My Personal "Summer of 69" June 30, 1969...

 

53 years ago today, I stood out in our family front yard in Montezuma, Ohio, took a few obligatory photos with the family...Mom, Dad, the two younger sisters, then jumped into Dad's Plymouth VIP and headed for the Dayton Airport at Vandalia, Ohio...within 48 hours I was sleeping or at least in a Transit Barracks at Tan Son Nhut Airbase outside of Saigon...my "Summer of 69" had begun.

Summer of 69  

The smells of Vietnam were the first thing I noticed...growing up in South Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico, at Venice, I was used to Hot and Humid Weather, but the smells of Vietnam were, and would continue to be, something I never experienced, before or after.

After an overnight in Tan Son Nhut, I headed down to base ops, and they hooked me up with a large, noisy, C~130, and I was off to my first base in South Vietnam, Nha Trang on the South China Sea...

My "Vietnam" tales are around this blog in various pages, so I need not repeat them...just do some research and if you want, you can find them...however, 53 years later, that day I left and my arrival are still clear in my mind, for the most part...and much clearer than almost any day I spent in either of my 2 permanent bases, Nha Trang or back at TSN {Saigon} later in my tour...



But 53 years, once you get a bit older, are but a blip on the Radar ...trust me youngsters, once you hit 30 or so, time flies by like a thief in the night...enjoy your time, do what you must do, and don't waste it...you never know when God will turn out the lights.

Back Later>>>

(1) Me in front of my late Brother Mike's 1968 GTO, {2} Dad, Mom {both RIP}, a few minutes before heading to Dayton, and (3) a sketch from a photo October 1969 at the Civilian Gate at Nha Trang, with the 14th SPS...