21 Months, 24 Days: A blue-collar kid's journey to the Vietnam War and back

234 Pages·2015·5.52 MB·English

by  Udden

21 Months,
24 Days

21 Months,
24 Days
_____________

By

Richard Udden
Copyright © 2015 by Richard Udden All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
First Printing: 2015
ISBN# 9781499745542
Revised and Updated, September 2015
To Teresa, Christina and Jeremy

and

To the men who served with
“Ace High”
2/12 Battalion
1st Cavalry Division
In Vietnam - 1970
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments………….ix
Introduction…………………xi
Chapter 1 Leading Up…………………1
Chapter 2 First Day…………………….11
Chapter 3 Basic Training………………15
Chapter 4 Advanced Infantry…………34
Chapter 5 Home on Leave…………….41
Chapter 6 Shipping Out……………….44
Chapter 7 Checking In to Vietnam……49
Chapter 8 New Guy Training…………56
Chapter 9 Pulling Guard in Bien Hoa..60
Chapter 10 Fire Support Base Buttons..70
Chapter 11 Ace High…………………….75
Chapter 12 Living on Buttons…………..81
Chapter 13 First Ambush………………..86
Chapter 14 VIP Center……………………91
Chapter 15 Combat Assault……………..97
Chapter 16 Working in the Jungle……..107
Chapter 17 Back to Buttons……………..126
Chapter 18 Candy………………………..130
Chapter 19 Make It Better……………….137
Chapter 20 Souvenirs……………………142
Chapter 21 Combat Leader Course…….146
Chapter 22 Calling Home……………….150
Chapter 23 Rainy Season…………………154
Chapter 24 Pressure From Above………159
Chapter 25 Chance Encounter……………164
Chapter 26 First Firefigh…………………168
Chapter 27 Thrill of a Lifetime…………..177
Chapter 28 Ganja…………………………..183
Chapter 29 Assault into Cambodia1…….189
Chapter 30 Rock Island East…………193
Chapter 31 Life in Cambodia…………202
Chapter 32 Wounded…………………212
Chapter 33 Recovery…………………..220
Chapter 34 Holding Pattern…………..227
Chapter 35 Back In the Jungle Again…241
Chapter 36 Two-Digit Midget………..248
Chapter 37 Short……………………….255
Chapter 38 Out of the Bush…………..261
Chapter 39 Out of Vietnam…………..267
Chapter 40 Unforeseen Finish………..276
Afterword…………………283
Acknowledgements
Writing this book has been a two-steps-forward, one-step-back marathon for
me. Without the help of many people, I never would have made it.
My wife Teresa has been with me the whole way, cheering from the
sidelines and offering advice. I never could have come this far without her
support and encouragement.
Family and friends have read some or all of the manuscript and provided
their thoughts. My son Jeremy said I had a voice. Hearing that gave me
encouragement to keep going.
Elizabeth Murray, a contracts lawyer and colleague, read an early version.
She found misused words and overused jargon. Her love for literature helped
with suggesting areas in the book that should be further developed.
Fred Freitas, a history teacher, author, and neighbor, marked up a proof of
the book. He identified grammar issues and awkward writing. He also
suggested ways to improve the flow of the story.
Rob George, Doyle Miller and Jim Branch, all Vietnam infantry veterans,
read the manuscript. Their feedback gave me confidence that I have not said
anything out-of-line or missed something important.
Finally, Amy Montemerlo, an educator in English and journalism, reviewed
a final draft and found grammar and clarity issues still hidden in the text.
I am grateful to all. And that includes CreateSpace for providing a place
where a new author can come to make a dream come true.
Introduction
In the late sixties, draft boards were gathering young men for the Vietnam
War. High school kids who were not bound for college had to enlist or wait for
a draft notice. The burden fell on the children of blue-collar families because
college was not an easy option for them. Instead of starting a career, they had
their lives put on hold.
I was one of those kids. Threatened by the draft, I enlisted in the Army. I
expected an easy two years working in a trade. Instead, they assigned me to the
infantry and sent me to Vietnam. There in the jungle, I hunted and fought the
Vietcong along with other young kids. When my company was sent to
Cambodia to disrupt enemy supply lines, I was wounded by shrapnel from a
booby-trap. All of this happened before my twenty-first birthday. A year later, I
was discharged from the Army and returned home. I did my best to forget about
the Army.
So why have I written this book now? Well, it began as a way to organize
and caption the pictures I brought back with me. I did not want to leave my kids
with a bunch of pictures and no explanation for them. Then, I met a fellow
Vietnam vet who had written his own book. He planted a seed in me. Before I
knew it, I was off and running. I did not want to write one of those typical war
stories about battles won and lost. After all, I took my pictures between
firefights, not during them. So instead, this book focuses on what it felt like to
pass through basic training, infantry training then on to Vietnam and Cambodia.
I wrote about the day-to-day grind of the job between firefights including
combat assaults, jungle patrols, and pulling guard on a firebase. I wrote about
lighter moments on a firebase. Late in the day, when the sun disappeared, we sat
in a circle and passed around a joint while listening to music on a cassette deck.
There were so many unique experiences there; I had to get them all down on
paper.
I made two chance decisions in the Army that contributed heavily to this
book. First, every three days or so, I sent a letter home to my family. The letters
focused on things like where I happened to be, the living conditions and the
weather. I tried to avoid writing about anything that may worry them. My Mom
saved those letters and gave them back to me years later when she discovered
them in a bureau drawer. Without those letters, there is no way I could have
pulled together the what, where, and when in such detail.
Second, I do not know why, but I decided to use slide film instead of
pictures in my Kodak Instamatic camera. Using slide film was a great decision.