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At the end of three days we had to head back to
Dong Ha. After checking out of China Beach, we dropped by the NSA Hospital
and picked up the Plague Vaccine and then headed for the Airport. We then
caught a C-130 back to Dong Ha. Flight time was only about half an hour.
Several days later we got word that the boat had
landed at a site in the Cua Viet River and near
dusk we went with a jeep and trailer to pick up our beer. They loaded the
pallet of beer in the trailer and under cover of darkness we headed back to
base. The beer was kept in a locked crate near the supply tent. When we
arrived all corpsmen formed a line from the trailer to the storage crate
and passed the beer case by case to the storage crate. Once it was complete
the locks were placed back on the crate. We had to keep the beer secret
because if the Marines knew about it we would be subject to rip offs.
We would also keep the BAS forward supplied with
beer. To get it out there, we would use metal boxes made for shipping
medical supplies. They were large enough to accommodate a case of beer
each. These boxes would be sealed with 2 metal bands and placed on the
convoy going out to Payable. When we had corpsmen up at Con Thien, we used the same technique, along with a
shipment of plasma.
My last month in Viet Nam passed without any
major incident. We had plenty of beer and things were so routine
that I have no particular memory of that time other than checking off the
days on my "short-timer's" calendar. A short-timer is someone who
has less than 30 days left in country.
Finally the time came for me to pack my gear, of
which there was very little because anything that I wanted to take home I
had boxed up and shipped by mail because I did not want to carry the gear
on the plane. I then caught a flight to Phu Bai, where I was to check out with Alpha Med, 3rd Med
Battalion. Alpha Med was located right next to the airfield. I spent several
days at Phu Bai and
while there I ran into several friends from 3/3 as well as some from
Yokosuka, Japan. I went to the PX and bought a new 35 mm camera to take
home. I then spent the days waiting for a flight date. During this time I
just hung around the area at Alpha Med taking pictures and visiting.
Finally I received orders to my next duty
station. I had requested to go back to anywhere in Japan, but I was
reassigned stateside to Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida.
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