121 days, 1 Oct/67, Sunday
If I sound tired, it’s because I am. we were out all day today, way up
north in Tay Ninh (?) Province, along the
river. It was in the area near where Little Joe got 3 VC on my second day out.
The area was full of canals, running from the river through the woods. The
only way across them were bridges built by the people living in that area.
Ridiculous little log affairs, about 3” in diameter. Some others were planks,
sawed logs, anything. I think they had a contest to see who could build the
weakest, most unstable, bridge. No one fell in, but a couple bridges broke.
Every 2 minutes, we’d come to one and I’d have to balance myself, with the gun,
on a 3-inch log, using a vine as a hand hold.
We walked from 9:30 till 1:00, when we reached the Trang Bang-Cu Chi read.
Here we waited for 1 ½ hours for transportation back to Bao Trai. A couple
ARVNs picked up some sling shots (really) in the hutches along the river and we
spent the time shooting at C-ration cans in the rice paddy. I guess I’d better
say we had no VC contact all day, just plenty of water, knee-deep mud, and
walking.
On the way back (1 ½ hrs by truck – 30 minutes going out by chopper – we
met an ARVN on the truck who spoke the best English I’ve heard from a
Vietnamese. He hardly had an accent – sounded truly American – said he learned
in Saigon.
We had an exciting incident between Trang Bang and Cu Chi. Out truck blew a
tire on the rear, with a loud bang. For a split second, I thought we had hit a
mine. Trang Bang is a bad area, and that road is lined with buses, etc, that
have been blown up. I guess mines were on my mind.
One interesting incident today was in Trang Bang itself. It’s a pretty good
sized town – larger than Cu Chi, and a few wealthy gooks had American cars.
Most were 1939 Mercury’s, and similar junk heaps, but there was one immaculate
’58 Chevy Impala that made me homesick for a moment. I’ve seen worse on car
lots in Columbus (Farber’s). it really looked good to see a decent American car
after 4 months of jeeps, trucks, and Lambrettas. That was the only good part
about the whole day, and I’m tired and wore (plus my cold) tonight. Think I’ll go to bed, Bob
122
days, 2 Oct/67 Monday
Woke up nearly as tired as I was last night, and I found it was my turn to
go to the S-2 compound and build the sandbag wall again. I really appreciated
that after being out all day yesterday. It seems the Lt. Colonel didn’t like
the way the wall was going, so now we’re tearing it down, emptying all the
sandbags and placing two rows of 55 gallon drums all along the sides of the
building. We then take the dirt from the sandbags and fill the drums.
Brilliant.
It’s all right, though; a convoy came up and we all had to leave after 15
minutes of work. The convoy took all day. First into Cu Chi to pick it up – 7
trucks full of 105 Howitzer shells – then on to Duc Hoa, the long way, through
Cu Chi – about ½ way to Saigon, then back up to Duc Hoa. The road trip took
about on hour and a half; at least it was a different way to go.
We passed a large area of swamps – all tall grass and what appeared to be
waist-deep or deeper water. As far as the eye could see on both sides of the
road – it looked like an ocean of weeds. There were water buffalo quite a-ways
out with water up to their shoulders. Hope we never have to walk out here.
We waited for about 2 ½ hours in Duc Hoa while they unloaded the trucks,
and then ran them back on the same road. Got back just in time for dinner. I
found out that running convoys can be tiring, but that’s not all; we had a
night mission tonight. It was really senseless. Walked out about 2000 meters,
set up on a road until 12:00,
and when we walked back we got separated again, but had no incidents.
We got to bed at 1:00 a.m.,
very bushed. It didn’t take me long to get to sleep. It was all I could do to
stay awake out in the field. Out there, at night though, you can’t sleep I’ve
never tried so hard to stay awake since the night I stayed up to see Santa
Claus.
123
days, 3 Oct/67 Tues.
I don’t believe any of it and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t either.
They knocked us out of bed at 6:00
this morning – after 5 hours of sleep and a night ambush – for another mission
up in Trang Bang. Don’t like Trang Bang; too many VC stories come from up there
– it’s a bad area.
We drove out in trucks to a spot about ½ way between Cu Chi and T.B. we
passed a convoy of tanks going the other direction, one of which had been blown
up pretty bad, but somehow managed to roll. A little farther down the road in a
village, there was a huge crowd gathered around the body of a gook and a
motorcycle – both badly crushed and mutilated victims of a 48 ton tank. Quite a
mess. They hadn’t been shot by the tank; simply run over. He was a friendly
civilian, but now his family have probably turned VC.
We were out till 11:00,
got one body count when one tried to run. He was about 300 meters away, but it
took at least 100 round before someone - who knows who – brought him down (he
was ht about 3 times). My ’60 fired one shot and quit. I refused to carry it on
any other operations until they fix it. It goes to Cu Chi tomorrow.
We got done with our objective a little early and the colonel at Bao Trai
called and said we had to stay out there a little longer, because Gen
Westmoreland was at Bao Trai and they didn’t want us in. we had already returned
tour trucks, so Cito told the colonel we’d stay at the objective, but actually
we sat in the village and relaxed in the shade, drank Coke, and harassed the
natives. Those 3 hours were quite enjoyable (even though we missed lunch). I
can imagine the things we would have had to do if we were there while Westey
was there.
I’m tired again – it’s 11:00 p.m.
now. I’m afraid this business of writing when I’m beat is making for dull
letters, but that’s the way I feel, so . . . , Maybe soon when my mind is fresh
I can add some things to make them worthwhile. Until then, “Good night, David,
Good night, Chet.”
And good night for NBC News,
Bob
PS. I know the stationery is rather thin, but the PX is out, so I have to
use Kleenex dipped in starch.
124 days 4 Oct/67 Wed.
We were up at 4:00 to
run a convoy this mo ring, but the convoy didn’t leave till 6:30, so we sat out in the jeeps for
2 1/1 hours, wondering why they got us up.
Convoy over, back to bed – mission at 9:30.
We took a Chieu Hoi out with us who said he knew were there were some VC and
weapons. He led us right to a hole in the side of a small river bank and
uncovered a VC hiding there. The ARVNs beat the VC and nearly drowned him
before he agreed to lead us to the other positions there in the woods.
The VC took us to another hole with a VC inside; only this one had a
carbine and shot back. Everyone scatted at first, but then realized that he was
trapped in the hole. Joe crawled up to the edge of the hole, and fired several
rounds down it – no reply.
They hauled the guy out – a typical “Little Joe” job. Head blown away like
a smashed coconut. That M-16 is terror. The round goes in, shatters the skull
into dust, and takes all the brains out a hole the size of both fists at the
rear, and the skin etc. collapses like a deflated balloon.
He had, besides his carbine (which was ruined when a ’16 slug ripped a hole
in the side of the barrel) a U.S.
made pistol belt with full ammo clips, and a bundle of spare clothes. In all
the confusion, the captured VC got away into the woods.
We went on to search another area, and soon were fired on from a tree line.
We returned fire, but hit nothing. We approached the area, but were fired on
again; this time we could see that the VC was in another hole. We fired into
the hole from a distance, but weren’t effective. The ARVNs tried throwing
grenades, but were too scared to get close to the hole, and drop them in.
instead, they tried to throw them through the thick hedgerows. I doubt it any
of the 8 they threw hit the hole; I know some of them bounced back into the
rice paddy.
In throwing the grenades, they hit one of their own men, who was in the
woods. Doc went in after him, and got him out while they kept tossing grenades.
They didn’t think it was an ARVN in there moaning; they thought it was a VC.
The guy wasn’t hit that bad, just a couple of shrapnel pieces in the shoulder.
The VC were still in the hole, so Joe took two grenades and snuck up on the
hole, and dropped them in like some one should have done in the first place.
I’ve seen messed up gooks before, but . . .
the man had no feet, only one leg and one hand, plus half his head was
hone. The rest of him was so full of holes, he whistled when the wind blew. His
one remaining leg was smashed so bad it was like a limp dish rag. The woman,
yes, a woman, had her whole back side blown from her head to her tail they
picked her up to carry her to the road, and half of her insides remained beside
the hole.
We called a chopper for the wounded man, and called in our body counts. The
chopper came in five minutes – much better than the last time we needed one.
Our body count call was answered with news that Col. Nanh, the Vietnamese
Province Chief for Hau Nghia, was coming out to see our operation. The chopper
brought him out and he went around and shook everyone’s hand, and said, “Good
job, good job”.
He told Doc that he was going to put him in for some kind of medical award
for pulling that guy out with all those grenades going off and all. He deserves
it. It not for today, then for the night the 5 ARVNs hit the booby trap. The
colonel spoke almost perfect English.
