thedrifter
11-27-03, 06:05 PM
Thanksgiving
Most of the half-million American troops in Vietnam enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving Day turkey feast Thursday. But the band of weary soldiers who captured the summit of Hill 875 mostly gave thanks just to be alive. The men who took the hill Thursday in the central highlands also had a turkey dinner. It was airlifted in by helicopters and eaten in the abandoned ruins of a North Vietnamese command post. It was their first hot meal in 12 days.
Stars and Stripes
War Menu. Turkey for All, Sooner or Later
Most American servicemen in Vietnam will have Thanksgiving dinners tomorrow starting off with shrimp cocktail and going on through turkey and giblet gravy, dressing, candied sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables and cranberry sauce. While there is turkey for all, some men on long-range patrols or on isolated outpost duty will have to wait awhile. They can expect to dine on C rations. For the 62,000 United States Marines in the northern part of the country, the preparations included 25 tons of turkey and 10 tons of ham. The New York Times
Christmas Is a Wet Foxhole
CAMNE - For the 123 men of Company K, Third Battalion, Third Marines, Christmas began with the rain. All morning the drizzle continued. The day's project was a Christmas tree. It was fashioned from a scrawny, barren sapling, propped up with bricks. On it the marines hung two hand grenades, mess kit, spoons, beer cans, wet socks. A C-ration cracker was placed at the top instead of a Star of Bethlehem. Two huge boxes filled with gifts "from the people of New Jersey" provided by the state American Legion, arrived in mid afternoon. They were the occasion for a denunciation of the "Vietniks" and expressions of thanks to "the good people who understand." At 2.40 a marine "mule", a four-wheel vehicle more indestructible than the jeep, hove into sight across the rice paddies with a cargo of thermos cans. Inside the cans was Christma s dinner. The marines sloshed through the mud to the schoolhouse to line up for their turkey, mashed potatoes and bread. The meal had been mass-produced three miles away in a field kitchen, but it bore the stamp of home for the troops. There was no air of festivity. The men were too lonely and too far away from home to celebrate. The New York Times
Christmas Eve
TUYEN NHON, Special Forces Camp, Vietnam Christmas Eve, 1965, in the Mekong Delta. Eight Americans all wearing the green berets of the Army Special Forces, wait, watch and listen through a long, quiet darkness. Maybe tonight. Maybe not. Only the slow passage of the endless hours will tell whether the cease-fire will last the night. Eight Americans, each with his own thoughts of Christmas and home. Each far away from snow, silver bells, Christmas carols and Santa Claus. Each wondering ifthis Christmas Eve is the night Charlie will pick to unleash the death and destruction the soldiers know is waiting out there. Christmas is something that is far away this year. There isn't much time for it. But each man gives it a thought between rounds of checking the compound, loading weapons, and trying to catch a few hours sleep. It's all the Christmas they'll get tonight.
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Most of the half-million American troops in Vietnam enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving Day turkey feast Thursday. But the band of weary soldiers who captured the summit of Hill 875 mostly gave thanks just to be alive. The men who took the hill Thursday in the central highlands also had a turkey dinner. It was airlifted in by helicopters and eaten in the abandoned ruins of a North Vietnamese command post. It was their first hot meal in 12 days.
Stars and Stripes
War Menu. Turkey for All, Sooner or Later
Most American servicemen in Vietnam will have Thanksgiving dinners tomorrow starting off with shrimp cocktail and going on through turkey and giblet gravy, dressing, candied sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables and cranberry sauce. While there is turkey for all, some men on long-range patrols or on isolated outpost duty will have to wait awhile. They can expect to dine on C rations. For the 62,000 United States Marines in the northern part of the country, the preparations included 25 tons of turkey and 10 tons of ham. The New York Times
Christmas Is a Wet Foxhole
CAMNE - For the 123 men of Company K, Third Battalion, Third Marines, Christmas began with the rain. All morning the drizzle continued. The day's project was a Christmas tree. It was fashioned from a scrawny, barren sapling, propped up with bricks. On it the marines hung two hand grenades, mess kit, spoons, beer cans, wet socks. A C-ration cracker was placed at the top instead of a Star of Bethlehem. Two huge boxes filled with gifts "from the people of New Jersey" provided by the state American Legion, arrived in mid afternoon. They were the occasion for a denunciation of the "Vietniks" and expressions of thanks to "the good people who understand." At 2.40 a marine "mule", a four-wheel vehicle more indestructible than the jeep, hove into sight across the rice paddies with a cargo of thermos cans. Inside the cans was Christma s dinner. The marines sloshed through the mud to the schoolhouse to line up for their turkey, mashed potatoes and bread. The meal had been mass-produced three miles away in a field kitchen, but it bore the stamp of home for the troops. There was no air of festivity. The men were too lonely and too far away from home to celebrate. The New York Times
Christmas Eve
TUYEN NHON, Special Forces Camp, Vietnam Christmas Eve, 1965, in the Mekong Delta. Eight Americans all wearing the green berets of the Army Special Forces, wait, watch and listen through a long, quiet darkness. Maybe tonight. Maybe not. Only the slow passage of the endless hours will tell whether the cease-fire will last the night. Eight Americans, each with his own thoughts of Christmas and home. Each far away from snow, silver bells, Christmas carols and Santa Claus. Each wondering ifthis Christmas Eve is the night Charlie will pick to unleash the death and destruction the soldiers know is waiting out there. Christmas is something that is far away this year. There isn't much time for it. But each man gives it a thought between rounds of checking the compound, loading weapons, and trying to catch a few hours sleep. It's all the Christmas they'll get tonight.
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: