1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Bill Saling Page 4

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

Bill Saling

1965-1967

October 1966

1 October 1966

Real slow day today had an aerial resupply mission to the Recon platoon and C Company this morning and everything went smooth.
Sgt. Miller, my platoon sergeant, is going into Tuy Hoa to pick up your dress today, so I’ll be mailing it home tomorrow.
The dress is worn with long white pants.

The engineers having been working to set up sandbags around their new movie screen, so we are ready for our first movie.
No mail today.

Tonight Larry, Henderson, Hal and I all got together and played football behind the tents for a couple of hours and we are beat.
In fact we skipped dinner and went swimming instead. Surf was down from yesterday but it was still good.

2 October 1966

Got paid this morning $185 and they shorted me $50.50. I will check it out when I get back to Pleiku. Hal and I cleaned our tent today
and it looks much better. Hal and I decided the pin up girl on our September Playboy calendar was too good to throw away so
we cut the bottom part with the calendar off so we can still have the picture.

Finished the film in my camera so Larry could use it, so it should be a week or so until you get them. Boxed up your dress
and will mail tomorrow. Talked with Sergeant Miller for over an hour about home and family, I think he is getting homesick.
He really is an asset to the platoon I’m lucky to have him as my platoon sergeant.

Thinking of you.

3 October 1966

Time is now 0530 hours and Capt. Keuker and I are finalizing the details of a major air operation between C Company
and the 101st Airborne. Last night we got a warning order that we were to relocate C Company to the southern part of our AO
(area of operations). I’ll fly on the first lift to coordinate all resupply requests and make the move a little smoother. The lift will
consist of 8 slicks (Huey’s) and 2 Chinook’s (larger helicopter with two blades).

Lift went off without a hitch.

Spent about 2 hours with Capt. Kearns, CO (commanding officer) of C Company and then returned to our base camp
on the beach about noon. I will set up a resupply mission to C Company at 1400 hours and then fly them hot chow tonight
for dinner. That company has really been on the move.

Still another day with NO mail! If this paper looks like it has been wet it has. I was over in the S-3 (operations) tent when it really
started to rain and it was like a hurricane. Rain was blowing sideways and you could see maybe 10 feet. Your picture was blown
out of my tent along with your anniversary card and landed out in the sand. Those were the only two things that I kept
(all personal correspondence was supposed to be destroyed after being read for security purposes) I cleaned them off
the best I could with tissue so I hope they are ok. I need your picture to remind me what you look like.

This evening the officers played the enlisted a game of touch football. It was a good workout. Tonight we all went
to Larry’s tent and talked, just like old times.

Flying over Vung Ro Bay. Vietnam was a beautiful country.

This was where I spent a lot of time while in Vietnam, sitting between and behind the pilot and co-pilot seats.
Note armor plate surrounding the pilots.

Rolling in to the LZ and hoping it was not hot.

Ready to touchdown. Note machine gun at ready.

4 October 1966

I spent the entire day flying resupply mission to C Company at the new location. The day was cloudy and it rained twice
real hard and both times I got soaked to the skin.

Mail is still screwed up in Pleiku so still another day without mail. They said the movies we’ve all been waiting to see
would be shown tonight. Yesterday we were supposed to see Flight of the Phoenix but the bulb was burned out in the projector.

We are supposed to return to Pleiku around the 20th but that may change and we wind up staying here awhile longer.
After dinner we played volleyball and had a good workout. When it got dark we came over to our new movie screen
and the cartoon was just beginning. This was our first movie since we left the ship. The movie was Winter a go-go
and the Sandpiper. Of course it started raining half way through the first feature, but I can see the screen pretty good
from my tent except you just can’t hear.

5 October 1966

Today I received 3 letters from you and 1 from Mom and Dad so this is my best day this week. You can’t imagine
how great it is to hear from back home. It can get very lonely over here especially went you don’t get mail from home.