We got back, had a late (2:30)
lunch, and then had an hour rest before we were called out on another
mission!!!
This one wasn’t much, but it still was the third time I had been out today.
Another ARVN unit was sweeping an area, and we were simply a blocking force in
case they chased any VC our way. As it was, a sniper opened up on the ARVNs,
and they all ran out of the woods, hollering for our help. The lieutenant sent
Joe and 5 other S-2 boys in alone and in 10 minutes they came back dragging the
body of the sniper that routed the other ARVN unit.
This time we went back and stayed back. If you’re keeping score, the body
count is now 64 in 2 months. Add one more to the wounded list – ARVN.
125
days, 5 Oct/67, Thurs.
The extra page is from the last letter. I forgot to mail it. Didn’t do a
thing today – actually slept for a whole, it was so cool. I wasn’t really that
tired after yesterday, because I carried a ’16 instead of the ’60 (it’s in Cu
Chi being operated on for the next 3 days). I sent it a get well card.
This evening we did take a captain in the jeep up to Sugar Mill and back.
We saw a Voodoo jet making an air strike out over the swamp, on the way back.
Fantastic. He was doing about 10,000 mph, dropping napalm and shooting rockets.
Marlynn, will you forgive me – I’ve forgotten to say congratulations and
good luck in your Miss Teenage America contest. Haven’t all your brothers told
you for a long time that you should have done this before? I’m sure if they
judge solely on beauty, personality, and talent, you’ll make it easy.
If they go by physical strength, mechanical ability, or kite flying (or
letter writing) you might as well hang it up. Bake ‘em a lemon cake; that ought
to just about cinch it for you. I’d be awfully proud of you if you should make
it to Dallas. I
am anyway, just for being in the top twenty. Just be glad that you’re not in
the top 20 on the VC list, like we are (we’re #1 – we try harder).
The
[enclosed] weed is the little devil that grows in thick clumps along the berms.
Sometimes they’re so thick we have to get wet and go around. They catch on
clothes and rip them and tear your arms. I got scratched so bad one day, I had
to take rabies shots (it was foaming when it attacked). My clothes have so many
sewn-up three-corner tears; they look like a patchwork quilt.
Can you tell me what it is? If you can’t, take it to a biologist; if he
can’t help, maybe a dentist? [It’s a saw-toothed grass or something.]
Help,
Bob
(Hope you didn’t cut yourself – if you did >> [He stuck a small bandage
on the page.]
126
days, 6 Odt/67 Fri. (34 weeks left)
Had another one of those one paragraph missions today. It was enough o miss
lunch, though. Only incident was when the ARVNs thought they saw some VC run
into a clump of those weeds I sent home. We waded out to it and filled it with
grenades and gunfire – nothing there but we shot the hell out of those nasty
weeds.
Right now we’re having another flood. Some of the guys are out running a
convoy in this – hope the jeeps float. Little Joe just left after helping us
eat some popcorn (Jiffy-Pop) that Phil S. sent me. It was the first time Joe
had seen popcorn. You should have seen his eyes when the foil began to rise. He
loved it.
127
days, 7 Odt/67 Sat.
Filled sand barrels today again. I guess it was just to limber us up for
our mission this afternoon. The mission was simple enough; out to the swamps in
choppers for an hour, choppers out to another objective, and walked back to Bao
Trai. Just walked around and acted like we were expecting something.
Most of the harassment, etc. has subsided now. It’s either that, or I’m
just getting used to it. But now we got a new lieutenant being broken in;
wonder what new misery that will bring?
One of the new replacements got his guitar in the mail today (huge
envelope). Every body has thought this guy was pretty weird – now they’re sure,
but I think he’s all right. Just because he’s taught himself in five months to
play a guitar – very well – and know almost every Bob Dylan song by heart,
doesn’t make him weird.
I hear him play, and it revives my love for folk music. He taught himself
to play, maybe he can show me. He sounds exactly like Dylan when he sings – he
even thinks like him (well, maybe he is a little weird).
128
days, 8 Odt/67 Sunday
The sandbag detail is not more. We all went down today and finished the job
in one morning’s work. Thank God! Another one of those night missions tonight;
should’ve known – we didn’t do a thing today, except watch the Packers beat the
Bears on TV. So, what’s left for the night? Rice paddies and Charlie.
