March 22
Dear Family

How is everything at home. I've read some of the advice and observations Dad sent on the 11th and most of it's pretty good. It is true, for example that some indigenous personnel are not friendly. In fact, some can be downright hostile. It is therefore, like you say, SOP to travel with a buddy or 300 and to walk in a low crouch.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to avoid the ditches, fields and rice paddies. The best way to do so is stay home. The ditches help eliminate the "showers in the field" problem though. The battalion CO who flies in a helicopter always provides us with plenty of canals to cross.

As you suggested, we always travel on the Main Supply Routes. Vietnam has thousands of miles of these intricate travel routes. They also serve a double purpose by acting as rice paddy dikes.

It is not as simple as you might believe to stay clean and neat. There was the time, for example, I was crossing mud two feet deep and I fell down. The suggestion to change clothes daily is downright impractical. Laundry is a community affair where 60 guys all throw their dirty clothes in one bag and hope it will be eventually returned from the ships laundry. If it is returned, you scrounge in the bag to find any piece of clothing that is unmarked or that has faded markings that can be easily camouflaged. It is unusual to have a uniform actually returned to its original owner.

You were right about rest being necessary to Americans in the tropics. Because of this we are allowed to sleep several times at night between watches in the field. During the day it is difficult to rest. On occasion, however, enemy fire gives us the opportunity to sit or lie down.

I'm afraid you suffer from a misconception of the peace and comfort of the ship. We do not have badmitten, shuffleboard and recreation rooms. We do, however, have a brand new swimming pool in the hold of the ship which was installed last night by grateful natives using some type of high explosive projectile. The US Navy did not appreciate the gift though, and we are canted over at a crazy angle at the moment while a large rubber patch is being placed over the hole in the side.

Food on the ship is fairly good, being of a quality similar to that of a low-class restaurant. However food in the field, known as C-rations, is guaranteed to quickly dispel one's appetite.

Naval vessels are not known for "spacious state rooms". The average head clearance is 5' 10". This makes it difficult for persons like myself who are taller than 5' 10". You will notice that in WW II films of naval battles that the sailors always wear helmets. Popular belief is that this protects the head from flying bullets and shrapnel. Actually it is protection from serious head damage due to low pipes and doorways while rushing about.

We do not have plush carpets, hardwood furnishing, crystal-cut chandeliers or overstuffed chairs with leather upholstery. The USS Benewah is an old WW II liberty ship which has been decommissioned twice. I've heard that the VC want to capture it and us it as propaganda against decadent America.

The bunks are triple-layer and about 24 inches apart. That means if you have a nightmare and suddenly sit up you hit your head on the bunk above you. Unless you're on top, then you hit a steel I-beam.

Except for minor inconveniences though, I've nothing to complain about.

That's about all I've got to say. One day is pretty much like another so there's nothing new.

Love
Robert