pulling security outside, waiting for relief. I was exhausted, as we had been on the go for about 72 hours. After the long flight, 0100 jump, and two back to back missions, I was spent. the strap from the field glasses was rubbing my neck, and I was already loaded down with a huge amount of ammo, grenades, and the machine gun. I took the field glasses off, and threw them down, never to see them again.
Twenty years later, it still bugs me that I did not keep them, and wish I would have displayed a bit more intestinal fortitude in keeping my found treasure.
The chances of me finding a pair of Zeiss field glass on this trip to Afghanistan is most likely less than a million to one. If that chance comes along, I can promise you this, I will not throw them down this time.
Ranger Skippy
