“To celebrate the new year our squad went out on ambush last night and we had a combat assault today, Fun, fun, fun.” After letting my folks know that I had been receiving mail, that’s how I started my letter. In hindsight, it would seem that the endless “combat” missions were meant to prepare us for when we moved into a hot area. “No combat with the enemy, same same as usual. No regrets here, though.”
I had discovered that my mail had been going to another “Robinson” in the 1st platoon. I was in the 3rd. That night he told me that I had 4 letters back at Phouc Vinh. I was hoping that one of them was from Peni. She was (is) a Canadian girl I had met when I worked a summer job (cleaning restrooms and collecting trash mostly) at Shawme Crowell State Park in Sandwich on Cape Cod. This was when I was still in college. Peni and I seemed to be an on again off again kind of relationship. Reading this letter again confused my about how the army was handling my pay. “…I draw $24 per month, $80 will be sent home and the rest is being held at An Khe until I go pick it up. It’s sort of like a savings account.” The confusing part is that I don’t think I ever returned to An She, so what happened to my “savings” account? I seem to have forgotten all about it. That will become much clearer in a later letter.. Based on the letter it would seem that I was planning on withdrawing three to five hundred dollars for my R & R (rest and recuperation) when I naively thought I was going to Hawaii. Very few actually got to go to Hawaii. More on that in another letter. Still talking about money, I say, “Military men get special discounts on brand new cars if they arrange to buy them while they are in Viet Nam.” One guy getting ready to leave has purchased a ’69 Pontiac GTO for $1,400. The car will be waiting for him when he gets back to the states.” I finish this letter by saying that it is a short one because it was getting dark. So this will be a short blog as well.
I have a CT scan today, my first one ever. Got to drink some crud in a little while. Also worth mentioning is that we had been moving away from Phuoc Vinh. In the next letter we go back to the main base, See ya next week.