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Dixon1.jpgHere I am!Here is me in Duc Pho wearing a 2/9th camouflage beret (that's my 3/4-ton commo truck in the background- notice the hex insignia on the door)...
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Lee_at_Duc_Pho.JPGDuc Pho HQHere I am with my favorite guitar. I left it behind for someone else to play. Hope they got good use out of it! The Mighty Ninth sign is just over my right shoulder.
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Dixon2.jpgRemember we had berets?Here are the berets. Note the 2/9th embroidery and the shield on the red one. The other also as "2/9 Arty" embroidered on it, but hard to see. We were told that we were authorized to wear the red only at special functions or on post. And the camouflage was for the field... but our sergeants never made much comment about them and we could not wear them in formations.
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Dixon3.jpg2/9th Arty BeretsHere...have a closer look!
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Dixon3a.jpgThe "cunt cap"We used to call these "cunt caps". Now, that always sounded odd and gross to me...but would you believe I made it almost all the way through basic before I realized that was NOT the correct name for the silly things?
The military nomenclature was "Overseas Cap".
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Dixon4.JPGMy UniformHere is my uniform with 2/9th shields on the epaulets and BOTH 25th division & 4th division patches due to the fact the 3rd Bde, 25th ID spent so much time in 4th Div territory (and 3rd of 4th spent so much time in the 25th area) they simply swapped during the time I was there {1Aug67}. The specialty braid in red is not exactly correct for me since I was a Signal Corps guy (which was orange) but I was told by my CO to wear the red braid in honor of our artillery unit rather than my training. They made me remove the orange braid.
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Dixon5.jpgMy Uniform4th Inf Div (Ivy) patch on right shoulder; 25th Inf Div (Tropic Lightning) on left shoulder. I was there for the "swap" of the 3rd Brigades between the Divisions.
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Dixon6.jpgMy UniformNote the 2/9th Arty unit crest on the epaulet.
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Dixon6a.jpgMemories are made of this! The 3" reel-to-reel GE brand tape recorder operated on D-cell batteries. Just so happens that everything else in the field operated on D-cell batteries, too! Great way to communicate back home. Still works today!
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Dixon7.jpgProperty of 2/9th KIA Charles McClurgMy friend Charles McClurg felt that he was not coming back after being re-assigned to the field with an FO party. so he gave me some of his personal belongings. I have kept them to this day.
{Please see TAPS - McClurg for more info}
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Dixon8.jpgLZ English - Bong SonThe place I remember that was so dangerous and remote was a place we called LZ Liz. I spent a few days and nights there huddled in a bunker while the guns went off. I forget which battery was there, but they had very rough accommodations and a scary place on top of a hill. I was stationed in Duc Pho at the time. I was also in Kon Tum, Bong-son, and other areas.
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Dixon9a.jpgTo my rescue...LZ Liz was a scary place to me. Never felt at ease there. I did some commo work out there and this particular time, the guns had been firing quite a bit all night long. I "slept" (if you could call it that) in a bunker right near one of the guns... and was a welcome sight to see the sun come up that next morning. I awoke to the sound of a Chinook coming to get me and to drop off supplies and food. I took pix of him on the way in and landing. It looked like the sun was shining right through him on the way in. Man, it was a beautiful sight to see!...
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