18th Brigade, 45th Group, 39th Engineers, Company D
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December 1Went on mine sweep. Demo. Laid around the rest of the morning. Our new squad leader came in today. Barker and I went to the chopper pad and got his duffle bags. Phouc was in for awhile. Ate lunch. Began a letter home. About 3:00pm we had to tear down the hooch next to ours in 2nd platoon area. The lumber was for another company but Sgt Dedmond started gathering it up so we quit. Finished my letter. Phouc came in 
and we had a long thought provoking conversation. Moody and I went to HQ bar and talked and went to supply to check on some things and as usual they didn't have it. Supper line was too long so we came back to the platoon area and checked on our mail. Got a tape ("Mr. Lucky") from my brother. Ate supper and listened to new tape in Stub's hooch. Took a cold shower and had a cigar.
December 2
Had KP all day. Came up to the hooch at 8:00am for a break. Phouc came in and said someone accused her of stealing cigarettes. I went back to KP at 4:00pm. Got off KP at 7:45pm. 1st and 2nd platoon worked at airfield till 9:00pm. Found out we would be leaving this area soon.
December 3, Sunday
Went on mine sweep. Took the plywood off the trailer and worked on tearing up second platoons old hooch. Everyone went to airfield but me. I had guard. Helped Mayer inventory tools after lunch. Phouc dropped in. I went on guard at 3:30pm. Picked up recorder after lunch. Sold my guard to Cristopher for $10.00 and enjoyed the recorder for probably the last night.
December 4
Went on mine sweep. M-60. Went to airfield and finished laying the rubber membrane and came in at 11:30am. Ate lunch and began the wait for more membrane to come in. I packed some stuff. Phouc was in and out. Went back to airfield at 5:30pm. Ate supper and sat around most of the night.
December 5
Went on mine sweep. Began tearing down our hooch and loading everything. Got two more pictures of Phouc and said my goodbyes before she left. Ate supper. Lt Knot cooked some hamburgers for us to eat. Took a shower and went to bed. The whole squad slept in Nagy's old hooch.
December 6
Went on mine sweep. Came back and began policing-up the area and policing-up the area .... Finally left for Chu Lai at 1:30pm. The delay was caused by Charlie setting some timber bridges on fire. Bridges that C 
Company had built. This convoy has to be one of the most unorganized ones in all Vietnam. We arrived at Chu Lai at 8:00pm and had spaghetti for supper. It rained about the last 15 or 20 miles so we were all cold and very tired on arriving at Chu Lai. Found the holiest tent in all Vietnam and went to sleep. It continued to rain through out the night and after moving my cot about 5 times I found a dry place in the tent.
December 7
It was cold but I got up anyway. Didn't eat breakfast. Unloaded our trailer and truck so we could get a new one ... we thought. We got the same old truck back and loaded everything back on the old truck and old 
trailer.Was finished by about 4:00pm so we cleaned our weapons. Ate supper, took a shower and went to bed. Got a new man in.
December 8
Was supposed to leave Chu Lai today but due to the poor condition of some of our trucks the plans were changed. 2nd platoon and the mess hall were supposed to leave today but Charlie blew out one of the bridges. Went to the PX and got some snacks, finger nail clippers, flash light and got wet. It rained on the way back. Ate lunch. Got a haircut. Sat around till 4:00pm during which I wrote a letter and then had a mass police call. Ate supper and then had to move some lumber, P.S.P., etc to a new location. Took a shower and then went to the movie at the mess hall but the projector wouldn't work so we came back and hit-the-hay.
December 9
Finally pulled out of Chu Lai about 9:30am. Arrived at our new location, Hoi An - Hill 63 (LZ Baldy), and began to set up camp. It would only be temporary till we moved out of the perimeter and got our new homes built. 
Smity and I put up 3 ponchos. Had guard from 7:30 to 10:30pm and then went to bed. It started raining during the early morning hours. It was getting cold and a typhoon was moving in.
December 10, Sunday
Ate hot 'C's for breakfast and washed up and shaved. Unloaded the truck and trailer so Mayer and Fitts could go back to Chu Lai and pick up some stuff that was left behind. Did nothing most of the day. Began putting up new western perimeter for our new perimeter. Pulled guard from 2:30am till 6:30am.
December 11
Worked on guard bunker all day while 2nd squad built-up perimeter with more concertina and barbed wire. Still sleeping in pup tent. Rained off and on. Pulled guard with 2nd squad from 11:30pm to 1:00am.
