Letters Home from Vietnam – Chapter 14 – Who Will Stop the Rain?

by Steve Crandall

My dad taught me just about everything I know about building something. And when I was home I knew exactly where to go to find the parts and tools I needed to be creative because Dad kept his garage shelves lined with jars full of nuts, bolts, screws and nails. But now I’m far away from those garage shelves and I have to hunt and scrounge for the parts I need to build our storage cabinet. I started with a wooden box used for napalm fuses. I needed hinges and a hasp for the lid so I picked them up from the Red Horse Squadron (the Air Forces version of the Seabees). I still needed something to stop the box lid so it could be used as a table. Bomb lanyards would do the trick. Lanyards are the wires that ran through the fuses on either end of the bomb to keep the fuse spinning and arming until the bomb is released from the plane. The storage box was nearly complete. The only thing it lacked was a fine coat of paint and a couple of anti-war statements.

September 20, 1970 Danang, VN

Dear Mom and Dad,

I finished building the cabinet for my tape recorder last night. It’s about three feet long, two feet high and one foot deep. The front is hinged at the bottom with a wire cable on each side to hold it at a flat level. We use it as a table. I got some aircraft weather sealer and filled in the cracks so it should stay dry and dust free. I put two hasps and locks on it.

We now have a place to lock up our stuff from the thieves.

September 23, 1970 Danang, VN

Dear Mom and Dad,

I’ll have to revise that list of clothes for R&R. I’m being told that I can’t get in most places at night without a tie and a sport coat. I don’t know if a scarf will substitute for a tie. Time is starting to drag again. I’ve got tomorrow off. I guess I’ll go to the BX and get a haircut. I also thought I might mail a package but I haven’t got enough paper bags to wrap the package. It’s just my stateside fatigues and so I can wait.

As of Friday I’ll have been here eight full months. By the time I get back from R&R I’ll have only 77 days to go.

I guess that’s all for now.

I opened the box containing my clothes from home and the smell of the Brut took me back to a life I had forgotten. The smell stirred my emotions and reminded me of those nights out and the excitement of getting ready for a hot date. It’s a life that seems so very far away from anything else I am experiencing in this rat hole. I waited to take my R&R late in my tour because I wanted something to look forward to but right now it just can’t come soon enough. What will the city nights be like in Australia? Will there be hot rods cruising up and down the streets? Will they have car hops? Will it be anything like home? Damn, I’ve still have more than a month to go so I’ve got to quit thinking about Australia. Got to keep focused and find something else to do. Our newly constructed digs
need some color. I know, I’ll scrounge up some paint and get creative.

September 29, 1970 Danang, VN

Dear Mom and Dad,

I received your package today with the clothes in it. I smelled the scarf and the smell of the Brut reminded me of being back home. It’s funny how certain things bring back your memory like that. I had to put on my shirt right away. It was so comfortable and made me feel all dressed up.

Let’s go out to dinner the first night I get home. I’ll treat.

I’ve got $611 saved up in the bank now, by the end of Oct. I should have $900. I figure by the time I leave here to go home I’ll have $1800. That’s figuring whatever I spend on R&R too.

I’ll save the boxes you send the clothes in and ship all the stuff back that I don’t have room for. I’ll pay to have my stereo shipped back in regular post office channels. The AF will ship it free but so much of the stuff they ship gets ruined so I think I will ship it by regular mail so I can insure it.

I’m just about done painting the door to my room. I’ll have to take a picture of it and send it to you. It’s a large peace sign.

I got a heater rod for my locker. It acts as a dehumidifier. I also have one in the cabinet I built for my stereo. It really works out great. Did my 8-track player ever make it home?

Just got 116 days left to go.

I forget whether it is September or October. It’s this constant rain. It has an affect on your mind kind of like smoking pot. Time slows down to a crawl and sometimes I get confused and loose track of the days and months. There’s no spring, summer, fall or winter, just rain. It rains when it’s hot and it rains when it’s cold. God, please give me those dry Santana winds of Southern California that we used to hate. Anything would be better than this constant down pour of rain. It’s amazing that some of the forward air control (FAC) planes are still flying getting off the ground.

September October 1, 1970 Danang, Vietnam

Dear Mom and Dad,

I received your letter with the pictures and also the letter with the birthday card. Don’t talk to me about needing rain. It’s been raining for the last three days and doesn’t even let up. I’ve never seen rain like this you would think it would at least let up.

We have to go out and train a new crew and I had to put on wet underwear and fatigues this morning. I hung it up to dry three days ago but it just won’t dry in this weather.

I’ve been hearing about the fires in S. Calif. But they only talk about the one down by San Diego and around LA. I didn’t realize it was so close to home.

R&R is really going to look great with all this rain. It’s summer down in Australia. Down under as they say.

I’ll finish this letter later. I have to go to the flightline now.

Well I’m back for awhile. I just got back from chow. I got the harmonica you sent. I’ll have to start practicing on it.

The rain is so heavy the planes coming in are forced to catch the cable barrier and the planes waiting to take off are stacked up ten deep.

Well I have to go now so I will end this letter and start another one tomorrow.

October 6, 1970 –
South Vietnamese military announces an end to a three month operation in Cambodia. The
operation was designed to eliminate Communist base camps along the Ho Chi Minh
Trail.