A NEW PROFESSION
Well I do believe your prayers have been
answered. So keep it up!
Yesterday when I
arrived here I
was really disappointed and
felt bad that I couldn't be with Pix but I was going to ask for a transfer as
soon as I got assigned and my
story about my
"half brother" was
down pat. I hadn't been here an hour
yet when they called me over the PA and
said to report to personnel at -Div. Headquarters. I thought I was really going to get in trouble or
something because it caught me
unprepared. When I got there I
was taken to some Sgt, a Major,
and then a Sgt-Major
and interviewed.
I guess I passed because after I get through with in
country training (5 days) I report to Div. HQ
and work as an operations NCO
with all the big wheels. That
consists of answering the phone and taking casualty reports from the men in
the field. The office is
air-conditioned and the atmosphere casual.
So don't worry about your #1 because he probably won't see much
action (even though he wants to) for his stay here. Too bad!
Later... I guess I'll
finish this now so you won't
worry about me. I'm
safe, sound and cooling it. Oh
yes, my new job is 12 hours on and 12 hours off, like the fire business only half as long. I
think I can swing two R and R's now
that I'm with the wheels,
so keep your eyes crossed.
I love you so much I even worry that you're worried
about me. But my little pet have no fears
about the big Jake, he's OK.
Why, just to show you - at this very minute I'm sitting here in the
shade listening to the 25th Div. Band play while the
little Red Cross girls serve iced Kool-aid. No Lie!
War IS hell! But being Mormon I went somewhere else because this sure don't
seem like war, even though the machine guns, grenades and flares were
going all night. It almost woke me up once.
Cu-Chi Base
Camp, Thursday (March 13) 3:00pm
Wait one! This
here fast moving Army has changed its mind. (If it has one) I will now go to the 1st Battalion, 5th Mechanized Infantry.
They called me in today to tell
me the bad news. It seems that
some Sgt E-5 out in the field has been wounded three or so times, so they're going to give the job
to him instead, since it was such a plush job.
Too bad for the big
Jake! But don't worry about me. I
can still take care of myself. It just disappoints me that I told you in the last letter that
I had a permanent address
here. I guess they'll forward the mail to me, but
this moving around slows up your letters to me.
It's hot here. If you
can picture summer all year
around without an air conditioner,
that's it - only worse. It seems the only thing I buy here is
iced Kool-aid and even then I
only buy the ice it seems.
I'm forcing myself to sit here and write
otherwise I'd be asleep or just laying here on my cot thinking about you and staring at the
ceiling. Any other activity causes great streams of sweat
to pour from my body.
I'm temporarily staying here
in a hootch" which is a tin
roofed shack with screened
in sides. It's
held together with a few nails and
2X4s. Each guy has
closed off a little section to himself, like horse stalls. It's not much but it's better than nothing. Each hootch has a "Hootch girl" that is the housekeeper. She comes in every morning and makes the
bed, does the laundry, shines
the boots and jokes with the guys in broken English.
.....I was
just having a talk with three mama-sans (hootch girls) but
they are so
funny with their half
English that it's hard to
get anything across. Most of
them understand slang and cuss words
better than anything else. Anything
"Numba One" is OK, but anything "Numba ten" is
really bad. I just had a
homesickness spell! They're really bad news.
Everyday here is
like hell to me and I haven't done anything except be here yet. Keep praying so I can
come home in one piece.
Now I
can put in a transfer request to
go with Pix after all. As soon as I get
where I'm supposed to go that
is. This place
is worse than Fort Irwin!
Oh yes, there's $340 on the way home for March. They paid me early. May is the last month of my $115
deduction and then your
check ought to jump from $330
(that's what you'll get in April) to $450 around June or July. Can you live on that?"
Cu-Chi, Friday,
March 14th, l0:30pm
Well
sweetheart I imagine
that by now you
are thoroughly confused about where I am. As a matter of fact so am I. I've been playing musical
Sgts for the past few days. Yesterday I
was in Operations G-3 at Div. HQ,
then this morning I was moved to A Company, 1st Batt.
, - 5th Mech. Inf., but having mentioned that I was a barber I was yanked back here to be the Division HQ barber.
I don't know if I can hack being a barber for nine months or even one
day but I'll find out tomorrow - my
first day. The Generals and all the big
shots are the only customers so
you're either good or
out. I hope I make it.
The previous barber is leaving in 13 days and he was a professional
so I
have to fake it real hard. But remember that I'm trying my best to stay away from where the
bullets are, for all of our sakes.
Today I had a trial run and
cut the clerks hair. It seemed
strange at first but came back pretty good. Then after dinner I helped the old barber
count his money (the barber may get tips) then I took a
shower and went to the show. A Walt
Disney show "The Original Family
Band" or some such
nonsense. Then I went over to
the MARS station (Military Assistance Radio Station) to try and call you but
they didn't have radio contact yet. So I settled for the next best thing - writing you a letter.
You
may send me mail here at this address from here on until I tell you otherwise.
Sgt. Jon Jacobsmeyer
NG 28294504
H.H.C. 25th Inf. Div.
APO San Francisco 96225
I'm
waiting for my first
letter which I hope comes soon.
In a way the good Lord is
still taking care of his #1 son. This
job pays more money and has shorter
hours than the last but I had to give
up the air conditioner
for a while.
I just broke out the
fruitcake and passed it around the hootch.
The guys were having a
can of beer and listening to a
Johnny Rivers tape.
While I was
at the movie the perimeter got hit
over here by our company. There were a
lot of
flares and air strikes but
nobody here even gave it a second thought but me. I thought it was groovy. I still don't have a rifle so if
the VC walked in right now I'd just have to watch. It doesn't seem too
likely, but two weeks ago
the gooks slipped up on two bunkers where the guys had gone to
sleep on guard and slit their throats.
Then they blew up nine big
Chinook copters in each of which
there was supposed to be an awake guard, but wasn't. The gooks were
inside the camp walking
around from 12:30
am until they were discovered
about 4:00 am. Fourteen guys were
killed, which included six
in the bunkers and the rest in
the copters. There were 31 VC killed during the raid - of which I
have seen pictures. Uugh! Sure
glad I'm a barber and sleep in my private hootch.
We haven't even been mortared
since got here so I haven't seen anything of this war yet.
They sure scared me, though, when they sent me to
that Mech. Inf. unit. That's the same
as at
Fort Lewis, hot, dusty
and miserable. This is definitely where it's at as far as the
action goes.
However,
good rumors from Div. HQ. This Div.
might be going back to Hawaii this
summer for good and everyone in it goes too!
So keep your eyes crossed. That
rumor came from the top down so
it ought to be pretty good.
Tomorrow?
Maybe a Fireman!?"