In Memory of Those We Loved Lost and Left Behind

In Memory of Those We Loved, Lost, and Left Behind...

October 31, 1967

Hi Jay,

It was real good to hear from your old skating butt again. You must have it dicked on guard duty. I hope I get something like that when I get back.

I guess you heard about Bob, Storey, and them other guys. The P.C. got ambushed by some NVA while they were driving out to the bridge. (1st platoon is down at the bridge now, and 3rd moved back to the Esso plant). Reese, Doss, Lt. Johnson, and Mailins got killed. Michaud, Storey, and some other dudes got wounded. The new C.O. we got is a cool dude. HE said he's going to get revenge and he's called in arty on anyone that walks around up in the hills. The other da,day he e blew away a sampan out in the water. We need someone like him.

Moody got wounded about a week go. They were setting an ambush at Bridge II, and gooks threw dynamite at them and over-ran them with those AK-47 rifles.

Bacon, Washington, Thomas and Moody got wounded. Two new guys, Moody's "Gunner" and "A Gunner" Will and McMillan got killed. Thomas threw out a grenade that the gooks tossed at them, but it went off just as he released it and it blew his hand off. He's up for the Navy Cross. The gooks got the machine gun (M-60), a radio, some M-16's. Shoot! Two weeks ago, I was on the back of a 6-by on a road sweep, and the sucker hit a mine. It blew me up and back, but I i didn't get hurt. We got sniped at too, Soloman Smith got hit in the leg. Man, Bubba, We've been catching hell. I'm sweating making it out of here.

I picked up Corporal last week, by some miracle. Gunny Medcalf is Tad to Okinawa, PERMANENTLY, so everyone is happy as hell. Sgt Johann is the new weapons platoon commander. He'll probably be just as bad, but anyone is better than Medcalf.

My orders are supposed to be in at battalion. I'm dying to see where they'll send me. I hope I get Pendleton. I oughta be home by the 10th of December. A ship leaves here the 25th of November, so me and Lipan stand a good chance of being on it.

Well Bubba, sip some of those suds for me 'till I get back. Stay away from all those women in Jacksonville (HA-HA-HA)

Your Bubba,

Ace (Hard Core E-4)