My Home for the Next Thirteen Months
There is a good chance anyone riding in a Chinook helicopter these days wear earplugs. I didn’t see one single set of earplugs the whole time I was in Nam. Hearing protection was not a priority in a war zone.
Charlie Troop apparently knew I was coming, because a guy in a 1/4-ton Jeep was waiting at the end of the runway to pick me up. I was assigned to the Charlie Troop Blues, so he took me to their company area. The ride was short, because it was right next to the landing strip.
When I arrived in the Company area a guy named Quintana showed me around and introduced me to some of the guys in the Blue platoon. He was a squad leader and little did he know then, had a short time left in Country. He broke his leg as he jumped from a chopper, while being inserted on a recon mission. That injury was his ticket back to the ‘World’. I was with him on that mission and thought that would be a great way to get out of this place…
My Vietnam Experience 
