….”Summer Camp”………..1968

Posted Friday, November 18, 2011, at 9:40 AM

Having just posted OFF from an aggravating blog, the timing is PERFECT for THIS one. This was already scheduled to be my next piece anyway, so with that in mind, it's only fitting to "re-title" it, and dedicate it to the JUNKYARD DOG, a contributor who has taken delight in "pot-shotting" the military, retirement benefits, etc. But the snide remark about that "summer camp" I attended in 68...........well, you know the old saying....a picture is worth a thousand words............and sometimes you DO have to "draw pictures" for some of these liberals, and "ARMCHAIR RAMBO's"..................so, I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint anybody!!

My Vietnam tour began in September of 1967 with "K" Company, 3/26, here at Camp Evans (not too far from Da Nang). As my 3 room air-conditioned apartment wasn't wired & plumbed yet, I am seen here filling sandbags for a bunker.........at the right are my two other room mates, Randy Mapel and Doug Weber.

While I was over there, the bulk of our air support came from the 3rd Marine Air Wing in Da Nang, with their F4-B's.---------The Marines had airplanes too-----------

There were Skyraiders and Huey Cobra's as well (we didn't have "stealth & drones" back then.)

As we had no shower facilities, sometimes we'd get to smelling pretty bad, so we'd get "evicted" from one "campground" to the other, as pictured here, from Hill 55 to Quang Tri.

Navy Corpsman Jim "Doc" Thomas. To this day, we're best of friends. "Doc" loved to "camp out" too, so we turned down a barracks in Saigon with "houseboy & maid service", to dig our own apartment here at Dong Ha. (We knew if we did a good enough job, the Colonel might give us our merit badges.)

Women & kids a mile or so on the outskirts of Hue City. I took this shot just before we SLAUGHTERED them all! (We were well-known for "baby-killing" and "village-burning", as any professor from Berkeley can attest to-----those guys know EVERYTHING!)

"Hey, did you guys hear we're going to Khe Sanh for Christmas?"

"NEAT!!........do they have hot chow and internet service there?"

At Khe Sanh, when Isaac Walker & I found out we were gonna have to HIKE up to Hill 861 with all of our gear, we decided to write the ACLU to PROTEST this kind of treatment by LBJ!

"Doc", in the trenchline of our new home on 861.....and our 3rd Platoon M-60 machinegun team, Padgett, Moore & Robinson. "Hey guys, wanna send out for pizza tonight?...and a case of brew?

At this point, I'd Like to thank Kodak for building such a solid product. I'd bought this 124 at Camp Pendleton, carried it in my pack, all over 'Nam, and it still works TODAY.......if there were still the old 126 cartridges for it!

We weren't at 861 long, when the NVA's neighborhood "welcome wagon" started inviting us to picnics and bar-b-que's........

You should have BEEN there with us, JYD..........beats any high school or college "tailgate party" YOU'VE ever attended!

But the smell of burning cordite was so offensive, the Air Force flew C-123's through our valley to give the place a sweet "orange" scent.

As you can see right here from our trenchline, they dropped that crap right in our laps. At right is my Geneva Convention Card. (because I'd enlisted-----I never HAD a DRAFT CARD TO BURN!)

Left: expressing my feelings about those "First Aid Kits to the NVA from Berkeley, and the rest of the yellow-bellies back home. And the last shot is Doug Weber & I in Okinawa in November of '68.....13 months later & heading home to the "tickertape parades", free dinners, and minted commemorative coins!"

You REALLY MISSED OUT, JYD.............but it's good that the youth of America has all of you well-read professors to keep us all straight about "what REALLY happened at summer camp!"

Comments

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Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

Good post and pictures, however the pictures of the F-4's are Air Force F4-C's. The Marine F4's were gray. At least they were when I was at DaNang AB from Mar 66 to Mar 67.

-- Posted by Mr.427539 on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 11:33 AM
I'm surprised you have so many photos. They are interesting.

