see more of Thailand than you really want. a story by Tom Petty
"Just one question, sarg, How do I get to Sattihip?" I had never been south of Korat before, except to take a taxi to Bangkok, once, about a year earlier. I got an icy stare for that question. By this time Lt. Turner had joined us and he chimed in "take the first road to the left after you come down out of the mountains. Follow it all the way to Sattihip". Right, got it, "We ain't left yet?" Which was the typical response of a confused or harried pipeliner. I remember many a time when second platoon would say that in unison and individually. "We ain't left yet?" yell it out "WE AIN'T LEFT YET?" All right, let's do it! We left the next morning.
Loria and Koeleke each had a footlocker in the trailer. I, on the other hand, having been in Thailand for a long-long-long-long time, came prepared. I had my reel-to-reel tape recorder, a stereo amplifier, turntable, a couple speakers, boxes of tapes and records, AND a foot locker. I would remove all my t-shirts, underwear, and socks and put my pictues in a box in the footlocker, where they would be safe. The clothes went in a box with the stereo. The army would inspect everything but your underwear, so I new I was safe if they got messed up. So off we went, out of the Camp USARTHAI motor pool main gate and past the theatre (trepidation implanted this in my memory). I don't know what Loria and Koeleke were thinking, but I just wondered where the heck (a more colorful metaphor could be used here) we were going to end up!! The directions I was given were just a little bit on the vague side, and it was hard enough navigating around Thailand when you all ready know how to get there. We ain't there yet? (Oh Please! Not another pipeliner expression). By the way, it would seem that we had an expression for every occasion.
It was a pleasant drive south out of Korat to the plateaus and mountains. We all got to know each other better and soon were at ease. From this trip came a close friendship, which was built upon even further at Samae San (Sattihip), and has lasted for 35 years. The highway we were on was all laterite, a clay type soil. It had been built up to have a layer of asphalt put on to make it a first class hiway from the port of Sattihip to Korat and points north. For us though, it was just another well-kept dirt road. It was still under construction in the mountains. The road made a gradual descent out of the mountains and then onto the open plains. As we came down out of the mountains we saw a road going off to the left. It was a new road like the one we were on and seemed to be busy with traffic. "What do you think?" Yes, this is the road we take after we leave the mountains:Boy were we wrong. (Another pipeliner expression meaning - REALLY BIG MISTAKE)..
For the first two or three miles the road was really well kept, but gradually I noticed that the road was getting more rutted and pitted. We were spending more and more time dodging large potholes in the road. It no longer was a well-maintained dirt road. It reminded me more of the typical Iowa dirt roads. The traffic had disappeared and soon I noticed that the jungle was starting to encroach on the highway. After a couple hours of driving I was beginning to wonder if we were on the right road. Loria and Koeleke were oblivious to what was going on since they were the new-bees. I noticed that the road was not kept up; there were no ditches, the road looked as if it was just dozed out of the jungle, and there was NO TRAFFIC!! Just like in "F" troop on TV I had to ask myself, "Just where the huck ow we?" I needed to find someone, anyone, to give me some directions. This was also very disconcerting to me; there were no people around. But soon all would be answered and we would know where we were.
We came up to a Thai guardhouse, out in the middle of nowhere, this also seemed strange. I stopped and asked the guard where we were. I got out the map and we looked it over. I can remember this like the day it happened. He was bent over the map, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He put his finger on central Thailand and followed a highway East and pointed out the Thai-Cambodian border! Fecal Matter!!(put in your own colorful metaphor), man we have to get out of here!! Oh Man! Are we in trouble!! Fecal Matter again!! We were talking to the Thai border guard!! Cambodia was just a few feet away!! Oh Man! Oh Man! Oh Man! I turned around and went back the other way FAST!! We were NOT supposed to be here. The last people in our company to come this direction had helicopter escorts!! Oh Man, Oh Man, and they didn't even come this far East! Oh Man, I know where we are now! The trip back took a lot less time. Koeleke pointed this out as we hit the main hiway and turned LEFT. The correct road was just a short distance from there.
When we got back on the correct road, we noticed that the engine was getting a little hot. We stopped and looked, and sure enough, there was a hole in the radiator where the fan had hit it. It was probably damaged because we were driving at break neck speed down a very rough road. We looked around for water but found none; What luck we were having, every other road inThailand I had been on had one clong after another without end. We drove for a few miles until it would get hot and then we would stop and let the engine cool down. There was no traffic for us to get assistance. We finally found a very small water hole, which had maybe a gollon of water in it. It was at the bottom of a steep grade. We went down and were going to use our hats to carry the water up, when we looked up and saw a deuce and a half go rushing by. Our only chance at rescue had just been missed!!
We nursed the jeep along like this until we got to Sattihip. We got in after dark, unloaded our stuff and parked the jeep in the motor pool. What a day!! There weren't many like this one.
When I went back to Camp USARTHAI a couple months later, Lt Turner asked me what the heck we were doing way over there. There must have been someone else out there after all. We weren't as alone as I had thought. Eyes were watching. But Who??
The End
