The day before Thanksgiving, 1969
11/26/69: “I’m sitting inside a dirty room in Cam Ranh Bay. It isn’t the greatest place in the world but it is quiet, at least as far as a war is concerned. The night sounds consist of the singsong voices of the South Vietnamese mingled with restless GI’s, and a howling wind. It’s very sandy in this part of the country. The base sits on the edge of the South China Sea and it seems as if it’s sandy beaches stretches inland for miles. The wind continues to carry the sand along with it! It’s even inside the rooms and our beds! It’s very uncomfortable. The night air is very cool, almost cold. I doubt very seriously if my single sheet is sufficient. My friend and I are stuck here for the night because we weren’t able to get a plane farther north. There’s a chance we can get one tomorrow noon, but a slim one! What a way to spend Thanksgiving Day!
Note: An interesting thing happened here. I arrived in Cam Ranh Bay pretty much completely broke…barely had a dime to my name. With my Pay Records going to Phu Cat it would be hard to get the AF to give me some money to tie me over until payday. But I decided to take a chance and see if they could do something. I went to the finance office and told the guy behind the desk what I wanted. He asked my name and service number. I gave it to him. He made a note of it and then went to a large file cabinet to check my pay records. I reminded him that I was just traveling through here and that my pay records would be in Phu Cat. He didn’t listen much and said even less. All at once I was surprised to see him pull out a file on me and go through it. It contained my pay records! I couldn’t believe it. He said the records shouldn’t be here but they were. So it seems as if I really lucked out on this one because my pay would really have been messed up in Phu Cat come payday! Without records it’s hard to get any money out of them. Also, I was able to get my money to tie me over. In fact, I got a whole month’s pay because the last time I had any money was before I left Germany in August!
11/27/69: “I arrived in Phu Cat this afternoon about 5:00.
I went to the mailroom and already had mail!! I hear the sound of small arms fire off in the distance. Today is Thanksgiving Day. It’s about to come to a close. It didn’t seem like much of one, even though I did have a turkey dinner. Phu Cat is a bit different than Cam Ranh Bay. There’s no blowing sand here. It’s much cooler here; in fact it’s too cold. As I look over my right shoulder I see flares going off in the distance. Even though I hear the sounds of rifle fire in the same area, it’s kind of quiet here. The base hasn’t been hit for about 2 months now. I hope it continues to be quiet. It’s a little foggy tonight. I hear the rain starting to fall on the tin roof of our barracks. I hope the wind doesn’t start to blow in.”

I can identify with our men in Iraq; being far away from home during the Thanksgiving holidays. They would love to be home with their families; perhaps in a room full of family, with a cozy fireplace and the smell of wonderful food cooking in the oven.

I ran across this funny quip I want to share with you. I realize that war isn’t funny (perhaps more than you do) but where there’s no band, sometimes you have to make your own music…

AC NEWS: Redneck Special Forces....

The Pentagon announced today the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces. These Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri,Oklahoma, North and South Carolina, Tennessee & Texas boys will be dropped off into Iraq. They have only been told the following facts about terrorists:
1. The season opened today.
2. There is no limit.
3. They taste just like chicken
4. They don't like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus.
5. They are DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for the death of Dale Earnhardt.
We expect the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday.

May the joys of the Thanksgiving Holiday be yours! May you be comforted as you bask in the safety of a free Nation, protected by young men serving our Armed Forces at home and in foreign lands.