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than stand out and having the M-1 to supplement my 45 caliber sidearm made me feel safer. I also wore indigenous footwear and clothing while I was assigned to the Special Forces unit.

The cost of living in Vietnam was very low as there was little to buy and few opportunities to spend. Haircuts at Xom Cat cost then equivalent of about $.15. I kept ten dollars of my pay each month and sent the rest home to my wife.

Elements of the 101st Airborne visited Xom Cat once for an operation and their 105-artillery battery set up on our airstrip for a few days.

While I was assigned to the A Team, the Battalion Commander designed a research program for me to conduct. He asked me to write a report that described the explosive damage caused with various fuse settings (impact, time delays) in open terrain and single, double and triple canopy jungle.

The research involved walking to the test area, setting out large X shaped targets made from bed sheets, walking back to camp to fly an aerial observer fire mission and then walking back to the target area to take photos of the damage. I conducted the “research” over a week or so, our pattern was obvious, and we discovered several ambush sites during our treks.

Thankfully, we were never ambushed and I suspect my insightful report never went very far up the chain of command.