Our 1st Brigade has landed and we are trucking them down to an area near us on the beach. Boy I sure am glad that I have
¼ of my tour behind me. All their equipment is clean and new and the troops are spic and span. Hell they had their weapons loaded
expecting the “big battle”. Well their time will come. I think everyone landing in Vietnam expects the worst but over time you get used to it.

Had a meeting with MAJ High tonight. He just got back from Pleiku and he briefed us on our next mission. We will be sent
to seal the border with Cambodia and block the Ho Chi Minh trail. They estimate approximately 7,000 NVA (North Vietnamese Army)
in the area so at least it shouldn’t be boring. Movie tonight is Apache Uprising.

6 October 1966

Rained most of the day. Had my helicopter at 1300 hours as usual and spent most of the afternoon re-supplying C Company.
One thing happened while flying up to C Company. All of a sudden there was this banging noise, thud, thud, thud near the rear
of the helicopter. We first thought we were taking fire from the ground but later found out that one of the gas cans fell out of
the door and hit the tail. I was sitting on 50 gallons of gas and waiting for a bullet to hit the gas cans and that would have been
one hell of a ride.

Dick Donnelly stopped in and we talked for a long time and had drinks before dinner.

Larry went up to Pleiku to make plans for our next operation. Hal, my tent mate is in Saigon on a three-day pass.
I don’t remember any of our officers getting a three-day pass?

7 October 1966

This morning I sat over a cup of coffee until 0830 hours and then went down and talked with Lt. Richardson for a while.
Signed and submitted my officer preference sheet with Ft. Lewis, first choice, Ft. Meade, MD, second choice.
I requested 1st ROTC duty, 2nd Reserve component and 3rd Recruiting.

Had lunch and read some manual this afternoon until 1500 hours when my helicopter for today’s resupply mission showed up.
Spent the rest of the afternoon resupplying C Company. I missed dinner because I was trying to get my letter from the mail clerk.
Played catch until dark with Capt. Henderson our FAC. Watched the movie tonight, 24 Hours to Die with Mickey Rooney.
11 weeks down on 40 more to go. I’m getting short.

8 October 1966

Raining like hell, thunder, lightning, the whole works so I spent most of the morning in my tent, not much happening.
Rained off an on most of the day.

Flew aerial resupply to C Company and stopped to talk for a while. No action with any of our line companies,
everything is pretty quiet. We keep getting reports of a big VC buildup in our area but nothing happening yet.

Started getting my equipment organized for our trip back to Pleiku in a couple of weeks. Time is really starting to drag now
and I will be glad to move up to the border. It takes about a month to get settled so that will make the time go faster.
At our next location I was told I would have 8 Hueys at my disposal, so I’ll be king, I do love flying the missions.

9 October 1966

Don’t feel very well this morning. I hurt my hand yesterday loading the helicopter so it is really sore this morning.
We have cloudy day with sun coming through, first sunshine in a week. Spent most of the day in bed feeling pretty weak.

Tried to call John Courte and Walt Estep and found out they are both in Pleiku but I don’t know their units.

Got two more court martial cases today, both charged with assault on an NCO (non-commissioned officer).
Both men threatened to kill their sergeants but I can’t prosecute the cases because I was a witness in both instances.
No mail today. Only three letters for the entire platoon so mail is stopped up again in Pleiku.

10 October 1966

Worked all morning trying to get a Chinook (big two bladed helicopter) to haul 550 gallons of diesel fuel to C Company.
When I finally got down to C Company they said they didn’t want it. While we were loading the Chinook, a truck
backed up over Larry’s jeep and really screwed up the front end.

Afternoon was slow. My resupply chopper showed up at 1400 hours. We made one trip and then the pilots came up
to our tent and had a coke.

After dinner we had another volleyball game between the officers and the enlisted men, we won all three games.
Went down to the shower point and then went over to Larry’s tent for a coke.

Movie’s tonight was without sound so they didn’t run the movie. The projector blew a fuse and we almost had a mutiny.
Weather today was sunny and hot.

