Da Nang Convoy

We were due to fly out to Da Nang to retrieve our vehicles when we got the notice. It seems that there wasn't a hard and set schedule due probably to aircraft availability. My guess! I hadn't been assigned anything earthshaking to do and so rather than go to chow at lunchtime, I decided to take a nap. I've never been much of a nap taker so I don't know why this day was different. Maybe it was due to the wind blowing quite hard.

I laid down and fell asleep. All of a sudden I awoke not knowing what had happened. I didn't know if I'd been shot or just what was going on. My nose was bleeding and I was a bit light headed and disoriented. After I got my wits about me, I saw that I had been struck across the bridge of my nose by one of the tent poles that hold up the side of a GP medium tent. These posts are about six feet long and about three inches thick. On the end, there is a metal dowel that is inserted into the tent to hold it in place. I don't know if I was struck by the metal or the wooden part of the pole. It broke the cartilage in my nose and to this day I wear the imprint of that post.

When the call came to leave for Da Nang, I asked if I could be excused from the trip as by this time I was suffering from a very bad headache. My request was to no avail. Basically, it was 'Take a couple of aspirin and call me in the morning'.

We got to Da Nang and I can't remember a whole lot about what we did for a couple of days as we pretty much did nothing. There had been no provisions made for mess facilities and it got real hungry. We either ate nothing for two days or very little.

We finally got the word to return to Camp Eagle and were placed into the convoy line. I was the main driver and Teddy Castillo was my shotgun. Our company was spread out in the convoy and so we did not know the troopers that were in front or behind us as we drove. Again, food became a problem as we had no c-rats. We came to a halt for a bit so we got out of the truck. As we walked towards the rear of our vehicle, we noticed that there were some troopers eating c-rats. Castillo walked up and asked if they would share with us and was told basically to take a hike. Teddy locked and loaded his rifle and directed them to throw down some of the food or he was going to shoot them. I told Castillo to knock it off but he was adamant about it all. I thought to myself that we were going to be placed in the stockade. We had lunch! I still can't believe that we got away with that trick.

We moved along without any incident until we had to pull over and allow a South Vietnamese convoy pass where the road was very narrow. We were all in good spirits and both the Americans and Vietnamese waved as they passed. Everything was fine until this one vehicle drove by with a bunch of troops in the back. One of the Vietnamese soldiers spit on me. I think that that was one of the few times in my life that I was angered to the point of wanting to personally take aggressive action against another human being. I can't express how enraged I became. It was Castillo's turn to calm me down.

There was a brief moment during our trip that has not left me over the years. It plays like a movie that was produced in kodachrome. I couldn't tell you just where the event took place other than to say that it happened in a small village as we drove through. The children were running along with our convoy either trying to sell us goods or beg for what ever we might throw to them: C rations/candies. There was one child, a girl of about 10 years of age that ran along side of my vehicle as I drove, who had the bluest eyes of just about anyone I have ever known. Perhaps they stood out more because of her dark skin. I wanted to reach down and take her with me. Those blue eyes just looked into my heart and continue to do so. I often wonder if she grew to be an adult considering her eurasian (probably American) background.

We arrived at Camp Eagle tired but in one piece and safely.

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