Well, I started that date out writing "December" and ended up with "1967".

We didn’t get one hour off for the entire holiday.

I got no mail today.

Hot chow is decent.

Saw Tex.

Dort returned to Echo.

Mickey came back from the Repose.

Tonight, I began getting signatures and addresses from all of the communications and Fire Direction Control people. Perhaps I’ll write them at a later date.

Tonight, we got more bennies from 3^rd Marine Division. Christmas presents from a school in California. I got toothpaste, a pack of Chesterfields, a candle, a pack of envelopes and a comic book.

Mickey went back to 2/9.

Today was "shot-day." I was awarded with four shots in my left arm and one in my forearm and one on my rear.

We have one guy in our bunker that pins up pictures of motor cycles in stead of girls.

I got another shower tonight, finally. Cold!

Cpl. Thacker is extending again.

Very little mail today. None for me!

Echo fam-fired today, but I skated.

That’s me pointing to our position on the map from within the Comm Bunker.

It drizzled rain today. I had 0600-1200 Radio Watch. This afternoon, I did some trim work on some equipment.

Thacker leaves for Echo rear tomorrow and for home on the 13^th, but he plans to extend on Okinawa. I hope he changes his mind.

Tonight, I stretched out on the rack about 1800 and dozed off ‘till 2200. …don’t know why I woke then!

Still raining today. Nearly ran out of things to paint. I helped radiomen finish off ammo bunker.

First working party I have been on in a few days, since I began sanding and painting radios about 15 days ago.

Beaucorelli is back in the U. S. A.

0700 – went to chow. 0800 – went to Alayon’s "house" and trimmed a few radios.

1230 – helped comm (radio) finish off their bunker.

1530 – went on working party.

1630 – went to chow

1700 – went back to "W. P." until about 1900.

Dort and Faler are going to become "Gun Goons" (A dear and loving term for one who loads and fires the 105 howitzer guns.) tomorrow.

Everybody got up at 0630 this morning, except for me – it was 0600. I had radio watch.

We had an inspection at 0800: utilities; boots; haircuts; rifles; racks; bunker. The new Commandant was supposedly coming.

He never made it.

Friday, 12 Jan ’68

…0130 and I can’t get back to sleep. Ha ha.

I finally got to sleep about 0230 and son-of-a-gun if I didn’t do the same thing tonight. …fell asleep about 1800 and woke up at midnight.

Although some people received mail today, I didn’t.

I got back to sleep around 0700.

Then everybody overslept and we didn’t get up until about 0750. We had to scurry to be ready by 0800.

I painted a few items and lagged around all morning in Alayon’s hooch.

At 1130, we broke for chow.

About noon, Tex and Sgt. VanCleave came in.

Sgt. Gary is back to be Gun-6’s platoon commander.

Tex was in good spirits. He is growing a mustache. I told him it looked like a mangy caterpillar.

Alayon, Burr and Cuda went to Dong Ha at 1300 and Grumpy (Barnette) was put in charge. So I meandered back down to the Comm bunker and sat around the rest of the day, ‘till 1630 when I broke for chow again. And now, I am on Radio Watch.

No mail today.

Yesterday, we got off at noon. Were supposed to be hit with rockets. No go!

About 1330, Alayon, Wright and I rode into Dong Ha for some 12 x 12 logs.

We spent the night. …saw Easy come - Easy go! with Elvis Presley.

I bought myself a Sieco watch today. Nice

Yet no mail.

I did take a shower.

Today, we are re-building our Comm bunker. Also today, our mess hall served it’s first noon meal.

I finally got a letter in the mail.

Wednesday, 17 Jan ’68

My morale is picking up. Today, I got two letters.

Every time John Burr goes to the rear, he puts Barnette in charge of the radio section. Rich entered boot camp about a week after I did, and he made L/Cpl. about two months after I did, but I don’t care. I am always kidding him about it.

So, today, he (John) went to Dong Ha and left me in charge of the radio section. (I am acting 2.8)

So what happens? Alayon goes too, and leaves Barnette in charge of Comm (Radio and Wire [10]) haha.

I slept in this morning and about 1030, Cpl. Alayon came in and woke me.

"Hey, Worden, you want to go to "TS" (Vietnamese) language school?" There had been a class on Vietnamese customs yesterday in the chow hall.

I, just waking (not completely, yet) said, "Hu? Oh, no, hu-uh" because I wanted to get the rest of my sleep.

Later I found out that the class was to be held in Dong Ha, where I would love to have gone. But it is to last 6 weeks, so I couldn’t make it anyway. Oh well!

This was just another regular day of radio watch and work. I finally got a copy of the Press and Standard newspaper in which my letter to the Editor was published.

Today, I begin my second year on my tour of Viet Nam. Ha!

Not much news except Camp Carol got hit with rockets this afternoon.

I had a hot shower last night.

Tonight, I discovered why my letters arrive at their destination in bunches. I was looking through the mailbox and I had three days letters in it. Oh brother! No wonder.

I fam-fired my M-16 again today. 39 more rounds making a total of 195 5.56mm rounds, plus the 1 in my M-14, and about 40 rounds in an M-60 machine gun today.

Delasandra picked up a small German Shepherd puppy today and brought it to the battery.

