In the January 25th letter, I start off by answering questions my family asked me in a letter I received dated Dec 28. I tell them I don’t have a map of Viet Nam to send them (where the hell would I get a map where I was?), “but I enclosed an article about Phouc Vinh from the paper ‘The Stars and Stripes’ published in Tokyo.” We received this paper periodically depending on where we were. I then mention that my pen was starting to run out of ink and that I only had one more, and when that one ran out. “I’ll have no writing implements.” No “writing implement”? Who talks like that? Evidently 20 year old me.
“They took our clothes away because it’s too much stuff to carry through the jungle. They give us a change of clothes every couple of weeks. No, my moustache doesn’t itch in the heat, but it drips with perspiration. Yes, our job is security for the base camp, but in doing so we patrol every day.” I think I explained this in a previous post, but here’s what I told my family. “Usually one platoon goes out during the day, one platoon remains at the FOB as quick reaction force and the other platoon gets the day off (three platoons and a weapons platoon per company). Then at night 2 platoons go out out on ambush patrol (trick of treat) while the third platoon secures the FOB with the weapons platoon. Like tonight our platoon and one of the others went out on ambush. Then tomorrow out platoon is scheduled for a combat assault, mini-cav we call them when it’s done on a platoon size basis. The choppers will come in about 7:30 in the morning and pick us up and drop us off somewhere in the jungles or swamps to look for VC. The other two platoons stay back at the FOB. Don’t be fooled by the terms “rear”and “front”. Charlie can hit anywhere, at anytime. After 25 combat assaults or mini cavs, I receive the air medal. So far I’ve been on 4. If I keep up at this rate, I’ll go way past the 25 mark.”
The above had been our routine since I arrived in Phuoc Vinh. Up to his point, there had only been one contact with the Viet Cong. As far as we knew there had been no North Vietnamese Army activity in our area of operations. Sometimes we had other missions that I mentioned previously, such as convoy security. “Occasionally this daily routine is interrupted by a cordon and search where we sneak off in the middle of the night and surround a village, allowing nobody in or out. Then in the morning the National Police Force searches the village.” I have to tell you that we weren’t very good at these. A platoon of infantry moving at night through the jungle cannot (as least we couldn’t) do so quietly. So I don’t know how effective our cordons were as far as keeping people inside of them.
Sometimes the movies get it right. “….we’ve been out on patrol all day in the jungle and swamps. Crossed one muddy swamp stream that was waist deep. Just like John Wayne-our rifles held in the air over our heads. I got to test fire my M-79 today. It was kind of fun. All it does is make a “bloop” when you pull the trigger and you can watch the round on its destructive path.”
I then complain that I’m not getting enough mail. I did get a letter from Susan, a girl from Fort Worth-Dallas. I was dumb enough to try to string two girls along at this point in time, Peni from Hamilton, Canada and Susan in Texas. “Oh yes, Susan wrote me a letter also. She beat Peni, so no matter how you feel, Susan has the edge.” Boy howdy, some of this is hard to read and I don’t know if it’s interesting, but for my own well being I have to include this idiocy. I was probably not the only GI acting like a “player”.
“You know, I really like these gook kids, but sometimes they can be a real pain in the butt. ‘Hey GI, gimme bottle (empty coke bottle), gimme chop chop (C-Rations), gimme cig’. Wow, they do this all day long. They can swear in English better than I can, the girls too. Yesterday, during our cordon and search, I was stationed at the gate of the village to help keep people from leaving. One mama-san tried to sneak out on her bycycle and I caught her. Boy, did she ever cuss me out. She wanted to go to Phouc Vinh to sell her donuts. The whole damn village was laughing at me when she was cussing me out, and I couldn’t understand a word she said. I was pretty embarrassed, and the LT (platoon leader) was swearing at me not to ‘let the goddamn bitch out!’. What a day”