Hi,
Thought Neil might enjoy this article on the Gooney Bird. Also needing more helicopter pilots, too. The article on Vietnamese food is interesting although I have been luckier so far! Yesterday was a Buddhist holiday and it happened that I and several VNAF officers including a Vietnamese Doctor flew out to a seaport west of here called Bach Gia to repair and pick up a helicopter that had been left there on the soccer field the night before. So while there I was invited to a Vietnamese home for dinner. We were there most of the day. This family is well-to-do by Vietnamese standards. They own several large fishing boats and quite a bit of property in the small town proper. They put out a real family style meal very well prepared – good china – mahogany dining room set and all. The hostess was 62 years old. Anyway, it was mostly seafood – all kinds of fish, crab meat, shrimp sauces, rice, coconut, Lotus bud tea and that was good! Vietnamese coffee (bad) and Vietnamese beer (pretty weak!!) And listen to this, I ate the whole meal using chop sticks. Absolutely no utensils except ladles for the large bowls. Very interesting and quite memorable. But of course, you leave the house and step out into a mass of poor people. At least sea coast people seem to look healthy – plenty to eat. The kids don’t beg like in the inland towns.
As far as the war goes – elections coming up next week and VC have stepped up their activities. We lost on O-1 and one A-1E out of our VNAF wing here and an F-105 all near here on operations. Our helicopters are taking their share of hits also. Saturday, one 30 cal bullet ripped through the skin of one of our choppers on a Med Evac mission, struck the medic in the leg then continued through the hand of another and embedded in the chest of a third person. Our medic may lose his leg as a result. Just this morning two C-123’s landed full of holes. 50 cal type.
I would suspect that we are not doing well down here and that after the US Congressional elections are over you might see US Marines sent into the region (the Delta region) to start all over again.
I know that we are losing one outpost after another every week. And we are getting hits more frequently. I sure wish our military has a free hand in running this but we are playing politics in Washington and losing blood and money over here. As for me, I have almost 1/4 my tour over. Pretty soon I will feel like an old timer at the O’ Club!!! Well – in fact – I must head for the club right now! Tis a tough life. If only I wouldn’t lose so much of the time, rolling dice to see who pays for the drinks!! But then at poker, I’m a little luckier!
Take care.
Love, Frank