On The Move- Feb 4

Let the games begin! “We moved north and are part of a 4 company push to move the gooks out of this area. We’re working within a few miles of LZ Rita and there are thousands of NVA in this general zone. We’ve been here almost a week and have only made minimal contact. No casualties and no wounded, but they are all around us. We know they are watching us and it’s a terrible feeling. We’ve been moving through a 300 bunker complex, the biggest one found during the war. Some of these bunkers have been used only 3 or 4 hours before we got to them as is evidenced by live pigs and chickens. We’ve found weapons, ammunition, documents, tools, bycycles – everything. The jungle is thick and the area is pitted with bomb craters from B-52 strikes. The place is utter hell. The night before last B-40 rockets landed between us and another company. No casualties. We move all day every day and dig in at night with a guard at every foxhole. We’re short on water and food. In 9 days we go into Rita for a 5 day rest. I’m tired. This is war and it’s not like ‘The Green Berets’ with John Wayne. This is hard heavy moving and – dirty and cruel.

Yesterday I smelled death. I haven’t seen it but I’ve smelled it. It’s the worst smell in the world. We had to dig up a gook grave! There was nothing else in it. But it was sickening.

Whenever a cool breeze hits us I think of our Cape Cod sea breeze. I’ve decided I will settle for nothing less than a house on the sea and a private beach. I will have it even if I have to search the world for this spot. I’ll write again as soon as possible, but may not get a chance for about a week.

Your cookies came at the most opportune time – this morning when we were all starved. All the guys thank you and I thank you. I’ll be home one day – and the work begins.”

Since this letter is short, I decided to include the whole letter. I think this was the period where the “war” became real. I’ve talked earlier about ambushes, patrols, night movements, etc, but the whole feel about this area around Landing Zone Rita was different because we knew we were finally among the enemy. This is probably a good place to add some info and some thoughts. When working away from an LZ, we received our food, water, and mail from helicopters. The chopper would land when it could and just drop our supplies when it couldn’t. When it could land, we could send our letters out. The cookies survived the trip, so that particular helicopter must have been able to land. Even though the helicopters had door gunners (hats off to them), they would not land if it wasn’t safe. Also some of the statements I mentioned as fact may or may not be. I wrote only what our leaders told us about our situation, like the bunker complex having around 300 bunkers. And oh yeah, the home by the sea and a private beach turned out to be what my dad would have called a “pipe dream.” It never happened, and I’m ok with that, I think.