December 12
Started work on new home. It rained most of the time. Mayer and Fitts got back but Mayer went back to Chu Lai again today. Got the frame work up. This is miserable weather. Wet and cold and no real dry, warm place 
to go or to eat. Pulled guard with 2nd squad with Fitts because Smity had KP all day and got the night off. They made a shower run but I was too miserable to bother.
December 13
Finished up the real necessities on the first home and started on the second. Got the frame work up and it was 
time to quit. Didn't have guard because headquarters built a home in our guard area and they pulled it instead.
December 14
Continued work on second home. Smity and I were laying the floor. Cavanaugh (who left today because his brother is coming over in the Navy) and Joe were putting sandbags on top of the first home and just as the 1st layer was almost completed the front section caved in. No one was hurt. Mayer finally made it back. We got the roof and sides sandbagged and moved our stuff into the home. Put the canvas on top after supper.
December 15
We put plywood and a door on our home. After lunch all the squad had to assemble culverts except Smity & me and we worked on our home. Put the roof on and placed the rubber mating on the roof and sides. Stacked a few sandbags in front. Quit at 5:00pm but had to help rest of the squad finish up the culverts. Had guard in 1st squad area so they could have a night off. Sgt Male made it back for his six month extension of tour.
December 16
Began to rehabilitate the fallen home. We took out the front 8 X 16 section and just left the rear 8X16. Big enough for 3 men. We had six Vietnamese stacking sandbags for us. We finished it up and Fitts and the new guy moved in. Fitts was in our home. Mayer moved into the new home he built with Male. Sgt Costillo put our electricity in. He cut the wire short and the light wouldn't reach the center so now it hangs in one corner. The corner fartherest from me. Ate my supper and took my first shower since last Saturday. A whole week. "I didn't really need it." Shaved also.
December 17, Sunday
Joe and I went down along the airfield in the sand and hired 6 Vietnamese to fill sandbags. I watched them all day but Joe had to go help take out a culvert. Had guard in our platoon bunker this night. Nothing happened.
December 18
Drew names to see who out of the platoon would get to go to Da Nang to see the Bob Hope Christmas Show. After five names mine was drawn. The others didn't want to go. I borrowed a shirt from Moody and pants from Stub and was on a Chinook with Gordon and Moore by 9:30am. We stopped at the PX in Da Nang for snacks 
and were in the stands by 10:30am. Waited till 2:00pm for the show to start. The show was great. Had Les Brown and the band, Raquel Welsh, Miss World from Peru, Aniti Bryant and Phil Crosby. It was over by 4:30pm. We were on the Chinook at 5:00pm and after a long wait at the Cav's chopper pad we were home at 6:20pm and ate supper. Wrote a letter and went to bed. I was tired.
December 19
Wasted most of the morning on a trash run and then went to fill cement-sand bags for the culvert we were putting in. Everyone left for lunch except Sgt Male and Petty and me. We stayed to watch our stuff. I played with the kids. We were relieved at 12:30 and came back to camp for lunch. We then waited for the jeep to take us back out but it didn't come. Around 2:00pm we started putting up flares and Claymore mines outside our platoon perimeter. Had a mortar attack on the other side of the compound tonight. We heard them whistle over our homes. We were on alert for about an hour. Got to bed about 10:00pm.
December 20
Went on mine sweep on road being built around compound. Finished about 10:15am and naturally I had a detector. Took a small break and began filling dirt-cement bags outside our home. This was for the new 
culvert. Ran out of cement and started filling just dirt bags to finish the back of guard bunker. 2nd squad took the cement bags and finished up the culvert head wall while 3rd squad finished up the dirt pile (about 20 minutes) and took a break. Costillo had us steal 4 4X4's and 2 4X12s from Recon. We then sat around from 4:30 to 5:30pm and then ate supper. Filled our water cans and took a shower and then tried to get this thing caught up. Boy was I behind.
December 21
Went on mine sweep this morning but only to the old barrow pit. On mine detector ... again. Worked on S3's homes all day which includes the Major's. Got 14 ammo boxes for our new home. We got word that General Harold K. Johnson was coming around tomorrow so after supper we had a police call. Had another mortar attack tonight and was on alert for awhile.
