It was about this time that I suffered my greatest wound of the war—an impacted wisdom tooth.
I was sent to the rear in the first available helicopter and had the tooth extracted. I was suppose to stay in the rear for a week or so, but after about a day, I couldn't stand the sitting around and requested to return to the field and the FDC. I was gung-ho. The highlight of most days for the infantryman was mail call and chow. We were suppose to get one hot meal a day. On some firebases, a field kitchen was set up and food was prepared right there.
In other cases, we had meals shipped out to us in insulated containers. I later used the same concept in shipping food from a central kitchen to other school buildings.
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When we didn't have hot food we ate C-rations. Sometimes they were a welcome reprieve from the hot food that wasn't that great. Whether we got hot food or mail depended on what fighting was going on. We were always supplied by helicopter as we were, with one exception, in the field where there was no access to roads. The first priority for the helicopters was to take care of the fighting. The next priority was hot food, mail, and clothes.
We were suppose to get several changes of clothes each week, but again, that depended on the priority of things. You always tried to hold on to an extra shirt, pants, underwear and socks. The one time we did have supply access by road, we were securing an engineering unit that was building a road. We got all kinds of things when we had this duty. They would ship out huge pieces of ice that were about 8' x 2' x 2'. We would chip off enough to fill an ammo can or sand bag and cool pop and beer with it.
This was the only time we ever had anything cold. One night things were getting a little dull so Sgt. Tom Wood decided he would start up one of the caterpillars and reminisce about his days back in the world working road construction after having some of that ice cold beer. There was no law against drinking and driving in Vietnam.
I went to Sidney, Australia for a week of rest, relaxation and high living. I spent time at the beach, the zoo, and the pubs. Spending time in the pubs was really interesting. This was where the men went to do their drinking—no women allowed. Sidney is a great melting-pot of people. In the pubs, I met men from many different European countries who had immigrated to Australia.
They were very interested in asking about America and the war in Vietnam. It was interesting to hear about their reasons for leaving England, France, Yugoslavia, etc. After Sidney, it was back to the platoon and the downside of my year in Vietnam. Most guys counted the days they had left. I didn't do that. Today students and some teachers count the days left till school is out. I don't do that either. It was now and the negative public attitude about the war at home began to drift to the troops in Vietnam.
Morale was never great, but it was now declining fast. The 4th Infantry Division was gradually pulling back to the coast of Vietnam and was supposedly scheduled to leave the country at some point in the near future. Troop morale in my unit was declining as many of us were on the downside of our tour.
Most of us didn't see much point in what we were trying to accomplish. Objectives were unclear and we just wanted to get by with doing as little as possible and then "see-ya!
In Country
This would have been a good time for the Viet Cong to hit us because our state of readiness was suspect. The week in Bangkok was interesting.
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This was a whole different culture and probably similar to Vietnam. Even though I spent a year in Vietnam, I can't say that I really experienced the culture because I was out in the boonies all the time. I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in Bangkok, where they served beer by the quart in the theatres. I had an interesting river cruise and spent time in the shops, which loved to see American GI's with money. I had some sport jackets custom-tailored for me and sent home from Bangkok. The day I left for Bangkok, my unit got orders to go to Cambodia.
We were really sweating going to Cambodia as this was the action that Tricky Dick said would hasten the end of the war and we were expecting a lot of action. When I got back from Bangkok, my unit had already returned from Cambodia. The whole campaign was really a farce. The Cambodian campaign brought out the troop protestors. I witnessed one guy sitting in the road facing off with an armored personnel carrier.
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He was physically removed and probably dealt with under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I don't know what the penalty would be for a soldier to protest a war. From here on out, morale was in further decline. On 27 June , I received orders to return to the "world" and prepare for ETS estimated time of separation. On about 8 July , I left Vietnam and returned to Fort Lewis, Washington and was relieved from active duty "not by reason of physical disability.
Sam wasn't going to recognize my impacted wisdom tooth either. On 10 July —one year, eleven months and seventeen days later from the time I stepped on that very ground for Basic Training within sight of that Classification and Assignment Building. Upon separation, I was awarded the following: the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force; The Air Medal for meritorious achievement while participating in sustained aerial flight in support of combat ground forces in the Republic of Vietnam from 2 August to 25 May ; The Combat Infantryman Badge for participation in armed ground conflict while a member of "The Famous Fighting Fourth Infantry Division" in the Central Highlands of the Republic of Vietnam; a Certificate of Appreciation from General W.
Westmoreland and another from the Commander in Chief, Richard Nixon; a plaque from the "Officers and Men" of the 4th Division this always made me wonder if officers were not men ; and in , I received a Certificate of Recognition which I applied for over the Internet "for service during the period of the Cold War 2 September - 26 December in promoting peace and stability for this Nation, the people of this Nation are forever grateful" from William S.
Cohen, Secretary of Defense. So as far as wars go, I am one for one—won one and lost one. There, I spent a day or so visiting friends, Meredith and Jan Wilson. During my time in Vietnam, our unit suffered no serious injuries or casualties. To say we were fortunate would be the understatement of the 20th Century. That wisdom tooth I suffered from turned out to be no good at all.
It provided no wisdom whatsoever when I chose the draft over whatever the other alternatives were. Be that as it may, and the way everything turned, out I am proud to have served and say I am a Vietnam veteran. The military experience made me a stronger and better person. I feel a special relationship with others who have served. Everything is small stuff compared to war. Ted Voight was the catcher in a game at Lake Preston in when I was brought in to pitch in the bottom of the 7th inning.
The score was tied with no outs with the basis loaded. Ted had never caught me before and I wasn't sure if he could handle my curve ball. I struck out the first two batters with fast balls. I shook off several calls for curve balls but when I was up on the third batter and Ted called for a curve, I threw it for a called third strike. Ted couldn't handle it and the winning run scored from third on the passed ball. I was a little upset in By I learned not to sweat the small stuff. Bill Biever played second base that game. These three and the others from the Iroquois area that served during the Vietnam era deserve a monument for answering the call of their country.
They didn't protest and they didn't take other measures to avoid serving. I have a quote from a company that makes monuments and I am going to start talking it up with others. If I don't it, it doesn't look like an ungrateful society will. In , I was recalled to active duty and assigned to an infantry national guard unit out of Seattle, WA and told to report to Fort Lewis, WA for two weeks of summer training. I couldn't believe this was happening. It was deja vu all over again—my worst nightmare was going back into the Army. I went through the same procurement building to secure the same equipment I had been issued in basic training.
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And that Classification and Assignment Building was in sight again. We were recalled because National Guard Infantry units didn't seem to attract much attention from people wanting to join the Guard to avoid Vietnam, so they called us up to get up to strength for summer training. After the first formation, one guy from South Dakota went in to Yakama and checked in to a hotel. He never showed his face again until the final formation two weeks later and was never missed. When we went to the field, another Vietnam veteran and myself fought over who would get to sleep in the cab of the truck all day.