March 6, 1970

Dear Mom-

Was glad to receive your letter today.

To bad about American Smelting, I noticed it hit 35 7/8. Oh well. You might check into R.G. Barry. I noticed it is down to about 13, which is half of what we sold it for. It could be a good buy. Have you heard anything about Nord lately. By the way Bache is holding our Wilson Warrents- you might want to check on them. The broker is Aaron Babcock. Give me the price on Wilson Warrents they are on the America (?).

Right now the 155 Howitzers and flich guns are shooting like crazy (at 8:00 at night) Usually they don't start till about 1 or 2 at night. They go over my quarters and shake the walls. Every night they wake me up.

A few nights ago we got mortered (the base boys that is). One round hit a houch (?) of the 3/22 int. on the other side of the camp. 6 killed, 13 wounded. I slept through it all. Base camp has gotten hit twice this week. Action is starting to pick up. I really feel sorry for the VC sometimes. If they hit us they have to do it quickly because within a few minutes we get a fix on them and all hell breaks loose. They saturate the area with artillary fire. They send up cobra gunships. I watched them ? out a few nights ago and they have 72 rockets and two gattling guns that fire 6000 rounds per minute. When they turn on the guns it looks like a solid wall of red flame coming out of the sky.

I have not been on any combat missions yet as I have only had my platoon one week. I will explain the make up of my platoon to you. I have two demolitions men on top of Nui Ba Din (the Black Virgin Mountain) they stay up there all the time doing demo work. I have 15 men out at 2 fire support bases with the Infantry Battalion I support. Every morning they sweep the roads for mines and then go out with the infantry and give them demolitions support. They blow up booby traps, bunkers and tunnel complexes. The rest of my platoon consists of four dump trucks and drivers, one scoop loader and one bull dozer. With these I support the fire support bases. I build them, tear them down, construct the bunkers, etc. These fire support bases locations change every couple of months. They are usually made up of one artillary battery and one or two infantry companies. As soon as I get everything straightened out I will start staying at the fire support bases and going out with the infantry.

Lately my platoon has been making mechanical ambushes (almost all the fighting over here goes on at night, the units leave their fire support bases about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and set up ambushes). Anyway I was assigned to teach classes on mechanical ambushes to the 4 Infantry battalions in our brigade (?). My platoon sets out 3 of these a night for the unit we support. So now I am getting a reputation as an expert on mechanical ambushes. When I get back I'll explain what that is. We use things like rat traps with a trip wire going across a trail when someone hits the trip wire it sets off the rat trap, which completes an electrical circuit which sets off 6 or so claymore mines spread out along the trail. Next year I'll probably look back at all this and think how sick I must have been, but while I am over here it doesn't bother me a bit, I even feel a certain amount of pride. I can see now how people glorify war.

Keep me informed of all financial happenings.

Later,

John

March 16, 1970

Dear Mom,

The last two days I have been out at Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain). You should be able to find it easy on your map. It is just east of Tay Ninh. Actually I have been out in the field most of this week. To think a little over a week ago I had never been in combat.

Yesterday morning I went to fire support base Buell which is near the foot of the mountain on the west side. One company of the 4 of the 23 Inf is based there and I keep between 4 and 8 men there to sweep the road and provide demo support. Anyway I only had 4 people there and I had to go out to provide another sweep team because they needed two teams to sweep the dirt road that goes around the mountain because a convoy was to come through.

We broke down into two teams and one team started at the northern side of the mountain and the team I was with started from Buell. We swept for about 15 minutes when we got a call from the other sweep team that they had made contact. We jumped on the tracks (the unit I support in Mehajyn (?)) and got up there. They had about 20 NVA pinned down (or so we thought). While we kept them pinned down the company from Buell came up and took over. So one team started sweeping east and we started sweeping west from that point. As soon as the other team got around the bend they got ambushed, we were heading past and from behind it sounded like all hell broke loose. Then we started getting sniper fire. A-Company (the one that came up to help) moved to the side of the mountain where the fire was coming from and immediately got pinned down. C-Company coming from the other direction also got pinned down. The NVA had two lines, one at the foot of the mountain and one about 200 meters up, they also had a mortar and heary(?) machine gun position about 1/2 way up. Anyway, they called in artillery, then gunships (helicopter) and finally air strikes (jets). A-Company got 1 killed and 10 wounded and C-Company had 6 wounded. The fight went on all day. At night two companies of the 3 of the 22 Inf (which 1st platoon supports) landed on top of the mountain and started working its way down. We were at the bottom acting as a blocking force. About mid-afternoon we thought we had them trapped between us and the units coming down the mountain. When all at once the two companies coming down the mountain started getting fire from above them. The mountain is covered with caves and they say you can go from the top to the bottom in them. Anyway so far 16 men have been killed from the two companies on the mountain, two of the 1st platoon people have been shot (one in the back and the other in both legs).

