(Undated)
(In my mother’s handwriting)

Sign these and return these — did you ever receive a W-2 from the U.S. Marine Corps? We will go ahead & file this & explain the situation.

(In my handwriting)

If they gave me a W-2 I’ve never seen it. They might have put it in my record bok but I haven’t seen that for beaucoup time now. I made approx $729.00 from the USMC in 1969. Since I didn’t get much of it there must still be a lot on the books, khong bich.

P.S. I’m up for promotion to Lance corporal

16 March
Dear Dad,

I just got your “lecture” and I don’t know if I can justify breaking the law by mailing the gun and ammo. Consequently I’ll concentrate on your other points.

Point #3 “Need.” The situation in my area is very serious. We know that there are at least 72 V.C. in the area. This does not account for V.C. sympathizers. We do not know how many N.V.A. are around because the number varies from day to day.

In other words the V.C. cadre alone outnumbers my CAP 2 to 1.

The major danger is in the fact that we are so close to the people. At any hour of the day there are about 10 to 15 Vietnamese within grenade range and 200 or 300 within easy rifle shot.

(There was little justification for my fears. When I first arrived at CAP 2, I was leery of the Vietnamese civilians, expecting many of them to be bloodthirsty VC. I learned that nearly all were neutral, some were passive supporters of one side or the other, and a relative few were active VC.)

Right now I’m sitting on a 2nd floor balcony of a house we are staying in today. My rifle is inside the house about 15 feet from where I’m sitting. The pistol is in the pocket (unbuttoned) of my camouflage jacket which is lying across my lap. If I spit over the edge I might hit one of three Vietnamese standing at the well below me.

I suppose I could keep my rifle within reach most of the time (which I do anyway) but not all of the time. Compared to the pistol the rifle (7.8 lbs, 38″ long) is too clumsy to carry.

(I later changed my mind on this subject and kept my M-16 in my hand or within arm’s reach 24 hours a day.)

The Marine Corps does not issue any more pistols than it has to. They are dangerous, inaccurate at long ranges, and much desired by “collectors.” Black market .45s are worth up to $200. My CAP leader Sgt. Burd sleeps, eats, and washes with a loaded .45 on his hip or under his pillow.

Safety – Point #4. I carry the pistol with a full clip in, but no round in the chamber. When shooting starts I chamber a round and put the pistol in the right waist pocket of my camouflage jacket. The risk seems small to me because every weapon in my CAP always has a round in the chamber and the safety on. The only exceptions are our two M-60 machine guns. I carry two grenades in the pocket of my flak jacket and I’ll carry 4 more when I can get ahold of them.

I have the unique position of being able to call in 60mm, and 81mm and 4.2 mortars, 105mm, 106mm, 155mm, 175mm, and 8″ artillery any time I feel the need. (Uh, not really. I was gilding the lily here. True, CAPs theoretically had access to that kind of firepower, but we rarely used it and had to have a damned good reason when we did.) That is what distinguishes a CAP Marine from a regular grunt. I can also call in air strikes, gun-ships, and Naval gunfire.

I have more firepower on call than any battalion in Viet Nam. (BRAGGART!)

Point #5 Inspections — We have no inspections.

If we did, my superiors are in no position to bust me for an unauthorized weapon. My captain carries a 12 ga. shotgun loaded with 00 buck shot. The geneva convention (we are signatories) forbids the use of buck shot. Shotguns are unauthorized in the U.S. Armed forces. My CAP leader carries an unauthorized .45 cal. The captain’s driver carries a 9mm Swedish K submachine gun, also unauthorized. (Sea lawyer!)

Point #6 Getting it home — I originally intended to try and bring the gun home. Now I’m not so sure. It’s dangerous and not good for anything but close range people shooting. I think I’ll leave it here unless somebody (Mom) raises a really serious objection.

I don’t think a pistol is worth having unless you think you’ll have the necessity of using it on a man.

Gun’s don’t really scare me. Other people’s guns do. I KNOWthat there is a round in the chamber of my rifle and that it is on safe. I’m not sure about other people’s weapons so they do scare me.

I quit.

Roch

12 March

Dear Folks,

I’m finally at my CAP. I got here yesterday and I’ve already been on a patrol and an ambush. The ambush didn’t go so well because on our way out to the ambush site our M-79 man fired a grenade accidentally. One of the Vietnamese with us had shrapnel wounds and had to be medevaced this morning. It seems that I have a habit of being close to exploding grenades.