129
days 9 Oct/67, Monday
We were supposed to only walk 800 meters, search a couple houses, and go
back in at 11:00 that night.
Actually we walked about 3000 meters to get to the objective, about 800 meters
from our starting point. I don’t care how often we gout at night, it’s still
very hairy, being out there at night. I guess it always will be. Daytime
operations aren’t bad, but I’m (everybody’s) scared to death at night.
We hit the jackpot in VC. We came upon the houses to find a meeting going
on. We captured 5 VC, their weapons, and their platoon leader. I guess the
ARVNs charged in on them and took them completely by surprise – no shots were
fired. I don’t’ know what happened to the platoon leader, but I do know he
never made it back to Bao Trai with the other five. They executed one on
another occasion, but if they did this last night, they did it without shooting
him.
We wound up spending the night in the came little village (7 houses, an
ARVN outpost, and a crossroad) that we stayed at another night (Sept. 21). I
wish some one would explain to me why we can’t come back in instead of staying
out there all night. At least we slept under a roof instead of on the wet road
this time. There are several little merchandise stands – something like a fruit
stand along the highway – which are cleared every night, leaving the tables
bare. We slept on the tables – hard, but dry. I known, also, that a canteen
makes a terrible pillow.
We got little sleep, so slept late this morning and have had no missions
all day. Next time we go out however, I’ll be back on the M-60. It came back
from Cu Chi today “guaranteed to fire: - hope so. I wish they’d hurry up and
let the new guy take it. I’ve learned to appreciate the light weight M-16
during the past 4 or 5 days.
Vance, Raye, and a new guy, Murphy (new to Recon – 6 mos. in VN) got Spec.
t today – all been here 6 months. I guess that makes me next on the list. If it
comes by December, and if I raise my allotment to $150 at that time, I’ll have
$1,500 in the piggy bank when I leave (take $300 away for R&R). Only 54
more days, and I’ll have 6 months.
Bye for now,
Bob
130
days, 10 Oct/67 Tuesday (9 months in the Army)
Hi,
Sometimes the days go by like those first days in Cu Chi – absolutely
nothing to do except lie in bed and swat. That’s the way it was today. You
can’t sleep in the day time, because of the heat. All there is to do is sprawl
out on your air mattress (you don’t need an air mattress, you need a sponge).
We managed enough energy to start a basketball game, but that only lasted an
hour before they called a practice alert, which wasn’t over till after dark.
131
days, 11 Oct/67, Wed.
This morning was like yesterday; so let’s go on to this afternoon. We were
supposed to catch our chopper “Eagle Flight”, at 1:00, but there were millions (would you believe
thousands? Hundreds?) of ARVNs scheduled before us and we didn’t get off till 4:00. We endured a driving rain on
the airstrip, while we waited. Being soaked, we really froze once we got up in
the air, with the open doors and all.
We checked our objective while the gunships chased a VC into a hole in a
hedgerow in the middle of an open field. The S-2 went out and got body count
number 67. I don’t really know how the gunship missed him. For about 10
minutes, all we heard was machine guns and mini-guns (we were in the woods and
couldn’t see what was happening). It sounded like they had a battalion pinned
down, but it was only one clown running across the field – unarmed, xin loi.
The machine gun was heavy after about 5 missions with my ’16. Wish they’d
quit playing games and give it to someone else, as was promised.
132
days, 12 Oct/67, Thursday
The artillery ha been pounding all day, shaking the tent apart. The guns
are only a stone’s throw from our hutches, and were firing directly over the
tent at the swamps near Sugar Mill. An ARVN regiment (one of the other groups
that went out before us yesterday at the air strip) ran into a battalion of VC
and were calling in the heavy stuff.
About an hour before dinner we were called out to got to Rung Dao (we’ve
slept there a couple of times) to secure some guns they moved in to get closer
shots on the swamp. We got the word after a few hours that we were supposed to
stay there all night. Groan! Artillery and rifle fire not far away, and they
wanted us to stay out. They had the 1/27 and part of 2/27 between us and the
swamps, so there wasn’t much point in us staying out there. If the VC decided
to come our way, they’d have to go through 2 US battalions, and if they got
through them, we might as well hang it up.
After we missed dinner by about 4 hours, it was finally decided we weren’t
needed, and they let us go back. Never did get dinner.
