On my way out of Taipei following my R & R, I was walking through the customs free area in the airport and spotted a bottle of Kessler whiskey. Hell, that’s Martin’s preferred drink! I immediately purchased a bottle and stowed it in my bag.
After arriving back at FSB Nancy, I unpacked and placed that bottle on a shelf in the bunker that Cossey and I shared with Dob and Mike Beldy. The next morning we were informed the Colonel would be inspecting the men’s quarters. When the hell did the Battalion CO ever inspect the bunkers and hootches? Well, today was the day and he took my bottle of whiskey! I didn’t think to hide it; forgetting of course, that enlisted men were forbidden to possess hard liquor.
Damn it, but interestingly enough, I would later learn when the Colonel walked outside he handed that bottle to LT (Szczebak) and told him to, “Take care of it”. LT then gave it to Lt. Cosper and told him to, “Take care of it”. Later, Cosper (He was a good ol’ boy from the South) would head over to Martin’s bunker with the aforementioned bottle to take care of it…
Someone came to find me that night and told me to head over to Martin’s hootch. I stopped by and was pleasantly surprised to see Martin and the fellas with that bottle. I believe I had a nip myself that night. Those ol’ boys were “lit” by then and the conversation was lively. What I remember most is the warm glow of friendship in a dirty, sandbagged bunker in Viet Nam.
I raise my glass to the grunts of the 5th Cavalry!
Bird-out
I was reminded of this story when talking to a veteran of the Korean War. He was a captain at the time and serving with the 32nd Inf. They were on the “other side” of the Chosin Resorvoir. I think the Marines were on the West side and an Army Regimental Combat Team was on the East. They got their asses kicked by the Chinese hordes and were in danger of being annihilated.
The reason I bring this up; he mentioned two things that stuck with me. The officers did have whiskey and they put a shot in everyone’s canteens to keep them from freezing! Brilliant! So there’s a story for you whiskey drinkers.
The other thing he mentioned; they were out of food and had no resupplies. They were having radio troubles because of the terrain but were finally able to raise a supply Sgt. in Tokyo. No kidding! This guy diverted a plane that was carrying PX supplies. The pilots came to their aid, found them and kicked out the supplies at low altitude…there were 1000’s and 1000’s of Tootsie Rolls! Yes, Tootsie Rolls, and those that survived made it out by eating them. When this unit had reunions they always had Tootsie Rolls.
I raise my glass to the veterans of the Korean War!