THE FIRST FULL WEEK

WEEK 2:

This was the week of hell for me. As I recall I discovered that even in a War Zone being in the military was no refuge from being an African American. As I was being processed I found out that it did not matter what your were trained to do did not matter. I found myself, for the first time in over a year and a half in law enforcement and patrol dispatcher, I was being placed on regular security detail. I would later find out that the base need a golfer to represent them in some tournament. Therefore, since I knew very little about golf and didn’t like the sport. I was assigned security so that this other guy, who was white, could practice for this tournament. As you will later learn, it took the military six months to correct this mistake in judgment.

This was a week of adjustment and survival.

DAY 4: JULY 29, 1968: MONDAY.

I got up at 6:30 this morning, because I had to process in at

7:30 AM. I went to the mess hall and then to personnel.

They let us in at 7:15 but they made all of the airmen leave

For it was crowded only to be called back at 1:00 PM.

I went back to our orderly room where the top dogs gave me even more harassment for no reason at all. After I did about four or five delocks (I don’ t remember what that was), I went back to personnel and stayed

There until 6:00 PM, ate and went back to my tube to rest

For another day.

AMAN

DAY 5: JULY 30, 1968: TUESDAY.

I got up at 6:30 and went to the mess hall and back

To that god-for-saken orderly room to clear into to the

SQ(SQUAD) SGT. Hart, a clerk, gave me some more

And I and eight (8) other guys. Then made our rounds into the SQ to

Clear in. Most of the time we were given advice, but we

Managed to finish at 4:00 PM. I then went to have stripes sowed on my uniform because I’d made a new stripe. I ate and

Went back to the barrack, for I had to go to work at

9:00 PM with the mid-night flight.

AMAN.

DAY 6: JULY 31, 1968: WEDNESDAY.

I went to work at 9:00 PM. On last night (July 30) a night I

Want ever forget. I want go into it for it’s not enough pages in this book to explain. I’ll just say that last night was hell, for I

Found out that I just had to see more people to harass me.

Most of them were SSGT(Staff Sargents and TSGT (Tech Sargents).

Most of those above those ranks were ok to talk to.

I slept most of this day and went back to work tonight at

9:00 PM to have more embarrassment and harassment. It looks like

That’s how Nha Trang is run.

AMAN.

DAY 7: AUGUST 1, 1968: THURSDAY.

The most important thing about this day is that now I

Am officially SGT. (Sargent) Gilbert. Last night work was ok.

I worked my first post with a guy, I don’t recall his name, but last night was the first night I’ve had, that for the entire night, no one said a harsh word to me. But I can tell you, working from 10:30 PM to 5:00 AM is

Hard work keeping your eyes open. I slept most of the day and played some pool with a Vietmanese boy in the recreation center and

Got ready to go to work.

AMAN

DAY 8: AUGUST 2, 1968: FRIDAY.

Today turned out to be a most hecked day. I got off work

At 5:00 AM, couldn’t go to sleep for I had a doctor’s

Appointment at 7:30 and had to get paid at 8:00. When

I went to see the doctor I was told that he wouldn’t be in until the 15^th of the month. Then I was told to come back to finance at 1:00 PM to get

Paid. I went backat 1:00 only to find out that they had no record of me, and after all day of running around they loaned me $50.00 because I

Was broke. I didn’t go to sleep at all today and had to

Go to work at 7:30 PM.

AMAN`

DAY 9: AUGUST 3, 1968: SATURDAY.

I went to work last night at 7:30 and I only had trouble with

One SSGT. But once I was posted no one messed with me.

Last night was peaceful, although I could hear the fighting in the hills. At 3:15 AM this morning I was told to stand by for relief. I was

Glad for I hadn’t eaten and hadn’t had any sleep for 36 hours.

But to my surprise, I had to stand by to clean the building which

Made me sick. So I got messed over once again in this messed

Up war. When I went to sleep at 5:30 I slept for 9 ½ hours,

Now I feel fine.

AMAN

DAY 10: AUGUST 4, 1968: SUNDAY.

