A pact between friends

In December 1967, four of us privates who had become close friends pledged to make it through the war with our lives. To the best of my knowledge, each of us did.

From left to right: Richard Welch (green beret), John Issel (pathfinders), Rodney Eng (509th Airborne & 82nd Airborne) and Wilford Mendez.

Building the Camp Crockett quonset huts

In November 1967, we built A Company's quonset hut. The task took several days. This was the beginning of Camp Crockett.

Inside the Camp Crockett quonset huts

Veterans will recall the cramped quonset huts, heated in the winter by Yukon stoves, on which many of us warmed snacks and drinks purchased from the PX trailors that served as camp stores. The stoves were also used to warm various items employed -- often in vain -- in the task of melting frost from the outhouse seats.

First Platoon privates

Eight of us FNGs grouped in December 1967 for a photo after building the Camp Crockett quonset huts we'd live in. Each man autographed the back of the original picture. Their names: Eugene Adams, Arnold P. Galvin, Curtis Thompson, Wilford Mendez, K. Bay, John K. Issel, Daniel L. Snyder and Leland P. Grase and Rodney Eng (center, standing).

First Platoon - A Company

Here's my platoon in December 1967, pictured in front of the huts we built and the adjacent outhouses. Many of us remember these as some of the best days of our lives. The gentleman in the left rear, nicknamed "Tree," stood at least 6-foot-4. We joked, "Nobody would shoot you; they'd mistake you for a tree." If you're in this picture, feel free to contact my email in the "about me" section of the homepage, or comment below.

Post-riot Mess Hall

Eat at your own risk. Soldiers will recall the three hot meals prepared with dishes of questionable cleanliness and unknown ingredients. The mess hall door screen was damaged after the riots in 1968 (shown) when soldiers broke in and stole rations. Damage to the indoor cookware forced meals to be prepared outside. The only air conditioning during the Georgia summer was the wind off a gnat's rear.

Vietnam Village - training site

Here's the Vietnam Village at Camp Crockett in 1967. This was a training site used for various purposes, including tactical tasks such as guerrilla and counter-guerrilla warfare.

The pond

There was a shower house at a pond near Camp Crockett, but it was out of order in 1967, so many of us soldiers bathed and shaved in a nearby creek.

Leaving Camp Crockett

Soldiers departed Camp Crockett in January 1968 to attend jump school. Many went on from there to serve in Vietnam.

Lister bags

Here's me in 1968, returned from NCO school to Camp Crockett for the second time. I was 19. At my left is the infamous lister bag, containing our daily supply of drinking water. There was always a danger of drinking contaminated water.