October 1967

1 October 1967:

“…. There’s not too much going on here. Right now this area is pretty stable & our job is to keep it that way.”

11 October 1967:

“We are recovering from a typhoon that struck several days ago; we even got a bit of sun today after several weeks of rain. We’re only a few miles from the sea & the typhoon was equal to a fair hurricane. Things are rather static at the moment due to the monsoon….”

13 October 1967:

“… [The typhoon blew] down quite a few tents—including ours. But I think we came out ahead as we got a new tent & the old one leaked pretty badly. I’ve almost forgotten what the state of dryness is all about…."

“…I can attribute what confidence I’ve had & been able to pass on to my men this year to one thing: VMI & especially that Rat year.”

18 October 1967:

“I won’t be taking another leave after all; it seems that I ‘missed the boat.’ They have just this month adopted a new policy limiting you to only one leave & I’ve had mine. I’m sorry I didn’t go last month or the month before, when I had a chance….“

"The rain has slackened off a bit this past week, which had been a relief. This area here is now far less active than the one we were in.”

A series of 3 pet dogs brought Lt. Rasmussen a bit of normalcy and joy during his year in Vietnam. ‘Nathaniel’ is pictured here.

26 October 1967:

“… We’ve had practically no rain for a week. I’ve managed to get ahold of another dog, whom I have named 'Nathaniel'—he’s not quite 3 weeks old & looks somewhat like a bear cub. He’s the only dog I’ve ever seen who likes the canned sterilized chocolate milk we get…."

31 October 1967:

“… It’s been 2 weeks now & the weather is still clear, which is very unusual, but also very nice….“

"…I’ve actually had about enough of ‘Lyndon’s War’ (one yr. of defeatism over here is enough) & this btn. has gone down hill somewhat I’m sorry to say. I don’t really guess I expected anyone to measure up to Col. Miller or Maj. Weinberg though.”