-- Posted by arsenal on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 12:30 PM
I find your story even thought its sarcasm disturbing and offensive.

The caption underneath your women & kids photo is uncalled for. You could of wrote your story without that caption in there.

I can remember during the Viet Nam War when the Nightly News would broadcast their story of the day of what had happened over there night after night and sometimes the stories were so horrible they would bring tears to my eyes... And now you just brought those memories back and I shed more tears.

Pat was over there 3 times and was wounded, he would never make sarcastic remarks about his time spend in Nam and I know many others who were there and they would not put it out their on a public web site......

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 4:03 PM
Well MHH I'm sure your gone now ! YIKES !

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 4:08 PM
Well Fine Zook I won't comment anymore on your blogs

I was going to explain why I found that caption offensive and disturbing and go into a little more detail about how you wrote your story without sounding like I am critiquing it, but after reading further down It's not worth my time to explain my position, you don't want anyone to give you a second opinion........ So I will just let it go.........

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 6:26 PM
I just got to this blog.....after reading it all I SAT HERE WITH A LOT OF FEELINGS.The one that took the most toll was the feeling of being BETRAYED....AND THEN I thought about JYD COMMENTS WHICH BOTHERED ME WHEN SAID.They reflected the attitude we got when we came home,it was not a picnic or a summer camp those words stung although I UNDERSTOOD THE CONTEXT OF THERE USE.I totally understand the context of ZOOKS sarcasm.Whatever picture he used would not have convyed what this picture did.YOU CANNOT DO WHAT WAS DONE TO US AND EXPECT OUR SENSIBILTY'S TO BE THE SAME AS YOURS.........I WILL SHARE THIS WITH THEM ZOOK......I HAD A PERSON SAY TO ME ONCE "SO HOW MANY BABIES DID YOU KILL" my respnse was " NOT ANYMORE THAN YOU TOLD ME TO"....I hope you ALL get the picture.NAMM IS A TOUCHY TOUCHY SUBJECT FOR ALL OF US WHO SERVED THERE.WE GET ****** IN A FLASH.THE PICTURE TOUCHES ME AND THE CAPTION IS A WAY OF TELLING WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR US.MAKE no mistake Lt CALLEY WAS THE EXCEPTION NOT THE RULE.......people risked there lives to save women and children and to be accused of wantingly killing them is the consummate insult,in other words DONT.

I spent some time in the bush I cannot remember anyone firing on a woman or a child for sport EVER.THE sp ops guys I was with did not wage war on woman and children....It some times cost them there lifes....please dont accuse us of that again.WE reserve the right to laugh at ourselfes we dont need any help.IF you werent there you dont know,everyone one of us has someone on that wall. I didnt bury anyone at summer camp,I cant say the same for NAMM.

ZOOK........IT'S OUR STORY NOT THERES THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND........THEY DONT EVEN REALIZE HOW HOLLOW ......THANKYOU FOR YOUR SERVICE IS....TO US.....DAY LATE AND 2 DOLLARS SHORT...WE WILL DIE SOON ENOUGH.YOU SEE FOLKS FOR THE MOST PART WE ONLY HAVE EACH OTHER.......THAT FEELING NEVER GOES AWAY NO MATTER WHAT,MY BROTHER MAY GET CRAZY SOMETIMES....BUT HE'S MINE........ I WILL NOT LEAVE HIM BEHIND..........LATTER

-- Posted by lamont on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 7:49 PM
Well Fine Zook I won't comment anymore on your blogs

I was going to explain why I found that caption offensive and disturbing and go into a little more detail about how you wrote your story without sounding like I am critiquing it, but after reading further down It's not worth my time to explain my position, you don't want anyone to give you a second opinion........ So I will just let it go.........

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 6:26 PM

We can only hope she keeps her word.

-- Posted by Mr.427539 on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 9:18 PM
Mr 427539 I usually keep my word but my name keeps coming up on this blog so I am answering the one question that seemed to be the most important one to zook, since he asked it to me twice.

