Excerpts from Letters to Mom in italics.
06 February 1967
I have a few slack minutes here at work. The weather turned hot again. How is Uncle Shun coming along with his doctorate?
Last nite I put in 16 hours at work, took off 6 to sleep and ran back on duty again. [Best friend AG2 Pete Wyatt was probably on a well-deserved R & R to Penang, Malaysia.] Can't wait to go to the P.I. The most exciting thing I've done lately was to buy a new wallet at the exchange. I had to decide between two kinds. The one I liked also had a key holder which I do not need, and of course was more expensive. The manufacturer's price for the wallet alone was $5.00, and I got the key chain too, for $4.50. I really needed the wallet, 'cause the free one I got from the club in Taipei fell apart.
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21 February 1967
I just got back a couple days ago and have been busy as h----! Yesterday, I went to work at 6 AM and left at 9 PM. Looks about the same for the next few days too.
[Although the chronicles do not reveal the exact date, a VIP visited the ops compound one day when AG2 Fehr was on duty. General Cushman, the commander of the 3rd Marine Division, toured the facility for a first hand look and series of briefings. Of course, he spent a good deal of time with Co. L, Marine Support Battalion personnel. AG2 Fehr had the honor of briefing Gen. Cushman explaining what he did and how the information or end product was used. Fehr expected some rough, gruff fireball, but the general appeared to be an affable gentleman who quietly asked several questions and seemed genuinely interested in Fehr's explanations. The general reminded Steve of his grandfather.]
26 February 1967
I had a real good time in the PI. I got off to a good start with a beautiful young girl (18). Pete [not Wyatt, but Peterson] and I filled up the back of a jeepney (jeep taxi) with beer and a kid to open bottles, our broads and made it to the closest hotel. That was a hostel [along the South China Sea shore] at the provincial capital about an hour's drive away. I made three trips to the resort there at Iba before I left the P.I. I drank a lot of beer (San Miguel) and had the company of a female all the time, so it couldn't have been a bad time!
I got a letter from Paul Gerhart the other day. I used him for reference for college. I believe he helped me out OK. Quote: Does subject need NDEA loan of $1,000? ANS: His step-father who has always been extremely generous with Steve, owns a chain of gas stations - but I think Steve could use the $1,000 anyway - the engine of his Rolls Royce could use a tune up. Q: Is subject of good moral character? ANS: Are you shittin me? Unquote. I'll have to write Paul and thank him for his frank honesty; the Navy ain't really so bad.
By the way would you believe they are rationing caviar in the PX? [One could never find more conventional items for snacks like Vienna sausages, peanuts, pretzels, pork and beans, etc. The products on the plank or shelf in the tiny PX were scarce. Looked like some store in the old Soviet Union - nothing in stock!] The other item on sale is sardines. Me and a couple buddies washed down the pretzels and cheese [mailed from home] last nite at the club. It sure tasted good. Thanks again.
06 March 1967
It doesn't seem natural not mixing with the people. I haven't eaten or slept with the locals. I don't even hear their music. I sure wish I were able to absorb more of the [Vietnamese] culture. The women are petite and pretty; just about the same as the Taiwanese.
I'm up for R & R in April and I lost no time applying for Taipei. Guess I'll write CiCi soon. I sure miss her.
It will seem like a vacation to get back to an 8 hour day, five day week job [back in the world as a civilian]. These hours get you down. I can't even read a book. [Still, rear area "support" duty beats the terror of combat patrols and front line duty!] Ask Uncle Shun if he received some clippings from the Manila Times. The momma-san at the bar was gonna mail my letter thru Philippine post. I hope she did. Some of the editorials were interesting.
I got Phubitis - that's when the optical nerve slips down to the anus and you get a shitty outlook on things!
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25 March 1967
I just got the March Playboy today. I haven't been in the trenches lately, but on them. The softball sandlot (all sand) is surrounded by the trench line and communication trenches. We use it for bleachers. Occasionally, if we're having a good time when the club closes (at 0945 PM) we take our drinks out for a "trench sked" after club hours.
Lot's of the guys, especially frustrated marines, have pictures taken with all their gear on and behind a 30 cal. Machine gun, etc. One of the [good] guys GYSGT Buckley, bought a new camera and was taking pictures of everyone. He even got one of me; I didn't know it until he gave me the picture. Now I'll never be able to convince anybody that I was in Vietnam during the war! I was out on a trench watching a softball game. All you can see is a hairy arm hoisting a can of beer. (I'm in civies too.)
I can't wait to get April's Playboy. They have an interview with Arnold Toynbee, the historian, who thinks we are antagonizing China. Another article is how to abolish the personal income tax by taxing the church, the oil companies and one other source I can't remember.
I'm supposed to be going R & R 19- 25 April. Pete(erson), who went with me to the P.I., is also going. I wrote to CiCi's home (not where she is living). I hope her father gets the letter to her, and that I SEE HER.
Flash. A wire just came in saying I was promoted to AG1 on 16 March 1967. I am sure this is wrong because you must have two years obligated service. I have six months. I ain't obligating either, so continue to address your letters to AG2. (I'd hate to lose all that time in grade.) [Mild sarcasm.]
There wont be any Easter eggs this year. Word came in that the Easter bunny was shitting eggs in the minefield and tripped one off. Guess I've been here too long.