# Almost 51 years... hard to believe.



## squatting dog (Jan 6, 2020)

July of 69. Where did the time go? and how come it still haunts my dreams at times?


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## Llynn (Jan 6, 2020)

You have my admiration, brother. We in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club had it pretty easy compared to you grunts.


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## old medic (Jan 7, 2020)

1ST off ... My utmost thanks and respect to you, and all that went. 
It was current events in school, But close to home with my Uncle doing 2 tours there.
Still have vivid memories of going to Kennedy Airport to get him.
His reception home still makes me  furious.... 
With 30+ years in Emergency Services I can relate to the Dreams...


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## oldman (Jan 7, 2020)

I remember those days. Now add a pouring rainstorm that lasts for days on end. Then, to have to sit on the bank under a tarp eating a cold can of c-rations, like spaghetti. Yeah, the good old days.


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## squatting dog (Jan 7, 2020)

oldman said:


> I remember those days. Now add a pouring rainstorm that lasts for days on end. Then, to have to sit on the bank under a tarp eating a cold can of c-rations, like spaghetti. Yeah, the good old days.



you nailed it bro.


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## oldman (Jan 7, 2020)

I pity that poor dude holding his rifle in the air. You never knew what would come floating by.


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## squatting dog (Jan 7, 2020)

oldman said:


> I pity that poor dude holding his rifle in the air. You never knew what would come floating by.



never knew when you were going to step into a mortar hole when crossing.


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## squatting dog (Jan 7, 2020)

Kind of like when you had to jump into the elephant grass. You never knew if it was solid ground under you or a foot of mud. Yank off your boot trying to get out.


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## fmdog44 (Jan 7, 2020)

Never give it a thought.


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## oldman (Jan 7, 2020)

squatting dog said:


> never knew when you were going to step into a mortar hole when crossing.


Snakes! I was always watching for snakes, especially Cobras.


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## squatting dog (Jan 8, 2020)

oldman said:


> Snakes! I was always watching for snakes, especially Cobras.



Never ran across a cobra, but, pythons were a regular thing. Monster centipede's,  even the worms there were huge.  Then there were bats. Now, tigers were further north of us (thank goodness), and they were man eaters.  It sure seemed like everything in Nam grew big. (except the people lol )


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## squatting dog (Jan 8, 2020)

oldman said:


> I remember those days. Now add a pouring rainstorm that lasts for days on end. Then, to have to sit on the bank under a tarp eating a cold can of c-rations, like spaghetti. Yeah, the good old days.



How well I remember. Wife has never understood why to this day, I hate the rain.


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## Pepper (Jan 8, 2020)

Who on this thread was drafted?  Who enlisted?


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## squatting dog (Jan 8, 2020)

Enlisted, volunteered infantry. Maybe not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.  I'm not ashamed I volunteered although with age has come some wisdom and I never realized that 51 years later, I'd still be dealing with the demons.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 9, 2020)

loved the rain.. water was sometimes hard to come by. we showered on the hatch covers.


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## oldman (Jan 9, 2020)

squatting dog said:


> How well I remember. Wife has never understood why to this day, I hate the rain.
> 
> View attachment 87090


OMG!!! That picture really resonated with me immensely. This picture is absolutely an actual depiction of what I was referring to. 
Is this one of your personal photos? With that Huey in the background, it looks so authentic. I can't stop looking at it. 


Pepper said:


> Who on this thread was drafted?  Who enlisted?


*Enlisted. *1st Marines out of Camp Lejeune. AIT (Advanced Infantry Training) in Lejeune. After we landed in Chu Lai, it was all downhill from there on. We were transported to Da Nang and then the Mekong Delta and then back to Da Nang.


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## squatting dog (Jan 9, 2020)

oldman said:


> OMG!!! That picture really resonated with me immensely. This picture is absolutely an actual depiction of what I was referring to.
> Is this one of your personal photos? With that Huey in the background, it looks so authentic. I can't stop looking at it.



Figured that would catch your eye. Took the pic at one of the firebase's (can't remember which one, Silva, verna, blackhorse???) Funny isn't it how people who were never there think you're exaggerating when talking about monsoon season. It truly was the sh*t.


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## oldman (Jan 10, 2020)

squatting dog said:


> Figured that would catch your eye. Took the pic at one of the firebase's (can't remember which one, Silva, verna, blackhorse???) Funny isn't it how people who were never there think you're exaggerating when talking about monsoon season. It truly was the sh*t.


I copied that picture and sent it to one of the guy's in my Platoon that I still communicate with. He said the same as me. "That could have been us sitting there." I wrote back in the e-mail, "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought."


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## squatting dog (Jan 10, 2020)

oldman said:


> I copied that picture and sent it to one of the guy's in my Platoon that I still communicate with. He said the same as me. "That could have been us sitting there." I wrote back in the e-mail, "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought."



I guess we belong to an exclusive club of guy's like us that can relate.


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## applecruncher (Jan 10, 2020)

Thank you ALL for your service.

A few relatives came back from Vietnam, but some high school classmates didn't make it. RIP


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## Llynn (Jan 10, 2020)

No snakes or tigers where I was. We did have some pretty big roaches running around though.


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## oldman (Jan 10, 2020)

I also had a few h.s. classmates that didn’t make it home alive. I was injured and spending my last few weeks In Okinawa. We were in Vietnam for 14 months. When I was released, I was able to get a ride back to Dover A.F. base. We had eight caskets onboard.


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## cdestroyer (Jan 14, 2020)

as much as it was fun in the mekong delta(tongue in cheek) I was more concerned while posted to the uss proteus a sub tender at guam. the ballistic missile fleet. nuclear weapons, nuclear subs and as a radioman handling the messages including encrypted ones that contained the nuclear weapons prelaunch codes was a lot more worry than delivering soda pop and beer and ammo in the Nam! were it be all the subs were in port there would be a total over 200 nuclear warheads the size we dropped during wwii.


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