Reply #13: yep - I was in the depot that stripped all the usable parts out of downed choppers [View All]

[cliffordu]

and refurbed them or shipped them home. The revetments protected the repair jobs......

I was supposed to be a helicopter mechanic, but they realized I'd shot third highest in my basic training batallion and bada boom, I was in the tower with an M-14 and a scope. And an M-79 for shits and giggles.

I had a talent with that rifle.


Nights were fucked up for sure. We had some of the very first generation night vision gear, - a starlight scope it looked like a pirate's spyglass, three feet long and about 35 lbs....Everything was blurry and looked like really bad yellow infrared camera footage.

On our nights off we'd climb on top of the water tower and smoke and watch the airstrikes up the Hai Van pass.