Phuoc Vinh was a base camp of the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile and was about 44 miles north of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). When I arrived on the morning of Dec. 17th, the Company to which I was assigned was conducting operations in the field. At this point I should point out that none of my letters home were censored. When I got to Phuoc I was told not to tell anyone where I was. Having told my family I was heading to Phuoc Vinh in my last letter from An Khe, the directive came just a bit late. Most of the info on all these pages is directly from letters home, some of it paraphrased and some from direct quotes.
It was hotter in Phuoc Vinh than in An Khe so I carried at least 3 canteens. I was also issued 15 magazines for the Mi6 that I was issued in An Khe. Everything I was issued at Fort Lewis in Washington (our transfer point to Viet Nam) was turned in and I was issued jungle fatigues, 1 set of underwear ( I don’t remember how many were contained in a set), 4 pairs of socks, a towel, and combat boots as well as any field gear I would need. We were told that we wouldn’t need flak vests because Phuoc Vinh was a secure area. This is a good time to point out that we never received flak vests no matter where we were. I actually received one in An Khe, but had to turn it in here. I was kind of nervous about that not knowing whether I was being told the truth. The letter ends with me telling my family that “from where I am sitting I can see 2 villages. It’s very flat and swampy down here in the rubber plantations. And there’s elephant grass that grows up to 11 or 12 feet high in places. The perimeter is about 100 yards from where I am sitting now. Everyone have a happy holiday.”
This letter was one of my shorter ones. Stay tuned for more from Phuoc Vinh.