Ed's First Tour of Vietnam--Funny experiences

Ed always tried to make things light for everyone! Here are some comments from his letters:

"When we are on standby at night, we are able to sleep a bit, but we’re usually fully dressed. Every time I take my boots off, though, while we are on standby, we get called out. The first time, I thought it was just a quirk of fate, but I’m slowing changing my mind. The others can take their boots off, and nothing, but as soon as mine come off, we are on the go. It has even got to the point now, where the crew members are asking me if I’m going to take my boots off.

"And if things get dull, they ask me to take my boots off. So take it for what it’s worth, but it sure works. So if my feet get really tired, and I start complaining about them, it’s only because I’m scared to take my boots off.

"As to when we get days off, we don’t, unless we are really lucky! So we have to do with trying to sleep on standby, unless I take my boots off!"

The living conditions at Bearcat were not too good. Ed reports his first accommodations there were open bay barracks. 

"The barracks we live in are so, so. They have a tin roof and the sides are wood about five feet high and then screen for about three feet. The wood is put on so that they overlap with space between for air.

"There are about ten of us in the barracks at present and we don’t have much time to get to know each other. But within a couple of days we should get another barracks the same size as this and so we’ll have a lot more room.

"Our barracks are open-bay , but most of us have put up partitions and made private rooms for ourselves. My room is about 8 feet by 16 feet or just a bit smaller so I have quite a bit of room. I have a bamboo-type rug on part of the floor and also a bamboo-type rug on the wall. They are these things like you see on sun porches. However, everything we have is what we have made or bought. It’s really bad by your standards, but for here, it’s not bad." 

Later, Ed was able to get a "private" room with a room mate. There were four rooms in a small building. 

Ed was injured once during his tour: 

"Well, I’m a casualty now.  I sprained my ankle. I’ve been hobbling around ever since, but it’s getting better.

"I hurt it while we were at Dong Tam on a C. A. (combat assault). I hurt it while we were refueling. There were four or five of us that decided we’d like some coconuts to eat. I tried to climb up and fell and that’s how it got hurt. Silly, huh. I’ve been grounded for two days with it, but it’s better now.

I’m hobbling around on a cane."