Engineer Memoirs _____________________________________________________________________
pilot came back and pulled out his pistol and said, "Off you go," after which a Vietnamese
picked up his Thompson submachine gun and said, "No, we won't."
So, all of this was taking place in the other helicopter on the ground while we're up circling
around. This was a very antagonistic affair, and the aviation people thought we advisers were
at fault because we hadn't properly advised them. Of course, I had started that morning by
meeting them outside the helicopter about 10 minutes before take-off. Anyway, this was my
baptism to being an adviser.
We then drove back to Pleiku. Next day, I drove back to An Khe, right down that same Route
19. It was obvious I couldn't go to work that way. I mean, I'm driving this route where
Mobile Group 100 had been decimated and there's jungle close to the roads and it's not safe.
They were sending squads to pick me up at the Mang Yang Pass and secure me on the way
back, but it was pretty obvious to me that to do my duty I had to move out with the
Vietnamese.
And, again, there was nothing said, there was no plan. It was just obvious to me that that was
where I needed to be to accomplish the mission. There were no tents; there really wasn't field
gear. As a matter of fact, as one of the most junior members of the compound the only thing
they could arm me with was an M1 carbine--didn't even have M2s. Colonels and majors
at headquarters kept those. Nor was there a way of getting food. There weren't Crations.
They bought food in large cans to use in the mess hall, purchased off the shelf. So, I moved
to An Khe and moved in with my battalion commander counterpart in his mud hut with a
thatched roof. It was sitting on a hilltop where there'd been an old culvert factory. He had
two companies there, B and C Companies, and their perimeter was around this culvert
factory. His troops had built him this mud hut with saplings for re-bar and so forth. So, I
lived with him for several months.
You asked what my daily activities were. At this time my daily activities really followed his.
We got up in the morning and had breakfast. I was bringing my food from Pleiku but I had
no refrigeration. So, I'd have to open the can of peas and eat those, say, for breakfast. Then
I'd open the can of meat and have that for lunch, and then the can of peaches for dinner that
night. I wouldn't have three balanced meals.
So, the day would start with breakfast and then we'd go out and visit all the projects. One
company had the airfield. Lieutenant Can commanded that company, and we'd go over and
check construction and follow up earthwork on the airfield. The other company--I don't
remember the commander's name of that one--was working on the road north, and they were
clearing and grubbing, moving north. So, we'd go over and check on that. Then Captain Tri
would say, "It's time for lunch," and maybe I'd have that can of meat or maybe he'd stop
down at An Khe and we'd go into a restaurant down there, four or five tables, and have a
small beefsteak and big orange drink with all the beads at the door trying to keep the flies
out.
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