The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Conflict posts > Vietnam

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 12-23-2005, 02:52 PM
Bill Farnie's Avatar
Bill Farnie Bill Farnie is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 1,228
Send a message via AIM to Bill Farnie
Distinctions
VOM 
Default Christmas, Vietnam 1968

On December 23rd we were surprised when we were ordered to get to a Landing Zone and boarded copters to go to our Base Camp for Christmas. We couldn?t believe it, but there we were flying from the mountains west of Camp Evans for a Christmas cease fire and stand down.

At Evans the 23rd was spent getting new jungle fatigues, boots and other equipment, and cleaning ourselves, weapons and gear. Whenever our company was at Camp Evans we had to provide troopers for bunker guard, night ambushes and listening posts but fortunately for me, it wouldn?t be my platoon and therefore my squads turn to provide any men until after Christmas.

During the day, on Christmas Eve, we got our mail which included for many of us, what we called ?care packages?. Care packages contained everything from socks to whatever food could be sent that wouldn?t perish since they wouldn?t bring a package to us in the field and only God and the generals knew when we would be at a firebase or back at Camp Evans to get them. I had two care packages, one from my parents and one from my sister and her new husband. Besides food and other stuff, both of my packages contained booze. My parents sent a bottle of Seagram?s 7 and my brother-in-law and sister sent a bottle of gin. I wasn?t the only one who received Christmas cheer. Gary Garaputa got a bottle of Johnny Walker Red so the making of a great Christmas party was starting to look pretty good. Most of us took the time to write home as the bottles and food were passed around.

As the night progressed our platoon members were starting to get pretty smashed on the bottles and also from some cases of beer we ?liberated? from a Conex . We had no idea whose Conex it was but were told about it by a guy from the 4th platoon when asked where he got the beer. It was outside of our company area so it became fair game.

The conversations were mostly about home with wives, girlfriends and cars the most popular subjects. Lenny Burdine from Indiana and Billy Wheeler from West Virginia were talking about their glory days on their high schools wrestling teams and how they were both undefeated in their senior year. Two of our squad leaders, Sgt Felszack and another Sgt who?s name I can?t remember right now, overheard this talk and quickly issued a challenge to a match. The two Sgts made up a team and Lenny and Billy were the other. What started out as a Greco-Roman style match between the two teams had soon, with the help of the booze and beer, turned into a free-for-all and although none of the percipients sustained any serious injuries, the barracks didn?t fair as well. About half of the platoons sleeping cots were destroyed and the floor of the barracks was one big beer stain caused by open cans that were either knocked to the floor or were used as missiles.

Here?s some pictures of the barracks brawl ? LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!










After cleaning up the best we could, David Harsey started playing his guitar. Harsey?s tour was over earlier in the month but he extended it six months for an ?early out? of the Army. Harsey was a big Bob Dylan fan so we had a Dylan sing-along with most of us mumbling the lyrics due to a combination of not knowing them in the first place and of course, the booze and beer. After a while Harsey put his guitar away and someone turned on a radio.

From the radio, the Beatles ?Hey Jude? started to play and everyone stopped whatever it was they were doing and just listened to the song. At the end of the song, when the chorus repeats, everyone was singing as loud as they could and there was such a feeling of camaraderie that only warriors experience as we embraced with our arms wrapped around each others shoulders singing our asses off and around this time every year if I close my eyes, I can see and hear us as if it was yesterday??.

?Na-Na-Na ?.. Na-Na-Na-Na ?.. Na-Na-Na Na ?? Hey Jude?

Merry Christmas everyone
__________________
506th Infantry "Stands Alone"


It is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it. General Robert E. Lee
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2  
Old 12-23-2005, 04:15 PM
DMZ-LT DMZ-LT is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Atlanta , Ga
Posts: 5,599
Distinctions
VOM Contributor 
Thumbs up

Merry Christmas Homie. Welcome home !
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12-24-2005, 12:16 AM
frisco-kid's Avatar
frisco-kid frisco-kid is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,574
Distinctions
VOM Contributor 
Default

Great story, Bill.

Merry Christmas to you.
__________________
Tom
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-01-2006, 06:56 AM
exlrrp exlrrp is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,196
Distinctions
VOM Contributor 
Default Thats how I remember the Airborne

When we didn't have any legs to make miserable, we'd fight among ourselves just for the fun of it. I grew up with 4 brothers--this is what our house looked like some nights
__________________
When you can't think what to do, throw a grenade
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Feb 20, 1968 39mto39g Vietnam 12 02-26-2007 01:22 PM
OK, It's Feb. 11 1968 39mto39g Vietnam 4 02-13-2007 05:12 PM
A Poem For All of My Vietnam Veteran Brothers and Sisters This Christmas Season: VIETNAM 1968 Vietnam 7 12-23-2005 08:58 PM
Happy ( belated ) Birthday Vietnam 1968 reeb General Posts 8 05-24-2004 08:23 AM
What did you get for christmas in vietnam sn-e3 Vietnam 42 01-06-2004 08:07 PM

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 02:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.