Stories of Vietnam Part Three

It was his first day in Nha Trang and the sergeant had asked for volunteers to go on a training mission. There was a company of South Vietnamese going out and they wanted a squad of Americans to go with them. They were going to send all the new guys so they had no choice but to go. Then they decided to only send a platoon of Vietnamese and only needed 3 newbies. The men were assured that they wouldn't see any action as they would be in completely safe areas with no problems. This would just be added training to help them learn to stay alive. Don figured he could use the training.

That night they walked for a long while, keeping quiet until they came to a ridge. They all laid down on the ridge in an L shape with the South Vietnamese forming the long part of the L and the Americans forming the short part.

It was 3AM and Don was wide awake, hunkered down in a banana grove overlooking a small valley and a rice paddy, when he saw a cone shaped hat silhouetted in the moonlit Vietnamese sky. The cone shaped hat was 10 feet from Don at the corner of the L. He reached over and grabbed the arm of the sergeant next to him. The sergeant looked up and saw what Don saw. Don's hand went to his rifle and he aimed at the cone hat. He was afraid to shoot in case it was a civilian. It was hard to tell over there. The sergeant mouthed the words "Don't shoot, let them handle it," nodding his head toward the South Vietnamese platoon. At that very second, all hell broke loose with all kinds of shooting. The South Vietnamese had fired on the cone hat. Later the sergeant told Don that if he had fired he would have drawn fire in their direction. First survival lesson learned.

During the shooting, which probably lasted all of 10 seconds, Don was trying to get as low to the ground as possible. He squirmed and wiggled, literally trying to dig himself a hole in the ground.

When morning came, they discovered an AK 47, blood, and drag marks, so apparently the cone hat had not been alone. As the sun got higher it started to warm up and Don wasn't scared any more. He stood up and then he smelled it.

What was that awful smell? He looked down and he was covered in s**t. He had been wallowing in it. He was informed that the Vietnamese used banana groves for outhouses and banana leaves for toilet paper. The sergeant and the other guys had a good laugh at Don's expense and the fear and tension of the long night was broken.

Just great. Welcome to Vietnam.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Buy at AllPosters.com

After about a week in Cam Ranh Bay the 25 special forces men were sent to Nha Trang. As soon as they walked onto the compound they saw an ice cream store. You ordered and paid and picked up your order at a window on the other end. They had soft serve ice cream, hot fudge and you could get a banana split. No shortage of bananas there! It looked just like a Dairy Queen and that is what they called it.

Across the dirt road on the compound was the barber. Don had been at Nha Trang a couple of days and needed to get a haircut. He walked into the barber shop and saw all the Vietnamese barbers. This made him a little suspicious. After all, they had sharp objects such as scissors and razors.

He saw that there were other Americans in there getting haircuts so he thought it must be OK. The barber gave him a haircut and a shave complete with the hot towel on the face treatment. Then he grabbed Don's head and jerked it to the left and cracked his neck. "What the heck!?" "Is he trying to kill me?" Don grabbed the arms of the chair and tensed up. The barber grabbed his head again and cracked his neck to the right. It was just part of the services provided.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Al and Don got sent to Da Nang, the only ones of the group to go there. They were stationed at Headquarters at Marble Mount. As their special forces training dictated, they lived as indigenous people and also picked up some Vietnamese language. They tried to befriend the South Vietnamese because a situation could arise where the Vietnamese might save their lives. The Vietnamese soldiers invited the American Special Forces to a cook out or BBQ. They cooked up monkey meat on a spit. It didn't taste like chicken. They urged the guys to try this delicious sauce called nuoc mam.
"What is that?" asked Don.
"Fish."
"Fish?"
Don tried it and it just about did him in. He was gagging like crazy and he couldn't believe he didn't puke. He was supposed to be a tough Special Forces guy and couldn't handle the fish sauce. The Vietnamese found this to be hilariously funny.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Back at the barracks one guy told him it was ground up fish guts. High quality fish sauce or nuoc mam is actually fermented fish. It is generally made from smaller fish, such as anchovies, that don't have much market value. As soon as the catch comes in it is packed into earthenware crocks with salt and covered with a bamboo mat. It is left to sit in the sun for up to two years. Periodically the mats are removed to air out the fish and allow the sun to help with the "digestion" of the fish. When the fermentation process is complete, the resulting liquid is drained from the crocks and sediments are strained out of it. It is allowed to air in the sun for a few more weeks before it is bottled for use.

Fish sauce is widely used as a salt in Southeast Asia and, with the rising popularity of Thai food in the states, it is catching on here.

After a couple of months they moved to Monkey Mountain. There were snipers at Monkey Mountain. The mess hall was down close to the beach. The communications bunker where Don worked was about 150 feet inland from the mess hall. There were wood flats that formed a board walk down to the mess hall.

One day they were all going to lunch and a sniper started firing. They could see the bullets causing sand to fly up. Everyone started running. They would run down to the mess hall for a few days and then they would get complacent and walk. Don was shocked that everyone would walk with snipers out there. A few weeks later it would happen again. It happened once or twice a month but they never could flush out the snipers.

Sometimes the Seabees would come over and build stuff for Special Forces and they'd trade things like steaks, AK47s or SOG jackets. The Seabees were often over at the Special Forces club house because there was always cold beer there. The Seabees were there a lot because they were building new barracks and they were moving the commo bunker.

Martha Raye, the comedienne, would come by once in a while and stop in at their club. She could out drink and out cuss any of the soldiers

US Army Special Forces Fitted T-Shirt
For the US Army Special Forces.
$23.99

Product Information
For stylish weekend comfort anytime, guys will want to live in our Fitted T. Made of ultra-fine, combed ring-spun cotton, that gets softer with each washing. Lightweight for summer comfort or winter layering. Grab attention with this vintage fit that loves to hug skin. (Size up for a looser fit).

See all of the items with the "US Army Special Forces" design.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Buy at AllPosters.com