Chieu Hoi

February 19, 1968

The war around Hill 65 had become quiet.  Sergeant Paige warned me not to let my guard down and said, “The battles ebb and flow.”  Sometimes when you least expect it, all hell breaks loose.  There was no predicting things to come . . . “just try to be as ready as you can.”

Sumo’s stir fry dinner went well, and the Udon noodles were a hit.  The sticky sweet and sour orange shrimp was excellent.  However, we had to ration them to a small portion of three each.

After dinner I set up my chair outside to write Jenny a letter and watch for any action out in Arizona territory.  I noticed some Grunts looking up in the sky and pointing at something.  I was thinking it was a helicopter or a jet, but it was leaflets . . . thousands of them.  They were meant for the NVA/VC and were a form of psychological warfare.  I collected a few and stored them in my box of letters from home.

Leggs came by the hooch and needed another PB&J sandwich so we went to the mess hall for his late dinner.  He gave me an update on the BBQ pit which was complete, except the cooking surface (a diamond shaped steel grill) wasn’t quite ready.

I admired Leggs’ ability to fix mechanical issues.  He was an auto mechanic, welder, carpenter, plumber, heavy equipment operator and inventor.  His military specialty and primary job was keeping all six guns in top working condition . . . his secondary military occupation was tracked vehicle maintenance.  He was a valuable asset to Kilo battery.

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