Diary Entry 64: Saigon, Thursday Night, 23 September 1965

                                         Saigon

                                                                                         Thursday Night, 23 September 1965

Another month is just about done with and when it is, I will have completed 1/3 of my tour of duty over here. That doesn’t sound like much, but to me it is a milestone and I’m anxious to mark it off. 

Things seem to be going pretty well over here now.  We’ve just about got the 1st Air Cav Division into the theater and settled down and we’re in the midst of doing some planning now.  Early next month, I will have to send a couple of my officers back on the road again, and I will just stay home and watch from the grandstand seat in Saigon.

On the first of the month, we received military scrip in place of dollars.  Most everyone here refers to it as “Monopoly money” because that is what it looks like.  



Ten-cent U.S. Military Payment Certificate.  (Image courtesy Richard P. Clark, Jr. collection)



Ate supper in my room tonight as I’ve had a chance to go to the commissary and PX to restock my supplies.  For my supper tonight I “cooked” a can of pork and beans, a can of Vienna sausage, and a peanut butter sandwich.  Tasted pretty good!

Our electric power is off so am writing this by candlelight.  We are experiencing more and more power failures as there is a tremendous increase in US forces and buildup and the existing power cannot support the buildup.  Just one of these inconveniences you have to live with. 

Reckon I’d better stop and think about how I am going to get the Army to change its mind on assigning me to Washington when my tour is completed here.  Need to sit down and think over all the courses of action and figure out how I’ll proceed.  While anyplace is better than this place, there are places in the States that I’d rather be at than in Washington.