Cu-Chi, Sunday, March 23,
6:30 pm:
It's really
nice to have a half-day off once
a week. It makes the weekend seem like a weekend instead of just another
day.
From the tone
of your letters you seem disappointed that I'm just the General's barber. I know you
aren't really but it does sound sort of weird when people ask
you what your husband is doing in the war, to have to say "He's the General's barber." Well I've been thinking all
day about a title for me that would sound impressive enough for you
to spread around.
Well here goes.
I'm the "Non-commissioned
officer-in-Charge (NCOIC) of
the 25th Infantry Division's
Headquarters personnel
hygiene and grooming detachment under
direct supervision of
Major General Ellis B.
Williamson, Commander, 25th Inf. Div." How's that? Sounds impressive huh?
Well,
my Bic pen just broke so I have to be
careful while I write.
I wrapped your china today
and I'll send
it off tomorrow by boat so it ought to come in about 3-4 weeks. (I hope)
It costs $25.60 by airmail and
$4.10 by boat so it's coming by boat. I
just hope it gets there in
one piece. I'll insure
it for $50 so if it breaks I can buy another one.
We're having a
"short-timers" party for the
1st Sgt that's leaving.
He bought steaks and bar-b-qued them and iced down
some beer and cokes and we're having a party
this evening. It sure tasted
good.
I went to church today and was given the Home teachers district
leader job here in Cu-Chi and also I have
to give a talk
next Sunday. I'll either talk about the 2,000 sons of
Helaman or the trials of Job. I think
either one is appropriate.
Today was a slow day at the barbershop but yesterday I
got over $12 in tips. They add up real
quick but I spend it as fast as I get
it.
No letter
from you tonight so I'll
probably get two tomorrow. I still love
you anyway.
This job of mine gets better
everyday although it gets more monotonous.
I'm exempt from ALL extra duty
and only work 8-12, 1-5 with Sunday afternoons
off. I still can't believe there's
a war going on around me. It
just hasn't got to me yet.
I'll try and call again this week or next on my
lunch hour, which is about the same time I got you last time
8-9 pm.
Cu-Chi, Monday, March 24,
6:30 pm:
Do you realize that
in a little over
one week of barbering I have received over $94 in tips. But I've spent $118.75 on misc. junk like a
fan, radio and iron
for my barbershop, some bamboo wallpaper, pants, chinaware and small items. I'll start saving some of that money
now that I don't need too much else.
Now a
little about the mail.
You might think that these letters take a long time to get to you but
here's the reason. I
write you in the evening when the day is the prettiest, just
cooling off and after I've had my
shower. I put the
letter in the mailbox and it
doesn't go to the post office until the following afternoon at
4:30 pm and then it leaves the
APO post office for shipment to Bien-Hoa where it's loaded on a plane for the States.
(the world) So it seems like it takes a long time to get to
you but if anything special happens I'll take the letter right to the post
office and it will get to you one day sooner.
.
Your adventurous husband doesn't really have too much
exciting to tell you. Oh yes, I sent
your china off
at noon today. I'll send you another set to give to Larry
and Barbara and I'll send Jim and Ilene a set and by then Ron and Marlene will want
one1 etc. There's
no limit on chinaware so I can send as many as I want.
I went out to the bunker
line at noon on the way
to mail your china.
I wasn't very
impressed by the whole thing. It
was just a bunch of broken down old sandbags
and a little barbed wire. It's no wonder that the VC got into this camp three weeks ago and
blew up nine big choppers. If the VC
really tried I bet they could just walk into this place. But don't worry. They keep the perimeter pretty well guarded since the
last attack.
I can't believe these people here. They get drunk every night just to forget this place.
Then they start again in the
morning just to get an early start.
Well
I have to go take a shower and go to bed now.
Cu-Chi, Tuesday, March 25,
6:15 pm:
I got your package this
evening. Thanks for
the little flower in the pot.