11 October 1966

I gave up breakfast and slept in this morning till 0830 hours, it was great. Not much happening this morning.
Went down to the 1st Brigade area to try and recover some of the items we lent them when they first arrived.

This afternoon made another aerial resupply to C Company and took Chris Keuker, Dick Donnelly and others
to a meeting with MAJ High, who was with C Company.

Sandy Fiacco made Captain a couple of days ago. Tonight another volleyball game and skipped dinner. Sgt. Miller and
Sgt. Bracy from my platoon and a couple of NCO (non-commissioned officers (sergeants) from Hal’s engineering platoon
came over for a few drinks. We sat around talking and telling jokes.

12 October 1966

Slow day! Had a resupply flight down to C Company this afternoon. Today was not a good day; movie projector broke
so no movies, generator blew up so we can’t pump water to the shower point, ice factory in town lost power so no ice
to keep our beer cold! What the hell is the world coming to? Went to bed hot and sweaty.

13 October 1966

Got up at 0545 hours to go flying again with Capt. Henderson, our Air Force Forward Air Controller assigned to the 1/22nd.
While flying the other day I saw what appeared to be an aircraft crash site, so we went back to look for it. We circled the area
but didn’t find anything.

When I returned around noon LTC Morley called a meeting and announced we would be relocating back to Pleiku tomorrow
at 0700 hours in preparation for our move to the border area west of Pleiku.

I’m sitting in the dark writing this by flashlight here on my cot. The camp looks like a gypsy camp, big fires all over the place
with everyone trying to get rid of everything to make us airmobile. Everyone is running around like a raped ape but I saw the
writing on the wall a couple of days ago and am packed and ready to go.

14 October 1966

Got up at 0530 hours to make sure the trucks from our 1st Brigade down the beach were on time to take our troops
to the airport. They weren’t so I had to scramble to borrow some dump trucks from the 20th Engineers who were attached
to us for the move to the airport. Shuttled B and C Companies and then around 0730 hours the trucks from the 1st Brigade showed up.
You cannot imagine the confusion of trying to take everything and yet be compact and airmobile. People were trying to bring
their ice chests and easy chairs but they were told to leave them so we had fires all over the base camp.

1st Brigade was to send someone down to sign for my ammo dump and 330 cases of C rations.
I had to call 4 or 5 times to their S-4 to come and get the stuff.

Finally around 1530 hours I took a dozen or so remaining people, including Chaplain Sauer down to the airport. They said
the Air Force would fly all night but they quit around midnight because they ran out of aircraft so I spent the night sleeping
on a pile of bags of cement. MAJ High, Capt. Keuker and I along with my NCO’s sat around a small fire in a tin can
and made coffee. Just like a bunch of hobos. Slept fairly well.

(Note: Our time in Tuy Hoa was an acclimation period where we developed our skills and confidence to do our jobs in a
hostile environment. My platoon became very comfortable and confident in our ability to provide aerial resupply to our forward
operating troops. We would look back on our time in Tuy Hoa with fond memories. There would be no more time at the
beach or volleyball or basically any free time. Our time on the border would be quite different from our first couple of months in Vietnam.)

This map will give you some idea of where we operated in the Central Highlands. We were in the II Corps area.

15 October 1966

Got up around 0700 hours and had C-Rations for breakfast. Slept in my clothes and boots so it didn’t take long to get going.
They loaded my jeep and we took off around 1130 hours.

Today and yesterday were both extremely hot. I got sunburn on top on my tan. Flight was terribly hot for the first 15 minutes
until the A/C kicked in. Our C-130 aircraft had my jeep with trailer, a ¾ ton truck and 38 souls onboard.

Arrived in Pleiku around 1210 hours and headed out for the base camp. Wow, the base camp has totally changed since
we left back in September to go to Tuy Hoa. It is really nice compared to living in tents. Good roads, nice mess hall, full PX
(post exchange) and good living quarters.

