Rick Holt's Adventures in Vietnam
Letters Home from Vietnam, 1971
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Vung Tau
July 16, 1971
Friday
5:45 pm
Dear Folks,
Another day wasted. I thought the Army was bad. These civilians make the army look good. Those racks that were good last night didn't work this morning when I checked them. They've got a very undependable power unit. When I first turned it on this morning I blew fuses in six radios because it put out too much power. Then after that it wouldn't put out enough power. Every time I would key a transmitter the lights on the racks would dim.
So my civilian cohorts took advantage of the situation to waste another day. They messed around all day looking for a power unit. They found one about 2 o'clock but it uses 220 volts. So now we've got to wait a day or two for somebody to run a 220 line to the shop. Looks like I'll never get out of here.
It rained all night and most of the morning. It's even still cloudy. Looks like it might rain again tonight.
I tried to get more paper and envelopes from the PX but it was closed for inventory.
I forgot to bring my camera with me. I would have liked to get a picture of some of these Australian soldiers around here. I think there is a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force stationed at the airfield. They wear khaki uniforms with short pants and short sleeve shirts and high top socks with boony hats. They drive trucks with the steering wheel on the right side. And it doesn't look like they have any haircut regulations either.
That's it for now.
Rick