Wednesday morning
6 May 1970

I don’t have anything else to do right now, Ha.  So I’ll write a letter.  We’ve actually been in this same place for two days now - and we’ve had no contact during that time - so things are pretty boring!

The Battalion CO won’t let me go fly until after this “high threat” period is over.  Seems the enemy are in their spring offensive.
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I just now received word that I’m to return to Baldy this afternoon and go out with B Co for a few days.  Don’t know just exactly what all the details are - but something big is going on.  Of course this takes care of any plans I had for going to Chu Lai to fly.  Oh well!

We captured eight real live Viet Cong about two days ago.  A Vietnamese woman told us there were some VC hiding in a bunker, and she led our people to them.  These VC were between ages 18 - 45 and were all very healthy, able men.  This is the first really confirmed Viet Cong I’ve seen alive.  I’ve seen a number of dead ones - not a pretty sight - but you can’t tell much about them because they are all shot up.  Most people take pictures of these bodies, but I haven’t!  Somehow the act of taking a picture of a body is just to inhumane - or animal - for me to stomach.

I haven’t received any mail since the other day when I got all that mail at once.  Perhaps today I’ll get some. Seems like I get my mail in batches - and it’s very depressing to go several days without mail.

This place where we are right now has a small grove of young pine trees which provides a fair amount of shade through the day, which makes life a little more bearable.  The heat can be absolutely miserable when there is no shade.  Of course we put up our little shelters, but they just keep the sun off - and it’s like sitting in an oven.

I’m simply aghast at all the trouble they’re having with the college students back in the world.  I just can’t visualize what really makes those students think the way they do.  I must say it’s pretty demoralizing to the troops over here who are seeing their good buddies killed by the enemy - and then to hear about the students who object to our carrying the fight to the enemy - even to going into Cambodia.  People in the states are pretty mad about those four students getting killed at Kent State - but people get killed over here every hour of every day.  And most of the men getting killed are PFCs and Lance Corporals - mostly ages 18-20.