First Book Signing

I had my first book signing yesterday and it was fun!  Why it took me this long to do one I have no idea.  No one pushing me hard enough to get off my duff I guess.

The chance to set one up came out of nowhere.  I was selling my first boat, a sixteen-foot fishing boat, and it wasn't going well.  So I decided to consign it with Bass Pro Shops in Foxboro, Massachusetts.  The Manager there commented about my Vietnam Veteran hat.  From there, one comment lead to another until he said, "Would you like to do a book signing?"  They were re-opening their in-store restaurant and he thought I should be part of the festivities.  I really had to think about it.  Two days later I called him and said I would.

I quickly had a sign made from an image of my book cover.  I ordered a bunch of books.  Using my laptop, I pulled together a slideshow of my Vietnam pictures.  I dug out my old poncho liner from forty-six years ago for a table cloth.  I was ready to go!

The fun part was talking to ordinary people about my experiences in Vietnam.  Some Vietnam Veterans dropped by and they welcomed me home.  I got to learn about there own Vietnam experiences.  It felt good comparing notes.  I spoke with a twenty-four year veteran of the police force about the parallels between their treatment now and our treatment then.  We formed a bond.  Some young kids shook my hand very solemnly with their parents encouragement.  All in all, the day was a success.  Not from a selling books point-of-view.  It was a beautiful day so it was a slow day at the store.  But I felt like a celebrity.  The restaurant gave me free lunch.  What more do you need?

I may just do another.  Especially if it lands in my lap like this one.          

M60 AVLB

One of the oddest sites ever for me in Vietnam was seeing this M60 AVLB.  I saw one for the first time while working with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment outside of Firebase Candy.  They were checking out roads in the area so we went along with them to provide support if they ran into enemy soldiers.  Have you figured out what it is yet?  Well the AVLB designation stands for Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge.

The base of the unit was an M60 Patton Tank.  What you see on top of the tank is a scissor-type bridge made of aluminum.  Unfolded and lying on the ground, the bridge was 63 feet long and 13 feet wide.  I read that a crew of two people operated the thing.  Its 12-cylinder diesel engine and 375 gallon fuel tank would take it 290 miles.  That's about 3/4 of a mile to a gallon.  It weighed over 50 tons but if needed, could do about 30 miles per hour.  I wouldn't want to cross the street in front of one if it was rumbling along at a quick pace.  Wouldn't want to test those brakes.

Even more amazing was watching the operator test the bridge.  The strength of those hydraulic pistons just blew me away.  In one fluid motion, the bridge lifted up and over from the rear while unfolding from the front until 60 feet of bridge was lying there on the ground fully extended and ready to use.  The whole operation was done in about two minutes.

We never actually used it as a bridge while with the 11th Armored Cav.  I never saw one again.  I've read that the Marines used them as well and still use them.  Not sure about the Army.  

        

M107, 175 mm Howitzer

Howitzer is an artillery piece that was used to bombard the enemy when something more powerful than rifle and machine gun fire was required.  Normally the smaller M102 Howitzer was used because of there convenience.  There were times however when more distance and power mattered.  Then the artillery battery would use the M107 Howitzer.

The M107, as you can see in the snapshot, was mounted on tank tracks so it could move itself around.  Even at this angle, the barrel looks long and it was.. 35 feet.  The bore was 175 mm or almost 7 inches.  It could shoot a 147 pound projectile about 25 miles.  The Army had a slightly larger 8 inch gun in its arsenal but it actually looked smaller than the M107 because the barrel was much shorter.  It took about six guys to load, aim and fire the weapon.  We affectionately called it a "one-seven-five".

This picture was taken on Firebase Candy, close to the Cambodian border.  The gun was used to soften up the enemy in Cambodia before we invaded in May 1970.  While I was on Candy, they pounded away with this gun day and night.  The bulldozer-like blade that you see driven into the ground at the rear, prevented the gun from being pushed backward when it recoiled.  The gun shook-the-earth every time it fired.  Sleeping was impossible if you were near the gun.  I was glad to leave the noise of it behind when we moved out into the jungle four days later.

How would you like to be on the receiving end of one of those projectiles you see in the foreground of the picture!  It always amazed me how enemy soldiers hung in there when blasted with all of the superior firepower we had.  All they had for weapons are what they carried.  No heavy artillery and no Air force.  How did they do it?  In the end, that's why they won the war.