Ran into Capt. Jon Sampson, who is the CO (commanding officer) of our rear area. I think he feels bad about not being able
to go out on operations with the battalion. Oh well, somebody has to stay behind. I’m just glad it’s not me.

Dick Donnelly and I hooked up and set up a tent to sleep in tonight. Today I received two packages and three letters,
great morale day for me. The pepperoni sticks were great and I will use the clothespins tomorrow. The box of cookies
arrived in crumbs but they were still good.

MAJ Wells our S-3 (Operations) called a meeting and said we would be heading out first thing in the morning to relieve
a nearby town that was surrounded by NVA (North Vietnamese Army). In our new AO (area of operations) we would be
dealing with the NVA not the VC (Viet Cong). Our new area is a “free fire zone” so we can engage anyone upon contact.

16 October 1966

Got up at 0700 hours and tried to sort my junk out so I wouldn’t have to carry so much weight on this operation. We were
all packed by 1000 hours and were ready to move. MAJ High and Capt Kinchelow led the convoy and I was tail end Charlie
and was the last vehicle in the convoy.

We arrived at our new location called the Oasis about 1130 hours and began to set up our camp. I have my own tent so far
and will enjoy that luxury while I can. Flew chow out tonight to A Company and Hq. Command group, but C Company
didn’t get any chow because they couldn’t mark the LZ (landing zone) for us to see to land. It was getting dark and the
visibility was very low.

Found a piece of plywood that I put next to my cot so now I even have a partial floor. No church services today.

17 October 1966

This morning was beautiful, cool and crisp with bright sunshine, good for sleeping. I finally got my tent set up and will need
to build some shelves and a wash rack. Went back to our base camp and bought another pillow (someone stole my last one)
and three cases of beer. They really have a nice PX (post exchange) at the main base camp, which is now named Dragon Mountain
Base Camp.

Not much happening today, everyone is settling in to our new location. There was an officers meeting where we were informed
that if anyone under our command got malaria because they didn’t take their malaria pill or failed to put up mosquito netting
we would face a court martial. This area is one of the few areas in Vietnam that has a strain of malaria that is fatal. After the meeting
I was walking back to my tent when I stepped into a 5-foot deep garbage sump hole and damn near broke my ass. Everyone laughed.

18 October 1966

This morning around 0830 hours I got a call from MAJ Wells that our battalion was being moved to a new location and he requested
two trucks immediately. I got him the two trucks and after several delays we got underway. The area around Pleiku is now just the
opposite of last summer when we arrived in a sea of mud. Now there is no rain just dust. The dust is so fine that it makes driving
a challenge. It is hard to see and breathe with no top and no windshield. The roads are very poor and not well marked
you really need to check your map to get where you are going.

I arrived at the forward CP (command post) around 1200 hours and had C-Rations for lunch. I returned to base camp to get
our fuel truck so I could refuel the vehicles in the forward area. By the time I’d returned to the forward CP area the battalion
had moved out. MAJ Wells gave me the map coordinates to the new refuel point. I headed out to the new location going
cross-country. When we arrived at the map coordinates I had the driver of the fuel truck turn around and set up but while turning
the 600-gallon fuel pod fell on the ground. Time was around 1600 hours so it was beginning to get a little late to be screwing around
on an unsecure road. I called Lt. Ugarte, our Motor Officer, and told him to get me a wrecker out to my location fast so I could
reload the gas pod and get back to base camp before dark.

Well everything worked out ok and we got the gas pod reloaded and returned to base camp just as it was getting dark.
Unfortunately all my gear was at the Oasis forward operating base so I went over to the S-4 tent and borrowed a sleeping bag
and cot. It was a long day.

19 October 1966

Awoke rested and had breakfast. Had to get the gas truck and go out and try to find the battalion because I never got
to refuel the vehicle forward because I dumped the gas pod, so off again. By 1130 hours I made contact with our forward
element and got all vehicles refueled. The road to our forward area is really ideal for an ambush with tall grass and trees
growing right along side the road. Oh well, no problem so far.

