One of the things the movies usually get correct is the impressions of those first few minutes in Viet Nam. An airbase in a time of war might best be described as choreographed chaos. Everything and everyone seems to be moving at the same time.

The first thing you are aware of is the incredible heat and humidity, almost like walking into a blast furnace in the middle of a thunderstorm. We stumbled down the ramp and on to a bus... a bus with chicken-wire over all it's windows. Someone asked the driver what the screen was for and he replied that it was to keep grenades from being thrown through the window. Each time the bus entered a new compound a guard with a mirror attached to a long pole would inspect the underside of our ride to make sure someone hadn't attached an explosive device to the undercarriage.

The rest of that day is lost in the fog of the days that followed. Shortly after dark, however, the airbase lit up with explosions. We all beat it out the door and into a nearby drainage ditch. Anyone mentioned that Viet Nam was pretty much without a municipal sewage system? We soon decided that a clean death was preferable to one endured in that fetid water.

Many of the following months would be shared with another 20 year old I had met during advanced infantry training (AIT). We had both volunteered for Viet Nam, right after we told our parents we would not. Jim was from Boston and about as wise to the world as this Ohio boy was naive. We would share many adventures and an occasional misadventure. Unfortunately pictures of many of my friends did not survive the years. Here is one I do have of me, taken shortly after we arrived at Ben Hoa.

At some point, the explosions died down and all of us "new guys" attempted to salvage some sleep from the night. The next morning, Jimmy and I were singled out and loaded into the back of a 5-ton dump truck for a wild ride to a second location. The TET68 offensive was winding down but the two guards in the truck-bed with us insisted we stay below the truck sides. At one point, as we were crossing a bridge, I stole a look. Gently floating down the river was the corpse of a man dressed in black. One of the guards yelled for me to get back down. That was ok, I'd seen enough for the moment.