Charlie Company Guestbook

You guys always did GREAT. I was at FSB Washington, Crook for a pretty good battle. Was on Gun 6 for all my time there.

Thanks Bill for seeing that Frank Nyikos had passed away, you can read his obit. by typing in his name and state of IN. He is one on the list I couldn't find any information on to send a plaque to. May he now RIP

Looked it up. Francis Nyikos died Nov 26th 2022.

bill

Mostly for 66-67 guys, Just got my 25th Division Flashes newsletter and see Francis Nyikos listed in the "Taps" section. HE was an original from Ft lewis in our company.

No date given, but hope he will be added to the decesed list.

bill

We watched the iconic Steve McQueen movie "Bullitt" at FSB Crook in 1969. As I recall, we kept playing back the famous San Francisco car chase scene.

Art and all, I remember seeing a movie there too, but on the runway between our company and HHC is where they showed it. But your memory is better than mine, I have no idea what movie I watched, only that I watched it. HA!

OH, i also remember thinking at the tme, damn we're easy targets here.

bill

I was just recalling the absolute absurdity of one of the "movies" occasionally showed in dau tieng base camp when we were having a break from the field. I can't recall if there was a screen or a white sheet was used. But, I wonder who else recalls they played (this was in the company area) old episodes of "Combat" with Vic Murrow. We used to scream things at the screen, such as..."don't bunch up! Spread out! ". Amusing but incredibly absurd at the same time. Sorry I missed the reunion, but a minor health problem was impacting me.

Was a great time seeing everyone again at the San Antonio reunion, stay safe brothers and see you in Des Moines 2025.

Seemed like we followed you guys around. I got there at Washington in January of 69. Went to Crook until I left in March 22 1970. You guys did great during the battles in June. Scary time for everyone.

My last days in Vietnam:

June 27^th late in the afternoon at Dau Tieng base camp, I started to get sick. I had caught Dysentery from drinking bad water. That night, I was so sick they dusted me off to a hospital in Cu Chi. I was so weak, I could not walk or stand. I could not eat or drink anything. The doctors and nurses treated me with pills and an IV. Eventually I started to eat and was keeping it down, a good sign, but was still very weak.

July 2^nd Being short, I beggeded the doctors to discharge me from the hospital. They called my unit and a couple of guys came for me in a Jeep. I was still very weak and could hardly walk. I put my arms over their shoulders and they carried me to the Jeep. I started to quickly get my strength back. I needed to turn in my M-16 rifle and other gear so went to the 25^thAviation area where I found a pilot I knew. We boarded a Loach helicopter (Hughes OH-6 Cayuse) and flew back to Dau Tieng base camp. He just happened to be bringing a large radio back there. It was a wild ride. We flew a few feet above the ground and buzzed a bunch of Vietnamese working in a rice paddy, blowing their hats off. We landed on the chopper pad where I jumped out and headed to my area. My Platoon Leader met me and told me he had turned all my gear in and packed my duffle bag for me and filled out some paperwork. That blew my mind that he did that for me. Thank you Lt. Douglas. I went back to the chopper pad but the Loach was gone. They told me a Huey (Bell UH-1 Iroquois) was inbound and was taking a load back to Cu Chi. While I waited, I said good bye to my friends. I jumped on the Huey and flew back to Cu Chi.

July 3^rd In Cu Chi base camp I was assigned listening post duty that night. I was given a rifle, a radio and was escorted to a foxhole outside the perimeter and stayed there all night. I couldn’t believe they would do that to a guy who only had 3 days left in country. When midnight came, all hell broke loose. The soldiers shot off anything they could get their hands on in celebration of the 4^th. It was quite the sight from where I sat.

July 5^th I boarded a deuce and a half and traveled to Saigon. I was nervous because I had no weapon. In Saigon, I filled out paperwork and processed out of Viet Nam. I waited the rest of the day taking it easy. As I was waiting, I saw a familiar face. A guy I knew from high school. Terry Tucker. He graduated the year after me. His father was head of the athletic program at the high school. They named the athletic fields after him: Tucker field. Terry had just arrived to start his tour of duty. I wished him luck and said goodbye.

On July 6^th, 1970 I boarded a Boeing 707 late in the afternoon. The sun was setting and the sky was gold and blue. I couldn’t wait for the plane to depart. The engines finally started and we accelerated down the runway. As soon as the wheels left the runway, everyone let out a cheer at the top of their lungs. We made it. We were on the freedom bird heading home. We had been to hell and back and were still alive.