Saw Capt. Samson at the Dragon Mountain Base Camp and almost had him talked into coming with me to the forward area
but at the last minute he backed out. He has a great life in the rear area, wooden building to sleep and eat in, 3 hot meals a day
and his biggest concern is whether to buy a Jaguar or a Porsche when he returns home. What a racket.
I was so filthy when I got back to the Oasis no one could recognize me, now they call me pigpen.

20 October 1966

It was a long night. I was OIC (officer in charge) of our perimeter defense and had to stay awake all night checking our
defensive positions and calling in hourly SIT reps (situation reports) to higher headquarters.

Spent the morning building a shelf to store my “stuff” so it wouldn’t be all over the tent. Two great meals today, had steak
for lunch and roast beef for dinner both were delicious. Sure beats C-rations.

Capt. Richardson came out yesterday to the Oasis and is staying with me in my tent. He will be eventually going to
1st Brigade back in Tuy Hoa on a transfer that is pending.

21 October 1966

Slept great. Woke up at 0800 hours. Slow day. Did paperwork all morning and made arrangements to move the battalion
back to Dragon Mountain tomorrow morning. All my trucks arrived at the Oasis around 1800 hours so that is one less worry
for tomorrow.

MAJ High wants me to build a floor for LTC Morley’s tent. He is definitely hyper and wants to floor done right away.
Went down and spent some time with Dr. Maur, our battalion surgeon. He had some American music that we listened to
and it was great. Our area here at the Oasis is nice. Trees and grass with a moderate temperature. I’ll take some pictures tomorrow.

22 October 1966

Rainey day! Spent most of the day building a floor for the Colonel’s tent. My platoon was assigned the job of building the floor
but everyone was out on the mission of picking up the battalion and bringing them back to our area so I did the sawing and
PFC Coslop did the nailing. We get our wood from discarded artillery ammo boxes. Every night our artillery fires H&I fires
(harassing and interdiction) and as a result we have hundreds of empty boxes. You carefully break them apart and use the wood.

We got the floor done and then MAJ High decided it wasn’t quite good enough so he worked on it for a while until he got it
the way he wanted it.

We waited lunch for the battalion to return but it was 1700 hours when they finally showed up so they had lunch for dinner.
Capt. Richardson and Donnelly are now living in my tent.

I also found out last night that I was nominated for General’s Aide to General Collins, our division commanding officer.
We sat around this evening and talked. I started to learn how to play a harmonica.

Setting up camp at an area called the Oasis.
MAJ High on left with MAJ Wells on the right. Guy in the middle was from higher headquarters.

One night's worth of empty ammo boxes, our wood resource.

Sargent Gary D. Miller and members of my platoon discuss how they are going to build the floor.

LTC Morely has a new floor.

Our home for the next month.

Outdoor dining for the enlisted personnel.

23 October 1966

Had breakfast, bacon, eggs and pancakes. Worked most of the morning on reports and making sure our ammo supply
was correct. Lazy afternoon. I put up my jungle hammock and relaxed.

Played football before dinner. It was Capt. Nunnelee, A Company CO and me against my nemesis, Jim Stapleton and Dick Collins.
We lost 5 to 4, damn. Had a few beers after dinner and then turned in. Big day tomorrow, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
are coming out to our location to put on a show and everyone is really excited.

A puppy is always a nice distraction. My jungle hammock is an all in one place to sleep. It provides a cover and a mosquito net
and is easy to throw up between two trees.

Every morning you need to check your boots to make sure you didn't have an uninvited guest. These scorpions are huge.
The only thing worse is to jump into your bunker and find a cobra snake. That is a bummer.

