More Vietnam Pictures

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NAM VET
1SG
1SG
Posts: 1118
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:27 am

Re: More Vietnam Pictures

Post by NAM VET »

When I see some War Movie about Vietnam, or a TV show, like the show China Beach, years ago, there are always lots of shots of troops wearing civilian clothes. As my pictures from Desert Storm above shows, after the ground war concluded, we were able to give up our full military gear, and wear what civilian clothes we had. I had taken over only one pair of jeans and one pair of gym shorts, and was quite comfortable in my issue uniform. But when I was in Vietnam, all I had were my jungle fatigues, and green underwear and handkerchief's, and I took over not a single piece of civilian clothing, not so much as a white T shirt or pair of shorts. There is just something in a war zone about being seen in faded, worn military clothing, such as when I occasionally went up to Saigon. Just felt it was important to look like a field soldier, and not some rear echelon weenie. My wife had run off with a lawyer just days before I deployed to the War, and taken everything I had, so all I had was what the army issued to me. I have very little from that time in my life, just one set of my worn and faded jungle fatigues, my trusty Pentax camera, which took all these slides, and my two Buck knives. One, my big blade, with a custom sheath, and the other, my folding hunter. Used both of them all the time. Here is a picture of my big blade in the ground in front of me and the Major who replaced me, shortly before I rotated home, to start my new life. We were just out on a patrol, of course, with all the local kids around, it was not a hostile moment, just stopping by on a routine patrol. i have since given my big blade to my son, and put the folding Buck in my shadow box, as it also went with me to Desert Storm. When I came back from the war, all I had was the single set of kaki's I had on and my little gym bag with my knives and my camera and a single set of my jungle fatigues. It was all I owned in the whole world. I promptly went into a men's clothing store and told the sales guy "I need some clothing to wear", and he just said, "yea, I think you do. "


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NAM VET
1SG
1SG
Posts: 1118
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:27 am

Re: More Vietnam Pictures

Post by NAM VET »

Took a chopper out to My An, a district team in Kein Phong Province, where I was the first six months in-country, I can't recall exactly what I was to do there, sometimes us Advisors just traveled around, sort of sight-seeing, I guess. This team, two US, was led by a Major from West Virginia, a nice guy, but all he did was sing the John Denver Song, "All most heaven, West Virginia", over and over. His way of keeping touch with his home life, I guess. This is the chopper that took me out to My An. Nifty minigun. Then there is the next picture, one of my favorites. I did not yet have my Pentax, but a little pocket Ricoh, and this picture just has an interesting quality to it, the grainy nature, the soft lighting, of his three Vietnamese interpreters, who played Monopoly relentlessly.

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