Last night at work was the same old story. I was on

A SAT(I’ve forgotten what that was) team with a SSGT

Rodorty, a SSGT which is no different from the rest. He Jumped

All over me about why I didn’t press my pants. THEY WERE

NEW FATIGUES. So you see that all of the SSGTs and above love to

Chew ass, but I make up my mind to take it all,

For God will see me through. I slept most of the day. I intend

To go to church this evening, I’m off tonight. I’ll try to catch up

On my sleep. I’m very tired.

AMAN

ARRIVIAL IN WAR ZONE

DAY 2: JULY 27, 1968: SATURDAY

I remember that on this day, after we landed at Yacota, we had a lay-over. I had time to collect my thoughts and recover from the nine and a half here trip over the ocean. I also remembered that my mother had told me to always pray and that she believed that if one person would return from the war, that I would be that person. I also recall how the military ran us from one station to another to catch the next flight. I had a flight to Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam and from there to Nha Trang. The latter was very eventful for a first day in Nam. The plane was shot at constantly!!!!!

We stayed at Yokota about an hour and a half. For the

contonuation of the flight to Cam Ranh Bay (VN). Both flights were shaky and we had lots of bad weather. But at 3:15 PM, we were on the grund in Vietnam. We had a lot to do:(go to customs, briefings, convert money to MPC, arrange to fly to Nha Trang), my new home. I was luck I got the first flight to Nha Trang. On the flight we got shot at from the ground, but about 5:30 PM I was at my new home. And about 7 AM I had a temporary place to stay. Aman.

DAY 3: JULY 28, 1968: SUNDAY.

I saw from the stat that ths place was going to be hell

to stay in. They put me in the NCO bay of the barracks. None

of them really wanted me there, for most of them were something that I can’t write here. I stayed in bed most of the day, for that night (the 27^th )I didn’t sleep good because of rifles firing in the hills.

Sgt. Stiles, the man who lived in the same “tube”[sleeping area] I

Lived, was the only one who showed me a little kindness in my first 48 hours here.

Aman

IN THE BEGINNING

MY VIETNAM EXPERIENCE

This project began more than Thirty-Eight years ago when I was in Seattle Washington waiting, along with about one hundred and fifty other military personnel, to board a plane that would land us in a war zone that was over ten thousand miles from the little town of Ridgeland, Mississippi, where I was born and raised. For some still unexplained reason, I purchased a diary that was destined to allow me to write and reflect upon its content.

The history of this diary since my return from Vietnam in June of 1969, Three-Hundred and Fifteen (315) days after I departed the “good ol U.S.of A”, until my return. The book was lost for ten years, only to be found in a storage shack belonging to my Aunt Zettie. The wind blew it down and I was asked by my cousin to help clean up the debris. I was visiting my hometown from Joliet, Illinois where I was then living. The Diary was beneath my weather beaten military clothing, wet but readable. I took the book back to Joliet where it was misplaced for another five or six years. When I returned home for good in 1984, it was found again among some of my old college books and materials. Moving twice more from 1984 to 1997, the Diary was again lost and found as I move to my present home. I then put it in plastic where it has remained until now. Therefore, this project is the fulfillment of a promise that I made to myself when the diary was purchased in 1968.That being to review it and write about my Vietnam Experience.

Throughout this project, I will reveal, within reason and good taste its content day by day, and reflect on my experiences as it relate to the entry. This is not something I want to do, it is something that I feel compelled to do. READERS PLEASE ACCEPT IT IN THE SPRIT THAT IT IS PRESENTED!!!!

DAY 1: JULY 26, 1968: FRIDAY

This is the day I left the States. I was shaky, but most

People are at this stage of the game. We boarded the plane at

5:30 AM and at 6 AM we (153-55) others were on our way to the

Republic of South Vietnam. We were on to make one stop

And that was in Yokota, Japan in 9 ½ hours. I said my prayers

On the airplane, for I don’t like flying and the plane ride almost kills me.

We land in Yokota at about 9:30 Japan time on the 27^th of July.

We had flew through a day and night in just 9 ½ hours.

Aman