Bridge Completed

Saturday, October 26, 1968

After breakfast a Lieutenant from the Engineers thanked us for taking such good care of his troops.  Some mess halls would not feed them.  The policy in every unit mess hall was different, and some required an actual meal card to enter.  We never turned anyone away at the Kilo Battery mess hall.

The construction at the bridge site was complete, and the road would be opened later in the day.  Sumo and I laughed about how easy it was to feed these combat engineers.  All they ate for breakfast was doughnuts and coffee.

We anticipated the return of our gun crews in the afternoon, but they didn’t show up for dinner.  There were a lot of leftovers, and dumping out good food was annoying.  Rather than throw away the baked potatoes, we cut them in half and scooped them out.  The plan was to deep fry the empty halves and fill them with a mixture of mashed potatoes, bacon and cheese.  They would be served during the Steak BBQ on Sunday.  We called them “Loaded Baked Potatoes.”

I completed my ballot in the privacy of our hooch.  It was signed and sealed in candlelight . . . My first Presidential vote was accomplished.

Next Edition:  Hill 52 Evacuated