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Christmas in 'Nam, 1968

12/23/2013

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Picture
By Julie Titone

"I’d been on the hill for a day when the cook decked out the food hut with Yuletide bunting. Choppers flew in with bins of hot holiday meals. Along with the food and mail came tasseled, tissue-lined, gold-lettered menus. Each one was stamped with a red and green shield of the United States Army in Vietnam and an address indicating the forthcoming turkey a la king had made its way to the front lines compliments of Gen. Creighton Abrams, commander of all U.S. forces in South Vietnam. " -- Grady Myers recounting Christmas 1968 in "Boocoo Dinky Dow: My short, crazy Vietnam War." 

As Grady goes on to explain in his memoir, the fancy dinner amid the squalor of Fire Support Base 30 came with a nasty little surprise from the enemy. 

Here's the U.S. Army menu from that day and the message that Abrams sent the troops. It begins: "Christmas has a special meaning for the soldiers who serve in Vietnam. Amid the tragedy and ugliness of war, the Holy Season reminds us of the joy and beauty of peace." 

Peace in Vietnam was a long time coming -- seven more years, in fact.
But on Christmas Eve 1968, high above the madness of war, Apollo 8  astronauts were sending stunning photos from lunar orbit and their season's greetings "to all of you on good Earth."

2 Comments
Dennis Ryan link
12/24/2015 10:46:34 pm

1968 VN @ our new Base Camp in Hue / Phu Bai , 1 st Cav Div. Had Turkey and all the trimmings....pre Tet life is filling sandbags and trying to make a base here ! Lots of shit will soon hit the fan.......Sgt Ryan.

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Thomas Keating link
12/26/2021 08:21:24 am

In 1969, we had a Christmas truce with the VC. Our base was lit up with flares usually meant for artilery or medivac help. the red and green flares popped at midnight Christmas eve, and continued the next day, less and less till guys ran out. the officers were mad crazy to try to stop the flares, but nobody listened. Tom Keating, US Army, 1st Logistical Command, 69-70.

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    Julie Titone is co-author of the Grady Myers memoir "Boocoo Dinky Dow: My short, crazy Vietnam War." Grady was an M-60 machine gunner in The U.S. Army's Company C’s 2nd Platoon, 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment, 4th Infantry Division in late 1968 and early 1969. His Charlie Company comrades knew him as Hoss. Thoughts, comments? Send Julie an email.

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