The River

A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.― Laura Gilpin

Charlie Company kept its nose to the grindstone in Tay Ninh Province, our home at the time. It wasn't all sturm und drang, danger and drudgery. One afternoon in April, our point man broke out of the heavy bamboo onto the banks of the Song Bay River. Throughout all of our days in the bush, some of us had never seen a river.

Capt. Martinez asked us for direction while we posted guards and took a break. Although we were close to Cambodia, we hadn't had any recent contact with the enemy.

After a discussion with the guys, he decided to give the company a break from war. A postman's holiday from our cook's tour of the jungle. A little R & R. We'd hang around and camp by the river overnight even though we couldn't see very far upstream or downstream.

There was lots of wildlife near the rivers of Vietnam – snakes, monkeys, tigers, crocodiles, lizards and large birds. Active wildlife usually meant Mr. Rogers was not in the neighborhood.

The Song Bay seemed quiet enough, but not too quiet.

Some guys fished – with hand grenades. The pin was pulled and the grenade tossed underhand into the water. Five seconds later, a muffled thud was heard followed by a six foot spout of water and a few strange yellow fish popping up to the surface.

Terry McClish holding Thumper (M79)

Others were goofing around and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Stan, Bob and I took one by the river posing with our favorite pudding. When I got out of the bush I developed the picture and sent it to General Mills with a note requesting a complimentary case. In the note we praised the pudding to the max, adding “What a tasty break from our C-rations.” It didn't work so well. Only four cans came back from the big “G.”

Bob Jackson (L), Stan Krimsky (C), Terry McClish (R) 
with pudding

Some guys put their flip-flops on and waded in to the waist-high water. The blue-green Song Bay was calm but I didn't like the looks of it. A river contains many things and besides, several boyhood friends of mine had drowned in the Mississippi.

Capt. Martinez (L) in the Song Bay R

Then we got the real scoop from a nearby Huey pilot flying overhead.

Beware. Crocodiles are in your vicinity, down around the bend, a mile away.

Everyone jumped out of the water as if a lifeguard had blown his whistle or a doodie had floated by.

We had fish for dinner! I didn't partake, because the fish had a black tint and some fish are poisonous. The area looked like a source for red ants, so before going to bed, we spread generous amounts of bug juice around the outside of our sleeping areas.

The next day we went back into the jungle to carry on where we left off, refreshed by a pleasant break down by the riverside.

General Mills Letter