That afternoon, while Private First Class Svehla and his platoon were patrolling a strategic hill to determine enemy strength and positions, they were subjected to intense enemy automatic weapons and small arms fire at the top of the hill.
Cpl Mather, who is now recovering at home and has spoken publicly about his experience for the first time, had been on patrol with his platoon when they came under attack on 25 June.
This longer version first appears in William Mares' 1968 book Marine Machine, a non-fiction account of a platoon's basic training, according to Jonathan Lighter's Historical Dictionary of American Slang.