Christmas Eve in Vietnam 1969, Nha Trang Air Base, RVN

I got a comment from "Jan" on yesterday's blog about wanting to see a few photos of Patricia's famous Christmas Cookie collection.....

My wife usually makes several thousand cookies of 20 or more varieties for the family, co-workers, and friends....this year however it was cutback on the cookies time....with my battle since Labor Day against the possibility of getting Diabetes 2...she decided to take away much of the temptation of eating my way through them....with the 20 pounds lost thus far and the drop in my Blood Pressure, I am thankful for that...although I am sure the boys and those that usually get their share are disappointed....but sacrifices must be made...at least that's what I'm saying.... She did however, made several hundred of maybe a dozen different kinds, and got them out of the house and delivered before I got my hands on them....a couple of "named" plates remain, and honest, I have stayed away from those....Honest!

So just how is the diet going through the Holidays, you ask?

Well, when we headed to Wisconsin for our "Pre" Thanksgiving with the wife's family I weighted in at 192...a drop of 16 pounds...since then I have been as low as 187 and a bounce back up to 193...right now I'm in the middle of that at 190. Tonight at the family get together and next week at Rick's place for our annual New Year's Bowl fest, will be the 2 test days....I hope to stay at the 190 level or less through that, and then finish off the final 10 pounds before the end of basketball season, and our Vietnam Security Police "Mini-Reunion" at Dayton the first weekend in March. By that time I will know where I stand blood sugar and blood pressure wise...I hope to stay off any Diabetes meds and get off the BP medication{although that really is not a big issue}.....

Christmas at Nha Trang_____40 years ago

By the time Christmas Eve 1969 had arrived at our pristine little base on the South China Sea, called Nha Trang, I had received orders to Tan Son Nhut and Saigon....I had arrived at Nha Trang on a C-130 by myself from TSN 6 months earlier...I would be returning the same way on December 27th. Seems the Air Force was bound and determined to keep me separated from those I served with before.

I had left Dover AFB, Delaware, for combat training at San Antonio with just Walsh and Lippencott. Then it was on to Nha Trang by myself, with a stop over in Saigon....I would head back to Saigon/Tan Son Nhut as the lone cop from Nha Trang...others headed to Phan Rang, Tuy Hoa, Phu Cat, and other places in groups of 2 or 3. I was hoping to stay in Nha Trang...I really liked the place, plus I had secured a place to stay out near the down town and beach area on my days off. It looked like luck would have me staying, but Uncle Sam's Air Force decided to throw me one more(or should I say another, there would be more to come later} curve. I got my orders for Tan Son Nhut and the 377th Security Police Squadron on December 22nd....4 days and a wake up call and I would be out of Nha Trang....so I spent Christmas Eve 1969 packing and working a night shift(I had been on days for the entire first 6 months) driving a patrol Jeep near the Beer and Soda Storage Compound....As far as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Nha Trang....they seem like a blur these 40 years later.

Did I miss home? I'm sure I did...but to tell the truth, I really don't remember much about those 2 days...the days before, the day I got orders for Saigon, New Years Eve working the old B51 Bunker at the edge of Tan Son Nhut's Perimeter? I remember those as clear as it was yesterday...but those 2 days, Christmas and XMas Eve, somehow have escaped my long term memory....but I was there indeed, 40 years ago.

On a Holiday Note: It appears that our "White Christmas" may become a "Wet" Christmas...icy drizzle is being called for this morning, with rain arriving this afternoon and more rain tonight and tomorrow...our 3 inches of snow on the ground may be a muddy, icy, memory by the time nightfall on Christmas Day happens....Regardless:

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL.....

Back Later>>>>

Photos-Me with a cheap beer(a common sight) on the Beach at Nha Trang in 1969/Part of Patricia's limited Cookie output for the season/and Nha Trang Beach as it looks some 40 years after I walked in it's sand.