I have two men from my platoon up there and I hope they make it . Right now it is night and they are trying to sneak off the mountain.

Let me know if the papers have anything about it. They are really moving men in there, about half the Brigade is there now and they are moving in more artillary. This could turn out to be a big battle.

I'll write later,

John

P.S. Don't say anything to Pat.

March 1970 newspaper article with John's comments sent back to his mother (double click on article to enlarge)

March 23, 1970

Dear Mom,

I just wrote you this morning so if you get this letter before or at the same time as the earlier one, read it first. Remember I said I went out to the mountain this morning but nothing happened so I came back. Well I took my CEV (combat engineer vehicle) which looks like a tank, but had all sorts of things on it. It has a gun that fires a 40 pound C-4 charge (C-4 is like TNT only more powerful) We use the gun to destroy bunkers and enemy obstacles. Anyway when they can to shot at the mountain they use it because it fires a shape (?) charges and is used for destroying things, whereas most of the artillery and tanks over here fire anti-personnel shells that throw off shrappnel for killing people, but isn't much good for destroying things. They use the CEV to fire at the mountain and destroy the boulders the enemy hides behind.

Anyway, I got a radio message that the tank commander (the vehicle leader) was killed. I rushed out there and what happened is that he fired at he mountain from about 400 meters. But he did not button up (get in the vehicle and close the hatch) Anyway when the round hit the target (a big rock) the back blast flew back and a rock about the size of a baseball hit him in the chest. He was sitting on the hatch and when the rock hits it explodes his chest all over the inside of the tank. When I got there the crew wouldn't get in it so I went in to turn on the radio and call the company. About 2/3 of his blood was splattered all over the inside and was about 2 inches deep on the floor of the tank, of course the membrane and skin from his chest was splattered all over the inside.

We took it back to the fire support base and the CO, myself, and some other people from my platoon spent the afternoon cleaning up the mess. We had to take a box and scrap the mess off the floor with the box. It still isn't all cleaned. We are using tooth brushes to clean in the cracks and crevaces. If we don't get it all out it will start smelling, especially in that closed area.

It sort of amazed me that I didn't feel sick or anything cleaning it up. I have really gotten hardened this last month. But this is the first person I have known personally to get killed. By the time I leave I don't think any sight will bother me.

Of course don't mention this to Pat.

Later,

John

March 1970

March or April 1970

April 5, 1970

Dear Mom,

This has been a rather strange week. I think I have aged a couple of years in the last 5 days.

In the last letter I sent you I said we had a sapper attack. The next night the same thing happened and we were out guarding the company area when about two in the morning the VC walked morters across the the company area. They came pairs about one second apart and ten seconds between pairs they walked then from the front of the company to the rear. The first two rounds caught six people in the open. Five got hurt bad, 4 are going back to the U.S. I was out in the open and hit it behind a wall of sand bags surrounding a houch. The next pair hit on the other side of the houch and the shrapnel came tearing through the houch. The third set hit in the motor pool damaging a dump truck, two tractors & trailers, and a dozer. I have never been so scared in my life. There is nothing you can do but get down and hope.

Anyway two days later a man in the company ran over a Vietnamese with a dump truck. So I go out to the sight and here the man is lying in the middle of the road with his head crushed (the front wheel of the dump truck ran over his head). I am trying to get an ambulance out there and all the Vietnamese are gathering. So what happens but the old man that got killed son comes along and sees his father lying dead in the street , to top it off he speaks English. He comes up to me demanding to see the driver that killed his father. That was a real scene. That body laid out there for two hours before I could get an ambulance there.

