Pulling Guard-Jan 8, 2018.........Most of us had packed all our belongings for the previous few days in preperation for a road clearing operation starting jul 21, 1967, Operation Emporia. This operation was to clear 100 meters each side of QL20, a VC Taxation heaven all along from DaLat to QL 1, the major highway from Saigon, and farther west to the North/South Vietnam border. In some places no more than a mere mud path with maybe one black topped lane. This road was so covered over in vegitation in places you couldn't see the sky. The VC would set up taxation points and take goods, money, vehicles, whatever to help in their fight. DaLat is a rch area for vegitables, flower growing and selling in the cities. We had been told there had been hardly any American Troops in this area. We was accompanied by Troops from the 11th Armored Cav, The 9th Inf Division, A few men from the 720th MP's(My brother had served with this unit during part of his 23 yr military service), about 70 men making up the 86th Combat Engineer Land Clearing Team, and thedrivers and security for the 10Ton Tractor Trailers hauling 32 D7 Dozers, some equipped with Rome Plow Blades. Don't even try to look them up, there are almost NO RECORDS of this unit. I'm probably the best source from jul 67 to Oct 67. I was the Operations NCO from mar 67 to mar 68. These are some of the reasons we pull guard a lot still in our homes, waiting for all hell to break loose. Tense as ever, shivering at times as if the cold is tearing your limbs off, sweat, itch, and thoughts of these times all over. We left Bearcat early and met up with a lot of the security elements at Bien Hoa, Long Binh. Q 15 from Bearcat to QL1 at Long Binh. East on Hwy1 approximately___________miles to the intersection of QL1 and QL20. I'd like to hear all the stories these men can tell.Usually kids were all along routes wanting something to eat, to get a picture with a soldier, bum money, and steal what they could. I saved the candy from the Sundry Packs we'd get from Uncle Sam I guess is where they camefrom occassionally , to throw to the kids along these routes. East of Long Binh was a Large school on the righrt with the play ground across the street. Most children were dressed very well in uniforms. There was several of these kids lined up about 4 wide and 30 ft long waiting to cross the road. Yep, you guessed it, One Candy Bar throw into a group can disrupt the playground march. The guy must have given me a Number one sign a hundred times while the dust began to settle from the fight. It was begining to get up in the day and the temperature rising and time passing by slow seemed. A little ways out of Long Binh probably in the grouping of the assisting units we had pulled off to one side of the road to assemble. As always the mobile Cas Walker home of Vietnam grocery group was sitting up all along one. Ice cold 16 Oz Pepsi, in the bottle-50 cents, and we shook them to check for battery acid. A girl came by with a plastic carry satchel filled with nice sweaters. I don't remember the price but the one and only time I pulled anything like this. I was looking at them, she turned around and I threw it up onto the back of our dump truck we was riding in. Whoever I threw it too put it in the compartment under the driver seat. Hold on I got to quit laughing......Jean, I hope you enjoyed it, cause I sure took a cussing, LOL. She left and hadn't noticed it was gone. I wish we had left, lol. In a few minutes she came back and in the best Sailor english I ever heard proceeded to call me ever cuss word I had heard in basic training, and then some, I guess local sailors verbs. This is when it got serious. She left again and returned with our 1ST SGT, Cartagena, I know you men remember him, 24hrs a day, steel pot and flak jacket, even slept in it. And Combat Engineers have their own dress code, along with the LCT-boots, and pants. She proceeded to tell him what had happened, and I actually did it as a joke and intended to return it or pay her-I got afraid to mention it, Cartagena was raising more hell than she was....lol. So I kept my mouth shut. During one of these stoppings, my friend, Nolen was sitting in the truck with us, along with some more HQ personnel when a hand grenade dropped from his flak jacket into the truck,packed with foot lockers, duffle bags and Orderly room stuff. It was noisy, hot, and no one seen it. I kinda dov efor it and threw it off the side of the truck. It landed at two women and 2 or 3 kids feet. I immediately started yelling it's OK, it's OK, because I'd noticed the firing mechanism was still attached to his flak jacket, somehow it had gotten unscrewed, we finally convinced them it was ok,and someone went and got it. This was all in all about enough excitement for one convoy. I just want to say, I was just 20 yrs old, 9 months from a married 19 yr old with no more Combat Training than the Boys Scout Troop locally. Basic and AIT isn't Combat Training. 6 months to the day from the time I went to Ft Knox Ky for basic I landed at Bien Hoa Air Base, Bien Hoa Vietnam, I had hardly been out of Wayne County. Trained to hate and kill everything that moved. Firing for record in Basic on the 1st day of November 1966 we fired every shot from a foxhole, in 14 inches of snow. And some of the local guys reading this will verify what I'm telling you. A unit had fired before we did and where their bulletds had eat the snow up it was just a black spot. And I don't know who shot the deer either. So for right now it's time for changing of the guard, give you a break and me a little sleep, my VA Mental Health appoinment is at 3 today, I'm going to tell her I support Medical Marijuana Legislation, anything beats these damn M&M's. Abby's sick of them too, she should be, she eats more than I do..Good day,jdc2/8/18..........Operation Emporia information can be seen on the 11th Armored Cav and the 720th MP web sites...2 local men here served with K Troop-THE KILLING TROOP mermaid style evening gowns