24 October 1966

Start of a new week. 34 weeks to go but who is counting? Today Roy and Dale showed up for an hour show on our hastily
constructed stage. I probably wouldn’t have attended their show back in the states but out here it is a little bit like home
and I wouldn’t have missed it. They really did a good job and everyone enjoyed the show. It does tend to make everyone
a little homesick so I wouldn’t want to see too many of these shows. Roy Rogers was the only USO show that ever came out
to our forward area to put on a show. Most USO type shows were put on in the rear where it was more secure.
“Happy trails to you until we meet again.”

Talked to Don Jones and he said my name was forwarded to division to become General Collins new aide.
I hope I don’t make it because I really don’t want to leave the battalion and my platoon.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans put on a show in our forward area which was greatly appreciated.
For most of us Roy Rogers was a connection with our youth.

A very attentive crowd.

Command staff. LTC Morely sitting with his hands crossed, next to him was SMAJ Arruda with Chaplain Sauer.
Dick Donnelly was in back with his hand to his face.

25 October 1966

Real slow day, troops are all still here at the forward command post on a one hour alert status. Got two letters today
and even had a hot shower.

Lots of rumors about the possibility of a big shake up in positions within the battalion. I think Capt. Richardson has already
been relieved of his job and Lt. Katin will be our S-1.

Larry thinks I have a real good chance at becoming General Collins new aide but I really don’t want the job.

Sat around this evening and had a few beers with Dr. Maur and Chief Bond, so I’m feeling pretty good.
Plan on going into Pleiku tomorrow for a little time off.

26 October 1966

Left the Oasis around 1000 hours to convoy to our Dragon Mountain Base Camp for my day off.
I arrived at 1100 hours, had lunch and finish some paperwork.

Went into Pleiku around 1400 hours with Chief Bond, our supply warrant officer. We visited several bars
and had a few beers and spent the afternoon shopping.

Returned to base camp around 1900 hours and talked with Capt. Samson for a while. Got two letters today. Went to bed early.

Chaplain Sauer at 3-Golf forward base camp.

Church service before large air assault mission up to the Cambodian border area.

Nothing like church in the open.

Communion service in the field. Note cassette recorder under the make shift alter. That was our music.

27 October 1966

Got up, had breakfast and got my gear ready to go back to the Oasis. Capt. Sampson accompanied me back to the Oasis
and then went out with LTC Morley to a near by village where they captured a VC (Viet Cong) and a VCS (Viet Cong Suspect).

Played volleyball this afternoon, it was Headquarters Company against A and B Company. Sat around most of the evening.

Got a call from MAJ High who said we were moving out tomorrow morning to a Special Forces camp near Plei Djereng,
which is located about 4 miles from the Cambodian border. Plei Djereng has been mortared three times since we’ve been
at the Oasis forward operating base.

Our battalion will be south of us conducting search and destroy missions near another Special Forces camp at Duc Co.

28 October 1966

Dick Donnelly and I got all our gear including my tent and are ready to move but Capt. Richardson got stuck in Dragon Mountain
Base Camp, so we piled all his stuff on his cot and left it sitting in the middle of the woods.

Spent the night with Larry Kincheloe and Chief Bohn. We all sat around shooting the bull when Larry announced he heard on the radio
that married men had to spend only 9 months in Vietnam. Sgt. Miller said Capt. Richardson had the orders in writing but I have not seen it yet.

29 October 1966

I got an early start today at 0630 hours. Rained last night and I forgot to put the tent flap down so I am wet. We were supposed
to depart at 1000 hours but didn’t get underway until 1030 hours. The hold up was there was 6 VC killed and several wounded
in a firefight on the road we must travel so we had to wait until the road was cleared.

Got through Pleiku with no trouble but then got tied up in a traffic jam for about three hours. Everyone had to wait for a tank escort
because of the ambush earlier. We finally arrived at our new forward base called 3-Golf.

Set up our tent and was told I would be leaving in the morning at 0700 hours on a convoy to Plei Djereng with my ammo section.
Sorted out my gear by moonlight since no lights are allowed at night, strict black out rules.

