Anyway things "heated up" after I left for home. And though my stories
are on the lighter side, I am quite aware of the "hardtimes" the unit suffered and the individuals who did their job so well, and those who were killed or wounded doing their duty.
One of the medics and I headed over to the local Evac hospital in a jeep when we were hit from behind by a South Vietnam Army vehicle. Of course it was during the rainy season and the roads were slick My driver and I got quite a jolt and it left me with a very stiff and sore back, which bothered me for a quite a while. The JAG officer assured me I probably couldn't sue the ARVN for whiplash. (Kidding)
After a few months in country I became accustomed to the nightly H&I firing. I finally learned to sleep through the night and the noise. And so it was that one night, I think in October, I was awakened by a new sound. Rocks or whatever was clanging on our metal roof. The cannons were firing away. Everyone was gone from the "hootch". Finally the lightbulb went on in my head. Some sort of emergency? An attack? My duty station in case of an attack was the TOC. So I reluctantly got out of bed. My back was stiff and sore and I was a little frightened. I got on a shirt, grabbed my helmet and cautiously opened the door. It was pitch dark and except for the continued cannon shots nothing seemed to be happening. I took off across the road to the TOC and stumbled and fell into a large crater just next to the TOC door. A little more scared now, I fumbled for the door and found it was sealed shut by a mound of dirt. Panic!
I reluctantly scooted around the other side of the TOC and finally got in. A bit embarrassed, I had slept through my first Rocket attack. On the bright side I noticed my backpain was gone and never bothered me again while in country Not my idea, however, of the best way of curing back pain. Scared the pain out of me! |
