Most viewed - Leon "Lee" Dixon
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Dixon14.jpgDeadly attack173 viewsA friend of mine was killed when this gun took a direct hit from a VC attack. This is what it looked like when it was hauled away on a deuce and a half truck.
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Dixon36.jpgDowned Chopper173 viewsOff 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.
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Dixon7.jpgProperty of 2/9th KIA Charles McClurg172 viewsMy 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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Jet.jpgChina/Taiwan Airline171 viewsMany of us had never seen a "China Air Lines" jet before, thinking of the bitter enemy at the time, "Red China". It caused a little stir and a lot of cameras were clicking away as it rolled past. But Taiwan is the base of China Airlines.
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Dixon19.jpgUnique 2/9th Icon170 viewsAnother photo showing the 2/9th symbol again on the nose of a truck. These were only painted on our vehicles and appeared on the nose and the hood. Later in 1968, they seemed to stop doing this graphic. Someone high up in 4th Division resented what they viewed as a leftover icon from 25th, but as far as I know, the symbol was not 25th and was used by 2/9th.
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Dixon24.jpgCpl Money169 viewsWe had a lot of guys in our HQ Battery at Duc Pho that had odd last names. The Colonel's aide (at one point) was named "Gee". The corporal (above) who oversaw the field mess under a sergeant was named "Money"... and one of the guys who often worked in the mess (next pic) was named "Lovelady". Here is Corporal Money (I think he was from Texas)...
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Dixon53.jpgA Military Bus in Saigon169 viewsMost GIs never saw such a clear view of the city because unlike in the movies and stories I've read, we had to ride in military busses with thick screens/grates over the windows. The screens weren't for keeping out bugs... they were for keeping out bombs and grenades thrown by VC nuts! THIS was our usual view from the military busses.
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Dixon59.jpgWell, you saw me!169 viewsDuring the melee, I tried to take photos but that was impossible. Somebody ran onstage and covered the redhead with a camouflage top and she was hustled offstage...and that was that! So, you get the camouflage shot!
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Dixon4.JPGMy Uniform168 viewsHere 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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Dixon26.jpgI'm A Collector168 viewsHere are all of the papers I saved from my R&R to Bangkok. I save everything- girl's phone numbers... in fact their "numbers" (you had to be there to know what this means). I even saved my plane ticket and the Baht envelopes of money I got at Tommie's Tourist Agency!
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Dixon25.jpgPFC Charles Lovelady168 views(Duc Pho) Here is Charles Lovelady of Detroit in his mess cap. This is the FRONT side of the mess tent where smoking was allowed! Cpl. Money wisely didn't allow smoking on the rear side since we had so many gas/kerosene cans stored back there to fuel the stoves! That little hexagonal tent on a kit base behind Lovelady (to the left) served as our barber shop and the fellow who ran it was named Craig Lash. You had to make appointments to get your hair cut and there was always someone in there. Lash was from San Francisco.
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Dixon32.jpgBack For More167 viewsHere is driver Derwyn Kaiser on a visit to our tent area (he was with another unit) at Duc Pho Montezuma after his recovery from the Double-Deuce explosion.
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