Michael Belis Page 8

Michael Belis Company C 1/22 Infantry 1970-1971

My orders promoting me to Sergeant. Jim Regalia and I were promoted together. The orders are dated
December 25, 1970 (Christmas Day) with effective date of rank back to December 16, 1970. My name
is underlined in blue ink.

On our first move to Tuy Hoa in late 1970 we lived in tents

The tents were set up over concrete slabs

Inside the tents we had standard Army bunk beds
On left Standing up without shirt is Don Mitchem
unknown in background
On right SGT Robert Woodbury shining his boots

Me standing near a pisser

"Tent city"

Sylvester Bobo

Me at "tent city" - notice my boots are definitely not shined

Gene McGray
The water trailer in the background was our source of water
for drinking and washing while we lived in tent city.

Left, Michael "Spanky" Sullivan - right John "Goose" Bryce

SGT Michael Belis

Anchoring tent with sandbags

Laying down wooden pallets for walkways in the sand
SGT Robert Woodbury in white tank top

The hardened shelters for the F-100 fighter bombers can be seen in the background

Me at tent city - fuel storage tanks in background

Left, Bill Crane - right, Squad Leader Chester Wallace

Me inside a tent with my "I wanna go home look"

Firebase near Phu Nhon, 1971

On left Sgt Douglas Daigle, Battery C 1/92 Artillery. On right Sgt Michael Belis, Company C 1/22 Infantry.

Doug & I had gone to school together. He was real surprised when I hitched a ride from Pleiku & looked him up
on this little firebase, halfway to Ban Mê Thuôt . Eight years later he would be Best Man at my wedding.

Firebase near Phu Nhon, 1971
Doug's gun, a 155mm Howitzer. Over the mountains in the background is Cambodia.

Firebase at Phu Nhon

M-42 Duster in defensive position at Phu Nhon firebase

Firebase near Phu Nhon, 1971

Situated right on Highway QL-14. A few months after I took this picture, Doug's firebase was overrun.
He would get a Bronze Star with V for his part in its defense.

Doug's gun in its gun pit. Under those sandbags were bunkers. When the little firebase was attacked
and overrun by a large force of North Vietnamese, Doug and the firebase personnel retreated
to those underground bunkers while "Spooky" gunships strafed the entire compound.
Afterwards there were over fifty dead NVA inside the wire. Doug's Battery was awarded a
Valorous Unit Award for the action.