Cu-Chi, Saturday, May l0,
9:30 pm:
How calm the
night is when thoughts of you come drifting among the soft
evening breezes. How refreshing the coolness of the
memories that clean the night air of daily hardships and restore the
hope of better times to one's
mind. May the harshness of your life be softened by
the knowledge that this someone loves you more
deeply than the ends of the Universe and more faithfully
than Romeo was to his bride, Juliet.
May your prayers always include
your true love far away in a foreign land, against his will
and better judgment.
We (the 9th Chemical
Detachment and me) just finished a
bar-b-que, T-bone steak party in honor of several men who were awarded
air medals, etc. It was nice to
eat a
decent meal again, but tomorrow there's another party for the
1st sergeant who's leaving to go to another unit in the field (by request). I'm
just trying to think of some of the things I meant to write in my last
letter.
Oh yes, your picture of your
picture was professional quality, in fact I at first thought you had it made
up from the negative until I noticed
the corner was cut
off a little but
still unbelievably
fantastic. Of course, it's no more than
I expected from my 1st class wife who hides her talents because she's
afraid of making a
fool of herself but never does.
They have glassware here at
the PX so when I get some money,
I'll send you some and if you
don't like it you can break every glass just for fun.
I haven't any money to send
you right now because I spent
it all today on you, but I'll
save up and send you some soon. I'm
glad you paid some tithing for
me. It seems our ESP is still working because I wrote you
to, just a day or two before I got your letter telling me you
did. You're wonderful.'
I got another scribbled note from Marlene telling me what
happened in the temple. That Larry must
have been in rare form that
day. I do hope they're happy.
The mail order PX sent me notice that their china would be sent late this
month because they were out of
stock for the present. So they ought to get it in June sometime.
I hope they're still married by then - knowing Larry.
The 25th Inf. Div. continues to tear up Charlie
around here although we won't get
anywhere near the 2,000 body count for last month.
I just finished rereading your last four letters to get an
idea of what to answer. I'm glad
Nikki is better but I know she was in competent hands.
You know, Janet, you are the
classic example of beauty in the natural woman. Your grace, charm, and love mature more and more each year
and make you more desirable to your husband. How else can I say it baby except - you’re groovy!
Well time
to say goodnight for another
day. I still love you so don't
give up hope. Keep working on that bikini figure and
tan and send more pics. I have two
rolls in the shop.
Cu-Chi, Sunday, May 11, 7:45
pm:
It's Sunday again and my
afternoon to relax a little. I didn't
finish cutting hair until almost
one o'clock and barely made it to Sacrament at
two. After church
I went swimming with the
fellows next door and when we got back, the 1st Sgts party was going on
so I went and had a
bar-b-qued steak and some potatoe salad and washed it down
with Ginger ale. Two nights in a
row of good chow is enough to spoil a man and make him think
he was home again.
Pixley called
today about the early out and just to chat. So I'm sending you a copy of
the Army Regulations
covering the early out that
might help you in your
endeavors. Reading the Regs
cleared up a lot of things that I had only heard rumors of.
Oh yes, heavy
rumors day in Cu-chi. The
Division is pulling out this summer starting June 15th and taking about four
months. Everyone who has six
months in country by a certain date (probably sometime in July) will go to
Hawaii, the others will
be absorbed into other
units and stay here. I'm waiting
to see what happens.
The little statue you sent
is cute and tells me a lot about the "kid". Well,
Dear, I must
go to bed now and rest my weary
bones.
I hope the enclosed
pages will help you understand what I need to get me out. You
might look up Gary Pixley's phone number and let him know what he has to
do for Fix because I don't
think Fix really understands.
Gary lives in Canoga Park I think, but used to live in Reseda.
I
really miss you dear and hope I'm
missed too. All my prayers ask that we
might be together again soon.
Cu-Chi, Monday, May 12, 9:45
pm:
Lots of
action around old Cu-chi this week.
Last night I was rudely awakened at 2:00am by the unforgettable sound
of a
rocket coming toward me,
and sure enough I wasn't dreaming.
It hit about 50 feet from me near a
ditch and showered my hootch
with rocks. It was only a 107mm rocket so it didn't do much damage
except to things quite near
(like the next hootch which
looks like Swiss cheese). I immediately dee dee maued to the bunker in case he
had a big brother behind him somewhere.
It was sure louder than my alarm clock.
There were a few others that came
floating down onto Cu-chi during
the course of the next two hours and then I went back to
my dreaming of you. I'm not telling you this to scare you but
only because I don't keep any secrets from you. So don't worry, I'm scared
enough for both of us.
I heard a nasty
rumor tonight that Mrs. Dixon
(the prophetess that predicted Kennedy's
death) has said that the 13th of May will be the
biggest, bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War here at Cu-chi and that Cu-chi
will change hands several
times during the course of the battle. So with that to ponder I await the dawn
of the
13th just to see
if she's right.
We here at Cu-chi think it will
be closer to Uncle Ho's (Ho Chi Minh) birthday on Monday
next. Time will tell.