I'll put that in my barbershop
so everyone can get inspiration from it, but especially me.
It's funny to get answers to questions I
wrote last week in today’s
mail. But I try and stay
loose. Now that you tell me to go
ahead and pick out
the china, it's already
on its' way.
It shows we communicate by means other than
letters. Why just this minute I got
a thought that I should go over
to the MARS station and call you. So
you must have been dreaming about me
since it's 2:30
am where you are. Thanks for dreaming of me but I don't want
to wake you. You need your energy
to take care of
my daughters.
I think I'll write letters
tonight since I don't have a whole lot else to do. It's nice to look forward
to the evening when I can relax
and write you my thoughts and problems.
The hootch girls (17 &
19 yrs old) have a
nice name for me
already. Since there's
no J in the Vietnamese language
it's very hard for them to call me Jake.
So the other day we were having
my Vietnamese lesson for the day and I came across the word for tall which is
"cao" (cow). And I
said cao and pointed to myself, that I was tall, so now I'm called
cao. Affectionately, of
course. The two hootch
girls names are Lan (the one who cleans the barber shop)
and Hai, who works next door but spends a lot of time in the barbershop.
Neither of them speaks English but between the GI
Pigeon English they know
and the little Vietnamese I've
picked up, we get along fine.
We had a little
excitement last night for a change. As I was getting into bed two
mortar rounds went off somewhere close and I headed for the bunker next door. I didn't go in because no more went off but
it definitely did scare me
somewhat. Then about 3:00
am a helicopter was flying right above my hootch shooting his machine
gun at something or
another. I lay there watching
the tracers go shooting down like falling red stars. It at least
looked real, you know, like a war or something!
Today was a busy
day at the shop and I picked up
$l5.80 in tips. If it keeps up this
way I'll be sending you $200 a month more, since that's all I can send
without them asking questions. The rest
I'll spend and send home in gifts
so I can please everyone. I
guess the Lord is taking care of us like always. I sure hope I can pay him
back someday.
I don't really know how
I can write three pages everyday but since I can't talk
to you direct I guess I try and
write everything that I would say if I
were there with you.
I was just talking to one of the guys, Sgt
Tom, an Indian from Oklahoma, who is really wanting to go back to the field. He's going nuts around here because
they just can't keep him busy
enough to suit him. He's been telling
me some of his stories and it definitely sounds like fun to be out where the action is but I can't afford
it. When the Army will give me Sgt's
pay and $l0-15 a day
for cutting hair, I can't afford to turn them down just for
the sake of excitement.
p.s. R&R in Hawaii in Sept. OK??
Cu-Chi, Wednesday, March 26,
6:45 pm:
Well I earned my money
today. I cut Major General Williamson's hair
and gave him a neck
rub with the vibrator. He's real quiet but I could tell he liked the neck rub if not the haircut. The Chief of Staff came in this morning. He's the most feared man on post because he
makes these jokers act and dress
right. He is always nice to me and
even remembered that I was from
L.A. and asked me how it was.
I was flattered that he even
bothered to remember the barbershop
let alone that
I was from Los Angeles.
Otherwise it wasn't too busy today, only $1l.50 worth.
That's my exciting news for
the day so I'll quit
for now until I come back from the movie, maybe then I'll
have something more to add. Bye!
OK, I'm back. The movie was French and sort of
dumb, no plot but women and violence.
I put my flower
up in my barbershop today and made everyone happier, especially
me. A package of
cookie crumbs came today but no letter.
Maybe tomorrow.
I move into my barber hootch Saturday and then I
can start making improvements in the place.
My brain
just isn't working tonight so I'll quit while I'm ahead.
I might get to go to Saigon
Friday to get my clippers sharpened.
A camera,
single lens reflex, can be had for
about $50. The other kind is
cheaper of course.
p.s. Today
was our anniversary. I had to leave you three weeks ago this
morning. I hate to remember such
things.