Tony, Pete and Randy

This shot of Tony (on the left), Pete (in the middle) and Randy from my squad was taken in March 1970.  They are standing in one of those rare open areas in a jungle that was generally choked by bamboo.  It was a sunny day in the dry season.  The company had not had contact with Vietcong soldiers for months.  There was not a lot to be concerned about at the time and you can see that in their faces.

Tony has his M16 rifle in his hands.  You can see the side of a smoke grenade just behind his right shoulder and the neck of a 2-quart canteen just below it.  Pete is wearing a vest-full of grenades for the M72 grenade launcher that he is holding unlatched and open in his right hand.  Randy, with his rifle by his side and his left thumb hooked around a bandoleer of M16 ammunition clips, has a Saint Christopher medal dangling around his neck.

All three are hunched over due to the weight of the pack they carry.  Green towels are wedged under the straps to cushion the weight.  Their beards are the result of our spending more than two weeks in the jungle.  What was camouflage green colored cloth helmet covers on their steel pots are now tinged a reddish-brown.  That reddish-brown color is from Vietnam's signature red dirt.  If you look closely, you can see writing on their helmets.  We all had something scribbled on our helmets.  It might be a Vietnam nickname, a saying of some kind, or maybe the home town and state we hailed from.

I was a new-guy at the time so my helmet cover was new and unmarked.  They were grizzled Veterans who were teaching me the ropes.