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Letters from Vietnam

November 1967

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A helicopter landing on a runway

A gunship with aerial rocket artillery (ARA). The army began arming its first Huey gunships with an aerial rocket system in 1962. Such advanced weapons systems failed, however, to alter the outcome of a jungle war.

13 November 1967:

“… Nathaniel [has] grown quite a bit & is rather fat - he eats a can of C-rations & a can of chocolate milk at least per day…. The… [picture] is of one of our rocket-firing helicopters on the brigade air strip.”

21 November 1967:

“This is a picture I forgot to send last time—a C130 on the bde’s air strip here.“

"For several weeks we had been getting quite a few VC with no casualties. But the last several days we’ve had 3 killed & quite a few wounded due to the same old thing primarily: mines & M-16’s jamming—I wouldn’t have one of those damn rifles if they gave me one. But the rest of the division has really been hit badly back in the Pleiku area. I’m happy we’re not there. It’s Korea all over again on the Cambodian border.“

"It hasn’t rained for 6 days; this has been an extremely mild monsoon season so far.” 

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A large plan on a dirt runway

The Lockheed C-130-Hercules was able to use unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings. It was designed as a troop, medevac, and cargo transport aircraft. It entered service in 1956 and proved so helpful in Vietnam that its use continued after the war.

21 November 1967:

“This is a picture I forgot to send last time—a C130 on the bde’s air strip here.“

"For several weeks we had been getting quite a few VC with no casualties. But the last several days we’ve had 3 killed & quite a few wounded due to the same old thing primarily: mines & M-16’s jamming—I wouldn’t have one of those damn rifles if they gave me one. But the rest of the division has really been hit badly back in the Pleiku area. I’m happy we’re not there. It’s Korea all over again on the Cambodian border.“

"It hasn’t rained for 6 days; this has been an extremely mild monsoon season so far.” 

27 November 1967:

“… We all thought we were going to the Cambodian border when we left Chu Lai, which would have put us at Dak To. But I’m glad to say we didn’t. Exactly a year ago, this bde. was in the same area facing the same opposition that 2 bdes. encountered this year. We did much better —far less casualties. We’re still on the coast at Duc Pho—midway between Chu Lai and Qui Nhon. We’ve killed almost 100 North Vietnamese (this btn.) in the past several weeks. From the few prisoners we’ve gotten, we have discovered that we have broken up a North V. regiment which has been in the coastal hills here 4 months—mainly because they can’t get supplied. They have been forced to take bold action in search of food & therefore we have been successful with light casualties (7 KIA [killed in action], 20 wounded). But without the bombing of North V. this would never have happened! Still we’re fighting their type of war & will be until Lyndon’s [Johnson] out of the White House.”