Last additions - Leon "Lee" Dixon
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Dixon39.jpgGoing to Bong Son - LZ EnglishHere we were gathering to move to the dreaded Bong Son/LZ English. None of us had heard anything good about it and some guys who had lived there before told horror stories, so we knew we were in for it. Look closely and you can even see the company clerk's group filing cabinets on the back of one truck to the lower right.
Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon40.jpg"Moonraker"We owed a lot to these boys! "Moonraker" (long before the James Bond film of the same name) was a deuce and a half truck, fully armored and equipped with both 50 caliber and M-60 machine guns. They brought SMOKE if anyone dared cause trouble for us out there on the road! They ran protection for us all along the way to Bong-Son and elswhere. Brave guys.
Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon36.jpgDowned ChopperOff in the background of this shot is a rice paddy with a Huey helicopter laying upside-down in it. Guys who stood guard on this part of the Montezuma perimeter will recall the downed chopper. As far as I know, it was booby trapped and never recovered. This is me and commo buddy "Philly" from Philadelphia standing on top of a bunker on the perimeter.
Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon35.jpgThe Motor ManA very memorable character at right; his name was either Rogers or Richards. Fellow at left is UNK. The guy really loved WOMEN and met a few courtesy of the local mama-san. He said that Asia was heaven and he had no plans to return to the US. There were a lot of guys like that over there.Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon37.jpgC-130Here is a shot of one of the many, many, many times I was flying out on a C-130. Some of the guys on this very plane I never saw again. I heard they were later killed in an ambush. Note the DC-3-based "Puff The Magic Dragon plane in the background!
Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon38.jpg"Short-Timer"What does a "short-timer" look like? Well, here is your big clue. The steel pot was damaged by a mortar round. The white picket fence led to the Marines tent area. One of the Marines saved my neck when we were overrun by the VC with satchel charges in our commo area.Aug 27, 2009
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Dixon34.jpg155mm Self-PropelledTaken when assisting another unit's commo group. They were on the far end of Montezuma from where 2/9th was. This was a self-propelled) 155mm howitzer as it sat at Montezuma/Duc Pho. Taken with a Polaroid and an officer got bugged at me for taking it. I reminded him that I had top secret clearance and he got de-bugged. The marking above the white star is a cartoon of a duck sitting on a squashed egg. Don't recall anymore what it said, but was quite humorous.Aug 27, 2009
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My_GTO.jpgGot me one too!When I got home, I indeed traded in my Ford XL convertible for a new GTO.
Here I am with my GTO convertible. It was loaded with everything I could put on the form! I often said that dreaming of owning that car is a lot of what made me want to survive!
Jun 13, 2009
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salesinvoice.jpgA Father's PromiseOne of our Commo guys said his dad promised him something. If he would just stay alive and make it home, his dad would buy him a new GTO. Sure enough, when he got home, there was a brand new red GTO waiting for him! THAT got my fires going. I learned through the PX guys that I could order new cars at a military discount! I ordered a new Pontiac GTO convertible. Here is the first of several (modified) orders I made. And check that price! NOTE that the form states it is ordered from Viet Nam, and gives an "APO" address.
Jun 13, 2009
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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!May 23, 2009
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Dixon33.jpgTarget! Wrong TargetAs I recall, this was a Caribou just outside of Duc Pho. I saved the clipping all these years. As I recall, the press kinda twisted the story, but it was a very tragic event.
May 14, 2009
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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".May 14, 2009
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