IN '69 AT AN KHE YOU GUYS HAD THE GUNS LOCKED UP???????

Scary. From the time I arrived at Holloway in Jan70, until I left, at least for 119th and HHC,(except for the brief period following the suicide I mentioned) my M16 was with me, or in my wall locker in the hootch.
Securing one's weapon was an individual responsibility. I knew that well-SP5 Ross Reed, (119th) my roomie at the new avionics hootch, convoyed from AnKhe to Holloway, and somehow, somewhere, his 16 was in limbo, and he came up on guard duty. He had the combo for my wall locker, and while I was still at the shop, he accessed my 16 for guard. I didn't know until the next afternoon, when HHC 1SG called me to the orderly room and started reading me my rights under Article 31b, UCMJ, for failing to secure my weapon. (Ross had put it back into my wall locker the morning after guard, and "crashed" before lockin' it up.) Well, the firstshirt happened to drift thru, saw my locker standing wide open, 16 (loaded) inside, and Lan and Su shining boots on the floor, and Ross in dreamland. Top took my 16 to the orderly room, and got my name from the serial number, and bingo...Article 15 was offered.
To be continued.... I gotta run to Safeway for the Missus.

Lump