[phuloi]

Must be ESP-N or something! Kati asked me just yesterday to tell the story about how I dug a BIG hole with a LITTLE shovel.
Unlike alot of you,I went over in battalion strength aboard a troop carrier that took the better part of a month at sea.In retrospect,that was way too long of a time to think about the final destination.We shared the ship with one of the light infantry brigades(196th?) who disembarked first up north somewhere,then a signal outfit got put to shore further south.Next and finally,we were loaded into landing craft in full combat gear and motored to the beach.The big beach assault landing turned out to be a joke,as there were all kinds of VN Nationals waiting for us with various and sundry goods for sale.WHAT!?
Got loaded into duece-and-a-halves and taken to an airstrip where we were loaded onto awaiting C-130s for a short hop to Bien Hoa.Put us up on a little hill out on what they called the 'Green Line'.Raining like a sumbitch.They told us to buddy up and pitch our pup-tents ASAP so we could get out a perimeter guard before it got too dark.......Sure.You Betcha.Stuff was floating away just as fast as you put it down.Did I mention that it was raining?
Of course,I was selected for guard duty-Probably cause I was one of the few who still had a weapon and ammo still intact.The guy says "OK,This is you...Dig in!" Yeah right!,I`m thinking.This whole day has been a complete cluster-fuck and now I`m supposed to DIG IN?I proceeded to sit on my steel pot and smoke a Lucky.Peering out into the darkness,I replayed the past 12-15 hours in my mind and was sure that these idiots were trying to get me killed.About that time THUMP....THUMP.....followed by whistling noises getting closer and closer and....WHAM!!Shit was exploding all around me and guys to either side were screaming.Where in hell did that damn entrenching tool-one each-go?I unassed that little shovel and....Well,you never saw one 200#,6' 19 year old young sojer dig straight down so fast in all your life!Steel pot and flack jacket where they belonged,I put my poncho over top of me and waited for them to come.And waited ....Waited for 1968 to come so I could go home.