My war story is one that is so outrageous that I doubt anyone can come up with its equal. I can't remember ever telling anyone, friends or family, this story. It's a very short story, one line, in fact. Here goes:
"I spent one year in Vietnam and never saw a dead body."
There is a backstory. I was stationed at Bien Hoa Air Base with Air Force Advisory Team 2 attached to the 23rd Fighter Wing of the Vietnamese Air Force. This base had a long history. It was hit in 1964 and many aircraft were destroyed and Americans were killed. In Tet 1968 a 'human wave' attack covered 1/2 to 2/3 of the base before being driven off (as I was told). I arrived in September 1968. During my time we were regularly hit by 122mm rockets and mortars. None of them landed very close to me. There was one incident where 12 Americans were killed when a rocket hit in the doorway of their bunker. Planes crashed, pilots were killed. Once two rockets were fired at the rescue helicopter pad. Both fell into the Vietnamese basic training area killing many. One of my friends worked over there so he went over to help. He came back looking sick. Around Tet of '69 a battalion of NVA were engaged while trying to sneak into Bien Hoa City. The battle went on all day with helicopter and fighters firing rounds right over our heads. The actual battle was just outside the fence. A major in my office invited me to ride with him to the train station where the ARVN was stacking casualties. I declined. This is the point. People were killed on base. I never saw any reason to rush over to gawk at the bodies. That's my war story and I'm sticking to it.
Stick it Bill-O.
BTW, one of 'our' Vietnamese pilots, trained in the USA, flying for the South Vietnamese government bombed the presidential palace in Saigon in 1975 with his F-5 as the NVA and Viet Cong moved into the city. He was evidently a 'sleeper'.
