3 April 1970

Friday morning
3 April 1970

Things are the same here - boring!!  The only bright spot on the horizon is the dim hope that there will be a big troop withdrawal announced 15 April, which will get me out of here.

The past two nights I’ve had to stand the watch in the combat operation center, from 0400-0800.  I’m doing that right now.  It’s kind of like ODO.  The reason I’m having to stand it is because there is a shortage of operation people here to handle the watch.  The battalion is due to return today, so I should be out of this watch in the future.  It does give me something to do, but such an ungodly time of day.

The battalion will be taking over a new area of operation and will be off of “swing battalion”.  This means the companies will be doing individual operations in the immediate area of LZ Baldy.  I’ll become the ALO for the battalion, I think, because Ron wants to be a FAC for awhile with a company.  I don’t much want to stay at Baldy, but it is better than being in the bush.

I went to the movie last night and saw two thirds of “The Sergeant“.   We watched the first reel of the movie, then the last reel, by mistake, so didn’t bother to watch the middle reel!  Only in Vietnam can things be so screwed up!!

The combat operation center is the nerve center for the battalion and has to have a watch officer at all times.  The two times I’ve had the watch have been uneventful.


Photo - our artillery forward observer, who was, later, awarded the Purple Heart.