So today I am sweeping the road for A-Co 4/23 south along the mountain and we get close to the mountain. Anyway a Vietnamese boy that was in front of us hit a booby trap and blew off his foot. The foot was hanging on by a piece of skin and his leg was a stump. I'll tell you I have seen everything. I cut off his pants with my bayonet and we took gauze and wrapped the foot to his leg. We finally got to the spot where the infantry was going to recon. The A-Co C.O. gave me a track to go back on because I had other things to do. A half hour after I left they got hit, they had 2 men killed and 6 wounded. That's two close calls in one week.

Later,

John

P.S. Save these letters when I am out of this I would like to read them.

April 23, 1970

Dear Mom,

I didn't realize what we were doing was making the news. Our company has to open the road into the area. What is happening is that we are doing a huge land clearing operation near the boarder so that the NVA will have no where to hide when they come over. Also we are expecting a fight as the land is cleared and the enemy has no where to run. Last night I was at the NDP (night defensive position) of the Inf. unit supporting the dozers and at about 3:00 in the morning mortars started coming in about 4 seconds apart. We had no where to go so we layed under a dozer. They walked the rounds back and forth about 75 meters from our perimeter. The evidently thought they had our location pin pointed but they were off by 75 meters. 27 rounds came in in a two minute period. If they would have been on target they would have destroyed the whole place.

I have been taking pictures when I can, but I never seem to have my camera when I really want it.

Later,

John

Photos taken by John- 1970 Vietnam

May 17, 1970

Dear Mom,

Sorry I haven't written in a while but I have been out in the field since May 1st. I am still out now. As you probably know we have gone into Cambodia.

So much had happened in the last 3 weeks I wouldn't know where to start. In 4 days 3 of my trucks got blown up by mines. Luckily no one was killed in any of the explosions. When the first one hit a mine I thought for sure the driver was killed when I looked back and saw the truck flying in all directions. Fortunately two dump trucks and a tractor trailer hit mines and they are extremely heavy. Altogether 4 people were injured in the three incidents. In the first one the road was swept and they missed all four mines, one of my trucks hit one, a Vietnamese in an ox cart hit one and was killed, one of my men found one and I found the other one. I dismantled the one I found. You aren't supposed to, we usually blow them in place, but I wanted to say that I have disarmed one, and also I am keeping part of it as a souvenir.

We have been doing quite a bit of demo work in Cambodia blowing up large catches (?). A few days ago I blew up a lot of medical supplies and turned it in on a situation report. Next day I got called in because I guess it is against the Geneva Convention to destroy medical supplies. They told me if you destroy them not to report it. So now I am probably a war criminal, ha. Actually Cambodia is not bad because they are running around like chickens with their heads cut off and most of them don't have any combat experiences. The bad part is near the border before you get across because that's where the hard core NVA are and they really know what their doing.

Two days ago a part of C-Co, 65th Eng Bn got ambushed near the border and have two killed. Most of the American causulties are coming from our own artillery being miss directed. The stock market situation looks bleak, which is good in a way since we are pretty much out of it. By the time I get out of the Army we ought to be able to make money. Fricke is really an ass having you buy Tennaro in this sort of market. Watch it close and if it doesn't fall too far hold it, when this market turns around it should go up.

I suggest you take $3000 out of the bank and put it with the $7000 and buy treasury notes. Also buy all the Halmer you can it really looks good. Try to buy (???) 10 or so, but don't be held back by fractions of a point. I think it should be a real money maker.

Whats new with NORD.

Say hi to everyone.

John

P.S. Tell Pat my recorder is broken and as soon as it is fixed I'll send her one.