December 22
Had KP all day. I would leave now and then during the day and take a break in home. Read most of my "Time" magazine today. The Cav's G2 Section (Security Intelligence) said tonight we will be hit hard. Here lately, what we thought were enemy mortar rounds were really our distant artillery units goofing up. Got four new guys in the platoon today. Two in my squad.
December 23
Went on mine sweep along road 535. On detector again. Got to culvert site and began pulling security at 11:30am. Ate lunch (C's) and had to go back down the road and sweep the barrow pit. Came back and pulled security at barrow pit. Could have gone in at 5:00pm but either the captain or the major kept playing around. A little before 6:00pm the dozer got stuck and the C.O. had to call one of the other dozers back that was already 1/2 way back to camp. After he got the other dozer out (around 6:10) he started playing with the road some more trying to get it stuck once more. We finally got in a little after 6:30pm.
December 24, Sunday
Went on mine sweep and I had detector again. &^#$%@$ I went slow. It started raining as we finished up the mine sweep and got to the culvert site. Moody and I took shelter in some small grass huts till Sarge chased us out into the woods. Ate C's for lunch again. Played with the ants most of the day. Moved to the next culvert site and pulled some more security. Got back in around 6:00 tonight. Had a Dixie Cup, 1/2 full, of Cutty Sark scotch on the rocks. Tried to write a letter but gave up. Went to bed at 9:00pm.
December 25, Christmas Day
Merry Christmas - Hum Bug. Was awakened at 8:40am to prepare for a mass police call at 9:30am. Helped pick up all the trash in the area and then hid in Moody's hooch when they started looking for people to load the mess hall's garbage. Read some of the Hitchcock book I got from the Red Cross. Helped Smity hang up a clothesline and hung out my funky blanket. Got in the lunch line at 11:45am. Chaplain had a short invocation 
at 12:10pm and then we ate Christmas diner. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, one roll without butter, pumpkin pie with whipped cream and a cup of coffee, which I turned over. Finished at 12:35pm and came back to hooch. Got this thing caught up to date and started on some letters. Wrote a letter to home, Mr & Mrs Parrish and Mr. & Mrs. Jones. Was called up to the mess hall about 2:00pm but when I got there the general was finishing up his speech. No one could hear him. Went up to mess hall at 4:30pm to pick up Christmas present. As we got there they loaded it all on the jeep and took it down to the platoon C.P. to be passed out. Ate some Vienna sausage and Fritos that I got in my Xmas gift. Took a shower a little before 7:00pm. Read a Playboy magazine in Moody's hooch till 8:30pm and then came back to my hooch. Swiped a case of C's and had some beans & franks. Went to bed.
December 26
Went on mine sweep. On demo. Ate lunch at finish. Moody and I pulled security. Harassed a few ants and bugs. Came in at 5:30pm and ate supper. On guard duty this night.
December 27
Went to bed at 7:00am and got up at 9:40am. Got dressed and went down for my 4 hours of guard duty. Smity relieved me for lunch. Got off at 2:00pm and started work on my bedside shelves with ammo boxes. 
Finished at 4:30pm. Cleaned up the mess and got me another bunch [of ammo boxes] and took a break before supper. Ate supper at 5:30. Smoked a cigar and went to bed.
December 28
Went on mine sweep. A long mine sweep. Had trouble with my detector but it didn't seem to matter to the NCOs as long as we got to the other end first. Went back to 1st 36 inch culvert going west on road 535 and began building headwall. Had to wait on 3/4-ton truck to bring sand and cement bags out to us. The Vietnamese were filling the sandbags for us. Work 5 minutes, wait 25 minutes. Came in at 5:00pm and ate at 5:30pm. Took a shower,wrote a letter and then bed.
December 29
Went back to culvert site from yesterday and began to move half completed headwall over four to five feet on one side so the road could be widened. Infantry was out doing some test firing that had us worried for awhile. Finished up about 3:30pm and stood around till we came in at 4:00pm. Rained off and on throughout the day. I got a little wet. Took a shower after supper. Got a package from Shirley at A.M.S.[Army Map Service] and started a thank-you note.
December 30
Off mine sweep for awhile. It rained all day. Filled sandbags most of the morning. Got a haircut. Went to furthermost culvert and tried to add extension. Quit at 11:45am and came in for lunch. Didn't go back out because of a USO show at 2:00pm. I was too wet, cold and miserable to go. Show was over at 4:00pm and we went back out to filling sandbags till 5:00pm. Ate supper and got paid. Finished that letter to A.M.S. [Army Map Service].
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