Morris left today for 3 days R&R in China Beach.

The sun is out today. Beautiful weather!

I am on Radio Watch with no shirt on.

Some how or another, the Colnel found out we had a little puppy, so now we have to get rid of it. We’ll probably give it to some little "Gook" kid.

Big event of the day! I took another shower.

Wednesday, 24 Jan ’68

Wright woke me up this morning at 0600 instead of Grumpy (Barnette) so since I was awake, I took his Radio Watch anyway.

I had to scratch out the "e" in Barnett’s name. He keeps reminding me that he isn’t "French."

A jeep was about a half mile out side of C-2 today when a number of V.C. ambushed and attacked them. One guy was killed and another wounded pretty bad.

Last week, a group of V.C. ambushed a truck of Sea-bees. Things are picking up again. I guess they are taking advantage of this dry spell.

Looking toward and almost into the sleeping quarters of the Echo radiomen.

The Working Party needed ten men from Headquarters (Comm & FDC) today. We had three men sleeping in, and two men on watch, and from a total of 13 men, that made us two short. Oh well. Noon ‘till 1800 … radio watch.

Cloudy sky today.

Another truck was hit on the M.S.R. (Main Supply Route) today.

The "Gooks" have run the Marines off Hill 881 again.

We humped 1,080 rounds of ammo into the ammo bunker in less than two hours. We had sixteen men working but we had to cut bands on the pallets, cut wires and seals on the boxes and dump them out plus carry them in.

1,080 rounds - That makes 540 boxes with 2 wires and a seal to cut on each.

540 boxes – That makes 36 pallets with four bands each. Work! But when we finished, we all took a nice cold shower.

We also completed three bunkers today, but that was nothing.

For the past week, I have been (that is, Barnett and me) paneling our Comm bunker. We finished it yesterday.

I arrived in Da Nang one year ago, today.

Friday, 26 Jan ’68

Another truck was hit today. The one right after the one Wright rode shotgun on.

Khe Sehn is being hit constantly, again. I guess the V.C. are taking advantage of the dry weather.

No mail today… This was the anniversary of my first year in Echo Battery.

Saturday, 27 Jan ’68

Charlie Swetland came back today from Hong Kong. He had a pretty good time.

We had about five rounds of 130mm-rocket incoming, today. I am getting too short (Short: the term used to indicate that an individual's remaining time to complete a task or tour of duty is rapidly nearing its conclusion point.  Sometimes called a "Short timer") for this kind of thing.

The "Gooks" held another ambush this morning about a half mile out side of our perimeter. They hit the road sweep team. (Sweep team : the team of individuals specially trained to go out each morning with portable, hand held minesweepers [metal detectors] to locate, mark and remove any land minds that had been planted by mischievous bad-guy personnel overnight.)

Sunday, 28 Jan ’68

Radio Watch – midnight ‘till 0600. I slept ‘till noon. Supposed to have the afternoon off. Didn’t…! Worked most of the day and into the evening.

No mail…

Some Lt. Col. from Division or FMF (Fleet Marine Force.) or somewhere is coming down today for an inspection. Formation is at 0830. I am on Radio Watch. Haha!

Got a letter form Dad, Mom, Jane.

No Lt. Colnel ….

Cpl. Alayon left for R&R – China Beach, today. That left Cpl. Burr to be the Comm Chief. So he made me Radio Chief. Big Deal!

Sgt. Van Cleave took me aside today and told me for sure that if anyone in the battery made Corporal next time, it would be ME. I was #1 on the list.

Then Sparkman came up and told me, "I guess you made Corporal." …so I guess I did.

I just took another cold shower and almost blew myself away! I walked in and someone else was under the other nozzle. I said, "Who is that?" ‘cause it was dark, and he said, "It ain’t your mother!" So I said, "I didn’t think so. I rarely shower with my mother."

It turned out to be the XO, (Executive Officer) Lt. Chickness.

Tuesday, 30 Jan ’68

I have caught a cold. The one that I always catch when I make a permanent change of duty stations.

There is a rumor going about that the Captain is perturbed so he didn’t attend the board meeting. That means no promotions and I was the top man on the list and next month, I won’t be here.

Wednesday, 31 Jan ’68

My flight date came in today - February 15. John Burr, too. Barnett’s has not been announced yet.

I got a Christmas Card today from Grandma Worden marked 5 Dec. and one from Yvonne Allen dated 6 Dec., plus a letter from Linda.

Now they say that Lt. Chickness attended the Board Meeting today, so I have a chance for Corporal yet. Time will tell.

Lt. Barclay keeps telling me my flight date is the 32^nd of Octember, or is it Septober? I told him I heard it was the 18^th of Apuary.

Several weeks ago, a CH-53 helicopter crashed with one of our men, L/Cpl. Hetland, going on R&R. Foul weather prevented or hindered searches. In four or five days, the chopper was spotted – all persons (47) dead. We finally got final word. Every one of them was shot in the head. No further details.

Things are really picking up. Nineteen "Gooks" stormed and tried to take the U. S. Embassy in Saigon. And there are supposed to be 50,000 "Gooks" in this area.

Cpl. Sopco said there was to be no Board Meeting today.