Landmine removal - Photos taken by John- 1970 Vietnam

June 19, 1970

Dear Mom,
Sorry I haven't been writing you regulary, but I have been finding it rather hard to write lately.  We are still up at Katum but have pretty well pulled out of Cambodia.  Tay Nihn is being turned over to the ARVN's so we will be going to a place called Dau Tieng about 20 miles east and slightly south of Tay Ninh.  It borders on the Michelin Rubber plantation.  I think we will be there for the entire wet season.  Three days ago my platoon got ambushed (for the 5th time since we have been in Cambodia).  One of my men died yesterday from the wounds suffered in the ambush (three bullets in the stomach).  One of my men lost his leg, it was blown off when an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) hit the door where he was sitting.  We found the leg in the truck after he was dusted off.  Another one of my men got his elbow shot off and got two bullets in the back.  All together 5 of my men were wounded and dusted off.  Since we have been in Cambodia I have had two trucks destroyed by mines, two by RPGs and my bucket loader destroyed by RPG's.  I have 12 men left in my platoon.  7 of my people have been wounded by enemy fire and 3 through non combat injuries.  
I don't know what the newspapers have been saying, but we are in the lower fishhook region and we are being beaten.  Our whole brigade (1st Brigade) is losing men like flies and we are getting many of the NVA.
I will be glad when we get out of here and things get back to normal.  Watch stocks carefully during any rally so that you might be able to sell some dogs.
Also keep checking with Dick Evens about buying more Holmer.  I would like to buy some myself so if you can get a hold of some I would like to buy a few hundred shares.
Take care and say hi to everyone and try to explain to them about my not writing.
Later,

John

June 20, 1970

Dear Mom,
Sorry I haven't been writing you regularly, but I have been finding it rather hard to write lately.  We are still up in Katum but have pretty well pulled out of Cambodia.  Tay Ninh is being turned over to the ARVN's so we will be going to a place called Dau (?) Tieng about 20 miles east and slightly south of Tay Ninh.    It borders of the Michelin Rubber plantation.  I think we will be there for the entire wet season.  Three days ago my platoon got ambushed (for the 5th time since we've been in Cambodia).  One of my men died yesterday from wounds suffered in the ambush (three bullets to the stomach).  One of my men lost his leg, it was blown off when an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) hit the door where he was sitting.  We found the leg in the truck after he was dusted off.  Another one of my men got his elbow shot off and two bullets in the back.  All together 5 of my men were wounded and dusted off.  Since we have been in Cambodia I have had two trucks destroyed by mines, two by RPGs and my bucket loader destroyed by RPGs.  I have 12 men left in my platoon.  7 people have been wounded by enemy fire and 3 through non combat injuries.
I don't know what the newspapers have been saying, but we are in the lower fishhook region and we are being beaten.  Our whole brigade (1st brigade) is losing men like flies and we are getting the NVA.
I will be glad when we get out of here and things get back to normal.
Watch stocks carefully during any rally so that you might be able to sell some dogs.
Also keep checking with Dick Evens about buying more Holmer.  I would like to buy some myself so if you can get a hold of some I would like to buy a few hundred shares.
Take care and say hi to everyone and try to explain to them about my not writing.
Later
John

July 6, 1970 (last letter)

Dear Mom,
I am still in Katum.  You might have heard on the news around July 2 about a sapper attack at Katum.  13 sappers came through the wire.  They killed 3 GIs and wounded 27.  One of my men got killed.  He was blown to pieces.  9 of the 13 sappers were killed.  We got ambushed again a couple of days after I last wrote you.  This time it was a different story.
Everyday I took my jeep.  I carried a M-60 machine gun with 1500 rounds of ammo.  I had two men in back with M-79 grenade launchers, plenty of hand grenades and 4 LAW's (light anti tank weapon) (They look like a bazooka but are portable and you throw them away after you fire them).
Anyway my jeep was in the middle and when they fired the first RPG we raced up and I put about 200 rounds in the direction of the fire.  Then my gun quit and I grabbed two LAW's and fired them.  Meanwhile one of my men was running down the ditch line throwing grenades into the bushes on both sides of the road.
The fight lasted about an hour and we shot up enough ammo to stop an army.
Please renew my WSJ subscription.  Also how many Holman shares are for sale.  Make sure you buy them I will buy what you don't want from you.  I got some cookies and letters from Jill tell her thanks and I will try to write her. 

Later,
John
P.S. How's Debbie's trip?
P.S.S.  I think now is a good time to look for underpriced stocks in growing companies.  I don't think the market is going to get any lower.