Bill Saling

Bill Saling

Rifle Platoon Leader Company A

Support Platoon Leader HHC

Battalion S-1 Officer

1/22 Infantry 4th Infantry Division

1965-1967

Bill Saling was one of the "boat people", the initial deployment of soldiers of 1/22 Infantry who sailed to Vietnam
together as a Battalion aboard the U.S.N.S. General Nelson M. Walker in July 1966.

Bill went to Vietnam as support platoon leader in HHC/1-22 Infantry.
Later Bill moved to S-1 and had that job until he came home in June 1967.

Left: Captain Sandy Fiacco - right: Lieutenant Bill Saling

Bob Babcock who served as 3rd Platoon Leader and Executive Officer of Bravo Company
1/22 Infantry 1965-1967 writes about the above photo:

"Bill Saling chose to move from his HHC officers quarters into our B/1-22 officers quarters on the boat going to Vietnam
(as did Fiacco - he chose to be with his platoon leaders instead of other company commanders - shows the type of leader he was).
Sandy Fiacco is officially the first CO of B/1-22 IN as we started our deployment to Vietnam from July 1966 to January 1972.
And, Sandy commanded B/1-22 IN from summer 1965 through late December 1966. From that job, he moved to command
the in-country orientation/training center at 4ID HQ and Camp Enari (before it was named Camp Enari). Sandy took Walt Ferguson,
our 2nd platoon leader, with him when Walt came back to duty after being hit in the knee with a piece of mortar shrapnel
the afternoon that his RTO (David Mendez) was killed by friendly fire on 20 November 1966.

My guess is this was taken around 16-17 Dec 1966 as Sandy was headed back to base camp to inventory equipment and
turn over command to CPT Buck Ator. He is too clean to be going back into the jungle with us, looks like he has had
a recent shower and change of clothes. Note that Sandy always wore his wristwatch hanging from a button hole on his fatigue jacket.

When I got back late the night of 19 Dec for our Christmas stand down, Fiacco was gone and I shared a GP-Small tent
with our new CO, Buck Ator as I became XO. I think my official start as XO was sometime the week before, around 15 Dec
when I had command of the company while those two did inventory back in base camp. "

Bill Saling kept a diary of his service in Vietnam with the 1st Battalion website.
To view that diary click on the following link:

Bill Saling

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