Taking It In the Rear (ePub)

For each man fighting in the rice patties and jungles of Vietnam War, there were twelve in the rear echelon units providing ammo, food, medical, transport, communications, and air support to make their survival and success possible. This book is the personal account of a rear echelon Soldier who served with the 1^st Signal Brigade from 1968 to 1969 in the Vietnam Theater of War, which included Thailand. As a member of SEATG, Thailand sent two Thai Army divisions to fight in Vietnam, allowed numerous U. S. Air Force bases in its country for bombers and fighter jets to support Allied ground forces in the Vietnam Theater of Combat. But, for National Security reasons, those of us serving in Thailand could not document or disclose any combat action we saw or heard of in Thailand, as the U. S. government did not want its people, many who violently opposed the Vietnam war, to know there was a second front being fought in Thailand.

This book is not an account of tense combat action with bullets buzzing through the air and bombs blasting battlefields strewn with bodies, blood, guts, and gore. Though there were some firefights, this is an anecdotal account of the inane and insane situations endured in a support unit for frontline fighters. In previous wars, rear echelon troupes have been ironically portrayed in first-person accounts, like M.A.S.H and Good Morning, Vietnam. Such is this book, depicting a young soldier, raised on American values and ideals of virtuous womanhood, clashing with those of Asian cultures where women are second-class citizens, and a very young teenage girl was often sold into prostitution, if the marriage dowery from a groom, or the pay from a menial job, would not repay the cost to raise her.

Though the names are modified to protect the identity of individuals, those who were there may identify themselves and our other brothers-in-arms.