Did I find MHH's comments and language offensive? You betcha I did and vulgar. There does that satisfy you......I've known you about a minute longer then MHH.....So does that make us buddys too?

It doesn't even seem important to you why I found your blog offensive. I thought maybe you would want to know how a female who has never served but had been a AF dependent from 1962- 1979 interpreted that caption.... And if I interpreted it that way how many others could of done the same,Just by the way you wrote it,

-- Posted by MsMarylin on Fri, Nov 18, 2011, at 9:53 PM
We've seen it all too often before--some people just HAVE to proclaim their service in order to add an air of superiority.

Hewbet/MHH/JesseJames and JYD, your posts are right on the mark/spot on!

Thank God not everyone whom has served feels the need to use the fact that they served to "enhance" the validity of their opinions.

And MsMarylin, you post to your heart's content, darlin. Don't worry about people hoping you won't.

-- Posted by MrMister on Sat, Nov 19, 2011, at 4:20 PM
I dont think anyone tried to use there service...I know I didnt.I will tell you this at this point in our lives we will scream anytime you open that wound and we dont care wether you want to hear it or not.NOBODY LISTENED THEN AND NOBODY WILL LISTEN NOW .BUT WE WILL NO LONGER BE SILENT.....TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON ALL OF US.OUR PERSPECTIVE ON THIS WHOLE MESS IS DIFFERENT THAN YOURS,BUT IT DOESNT MAKE IT ANY LESS VALID........WE SPENT 10YRS IN NAMM ALSO......FOR WHAT?????????? "ENCHANCED VALIDITY" I DONT THINK SO.........

-- Posted by lamont on Sat, Nov 19, 2011, at 4:53 PM
lamont, the post was directed towards the author of this blog, not all whom have served.

-- Posted by MrMister on Sat, Nov 19, 2011, at 6:29 PM
I predict a series of totaly off topic posts.

-- Posted by Pale Ale on Sat, Nov 19, 2011, at 10:21 PM
see what I mean?

-- Posted by MrMister on Sun, Nov 20, 2011, at 6:57 PM
WOW.....an entire blog "dedicated" to one individual, inferring and ASSUMING that anyone with a different opinion then the mighty one tour wonder baZOOkaman must be a liberal, and a "ARMCHAIR RAMBO". In this case you were wrong (OOPS). Rather than acknowledging your error and apologizing to the individual you instead attempted to bury the blog.

-- Posted by Pale Ale on Wed, Nov 23, 2011, at 1:16 PM
Oh.....and....uhmmmm....Be careful when you assume.

bump

-- Posted by Pale Ale on Wed, Nov 23, 2011, at 1:19 PM
Just read this, and I"m disheartened by the ludicrous comments made here.

I'm ashamed of the Country that we call HOME, was so cruel to those that it sent to do their work. And then to read these comments... I can't imagine the feelings aroused.

As Lamont said, if someone wasn't there, they just couldn't know. To judge is not for us.

Show some respect

-- Posted by jessiemiller on Mon, Dec 5, 2011, at 1:01 PM
Ditto from Warren Hostetler who was born in the Caldwell Sanatorium, /sept. 1949. Moved to MH two weeks later when the doctor released my mom. On behalf of my father who might have served in WWII had it not been for the driver of an old Ford who missed a curve and rolled off of Galena Summit and finally stopped some 500 feet below the road. They were racing from Shoup, Idaho to Gooding or Twin Falls to enlist, middle of the night, summer of 1940 I believe. He saved the other 3 guys by clawing his way back up to the road, fractured skull and all.

I left MH in August of 67, again in August of 68 and rarely visit except to meet old friends at a funeral and pay respects. Was considering a trip back to meet some new folks with a common bond and possibly thank an marine for his service.

I'm not quite so sure now

-- Posted by wh67 on Tue, Dec 6, 2011, at 1:56 PM

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