133
days, 13 Oct/67 Friday
Oh, boy! Friday the thirteenth! Glad it’s the only one I’ll have while I’m
over here. They had the nerve to get us up at 5 o’clock for a mission. Back out to Rung Dao, only this
time we dismounted and walked nearly 5 kilometers (5,000 meters) to a hedge complex
where we took a rest while the ARVNs searched, for 2 hours. It wouldn’t have
been bed if it wasn’t for the long walk. We chased pigs all over the area,
played hopscotch – really – and hypnotized chickens.
How do you hypnotize a chicken? One of the farm boys showed us. He took the
chicken and held him (her) on the ground with its head sideways, and drew a
line in the dirt straight out to his front from his eyes. As you slowly remove
our hand, the chicken will stay there with his eye fixed on the line, thinking
he’s tied to it! It laid there for 15 minutes, “tied” to the line. We made
noise, ran circles around it, and it just lay there, staring at that line.
Finally this guy got up and rubbed the line out. The chicken got up! It’s
really funny. Try it next time you’re on the farm.
We went to another objective and did the same thing, only this time there
weren’t any pigs or hypnotized chickens. The ARVNs killed a chicken and went
into the house and cooked it. They came out later, with a big pot of rice and
the chicken – cooked Vietnamese style. I took a large bowl of rice and a pair
of chop sticks. A fifteen-minute lesson on how to eat with the chop sticks, and
I was enjoying some very delicious rice; Uncle Ben never had it so good.
They opened the pot of chicken, and it was really disgusting. When they
chop up a chicken, they do just that – like a carrot with an axe. Everything
was in the pot; head, feet, everything! all in bite size pieces, mixed in with
some spices and a few vegetables (or something) and an occasional feather.
There was no such thing as a drumstick or wing – they were there, but all
chopped up, bone and all.
Every one else “chickened out”, but I decided to try a piece. After all,
the rice was delicious. Would you believe, so was the chicken? If I closed my
eyes and grabbed a piece, the flavor was really out of this world. We topped
off the meal with a cup of coconut milk and bananas.
We got back in Bao Trai at about 3:30
and they have us a small lunch, although I wasn’t too hungry after the chicken
barbeque. We only had an hour’s rest when “the man” came over with another
mission! It was a short do-nothing sort of thing, but we were late for dinner
by an hour and a half. The only meal we ever get on time is breakfast. We
almost missed that this morning.
134
days, 14 Oct/67, Saturday
Made I t through Friday 13th okay, but for a while today was wondering
about Saturday 14th. I tried to get into Cu Chi to cash the $60 M.O. Dad sent
me for my camera, but there were too many already going in. True to form, as
soon as the jeeps disappeared around the corner, we got the word we were going
out; just about 12 or us left. The S-2 went to add to our strength – we were
going after a squad of VC, according to the agent’s report.
Don’t worry, my scare didn’t come from VC – there weren’t any there – it
was the helicopter ride out that bothered me. In an attempt to fool the VC, so
they wouldn’t know we were coming after them, the choppers flew at tree top
level where there were threes, but at head level over the paddies! At 90 knots!
103 mph!
At first I thought our chopper was having trouble getting up, but finally I
saw they were all doing it. We couldn’t have been higher than 10 feet over the
rice paddies. They approached tree lines without slowing and waited till the
last minute to climb steeply to clear them by a foot or two, then drop back
down, leaving my stomach up in a bird’s nest somewhere. You should have seen
the buffalo and the gooks run. What would you do if you saw five armed
helicopters coming at you 10 feet off the ground, doing 103 mph or better?
I couldn’t measure our height, but I know the grass was blowing as the
chopper ahead of us flew over and that the altimeters where reading “0” feet.
Brrr!
We didn’t do much of anything once we got off the choppers, except thank
God for our deliverance. No VC in the area, so we went in an hour late for
lunch. It’s getting to be a bad habit, having us go out a half-hour before
lunch, and then giving us table scraps 3 hours late. The MACV captain in charge
of the mess hall even tried to make some of us wash the dishes! Lt. Straub (new
platoon leader – seems real good) told him that none of his men were going to
pull KP after coming in form a mission and that settled that.
There are a lot of miscellaneous things I want to say, but after all, this
letter’s getting pretty fat. We’re due for another day off soon. Maybe I can
fill in then. Besides, I’m tired again. . . .
Good night,
Bob
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