In Country: Day 1 by Roy C. Beer
I was drafted into the Army in July 1967 and after a few months of basic and AIT training arrived in Vietnam around November. Arriving off the plane I was greeted with the hot, humid and dusty air that consumes your senses and hits you like a brick wall. My first thought: "Terrific, 12 months of this?"
My initial duty assignment was with the 2nd of the 7th of the 1st Cavalry Division. Again I thoughts reflected on my possible future as I remember that it didn't go so well for a General Custer who earlier commanded the same 2nd of the 7th Cavalry.
Every green recruit when first arriving in Vietnam has to go through a standard 3-day orientation before reporting to his duty station. This provided for an adjustment to the climate, military protocol, the local civilians, military services provided, dos and don'ts and the overall rules and regulations while in country. Before formally reporting for orientation however, a few of us decided to take a chance and sneak off to the local beer joint on base. We didn't have formal permission yet but what are they going to do, send us to Vietnam?
We found the nearest bar and as we went in it took a minute for our eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bar. It wasn't a big place but it had a bar and a dozen or so tables with chairs. We got our beer and sat down at a table to enjoy a brief moment to relax and reflect on the intimidating environment we found ourselves in. As we looked around it was easy to differentiate the new guys from those having been here a while. I suppose it was their demeanor and attitude. Trying not to look too much like the obvious green recruits that we were we huddled around the small table and quietly talked about our near term future. Thankfully the beer helped minimize our collective concerns and apprehensions for the required 12 month stay in country.
Just as we started to feel a little more comfortable with our reality and surroundings, the back door of the bar swung open and there was a silhouette of this guy standing in the doorway. Just like in the movies, when he stepped inside everyone stopped what they were doing for a second and looked over.
I remember his appearance was quite different than the rest of us and he had this hardened, macho look about him. I was in taken aback with his intimidating presence. We stared at him in wonder.
"Who is this guy?"
He was not dressed in the normal government issued green jungle fatigues like
everyone else. He was wearing a different type of uniform commonly referred to as "tiger fatigues". They were not government issue and looked pretty awesome. As a note of reference, these fatigues were worn in the John Wayne movie Green Berets. He also carried what appeared to be a 45 pistol in a shoulder holster across his chest with a big Bowie knife on his belt. He casually walked over to the bar and ordered a beer. Definitely impressed the hell out of me.
Of course no one at our table knew who or what this guy was. I was so intrigued that I asked the guys at the next table and asked what they knew. They told me that he was a LRRP with the Australian military. "What the hell is a LRRP?" I asked. I had no idea what that was. They told me it stood for Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, a relatively new covert operations program in Vietnam. Our allies in the country as well as the US military had these "teams" operating throughout the different areas in country. He referred to them as being some "pretty bad asses". I told the guys at my table and we all were pretty impressed and admittedly, somewhat in awe. I know that chance encounter had a major bearing on the decisions I would make during my tour in Vietnam.
Coming Soon:
*On Recon with a little kid coming our way.
*Lost track at 200
*Last Day in country
*Evac
*Hospitals
*Nurses Dorm Across the street
*In Traction
...
I was drafted into the Army in July 1967 and after a few months of basic and AIT training arrived in Vietnam around November. Arriving off the plane I was greeted with the hot, humid and dusty air that consumes your senses and hits you like a brick wall. My first thought: "Terrific, 12 months of this?"
My initial duty assignment was with the 2nd of the 7th of the 1st Cavalry Division. Again I thoughts reflected on my possible future as I remember that it didn't go so well for a General Custer who earlier commanded the same 2nd of the 7th Cavalry.
Every green recruit when first arriving in Vietnam has to go through a standard 3-day orientation before reporting to his duty station. This provided for an adjustment to the climate, military protocol, the local civilians, military services provided, dos and don'ts and the overall rules and regulations while in country. Before formally reporting for orientation however, a few of us decided to take a chance and sneak off to the local beer joint on base. We didn't have formal permission yet but what are they going to do, send us to Vietnam?
We found the nearest bar and as we went in it took a minute for our eyes to adjust to the darkness of the bar. It wasn't a big place but it had a bar and a dozen or so tables with chairs. We got our beer and sat down at a table to enjoy a brief moment to relax and reflect on the intimidating environment we found ourselves in. As we looked around it was easy to differentiate the new guys from those having been here a while. I suppose it was their demeanor and attitude. Trying not to look too much like the obvious green recruits that we were we huddled around the small table and quietly talked about our near term future. Thankfully the beer helped minimize our collective concerns and apprehensions for the required 12 month stay in country.
Just as we started to feel a little more comfortable with our reality and surroundings, the back door of the bar swung open and there was a silhouette of this guy standing in the doorway. Just like in the movies, when he stepped inside everyone stopped what they were doing for a second and looked over.
I remember his appearance was quite different than the rest of us and he had this hardened, macho look about him. I was in taken aback with his intimidating presence. We stared at him in wonder.
"Who is this guy?"
He was not dressed in the normal government issued green jungle fatigues like
everyone else. He was wearing a different type of uniform commonly referred to as "tiger fatigues". They were not government issue and looked pretty awesome. As a note of reference, these fatigues were worn in the John Wayne movie Green Berets. He also carried what appeared to be a 45 pistol in a shoulder holster across his chest with a big Bowie knife on his belt. He casually walked over to the bar and ordered a beer. Definitely impressed the hell out of me.
Of course no one at our table knew who or what this guy was. I was so intrigued that I asked the guys at the next table and asked what they knew. They told me that he was a LRRP with the Australian military. "What the hell is a LRRP?" I asked. I had no idea what that was. They told me it stood for Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, a relatively new covert operations program in Vietnam. Our allies in the country as well as the US military had these "teams" operating throughout the different areas in country. He referred to them as being some "pretty bad asses". I told the guys at my table and we all were pretty impressed and admittedly, somewhat in awe. I know that chance encounter had a major bearing on the decisions I would make during my tour in Vietnam.
Roy Beer [right]
Coming Soon:
*On Recon with a little kid coming our way.
*Lost track at 200
*Last Day in country
*Evac
*Hospitals
*Nurses Dorm Across the street
*In Traction
...
