27 March-15 April 1971

Tomb of the Vietnamese Unknown Solider

"The Third Soldier"

27 March 1971 
Ya'll won't hear about any attacks on this base from me unless you read about it in the paper, then it will be all twisted up.  They're not going to mess with us.  I got news today about some of my old girlfriends are married.

30 March 1971
Got a sunburn today.  I got one sunburn, and it really hurt.  I couldn't get around for awhile.

31 March 1971

I should be a M-60 machine gun specialist by the time I leave here, besides knowing the M-16 up one side and down the other.  I'm always working on them.  I've also been giving classes on the M-60, teaching the new guys how to clean them.  It's a switch I remember when I had to listen to people give those type of classes, now I'm doing it myself.

2 April 1971
Finally started my fifth month.  Doesn't seem like I've been here this long, but I guess I have.

8 April 1971
Meanwhile the war goes on and the days fly by.

10 April 1971
We're having a lot of guys getting roll backs.  Most of them had 80 days to go now they got 7 days, and they'll be home.  As long as you have been over 9 months it counts for a full year.  I'm going to luck out, and stay a full year.  I've got $5 to make month on, but all that will be used for is movies.  I stock up at the first of the month and just don't spend or buy a bunch of junk.  I'll be poor for this year, but I have a start when I get home.  We didn't get hit all last month. This war is over as far as I can see it.

12 April 1971
Almost five months have passed, and ya'll are the only ones that write everyday.  I got a good friend named Joe and nobody writes, and he was engaged and had a bunch of people promise to write, but never did.  I guess these last few months are really going to drag for him and me.  I might not always have a lot to say in my letters but when I get home it's going to be hard to keep me quiet.

13 April 1971
I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing, and I'll take life head on, and will tackle whatever I have to.  I know I can make it so you better worry about the ones living at home.  We had two guys fired form the armory last night.  I'm second senior man in the armory now.  I got all my friends working in the armory now and they leave the same time I do.  Then the rest of the guys leave after I do.  It can really get to you wen you see all these other guys leaving and you're still here, but I'll be leaving one of these days too.  Right now I'm listening to ya'lls tape.  i went to midnight chow and checked mail and there it was.  i can't tell you how good it was to hear ya'll make tears come to my eyes.  It's hard to believe I'm really in Vietnam sometimes, I really didn't realize it until Mike said I was there.  We got a bunch of new guys in now, and when they have 8 months here, I'll be home.  The time really flies, but I'm glad I'm here.

All of my girlfriends have stopped writing.  

14 April 1971
One of my good friends leaves tomorrow.  From now on everyone leaves when I do or 3 or 4 months before I do, so when September gets here I'll be SHORT.

15 April 1971
I went down Monday and took my test for sergeant.  I'll be 21 pretty soon so for my birthday I would like a bunch of Mexican food, in cans, that's what I miss most.  All the old troops finally left.  The next one leaves the last of July.  Watching these guys leave and counting their days makes mine go that much faster.  The mail has really been bad this week.  That's the way it goes.  It would seem that they should have pretty good mail service by now, but they don't.