War is a ferocious form of insanity.
~Corra May Harris
I served in the United States Air Force from 1968 to 1972. I served in Vietnam from January 1970 to January 1971. I entered Vietnam as an Airman First Class (E-3) and left as a Staff Sergeant (E-5). I was stationed at Phu Cat Airbase in Binh Dinh Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, in what was designated as the 2 Corps military region. I was assigned mostly to supply; my duties included warehouse work, convoying materials to and from other military facilities in the area, perimeter guard duty, and for a little over one month flying as a crew member on C-130, C-119 or C-47 aircraft, humping cargo. I also served one month with a platoon of ROK (Republic of Korea) Tiger Division infantrymen just outside the Phu Cat Western perimeter.
The village of Phu Cat sat on the southern end of the air base, the rest of the base being surrounded by dense field or vegetation. The volatile province of Binh Dinh, Vietnam was never pacified and accounted for the fifth highest casualty rate for U.S. troops during the war, with upwards of seventy percent of the population estimated to be Viet Cong or Viet Cong sympathizers. The hootches we were quartered in consisted of half screen and half one inch plank structures. Each hootch at Phu Cat was surrounded by a 4 foot high, three foot thick sand bunker offering a degree of protection from shrapnel, incoming mortars, rockets and small arms fire.
Our perimeter at Phu Cat; clean as a whistle thanks to agent orange. After the sun went down all hell broke loose.
At night our perimeter would come alive with small arms fire, mortar detonations and air to ground fire raging from sundown till sunup. Our hootch was very close to the perimeter and as a result we were in close proximity to much of the night time action. When not on duty, one of our favorite activities was to sit on the sand bunkers, drinking, smoking and watching the evening fireworks. We would rate the action by intensity and shout and cheer at particularly heavy action. Occasionally when the fighting was too intense or got too close we would be forced to retreat behind the bunkers. (We hoped to never pull perimeter guard on nights like these)
On one particular evening the fighting was as crazy as we ever saw it. A firefight raged up and down the perimeter like a snake, and lasted for hours. Spooky and Puff gunships joined in, raining fire down from the sky as the battle intensified.
One crazy guy who hung with us, a zany character from New England named McCormick often joined us during these shows. “Mac” was a tall, lanky good natured dude. He was always kidding around, had a keen wit and a great fondness for Gin and tonics. In Vietnam, we would often get shipments of alcohol of one kind or another by lot. For about four months while I was there, we got mostly gin, so naturally that’s what we drank. We made our own tonic using quinine from the dispensary and white soda which we traded for. Mac was by far the leading consumer of our gin and tonics, notable for having drank thirty two on one particular evening alone.
On this particular night, Mac sat with us, drinking our gin and tonics, and watching the fighting rage on. Finally, the battle became too intense, forcing us to retreat behind the bunkers into the hootch. Undaunted by the intensity of the violence, Mac dragged out a speaker from a stereo in the hootch. He placed the speaker on top of the sand bunker, put a tape on the reel to reel inside the hootch, and turned the volume up full. Soon, amidst the explosions, shooting and screaming, “The Age of Aquarius” by The 5th Dimension blasted from the lone speaker sitting on the bunker.
It was a wild, surreal scene. We laughed, yelled and sang along with the peace anthem favorite, as the violence raged on.
And although I was to witness many unfortunate events in Vietnam, that event, though not tragic, remains one of the most memorable for me. To this day, I can still see Mac, hunkered down behind the bunker, gin and tonic in hand, flashing his patented evil grin.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQOQqn1qH4o
Copyright protected, all rights reserved © Joe Campolo Jr
Do you know whatever became of Mac? Thank you for sharing this pleasant memory. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this Lanh. Three of us who became very close friends during the war still remain in close contact, unfortunately I lost track of Mac after I returned.
Love this image, Joe!
Thanks Joyce!
I enjoyed your memory Joe, nice and descriptive. Having been in country myself certainly helps me picture the scenes, moods and action you’ve described here in this story but this writing also paints a picture for anyone not as fortunate as us (I kid) who have been there, aiding in the visualization of your posted memory.
Thanks Duke, glad you enjoyed it.
good story, Joe. We used to watch the battles outside our perimeter in Long Binh Post, too. Crazy VC would shoot green tracers at Puff or Cobra, and then the red death of US tracers would descent upon the source with a waterfall of lead. Jesus! such lethality, and still the bastards fought. Wow.
They were tough little devils! Thanks for sharing Tom.
Great story there, Joe! Brings back memories. Some good, some not so much. The A/Cs you rode in were my favorite “rides”.
As always, Thanks for posting…
Thanks Jim, glad you enjoyed the story.