Walking Point

By Gary Perkins

Numerous letters and films were sent to his sister Julie in California via a coffee can to which he drew upon to write an account of his experiences. This book, Walking Point, was a reliving but also a necessary catharsisa relief from the strong, repressed emotions. Walking point was his job in Nam, carrying him throughout his earth walk of seventy-three years and of always seeking what lies ahead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984525116

Gary Perkins

Gary M. Perkins is a writer who has worked for two Washington Governors through three terms. He has a master?s degree in journalism. Hal Stockbridge is a physician and activist working for health care reform. Gary and Hal have been partners for over thirteen years and live in Seattle. www.garymperkins.com

Book preview

Copyright © 2018 by Gary Perkins.

Library of Congress Control Number:     2018905345

ISBN:                Hardcover              978-1-9845-2513-0

                          Softcover                 978-1-9845-2512-3

                          eBook                       978-1-9845-2511-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 04/30/2018

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

777349

CONTENTS

Viet Nam 1967-68

Definitions Of Words Used By Troops In Viet Nam

6-2-1988

VIET NAM 1967-68

T his story was written twenty years later in my life at the age of 43. It was written especially for my two sons to keep and to pass on someday to their children. I was just a baby when my two grandfathers passed away, and I feel cheated in life that I never had the opportunity to get to know them.

Hopefully I will, someday, have grandchildren who I can get to know. If not, just maybe this story will help them understand a little of their grandfathers early years in life.

For many years my sister, Merrilyn, has asked me to do these waiting on my Viet Nam experiences. I never would, because I did not want to re-live the horrors of war.

The words at times were very hard to write, but once I decided to write, I felt committed to complete the full story.

Gary Perkins

6-2-1988

DEFINITIONS OF WORDS USED BY TROOPS IN VIET NAM

6-2-1988

I n June of 1967 I left Coos Bay Oregon on a bus heading to the Army Induction Center in Portland. At the end of the day of medical testing I had passed my physical and was sworn into the United States Army to serve a twenty four month tour. I was in the Army now, so boarded another bus which would take me to Fort Lewis, Washington where I would begin nine weeks of basic training.

We arrived late at night so were showed to our new home – the barracks. At the crack of dawn the yelling from the Sergeant began, and our identity of being an individual was stripped. From now on I belonged to the United States Army and would undergo the process of having my mind torn down, to be rebuilt into the vicious mind of a fighting soldier. I wanted to fight in Viet Nam, so I was ready for the vigorous training the Army was about to hand me.

Basic training was vigorous and alot of hard work but wasn’t that bad if you paid attention and did your best. I had always played sports so this was another game of competition, which I enjoyed. At the first of training everyone has to go through a Physical Fitness Test which involves five events, for a total of 500 points. On this first test I scored in the low 300, not very good. At the end of the eight weeks of training we had to take the test again for our final score. I had been training hard and was in excellent shape for this one. I scored 498 and one other trainee beat me with a perfect 500 to win a big trophy. I believe about 250 trainee’s competed for this high honor.

Training was a full days work, and then some, so it was quite easy to fall asleep, anytime, anyplace. We were given many various aptitude tests to see where each individual would best serve the Army. The only thing I wanted to do was fight in Viet Nam, so I would just check any box on the multiple choice answer. This would get me done in a hurry, then I would doze off to try and catch up on some much needed sleep.

We graduated in the afternoon with a big formal parade past the reviewing stand in front of all the Top Brass. We were then given our orders as to what we would be doing for the rest of our Army days. I was to be an infantryman and to be flown to Ft Polk Louisiana for further training. Within a few hours from graduation I boarded an Army bus headed for the Seattle Airport. There I caught a plane with another 120 G.I’s heading for Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Fort Polk is the best training Fort in the United States for training soldiers to be infantrymen in the jungles of Viet Nam. This training would also last nine weeks. Fort Polk is very hot and humid, and has alot of swamps full of snakes, mosquitoes etc.

This environment is similar to Viet Nam, so it gets the soldiers accustom to what lies ahead. The Fort had many billboard pictures of G.I.’s killing the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers. Each day we would yell kill, kill, kill, as many as one hundred times. We were shown many ways to kill the enemy with no holds barred. Training was very tough and I tried to learn as much as I could, because I knew it would help save my life as well as to come home from Nam in one piece.

We ran everywhere we went, so after nine weeks everyone was in the best of physical shape. We ran with full packs on, and at times, ran holding our rifles in both hands stretch above our heads. This would make your arm aches, but definitely helped in making a strong soldier. In school I was very good in track, so I loved the running part of the training.

I had always hunted, so I enjoyed the firering of the many weapons we were trained on. I learned how to operated and fire the M-16 rifle, M-14 rifle, M-60 machine gun, M-79 Gernade Launcher, so caliber machine gun, and how to fire a rocket, called a Light Anti Tank Weapon (L.A.W) This was a, use one time rocket, held and fired over your shoulder. I also learned how to set up a claymore mine, and to throw hand gernades.

One afternoon we ran to the auditorium to have a class on being a paratrooper. The class consisted of 400 trainees. After the class, we were given the option to sign up for Airborne Jump School, out of 400 trainees myself and four others signed up. The jump school would be after the nine weeks of infantry training was over, and would consist of three more weeks.

At the end of the nine weeks my orders came down sending me to Viet Nam and no jump school. I spoke to the captain and he could do nothing to change the order. I wasn’t very happy, but nothing I could do.

After training, I went home for a twenty ssone day leave before going to combat in Nam. I visited most of the family since it might be the last time. I drank alot and even tried to fight seven Santa Rosa policemen. It didn’t work too well – I spent the night in jail. Since I was on my way to Nam, they dropped the charges and let me go the following morning.

Mom, my sister Julie, and brother in laws, Gary, drove myself and two buddies to Oakland Calif. Here we said our sad good by’s then reported in. I stayed the night in the barracks on call for the bus ride to Travis AFB. The night was very long because I was nervous and very tense.

On Thanksgiving day 1967 I was in the air, on my way for what I had been trained for – to kill. Three stops and eighteen hours later we landed in Long Ben Viet Nam. A different world was about to begin.

After three days my name came up and I was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division. I was flown to Duc Pho for ten days of refresher training then on to Pleiku to join up with my company.

Several hundred troops process through this replacement center at Long Ben. Each morning and after lunch all of us stand