About Me...1966

I was a 20 year old punk kid that thought the world revolved around me but when I hit the tarmac at Bien Hoa Air Base/ Long Binh Base which was 20 miles northeast of Saigon, I started to get the feeling that I wasn't as tough as I thought. We came in under mortar fire on the runway and when we got off the plane, the first thing that I saw were body bags with dead American soldiers zipped inside them. Then I saw MPs (I was an MP also) escorting about 30-40 Viet Cong POWs onto a C-120 bound for some where farther inland. I swallowed hard and thought to myself "This is going to be a long year." I was right!

About Me...Today

My photo
Hatchet Ranch in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States
I am a 66 year old Vietnam veteran with PTSD. There will be many pictures of my time there along with my thoughts from that period and thoughts that are "Still in My Head". I have yet to meet a Viet Vet who doesn't have South Vietnam tucked away somewhere in their brain. This blog is not to inflame anyone but therapy for me. I was in Vietnam from Nov 1966 to Nov of 1967. One tour of duty was enough for me but I have had an ongoing tour of duty in my head for the last 40 years.

"If Size Matters" Then...

Click on any image to enlarge


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Jim & Chuck Boche Reunited


When I went to California to get my brother-in-law, I got to drive up the state a bit and visited Chuck and his wife. It was a thrill to say the least. We had a beer together and filled each other in on what has gone on since we last saw each other. We only scratched the surface as I was pushed for time. We have kept in touch since then and it is great hearing from him. 
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Chick Boche has been located!!!!

I posted a listing to find Charles(Chick) Boche quite some time ago and finally I figured that he either didn't use the computer or he was living on another planet. Well, he doesn't live on another planet and he doesn't use the computer. Thank God for his wife and daughter. They came across my blog and told Chick about it. They also went to Dean's 504th website and saw the group picture of "The Best of Bong Son". It wasn't long and I started to hear from him in emails from several MP sites. I responded to his emails with an address and phone numbers and the next evening I received a call from him. I can't describe the feeling of finally talking to him after 40 years. I had so much to tell him and ask him that I forgot about all the things I wanted to say. We talked for over an hour and I really hated to end the call but Chick gets up at 3:30 in the morning to go to work. We are going to stay in touch and will get together next summer.

WHAT A TREAT THIS CALL WAS FOR ME.

I encourage all of you vets or non-vets for that matter to try to locate friends from the past. You won't be sorry if you are fortunate enough to locate them.
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Ready to go on Patrol


This was taken when we about to leave on patrol. From day to day our partners on the jeep changed but as time went on we got the same partners more often. The people in the jeep are
(from left to right) Sgt George Grandish, Junior Falconer, me on the gun and Bob Gormsen on the back bumper of the jeep.
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"Combat"



This picture is named "Combat" because we bought this puppy from a local merchant for 2 dollars and within 10 minutes after we got back on patrol...we got into a firefight. Hence the name "Combat" The guys in the picture:
left to right..Sam Wilder, Charlie Whitley, David McGuire, Jim Cassel holding Combat.
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Ready to Kick Some VC Ass















left to right: Bob Gormsen, Bernie McCabe, Jim Cassel(me) & Henry Soto
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Lunch Break for Bob Gormsen



Ewww!! I love those C-rats... Probably Ham & Lima Beans

This was the usual way that we would take our lunch breaks. We traded C-rats amongst ourselves all the time. The ham & lima beans were mostly used for the ammo feed on our M-60's
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Life, Dying, Death & Family

July 27, 2008

I haven't written anything in quite a while as I have had nothing to say but now I do.
I live out in the Colorado sticks and of late, I have had the unpleasant task of seeing a couple of friends die and now I am in California making arrangements to have my brother -in-law flown to Colorado to live out his remaining days on my ranch with my wife and me. He is only 50 years old and really is a great guy. He has lung cancer from a life long smoking habit and now it has spread throughout his body. The doctor told us he has from 2 weeks to 2 months...no more. His son is only 19 and he had to go through this less than 2 years ago with his mother. It is too young to have to loose both parents in such a short time. He will also be coming with us to Colorado until his Dad dies and then back to So.Pasadena to finish his education and to get on with his life.
I am now 62 and in relatively good health (not counting my PTSD). I am very tired of seeing friends and family dying but I guess if I have the good fortune to live longer I will see more and more of this. I guess that you have to take the bad with the good as the saying goes.