Last years Tet was supposed to end it all too, but the 25th is still
here and even meaner than last
year. So keep saying your prayers but don't worry about me, I'm coming home in
128 days.
Otherwise, it really was hot
here today and I was busy all day
and still tired from last night so the day dragged on slow.
Oh yes, my precious, that
letter from Glendale College is perfect
but if you can
get one from Pierce, all the better.
Just so the date to register
isn't earlier than Sept.
16th because you can register
for me as far as I'm concerned but the Army doesn't see it
that way. So I'll turn
in this letter from Glendale so I get my early out and then I can change
to Pierce later if I can.
Your
poem was beautiful, Dearest, I thought you had copied it out of a
book until I read your letter. You
amaze me all the time!
I have to get a little sleep before the 2:00 am rocket
barrage so I'll close this
off for now and write more tomorrow night because I
keep forgetting the things I
was going to tell you. This evening
they had a live combo and singer over at the MPs club so I wandered over
for a while. It was nice just
to see a woman dressed like one instead of in sloppy black PJs.
I guess I'm going to have
to take more time to write letters because I owe so many.
Cu-Chi, Tuesday, May 13,
10:30 pm:
I'm still here believe it or not. I didn't sleep too good last night and would
you believe nothing happened. But
it all came out best because I
felt good all day. I guess maybe I was
getting too much sleep.
Tonight is supposed to
be doomsday at Cu-chi says Jeane
Dixon but I (Hal just killed
another cockroach. The 7th tonight)
don't worry too much about it.
In fact, I plan to sleep very good tonight for a
change.
Hal Just
got two more, that's nine! It rained this afternoon so I guess they're
all coming up where it's dry. I hate them, they fly around and land
on me and uugghh!
I was going to make a tape tonight but it's too late so
I'll do it tomorrow night. I just
got back from the movie "The Graduate" and it's even funnier the second time
around.
The bugs are taking
over tonight. They are massing for
an attack on my body.
I'll have to defend myself in the dark I guess.
I guess $500 just doesn't buy much
anymore when you get right down
to it. And to think you didn't even buy
any groceries with any of it. Well
anyway, I just
couldn't resist squashing another
cockroach and right after I did
still another one attacked me but I got him too. That's 11.
Anyway, as
I was about to say, you'll get
one more check for $330 plus whatever
I can scrape together here this
month and starting the check on the 1st of July you'll get $500 instead
of $130.60 or $330 plus whatever I can scrape up.
The people don't have the house leased till November as
far as I know, but if they do,
we'll get an apartment for a couple of months if
they won't move. Either that or buy
your two story that you want.
If I don't get home in time to register, in case I do
get out in Sept., I'm going to try and get all my classes on two days a
week or early mornings whichever I can swing.
Cu-Chi, Thursday, May 15,
10:00 pm:
Half a month gone, getting short. The clerks started to work on my early out
today so it won't be long before
know for sure how short I
am.
A newsy day
today. I don't know if I told
you about the Captain that came in yesterday and got mad because I was
cutting the hair of someone not in the company, causing him to wait a while. So he
grabbed his hat and
stomped down to the orderly room and complained to the 1st Sgt who
immediately called me and chewed me out
for cutting these guys' hair
(they were from 1st Cav). So I told him they were friends of mine and
expected that to be
the end of it. But
this morning the CO called me in and chewed me out for doing it and when
he finished the 1st sgt tried to chew
me out but I didn't really care about
him so all he did was get mad. (He
didn't like my
attitude he said, so I
answered "fine" which really blew his mind.)
Anyway, I
came back to the barbershop and guess who was waiting
for a haircut, the
tattletale Captainl I wanted
to mess up his hair but I knew I'd really be in trouble so
I cut his hair. When he was done he
went to tip me and I
(wanting to get even) said "keep your money, I
don't want it!", with as much smugness
as I could muster without
showing any disrespect.
At that he bolted and being a big Negro said
"What's the matter with my
money?" I again repeated
that I didn't want it (and if he'd left it I would have thrown it in the mud
outside) and he really got mad and stomped out of the
barbershop.
Well I
taught him a lesson, nobody
messes with the barber. However, the
CO came by this evening
and we chatted and straightened things out.
But the crybaby Captain was hurt so I got my
revenge. Jake wins againl
Now back to more pleasant
news. We got rocketed again early last
night but they all landed on the other side of Cu-chi. But being the screwed up place it is, we went
on "Red" alert which means we get dressed in battle gear and sit
in the trenches around the company area in case Charlie breaks through
the wire. Well, we didn't get attacked
so I came back and went to bed or rather slept
on top with my clothes and boots
on. I slept good anyway.
More fireworks
tonight probably since Uncle
Ho's birthday is getting closer.
So I'm going to sleep now and hope to get a couple of hours rest
before the big attack.
Enclosed are
a couple of clippings out of the
Tropic Lightning news. The l07mm
rockets are what keep sneaking in on
us at night and General
Williamson is one of my customers here.
