Source: Bob (Popeye) Williamson, 45th Surg, Tay Ninh,
July 1968 to End of June 1969.
E-mail: Note: selected lines from his e-mail to me.
About something I did, TOO Long A Story, you don't need to know!

1st LT. Dale Duffel Passed away 16th or 17th August 1999.



He review this web site and said:
I thought it was very strange that it more or less coincided with the big NVA pushes of 1968 and 1969.
Believe CPT. Bert Pederson's name is spelled with a
D and not a T like yours is.

Remember you and Tex (Barnie)(David Barnwell) coming back from the convoy where you were ambushed--was always glad that both of you made it back safely.

Also remember when Bert (Cpt. Pederson) and Moose (cannot remember his name, but he had a MS in Physics) encountered the grenades and Moose ran to the helipad.

Also remember that someone stole all of Maj. Dubiel's plywood that he had saved for trading. Duffel told me--"You know that Moose has an MS in Physics. And, it is amazing that a person with one hand can lift several thousand pounds of Solid Steel Plate from the top of a stack of plywood if they have the right fulcrum!" Always thought it was a strange coincidence there was considerable remodeling, etc. of the EM Barricks the next day.

Also remember one night that I stopped into the Pharmacy to see if Karl Juve could dub some tapes for me. He and Moose were listening to (I believe) Brubeck. I joined them. We had a drink and I lit up a Camel. An incoming 107mm rocket landed close by and all 3 of us damned near knocked each other out as we heads diving for the floor. Believe that was the first of many that night. Our social hour ended abruptly.

Somewhere I believe that I have a polaroid of the 1st Sgt's (Hedrick's) Hooch after the rocket hit it. The one I have shows him standing by the hole. I remember when it hit as it was 50 to 75 feet from my bunk.

The one night that you mentioned regarding the 66 patients was the 16th or 17th of August, 1968. We received a lot more than that, but that was probably about the correct number of admissions. Etched in my mind were the loads of Chinooks bringing in the Engineers from the top of Nui Ba Din and they were laying in their ponchos as they were hit while asleep. Also believe that was the first time that I had ever seen a Cobra. Walked out of the office and there it was facing me--all 36inches wide and loaded with 7mm rocket pods and beautiful gattling guns.

Also remember that you bought the water truck to the back of Pre-Op and used it to hose it out. Also remember the normally dry ditch that parallelled the sidewalk from the helipad to the Mess Hall was filled with about 3 feet of bright red bloody water as a result of your washing operation. Will never forget that sight.

The one night you referenced with all of the casualties was in 1969 (I believe. I wasn't there, but recieved a letter about it and believe it was also in August).

From memory, believe there was about 3 main places that we evacuated patients to including the 24th. Believe there was 2 in Long Binh, plus Chu Chi. And many of the ARVN's went to the ARVN Hospital in Saigon. Also recall at least 2 Scout Dogs that were evacuated to Long Binh.

Enjoyed seeing the picture of Poppa San. Believe the tire rim that sent him in the air was from a 2 1/2 ton truck and not the 5 ton dump. I remember Tiny yelling at me (I was crossing the road to go to the Motor Pool) "Cap'um, my Poppa San just got hurt. We have to get him to the hospital". We put him in the 3/4 ton truck and drove to the back of Pre-Op by my office in A&D and we carried him in through the back door. We both thought he was at Death's Door.

Also enjoyed seeing the Dump Truck. I remember very vividly when Sgt. Padgett and I went to Vung Tau to get it for LTC. Jim Smith. We drove from Saigon to Tay Ninh without a convoy. We got lost. Turned around in a grade school playground. About 100 little Vietnamese kids swarmed the truck. They stole all of our gear that was stashed in the box under the passenger door. I had a brand new Norelco razor. They got it! They tried to steal the boots off my feet. They almost pulled me out of the truck -- they had the door open.

During that drive, we saw hundreds of Vietnamese in Black Pajamas with Ho Chi Minh Sandals walking through the rice paddies. They were all carrying weapons. We did not know if they were NVA, ARVNs, or what. They didn't shoot at us and I didn't shoot at them. Padgett and I had 1 or 2 M1's and my Army issued .45 Pistol. About 5 miles later, we ran into a convoy of APC's heading the opposite direction. We sure as hell were glad to see them.

Also remember very vividly when (thought his name was Haggy) got the shrapnel up his a__. That was the same rocket that put holes in one of the water towers.

Somewhere I also have a picture taken by the Chief Clerk that was there for a few months and later went to The Stars and Stripes. Cannot remember his name, but he was a newscaster for Channel 7 (WLS) in Chicago for a while. This picture is of Dale Duffel, Louis Oliverri and myself working on our hooch (#5).

You photographed the crematorium. Prior to that, the dogs used to run around with arms and legs as they would dig them up faster than we could get them buried!

Am glad that you survived the war.
Take care and keep your head down.

Bob (Popeye) Williamson
Hospital Registrar, Motor Officer, et al.
July 1968 to End of June 1969 (CPT, MSC)