July 21, 1968
I woke up at dawn and went to eat breakfast. I then went back to my tent and just sat around for awhile and talked until the office pogue came and got me. He took me over to supply where they gave me my jungle utilities and boots. The supply sergeant told me the boots were supposed to stop a punjie stake from going through my feet, but not to bet my foot on it. They also give me my rifle, pack, canteens, cartridge belt, poncho, bayonet, and rifle magazines, but no ammunition. It sure made me feel good to have my rifle back in my hands.
By the time I got back from supply, it was time to go eat again. After lunch, I didn’t have anything to do, so I just wandered around for awhile. When I got back to my tent, the office pogie told me I had to go to orientation which lasted about an hour and a half.
At orientation, an officer told us about the black market, how it worked and that we shouldn’t buy anything from the South Vietnamese people. We were also told about some of the customs of the people there. Women, we were told, hold hands with each other, as do men. The groom each other by picking lice from each other’s hair and eating them, like monkeys in the zoo. they would shit in water that would eventually be used for bathing and drinking. The lecture presented us with a picture of the place unlike what one might find in a travel guide to South Viet Nam.
I went back to the tent after the lecture and got word that I would be standing lines on the base perimeter that night. I was told to be ready to leave by six in the evening. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning my rifle and getting my gear together. I finished and went to evening chow.
After chow, a pickup truck dispatched by the Company office gave us a ride to the lines. I was getting nervous by this time. Once we were on the lines, the nervousness disappeared. The lines consisted of a perimeter of underground and above ground bunkers. Each had a prick 25 radio. In front of the bunkers was a 100 meter wide obstacle made of constantino wire, and in front of that was a mine field.
Inside each bunker was a base of grenades, five LAW’s and an ample supply of M-16 ammunition. There were also five or six men in each bunker. We were supposed to take turn standing watch. I had the third shift, but on one woke me up. I slept all night until dawn. No one else was awake so I got up and took a piss. By the time I finished, everyone was up. We never did find out who fell asleep, but we didn’t probe too deeply into the matter either. About an hour later, a truck came by with men to relieve us so we could go to chow.
