It took some 33 years, but in the Spring of 2004 I finally started the process of "coming home" from Vietnam.  The war in Iraq and finding my Vietnam slides triggered some post traumatic stress.  I became obsessed with building pages on my website to relate my experiences in Vietnam and to display my pictures.

I searched the web for sites relating to the units I served with.  Mostly, I was looking for information to include on my web pages.  Additionally, I found others that had served with the 199th LIB.  Another Chaplain Assistant contacted me and we started corresponding by e-mail.  Thru him, I started chatting with guys from the 2nd/3rd Infantry - the battalion I worked with during much of my tour.  In June, I attended the Echo Company Reunion in Georgia.

They Fought Together - by Robby Gouge

At the Echo Company reunion I met Robby Gouge. His father served with the 199th LIB during 1969-70.  Robby had written a book about the 199th titled These Are My Credentials. Robby had contacted me prior to the reunion because he had found my website. Following the reunion, Robby said he was interested in publishing a photo book on the 199th. The book is titled They Fought Together. I rescanned my slides and photos so the resolution was reproduction quality. Robby sent me photos he had collected from others and I ran them thru my photo editing software to bring back the color and remove some of the blemishes. (See examples of retouching photos.) As work on the photos was complete, Robby asked me to write "About the Book" for the back cover.

It has been a real pleasure working with Robby on this project. The book is now available for on-line purchase. Use the following link for additional information or to purchase the book:

  http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~28922.aspx

Robby would like to continue to collect photos from the 199th.  I've offered my assistance..  So, if you served with the 199th LIB in Vietnam and have some old photos, negatives, or slides, please contact me.  I can scan them, work some touch up magic, and return them with a CD of the scans to you.  I know that many of our photos have deteriorated over the past 30+ years.  We need to preserve what we have.  While the actual photos will continue to deteriorate, the scanned images will preserve the current state of the photo and in many instances, some computer color correction can nearly bring them back to their original state. As with They Fought Together, you would be contacted prior to any use of the photos.

Chaplain Assistant

Being a Chaplain Assistant - particularly with a combat unit - was like no other job in Vietnam.  I found myself walking a fine line, interfacing between the troops and my Chaplain.  Many of them came to me first with their problem. After all, I was another enlisted man and the Chaplain was an officer. Some I set up to see the Chaplain.  Others I sent to their company commander because I knew there was nothing the Chaplain could do for them.  Maybe it was overstepping my authority, but the guys trusted me

I've written a piece on my experiences as a Chaplain Assistant in Vietnam.  This is certainly not all inclusive, nor is it typical of all Chaplain Assistants in Vietnam.

Chaplain Assistant - My Experience

Writings:

I've found that one big help to me has been writing some of my thoughts.  Here's a collection of my writings and a couple humorous writings brought back from Vietnam.

I've put to words some of my thoughts on being a Chaplain Assistant in Vietnam.

We Didn't "Belong"

Going through some of my old papers, I ran across some humorous writings from Vietnam.  I've retyped them from the ditto/carbon copies in my files. Authors are unknown.

Jeep Driving

The Short Timer

In 1988 I visited the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC.  My thoughts on that visit.

Reflections on The Wall

Some additional thoughts I had in the Spring of 2004.

Why Me?

Frozen in Time

Reflections on attending my first Reunion.

Reunion Reflections

Creation of these pages was caused in part by the war in Iraq,  Some of my thoughts on the "War on Terrorism".

Iraq, Vietnam, and the "War on Terrorism"