30 October 1966

Moved out at 0715 hours. I’ve been up since 0500 hours getting all my trucks unloaded and trying to sort out what I needed
to send back to Dragon Mountain. Word came down that all non-essential vehicles (100) must be returned to the main base camp
so only 13 vehicles would stay forward. Looks like we’ll be walking more and riding less.

Had a tank escort all the way to Plei Djereng Special Forces camp. They have been mortared several times in the last week.
I am located in a valley with hills close by on two sides. People here said they have been attacked from every side but the one
I’m setting up on. I have Sgt. Bracey and 5 men to handle all the battalion resupply of ammo and food. After setting up our tents
we began digging our bunker and setting up our perimeter defense. Weather here seems to be hotter than back at 3-Golf.
Sgt. Bracey and I will share my tent since I’m the only officer here from our battalion.

Well it is almost time for dinner. All we’ve had for the last several days is C-Rations
so I’m looking forward to some hot chow tonight.

Just got word that our battalion was being redeployed to support the 2/8 and the 1/12. They were hit by a North Vietnamese unit
last night and they killed 42 that got inside the perimeter and over 100 outside the wire. 2/8 lost 8 KIA (killed in action)
and 32 WIA (wounded in action), so it looks like we’ll be in some shit for a while.

31 October 1966

Worked all morning improving our bunker making sure we had good fields of fire. Had a hot breakfast this morning
for the first time in several days.

Set up here is pretty good. We are located just outside the barbed wire of the Special Forces camp. They have 3 batteries
of 105’s to support the camp. The camp is small compared to what we’ve been used to and doesn’t have too many facilities.
Today is the first day we’ve had potable water. We’ve been treating our drinking water ourselves.

Today was a red letter day I received 7 letters, I even heard from Steve Doty, the Esners, your folks,
Uncle Fritz, Bob Jaynes and two from you.

Posted a .50 cal machine gun for extra security tonight and began digging another bunker to reinforce our perimeter.
Spent the evening writing letters. It gets dark around 1700 hours. You can see the stars really well since there is no light
anywhere near us. Had a shower tonight in a nearby waterfall.

Captain Walt Sauer, battalion chaplain

Chaplain Sauer joined our battalion when we shipped out in July 1966. He was an invaluable part of our combat team.
He was a confidant, a friend and our minister.

Walt always could find someplace to hold an impromptu church service. He didn’t need to wait until Sunday. If we had a big
operation, we had a church service. If we were sitting on the Cambodian border under regular mortar attacks, he was there.
During one mortar attack at either the Oasis or 3-Golf he earned himself a Purple Heart, he was hit in the ass by shrapnel
cause he was slow getting into the bunker.

He was our sky pilot and was always there for us, encouraging us to not lose hope, to trust one another and know that
everything would work out.

Most of us did not attend church on a regular basis but as far as Chaplain Sauer was concerned we were all part of his flock
and he took care of us.

Dr. Maur, battalion surgeon

Doc Maur joined the battalion when we deployed in July. He shipped out on the USNS Walker and was one of the guys.
It is very comforting to know that we had our own surgeon. He knew each of us, we were not a number and that meant a lot.
He was always on us to make sure everyone took their malaria pills, treated our water and cleaned our eating utensils. He was
Dr. Mom, always looking out to make sure we didn’t get into trouble. Later in our tour he tended our wounded and dying with
compassion. You were never alone.

Captain Henderson, Forward Air Controller

Captain Henderson and Captain Coleman (KIA in Tuy Hoa) joined our battalion in Tuy Hoa and was our direct contact for
coordinating our close air support. The Army radios (VHF) could not talk with the Air Force and their radios (UHF) so the FAC
provided that necessary link between the Army troops on the ground in contact with the enemy and the Air Force/Navy
fighter/bombers providing close air support.

The ability of a FAC to accurately put a smoke rocket on target could be the difference between life and death. Having a FAC
who was part of the battalion provided that added layer of confidence that he would do everything possible to save our ass.

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