Cu-Chi, Friday, May 16,
evening:
The end of Cu-chi was postponed
three days due to bad weather
so it's to take place tonight.
The briefing to the wheels say that there are 200-300 rocket sights surrounding this place with everything
from 107mm to 240mm rockets.
Now, that 240 is bad news so I'm not going
to hesitate in dee dee
mauing to the bunker tonight. I
procured 15 more ammo magazines today, so I have 20 now which ought to
last me a few minutes if I ever need them. I hope I never will but I'm still ready for
anything.
Back to happier things.
I weighed myself after
my shower tonight, 208#,
so it's going away very slowly
and maybe it'll stay away this time.
Mike Hyre is a
fantastic singer, in
fact he toured Europe with the
Mitchell Boys Choir back a few years ago. That's why I had him in my
quartet when we were performing around
Sunland/Tujunga. Joe McKeon,
Mike Hyre, Gary Gudmundson, and
myself were very big as "The
Listeners 4" in the Stake Quartet Contest and Elks-a-poppin at
the High School Aud. It was really a
lot of fun but we had to give it up
because of lack of engagements.
I guess our ESP has broken
down again. I wanted you to send me a
pair of little scissors that I used to
cut my toenails with
instead of regular clippers for toenails. And the combs were fine
except that the teeth are still too
fine and close together on the
small end. The one I have that I like
so much is a Mister Barber
"Sociate" #689. If you
can get one
or two fine, if not I won't need anymore combs for a while.
The cockroaches are
attacking again so I have to stop every
few seconds to fight them off. They've been joined by the mosquitoes so it's a tougher battle
all around.
Whatever happened to
Svetlana's cards? Whatever
happened to that next
tape? Whatever happened to that
popcorn and crunchy peanut butter, but
no Ritz crackers (they have them at
the PX now)? Whatever happened
to me that I had to leave you for so long?
Cu-Chi, Sunday, May 18, 5:30
pm:
A star has fallen from
heaven, or so it seems. I've really had a rough week here at the
barbershop and it looks to get even rougher before it's through.
Sorry that you didn't get a letter yesterday but
just as I was getting ready to write one the "weasel"
(1st Sgt) called and sent me to the bunker line because they needed another NCO. It happened to be pouring rain at the time
so I wasn't very enthusiastic about the
whole thing, but I went. It
stopped raining for me just before I got there so I didn't get wet like
the others but the whole place was
flooded and muddy. The
frogs were so noisy that it was impossible to hear the
millions of mosquitoes trying to land
on me
and take a bite. In one word it
was miserable!!! I drew the first watch
till midnight but the mosquitoes kept me from sleeping the
rest of the
night anyway. I was really beat
this morning, my eyes burned and my head
ached, but I got the morning off
to catch up on my sleep. By 9:00 am it
was so hot I couldn't sleep anymore so I'm still dead tired.
Then to top it
off, the Chief
of Staff wanted a haircut
today. So I opened up after lunch to
cut his hair and he threatened me with field duty because I
wasn't working enough and that I supposedly sneered at someone who didn't tip
me. Well the Chief of Staff doesn't make idle threats
so I'm worried today besides being
tired, which adds up
to great depression.
I went and talked to my CO and I'll stay open an extra hour a day but I
don't think it will solve anything anyway. It's just been a miserable day altogether.
If I wasn't 121 days short I
don't think I would care about anything.
But coming home to you in Sept.
keeps me going from day to day. I'm so
tired right now I can hardly see but every time I try to sleep my body won't
relax.
I'll write more
tomorrow, Dear, when
I'm feeling better. Don't worry, everything will turn out OK.
The Lord hasn't failed us yet.
Later, 10:00 pm:
I just got back from talking with Captain Ray Bills,
the LDS group leader and I feel much better
now, not so depressed.
I'm still
scared but not depressed anyway.
The whole base camp is on alert and we have to sleep with our
clothes on tonight. Tomorrow
is Uncle Ho's
birthday and a big attack is
expected to celebrate it.
So
I'll quit now and get some much needed
sleep and write you tomorrow my
precious.
(Editors note: The barber was usually exempt from bunker guard
duty because the men pulling guard duty were
given the next morning off to rest. Since the barbershop wasn't supposed to
close except Sunday afternoons, the
barber was left alone. When
called for guard duty, I knew
that the Chief of Staff was due for a haircut and made sure that the 1st
Sgt promised me the
next morning off. After I came
back from the bunker line, I knew they would look for me at my shop so I went next door to the 9th Chem.
Det. and tried to get some sleep. I
heard my phone ringing off the hook and one of the guys came in and told me the 1st Sgt
was in a panic looking for me. I
stayed in bed until noon and then
went to lunch. The 1st Sgt started screaming at me for not
being in my hootch when he tried to find me,
so I reminded him of giving me
the morning off. The final act was
that the Chief of Staff had been calling for an appointment all morning and then climbed all over the 1st Sgt for
letting me pull guard duty. I never did
guard duty again during my tour in
Vietnam.)