KARL H. LOWE

It's about 1 o'clock in the morning and I'm laying beside a rice patty dike.  I'm a PFC with the 2nd platoon 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam, 1970.  We were out in the bush and I just began my stint on guard duty while the rest of my platoon buddies were spread out along the dike sleeping.  I was watching the the surrounding areas with a starlight scope when I heard a noise coming from my right.  I turn and saw someone crawling along the dike in my direction.  There was a full moon so I could tell that it wasn't someone from my platoon.  He also had on a steel helmet, and know one in my platoon wore a helmet.  

 

He crawled up to me, leaned back against the dike and asked, how's it look out there.  My first thought was where did this guy come from.  He wasn't with us when we moved to this location shortly after dusk.  How the heck did he get here.   Who is he?  

 

I'm Cpt. Lowe the new company commander he whispered, what's your name soldier.  That started a long conversation that lasted my entire watch.  Occasionally I would look through the starlight scope, but had the most interesting conversation of my life.  I learned this was his second tour.  I learned how he was wounded during his first tour and actually played dead.  I learned that he had family that once lived in Pennsylvania, but that his immediate family was from Germany.  I was amazed when he told me his father was a German soldier killed during World War II, and that his mother then married an American Soldier.  He was also a good listener, and wanted to know about my upbringing, and my family history.

 

What's special about this story?  What's this story tell you about Karl Lowe?  You might have missed this little detail when I started my story, but I was a Private First Class, a PFC.  Company Commanders don't carry on such conversations with a lowly PFC.

 

We did have a second conversation not long after that.

 

It was a very hot day and a squad of about 10 men where walking atop rice patty dikes to set up a night ambush.  I was walking point and we had a new Lt. out on his first excursion.  As we were walking I could hear some of the guys complaining to the new Lt. about the heat, and suggesting we just pull up and spend the night at our current location.  We didn't walk much further before the Lt. signaled me to stop.  We were suppose to walk 5 clicks and I'm guessing we traveled about 2 1/2.  We waited until dusk and were getting ready to move, but usually only a short distance once it got dark just in case the V.C. were watching us.  The rice patties were all dry so we were all staying low behind the dikes when we saw a line of about 50 heavily armed men walking about 100 yards from us, parallel to our position, and they stopped.  It was dark but I could see that they had on dark clothing and a couple of them were carrying what looked like M60 machine guns on their shoulders.  I could see our Lt on the radio, and when he hung up he crawled over to my location and said that Commander  Lowe said they must be enemy soldiers.  I immediately told him that they were not enemy but friendly South Vietnamese soldiers, and he'd better call back.  I nervously watched the Lt on the radio until he hung up and once again crawled back.  Commander Lowe said there aren't any friendlies in our area, and we should open up on them.  Again I told the Lt. that they are friendly, and he'd better go tell the Commander that.  This time when the Lt. came back he said Commander Lowe wants to talk to you.  I was in shock, remember I'm still a lowly PFC, and about as low on the food chain as you can get.  I nervously crawled to the radio.  I couldn't think of anything to say, but hello.

 

From the other end of the radio I heard Commander Lowe say, "Wiley there aren't any friendlies in your area the must be enemy".  I said no sir they are friendly.   I could tell by the way they where dressed, and it looked  like they were carrying M60s.  Commander Lowe then told me that they checked with the South Vietnamese, and there weren't any in your area.    I then told Commander Lowe that I didn't think we were where we were suppose to be, and that we were at least 2 clicks short of where we were suppose to be.  The phone went dead, and then all I heard was put the Lt back on the phone.  We spent a long night laying low, and in the morning watched the friends get up and walk out to the main road.  

 

Again what does this story tell you about Karl Lowe, that he knew my nick name.   No Karl Lowe was a soldier, but he was also a man with superior human instincts.  He didn't look at, or necessarily listen to, someone because of a symbol on their collar.  He wisely took the time to know all the men around him, and at all levels.  From my perspective if you wanted to make a mold of the perfect Commanding Officer it would be Karl Lowe.  What did I get from knowing and experiencing his leadership, aside from a personal friend for life.  The true value of the word Respect.  This man taught me the true meaning of the word respect, even though I didn't know it at the time.  Because of Karl Lowe I learned, and came to the conclusion, that you can't win my respect, you can't command my respect, your title won't get you my respect, but you must earn respect.  It's not free, but earned by example, by deed, by fairness, and sometimes with firmness.  There is not anyone, past or present, that I held higher respect for than my Commanding Officer, my friend, Karl Lowe.

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