Operation Shiny Bayonet was the first combat operation of the Vietnam War of the 1 Battalion (Airborne), 12th Cavalry Regiment. It was a five-day operation of which we were in contact with the enemy for three days. The Battalion suffered its first combat casualties and fatalities of the war. It was a time that we made mistakes and learned what combat really was. As one of my comrades put it, "We were a bunch of scared kids that had no idea what we were getting ourselves into." It was five days that changed us all.