It was late at night (just before midnight), when Lieutenant Skoog started shaking me awake. He was shining a flashlight in my eyes and seemed to be in a nervous frenzy. Sumo woke up as well, and Skoog delivered the news: “We received a top secret message on the KY8 radio.” The message was that Kilo Battery is relocating to Thuong Duc in the morning. He wanted us to start packing the mess hall in order to be ready to move out.
To shut him up I answered, “Yes Sir, Aye Aye Sir, we will be ready.” After he left our quarters, Sumo and I debated the situation. I decided to get some confirmation and went to the Exec Pit. Captain Smotherman was in his rocking chair outside, reading a book with his headlamp on.
I approached him and asked, “Sir, are we moving to Thuong Duc?” He confirmed four guns were being moved at 0900. It was then I realized that Skoog had misinterpreted the message. The mess hall was not going anywhere. Not wanting to embarrass Lieutenant Skoog over this issue, I kept quiet about his top secret information.
Back at the hooch, Sumo and I decided we would load some cases of juice and fresh oranges on one of the trucks in the morning. We also alerted Reb so he could add an insulated Mermite container of Carolina Chowder for the troops.
I am a retired restaurant manager. My wife Jenny and I have been married for 50 years, have three grown children and two teen grand kids.
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My Vietnam Experience 