March 13, 68
Dear Mom and Dad:

Sorry I haven't written earlier but one looses track of time easily. In fact it goes so fast, the 11 months I've got left won't take long at all.

You asked about the boats we use. Besides the large ships we use for base camps, the only ones I'm involved with are small, armored LSTs. They are about 25-30 ft long, about 8 (sic) feet wide and have a flat bow which lays down as a landing platform. It's actually a large floating steel box. The other is the monitor battleship which rides shotgun for us. It's slightly smaller, sleeker and a lot faster. They are pretty powerful little boats and put out a lot of firepower.

VC have never sank a Tango (LST) in spite of hitting one with rockets. They did however get a lucky shot into a monitor a few weeks ago, below the waterline, and sank it.

I've never had any trouble though while on the boats.

We also travel a lot by helicopter. I've been on about 7 eagle flights so far. After 25 I hear you can get wings to pin on your uniform. I hate helicopters though. As long as you are up in the air you can relax and enjoy the ride but coming down can be scary because you never know what's below. They've only had trouble once but I still get off as quick as I can.

Don't think I don't walk though, and with up to 40 or more pounds of equipment a little walking goes a long way. Boat rides only last 30-90 minutes usually but walking can go on and on and on.

You ask how we landed. The boats usually just pull up facing the bank and let us off. When we do end up in the water we don't wade, we trudge. No sandy bottoms here, only mud; and knee-level at that. They have about 3 types of mud here. Slimy mud is pretty good actually. It gets between your toes but it's relatively easy to move through. Sticky mud on the other hand is like walking through a vat of rubber cement. Sucking mud is worst of all. Try and step out and it reaches out and pulls you back.

I don't know the exact dimensions of the USS Benewah but it's a good-sized ocean going vessel. The designer was a midget who hated tall people though.

The MRF (Mobile Riverine Force) is a joint army-navy affair. The navy transports us and supports us when they can. The Navy is in complete command of all boats at all times. If we're sniped on the boats that's the navy's problem. Once on the ground however we're on our own except for the Air Force, artillery and helicopters. There's not too much trouble with VC in this area. We run into snipers a lot but they seldom hit anybody.

We usually move into the field in battalion-size units on search and destroy missions. What little resistance we occasionally hit is, if possible, given over to artillery and helicopter gunships. We usually don't have to worry about jungles either. It can get thick but the land breaks up into tidy chunks of woodland and rice paddy. One moment you may be walking in near jungle and the next in open country.

I guess that's all I've got to say. Don't worry too much. This is one of the better places to be.

Love
Robert

1 2 3 4 5