The Courier (My hometown newspaper) has not started to arrive yet. You’d better tell them my new address so I’ll be sure to get the paper. The new address will be on the back of the envelope.

P.F.C. C.R. Thornton 2579640
2nd CAG, CAP 2-7-2
FPO, San Francisco, Calif. 96602

A C.A.P. Platoon actually doesn’t do anything different. We just lay ambushes at night and hide out in the daytime. We stay in a different place each day so the V.C. can’t hit us so easily. All the water is bad so I expect I’ll have dysentery shortly. The food is haphazard. Sometimes we have C-rations, sometimes dehydrated stuff. Sometimes we eat V.N. food. For breakfast this morning I had raw corn on the cob.

My letters are bound to be shorter and come less often now. I’m sure you can understand why. Mail service is also very erratic so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for a week or two at a time.

Actually, mail service was good in the CAPs. We got mail every day, seven days a week, along with our supplies and water. It may be I thought I would write fewer letters, and didn’t want my folks to worry.

Tell Nan I’ll try to answer her letter sometime this month.

Gotta quit.

Love,

Roch

 

1 March
Dear Folks,

Got both your letters today. I wish you would rush that gun, I’ll be in the field about ten days from now. It would make me feel a lot better to have it.

Hoi An was mortared last night but I don’t think anyone was killed. We’re expecting an attack here tonight (the CAP School compound at My Khe) but I’m not counting on it. We’ve had two patrols fired at in the last week. I was on Bravo Patrol when Alpha Patrol was fired at about 300m away. Nobody was hurt.

I have a patrol tonight. Bravo patrol again. Four hours less sleep unfortunately. I passed our first language test with a score of 80%, not bad.

Remember Marcia Mandrell, the blonde girl who stayed at the Elk Mtn. Lodge when we were there? She’s been writing to me regularly. Fast work, huh? Really she’s nice; writes long letters.

My best buddy since Staging Bn. is Mike Turner from Hamilton, Montana. He’s invited me to go elk hunting with him when we get out of the Green Machine. He’s always rapping to me about the beauties of Montana so I think I’ll go.

I’m the one who talked him into flying his wife to San Diego our last weekend in the States. I guess he had a good time because he wore a dumb grin all the way back to Camp Pendleton on the bus. That’s the weekend Terry & Paul Gleim told me they were planning to elope. I bought them a poster to decorate their apt.

It gets hotter every day here so I guess it’ll be pretty hellish around summertime.

I went to Mass this morning where the priest wore jungle boots. I’ve been trying to send some jungle boots and a pair of utilities home to wear hunting when I get discharged but it’s nearly impossible to get to a post office, or anything else for that matter.

I wish I could call home but I haven’t seen a phone since I got in-country. John must really be skating.

(John Dietrich was a family friend and Army helicopter pilot who was in Vietnam the same time I was there, mostly in III Corps and IV Corps.)

It turns out that Army Medevac choppers are much preferred to Marine Medevacs. The Marine Corps naturally places more value on an expensive toy like a chopper than on any human life. Consequently a Marine Medevac pilot may not land to pick up a casualty until the landing zone (LZ) is sufficiently secured from enemy fire to preclude any chance of his being struck by anything nasty like a bullet.

Often a Medevac may arrive above the LZ as little as ten minutes after the s–t hits the fan. More often than not, though, he will wait ten minutes to an hour before he lands. Not only do people occasionally die, but choppers have been known to come home with holes in them made by American weapons.

Army pilots are younger (hence less cautious) and not restricted to landing in peaceful spots. They lose more choppers and pilots but they gain some respect and admiration. This information is strictly CONFIDENTIAL. Do not think that the Green Machine will change this situation or even admit that the situation exists. Just because you write to your Congressman. If queried officially I will deny ever having made the above statement for reasons of my own. End message. I just thought I’d give you some local color.

(My mother had a habit of writing or calling her Congressman if I told her about something she considered wrong or unfair. At least once her Congressman forwarded her complaint all the way down the chain of command to 2nd CAG. I was called before the XO for a stern warning to be careful what I wrote in my letters home.)

Gotta quit.

Love,

Roch

P.S. Rush that PISTOL

Don’t forget the ammo!