Tom,

In 1969 we were moved into a new area which bordered the X-mas tree. The old company area had the paved side walks and gravel in the swamp which helped cut down on the mud. Also with the six to eight man hootches the traffic moving through was limited.

The new area was nothing but dirt and mud. The side walks were skid which were placed from one building to another. The entire platoon was in one barracks so you had twenty some guys dragging dirt and mud in. The tops of the walls between the roof were open with screens and they had no flaps which could be lowered to close the sceens the way the old hootches did. The dirt and rain would blow right through the sceens. By July and the monsoon was in full force the mud was so bad you couldn't walk anyway with getting soaked to your knees. I wish I could have found out who moved us there. I might still be in LBJ.(Long Bihn Jail) The old area was heaven compared to the new and then when it was at its worst is when they moved us to An Khe. At least there we missed the monsoon and all the red mud of Pleiku.