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Chapter 3
Becoming E Company
Capt. Tolleson, our Company Commander sought and received authorization for our company to train as a ‘ raid’ company, using techniques that went further than routine ‘infantry training’. As a result our company participated in rigorous training which included ‘jungle warfare’, entry and egress methods of entering enemy controlled territory, demolition training, and land and sea ‘navigation’ training. We were exposed to submarine living and how to exit the submarine at sea using rubber boats.
Alex Lee, in his book ‘ Utter’s Battalion’ , made some disparaging comments about Capt. Tolleson and E Company. 2 @ There was obviously some bad blood between these two officers but having worked with both I would like to say this— Alex Lee would not have lasted a full week in E Company undergoing the arduous training Capt. Tolleson was putting our Company through. Later in Viet Nam, Lee actually took command of E Co. in Tolleson’s absence in late Oct. 1965—I can’t speak for Kozak or Boryszewski but I was unimpressed! So Alex Lee’s ‘opinion’ of E Co. meant nothing to me.
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