Twenty One, while there are Dirty Jobs in war, that need to be addressed an before I can move on to my next chapter...
Bagin' Body Parts, fightin' with a flame thrower, Searchin' underground booby-traped bunkers, disarmin' Tunneled strong holds, handlein' dangous explosives, drivein' Tanks on roads where bombs are certain to be, smugglin' ladies of the evening into a base camp, carryin' a mortaly ingered comrad to a chopper on your back, while under fierce attack, pullin' your own teeth without meds, are some of the tasks I have had to endure, these are the tip of the iceburg stories for the dirty jobs performed that nobody talks about.
Now you may think this story is about so many dirty jobs that will gross you out, and go on and on! Though you would be wrong! This is about when...
I had the privlige to drive my APC over a distroyed bridge! O' this I did, only not the way you may think! This ole bridge had the remains of 'rails only' an the rails are what I drove over as the bridge swayed to an fro, at each few feet I had to climb, my buddie would not accompany me while I performed this stunt, our rescue attempt wer successful an only cause I wer able to arrive in a nic-of -time, an that bridge held the stress an our weight an devine intervention.
Leaving Viet Nam is like havin' a weight liftin' off your shoulders, the stress of each day as you count down to the day your name is called to head homeward bound an say'n goodbye to your comrads you may never see again. The events of home coming are memorable cause you are processed an you recieve your new orders as to where you will serve next an you are offered a new rank ( I refussed ) an a Stake Dinner with all the trimings ( I accept ) I kiss our USA good ground where I first set foot on American soil, it wer Alaska I recall cause I'd have to find a spot not havin' snow on it, the snow felt good to see, eat, throw, an walk on! I'm home at last.
I call home a second time, an explain my delay cause we had an engine failure as we took a hit from gun fire while leavin' tha airport in Nam, if you could believe I could lose my life on the same day I fly away from that dam-Nam hell-hole an have to make an emergency landing on some small Island to repair an this alone would shake us, with uncertainty as if I wer havin' another bad dream. (Nightmare)
My breif stay at home with family an friends wer a blast an 'I felt alive' an greatful for everything on the planet!
Fort Benning here I come! Twenty One now, an soon i'll have my military service behind me! Here I'd have the privilege to train ROTC service men to work with a Tank Command Unit an prior to their departure to our Hell of a cold war.
I had a lot to share with those men I trained an I wer good at this job. Though war games in nature are ok, only I have had enough an when my offer to join this Base Pistol Team and offers didn't just come along so easy and I grabed this, another opportunity and a new
adventure in my military life wer to start. State-side tour of duty that is! Next...