GALLERY 1
PHAN THIET AIRFIELD
(Click on the thumbnail pictures to enlarge)
Base camp was the air field at Phan Thiet (LZ Betty). In addition, we rotated at three other landing zones, LZ Virginia, LZ Bartlett and LZ Judy. There were 5 companies in the battalion, Headquarters Company, Companies A, B, C and D. Each company was composed of a headquarters platoon, 3 rifle platoons and a mortar platoon. HQ stayed at Phan Thiet and each of the other companies would be on patrol a week at a time, while the other three companies stayed either at Betty, Virginia, Bartlett or Judy.
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 Phan Thiet patch (click to enlarge) |
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Half of the troops in the company were rotated every six months. That meant that when I arrived in December of 1966, the others that came with me as replacements would be with me until I left a year later. There were a dozen of us in the mortar platoon. Six months after arriving, in June 1967, the other half of the company was replaced by new troops and they remained together for a full year. This process of rotation led to the formation of many friendships. In essence, one got to know the guys that were there six months before you and the ones that remained six months after you left, in addition to the guys who you arrived with. I value the friendships that I made during my tour of duty. Fortunately, only one person from our platoon that I knew from the three rotations was killed in action (Richard Fahrenbruch) and one was wounded, lost a leg and was returned home (Lawrence Lonzo). Of course, numerous other men were killed or wounded in our company, but they were not as close friends as the men in the mortar platoon.
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