[sandytroop]

Well, that's one of the defining traits of this business. You can't make this stuff up. Now the short list of memories...

Old Phase 1, I misplaced my M-60 and carried half a Huey skid on a 60 sling for a couple of days to help my memory. I never made that mistake again.

I remember comming out of survival just about to croak I was so empty. The mess tent had c-rats for us, and I got the spaghetti. It was the perfect combination of carbs, fat, oil, and "water". I still eat canned spaghetti out of the can with a big spoon, and I still smile and remember that moment. It was the best lunch I had ever had to that date.

In Robin Sage we had some G's from Cos Com who were "intransigent" as my team sergeant described them. When they fell asleep, he would collect large blobs of that phosphorescent goo from the Pineland ground cover, put it in his mouth, wake the G's and make sure the first thing they saw was him puking that green stuff out. They thought he was possessed, I am sure.

The best though was after our last raid at Sage. We then occupied the open field where we had set up our air strip, kicked back and waited for the trucks. All the guys had their beenie hats on (it was November), and we all pulled them over to one side, like berets. Ronald Reagan had been elected President 5 days before. We were the new generation of warriors, and the world was ours. Man we were just invincible. You never forget a feeling like that.