June 1, 1968
I am still in the dark about my girlfriend Linda. My cousin still has not written to fill me in on the situation. I am prepared for a "Dear John" letter.
I do get letters from my other female friends, which helps..
June 10, 1968
While I was in Taiwan, I visited nightclubs, movie houses, and bowling alleys. Oh, did I mention that I enlisted the services of one of the girls at a local nightclub to help me have a better time? Well I did, and for her effort, I parted with $15 a day. I also paid for all of her expenses.
(I sent home a tape of my Taiwan wanderings.)
June 14, 1968
Weather… hot 101 degrees
Guess what? I have a new job. Now, I must fill the shower with water every day in addition to my other duties, oh goody! The shower is constructed of a 55-gallon barrel atop a small one-man enclosure. We transport the water from a site north of here and then fill the shower using 5-gallon water cans. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete the job.
We have been getting a taste of Vietnam's hot tropical air. After dark, it cools off somewhat, but the bunker retains the heat, and I sweat all night. The fan only serves to push the hot humid air through the tight quarters.
I have written to a few schools that specialize in aviation, in anticipation of my release from the Army.
June 18, 1968
I received a few answers from the flight schools. They say the GI bill will pay for 90 percent of my commercial pilot training. There is only one catch; first, I must complete a private pilot course at my own expense.
There have not been any rocket or mortar attacks recently. I feel we are overdue.
June 28, 1968
Weather… 104 degrees
The shower-filling job does not exempt me from KP. It would take an act of Congress to do that, or a promotion. My rank will stay the same, since no slots are available.
My health is quite good in spite of the heat. I have a few skin rashes, but that is normal in this type of climate. It is getting harder to sleep every day due to the warming trend.
Utter boredom forces me to volunteer for another trip to the field. During the outing, we search a couple of hamlets on foot, while the tanks go through the bush looking for concealed tunnels and caches. The mission only lasts one day and is unsuccessful in finding weapons or routing any VC. We interviewed an old woman that claimed there were about 20 or 30 VC in the area about five days before.
July
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