March 4, 1967
Arrived in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam this Saturday at 5:45am.  We signed some paperwork and then changed our dollars to piasters.  Picked up our baggage and went to our barracks.  Picked up our linen, changed into fatigues and then went to another barracks where we watched two films about the war, heat injuries and how to save money.  Then two doctors talked to us about the typical diseases.  This lasted till lunchtime.  After lunch they picked work details.  I had to help move metal roofing sheets on the hot sand where we have our formations.  I'm at the 544th Replacement Battalion.  They picked guards and KPs at the 4:30 formation but I didn't catch anything.  I ate chow and then went back to the barracks and took a nap.  I woke up and then went and took a shower and then went to bed.
 

March 5, Sunday
I was awakened at 4:00am by a sergeant getting four people up who were shipping out. I went back to sleep until 5:50am.  I then shaved.  I missed breakfast.  At 7:30am I was told I would be going to Qui Nhong, about 100 miles north of Cam Rhan Bay on the coast.  I'll leave here at 10:00am.  We waited at the air shipping point in C.R.B until 2:30pm and left by C-130 transport plane.  We stopped at Plieku and An Key(sp?) before reaching Qui Nhong.  We got there at 5:30pm and were trucked to the 45th Engineer Group compound.  Slept in a rotten tent on regular steel bunks with an air mattress and a mattress cover.  Watched a movie that night.  It also rained that night.

March 6
Woke up at 5:30am, went to formation and ate breakfast.  Helped build a sand bag bunker and had 2 orientations by the colonel of the 45 Engineers.  Finally got a letter off to home.  Some left for their units this morning but about 20 are still here.  This afternoon I was told I would be with the 39th Engineers.  I heard that this was bad.  All my buddies from C-3-1 went to so maybe it won't be all-bad.

March 7
At 9:30am I left for the Qui Nhon air terminal where we caught a C-130 for Tuy Hoa. We arrived at 10:00am. No one was there to receive us so we asked a truck driver where the 39th was. He said he could take us there.  He took us to the 39th Transportation Company, not the 39th Engineers.  We ate lunch there and at 2:00pm a 39th Engineer truck came to get us. We processed through and all 10 were sent to Company D.

March 8
Today we were to pick up our field gear and while we were waiting we pulled details. Two others and me helped pack up supply because we might pull out Saturday.  About 4:00pm everybody picked up their field gear except me and another guy and we didn't get anything.

March 9
At 8:00am everyone got packed and ready to go.  That is everyone except except me and the other guy who didn't get anything yesterday and one guy out on the mine sweep.  I just sat around all day and did nothing.

March 10
Today I went on mine sweep. We didn't see or find anything.  That afternoon I helped make two concrete bases for a water- tank support.

March 11
Again I went on mine sweep.  My shoulders are sore from wearing that flack jacket.  We didn't find or see anything.  Afterwards I helped in the pouring of a concrete slab for the motor pool and built a sandbag bunker.

 

March 12, Sunday
Woke up at regular time and filled sand bags all morning.  We got the afternoon off and went up to the Air Force BX.

March 13
Went on mine sweep and finally got field equipment.  That afternoon we built a three-strand barbed wire fence.  About 2:00pm I found out I would be moving-out to join the rest of my company on the beach.  Arrived at my company site about suppertime.  Took a swim in the ocean.  Had guard from 9:00pm to 12:00am.  Assigned to 3rd platoon, 2nd squad.

March 14
Went out on road [Highway QL1] and replaced wood flooring on Panel Bridge.  I mostly stood guard.  That night I had guard at bunker up on the railroad track.

March 15
Repaired road.  Had to clean out culvert because front loader clogged it up while removing boulders from side of road.  Road was flooded.

March 16
Pulled guard in compound all day.  Just sat and looked up into the hills with the binoculars.

March 17
Worked with demolitions trying to blow-up boulders from side of road.  All I did was act as security road guard.

March 18
Pulled guard all day at bunker up on the railroad tracks.

March 19, Sunday
Worked in the morning putting in a new ramp on one of the local panel bridges along highway QL1.  We had the afternoon off and I went to church and slept ... after church.

March 20
This morning we cut brush from the side of the road.  In the afternoon we finished up the end of bridge ramp with rocks, sand and cement.

March 21
We cut some more brush from the side of the road.  One rock that the pay loader pulled out of the cliff couldn't be pushed off the road so we tried TNT, result ... misfire.  Then we tried some C-4, result ... misfire.  We pushed the rock off to the side for tomorrow.  Koreans ambushed a Viet Cong supply team in the early hours of the morning.  I had guard on the tracks but didn't see or hear anything.

March 22
Had KP today.  We were alerted that a battalion of VCs was in the area so the C.O. had us start building more bunkers. I got off KP at 8:30pm and filled sandbags till 11:00 pm or later.  Finally got 3 letters from home.

March 23
Back on the road again trimming bushes. We discovered we could burn a lot of it and then chop it.  After doing this all day we filled sandbags till 9:00 that night.  Got some magazines, a birthday card from Bill [my brother], a letter from Leta [my sister] and two from Mom.

March 24
Cut and burned bushes all day.  Thompson sliced his hand on a bush axe today.  A scorpion stung one squad leader.  The squad leader was taken to a hospital and is OK now.  About 8:45pm the ARVN troops down the road started shooting mortar rounds up in the hills.  We didn't know exactly what was happening so an alert was called.  It was just practice rounds.

March 25
Cut and burned bushes all day.  We finally finished the road between our camp and north to the "White Horse" Korean camp.  We went down the other way [south] on the road and saw some more beautiful scenery plus we started clearing bushes there too.
 

March 26, Sunday
Went out on northern end of road to check for bombs hidden on bridges and in culverts.  Found nothing.  Ate breakfast, inventoried equipment and had the rest of the day off, from 12:00 on.   Had guard duty at bunker on railroad track that night.

March 27
Directed traffic where they were removing dirt.

March 28
Was road guard where they dumped dirt. A bulldozer cleared the bushes from the roadside and then spread the dirt.  A road grader leveled it off.  The road grader had to go cut drainage ditches at 2:00pm so three of us just sat around till 4:30pm.  The grader lost one rear wheel down the hill.

March 29
Was road guard at earth moving site all day.  Had an alert at 8:30 that night.  Alert over by 9:00pm.

March 30
Had daytime guard at bunker up on railroad track.  Finally received in-coming orientation form C.O.  Got paid for March, $117.00, but still haven't received February's pay.

March 31
Was road guard where they were dumping dirt.  The road grader is still out of action.  Mostly just sat around.