Soldier recalls Vietnam War service
ROGER GREGORY / Contributing Writer | Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 2 days, 7 hours AGO
What was it like going to Vietnam in 1965 as a member of the 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kan.? The following is a brief summary of my experience.
Most of us had never heard of Vietnam, but one of our brigades was sent there in July 1965. We soon learned about Vietnam then.
In the fall, the rest of the division also went, so we had a total of 15,000 troops, plus support troops such as aviation. We were some of the first troops to go to Vietnam. The first were 3,500 Marines in March 1965, then us and an airborne brigade. Eventually, there would be 500,000.
We flew from Fort Riley to Oakland, Calif., and got on troop ships, about 3,000 of us on each ship. It took us 21 days to get there. We stopped in Guam for one day to resupply water, then through the Philippine Islands, then to Vung Tau, Vietnam.
From the ship, we got into World War II-type landing craft. We didn’t know what to expect, but were met by a band, believe it or not. Then by military aircraft to a field northeast of Saigon, where we set up tents.
The Viet Cong drove down the highway at night and would shoot into our camp. It was insane. Of course, no buildings, just tents, no toilets either. A ditch was dug — that was our toilets.
After about a week, we went by truck outside of Xian (pronounced Zian) where we set up our permanent camp, which consisted only of tents. We ate World War II C rations for about a month, then finally got a mess tent for meals. There were weevils in the flour, but when you are hungry for bread, you just picked them out or ate them as protein.
Our toilets were half of a 55-gallon drum. Then they would put diesel oil in them to burn the excrement. We only had showers when it rained. Eventually, someone devised a shower with a 55-gallon drum mounted above you with a hose. Turn on, soap up, then turn off. And the water was cold. So, all in all, it was a pretty crude setup.
Finally, after we were there for about 10 months, some plywood buildings were constructed. But the toilet and shower situation remained the same the entire time I was in Vietnam. When in the field, it was again World War II C rations — no hot food at all.
Roger Gregory served as captain in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He is a Priest River businessman.