[Ret10Echo]

Rest well warrior.

DOL

CPT Gillespie was on the cover of both the November 27,1964 LIFE Magazine and the January 1965 National Geographic. The following is from the National Geographic article:
“In order to calm the situation, U.S. Army Special Forces Captain*Vernon W. Gillespie*agreed to participate in a pagan ritual designed to summon the spirits and bring peace back to the base. Montagnard battalion leader, Y Jhon Nie explained, "We will make a sacrifice, and the sorcerer will invoke the spirits to help us."
Captain Gillespie*(the U.S. commander of Buon Brieng), Y Jhon Nie, and Captain Truong of the South Vietnamese Special Forces donned the traditional ceremonial garb-a black and red long sleeved top and a similarly colored loin-cloth.
...
Food offerings lay beside the jars: one pig and a chicken as an offering for Gillespie; a chicken each for Y Jhon, Captain Truong, and the sorcerer. Chanting, the sorcerer communicated with the spirits. After each communication the participants sipped rice beer.
The climax of the ceremony came when the sorcerer, after one particularly long drought of brew, crouched alongside*Captain Gillespie*and fastened a brass ring to*his*right wrist. This-joining a twin ring from [a] previous ritual that had united*Gillespie and Y Jhon*- would give notice to the spirits that a suitable offering had been made. Captain Truong, too, received a like bracelet, as did Y Jhon. Now all three were bound in alliance. The spirits having been appeased, the ceremony ended. The rice liquor that remained in the seven jars was distributed to the soldiers in the strike force, as were the sacrificial chickens. The tension in the camp eased considerably (for details, see National Geographic, January 1965, pp.38-42)”.