Well, regardless of where you started out...most of us found our way to a warehouse in Oakland, California. Once you reported to the base you were locked into that building. No turning back now!! Eventually we found our way on a Trans International Airways flight bound for sunny Viet Nam. As I remember it, the flight took something like 24 hours. Believe me, it was a long time to stay cooped up in a tin can full of frightened soldiers.

I think we landed on Wake Island at one point. Stories from W.W.II speak to how small the island was and I remember standing in the dark listening to the waves hitting the beach on both sides, small was possibly an understatement!

Then on to beautiful Hawaii. I remember running from one plane to another, in the middle of a rain storm, late at night. I think I saw one stinking palm tree being battered about by the storm gusts! The beauty was going to have to wait for another time.

I'm not certain how frightened the other 239 guys were on the plane as it touched down at Ben Hoa, but I assure you I was!! No weapon, new to the war with absolutely no idea what to expect. It was not a fun time.

As my section exited the aircraft I passed a stewardess standing just inside the door. In my bravest voice I said, "Now you be sure to be here in a year to take me home." Her smile disappeared, immediately replaced by tears. "Please just be here in a year to come home," came her reply. In the nights to come, when fear would come into your mouth like metal, I thought back to her words and tried just a little harder to make her request come true.