Replies

Letters Home

SP/4 Donald Evans
A Co. 2nd Bn 12th INF
APO 96268, San Francisco

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Evans
Covina, CALIF

28 OCT, 66

Hello Mom + Dad

How are the broken arms and colds coming along?

Things are still the same here. It rains at least once a day and is hot with lots of humidity. I'm in good shape. No alments or bullet holes. We are still treated about the same as when we in the states, just not to the same degree.

Being in shape can't be helped. I get in more patrol time than anyone else in the platoon. Along with that we've been putting in lots of other work like staking sand bags around our tents (9 high), filling in ditches the other outfit dug, and other types of maintenant. No rest for Johnson's under paid killers.

Contact with Charlie has only happened twice. A night ambush patrol from 2nd platoon got hit. There was suspose to have been lots of lead flying but no blood was found nor any bodies. Charlie doesn't leave bodies behind so its hard to say if any were hit. That same night Charlie Cong hit the berm. Again nothing cam of it.

Watch the T.V. for a parade in Saigon. Tell Bonnie also. "A" Company is going to be in it. The rest of the Battalion is going on a 3 day search and clear mission, but we get out of that. Its to bad Ha! The parade is Sunday or Monday. Should be in the paper or some news media.

Papy, haven't found any rock worth picking up, but when I do I'll send them to you.

So much for now.
Love Donnie

The above letter is on display along with a portrait of SP4 Donald W. Evans, Jr. at Evans U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Carson, Colorado. It is reproduced here as written.

25 Dec. 66

Hello Rich & Flou & Mel.,

I would start out with a Merry Christmas, but it isn't. I hope yours was and you all have a good year to come.

Got the book, "Candy" you sent. That was a little while ago. Started it and finished it soon after it arrived. That book is really reaching into the depths of dirt. Then you finish the last couple of pages and realize why it's the way it is. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was represented was a dream this lady was having. A dream expected of a young girl just being exposed to the many aspects of sex and at the same time she is becoming fully mature physically. Dare say it was a hot one. The pages of the book are still being turned by different individuals.

Same routine here in Nam as before. We patrol and go on short operations. Mostly the missions are to find Charlie's supply, and were he's been hiding. The last few times out we've received sniper fire and had no one from our battalion injured. We never catch the Charlie fighter.

Travel in and out of the sticks varies. Mostly by foot, sometimes by UH-119's (chopper) and very seldom by truck. Anyway the dirtiest way to go is by truck. I would give an awful lot to be back in Smog Ville puttin around.

How's Harv. and Becky's problems? Sure hope they solve it in such a way that both are somewhat satisfied. Do you think that there will be another member in the Evans chain soon? I've only heard from Harv once. Guess cause I never managed to get a letter off to him.

Say do you have the trouble with the Fords that you have with the V.W.? You know free mechanical work won't arrive for at least 9 more months and then you'll have to wait till Bonnie and I get out of hiding (Ha!). What did you expect? Your damn cars to come first? Not as long as I'm a healthy male, Evans type.

Folks, the mail service for out going package has been set up. You can start expecting little goodies, late Christmas presents and the like.

I hear Mel did a good job in the church play. Hi Mel.

So Much for now,

Donnie

8 Jan 67

Hello Brother and Sister-in-law and little actress,

How's every little battle on the home front? How are the little things growing?

Me, I'm fine, considering. Charlie still hasn't found out how to spell my name, so he can't put it on any of his bullets. That leaves the elements still after me though. You know? Nobody can tell me to go to hell. That's because I'm already there.

Well the air temperature has gone down, but it's getting a hell of a lot hotter here. We just got back from a five day operation. The thing was battalion size. The first day saw 11 Charlies zonked and 21 wounded, 27 captured. No one in this battalion was hurt. The next day things were a little different. One Charlie body and five wounded. A Company was responsible for the kill and some of the wounded. We had no casualties, but B Co. had 1 rag and one pole (rag= dead, pole= wounded). C Co. one rag, one pole. Charlie also lost one base camp and lots of chow. The following day there was no fighting. Charlie unassed the area right before the choppers got us there. This time we uncovered a field hospital and another base camp. Complete with supply and ammo. Later on that day a rice storage place was found, complete with 14 tons of rice. Charlie really is ticked off. Another day came and each company moved out in a different direction to meet in to same place. First to move was C Co., then B Co., and finally A Company. C Company was moving through the thick single file (bad tactics) and walked into an ambush. 4 rags, 7 poles in just three seconds. By the time they returned fire Charlie had made it with maybe a couple wounded. The whole operation saw 4 VC weapons captured and all else I mentioned. A VC weapon is worth 5 VCs. So much for that junk.

Got the camera. Thank you very much. It's just the thing. Don't worry about the Film, for I'll let you know. I think that 127 roll film is plentiful now. Already have shot up one roll. If you happen to get some horrid pictures please don't show them to just anybody. You know, the bloody type.

Like I said before, beer is the main beverage here. I drink a lot more than I did before. Don't get drunk though. You like to know how a medic spends X-mal cap. Well we get all the medics together plus grapefruit & same juice mix in 5 gal. water can and add 2 to 3 qts of 190 proof grain alcohol. (00000). Man you talk about getting drunk. There were 15 of us and 10 gal. consumed. Couldn't see worth a damn the next morning, but was not sick.

You all enjoy your TV and out door sports, for I don't, indoor sports are in season.

Your Brother,

Donnie

25 Jan 67 (last letter)

Hello there,

How's the battle going? I understand you also have snipers in your jungle (asphalt type). What about that?

Thanks for the girly mag and the toffee. It's nice to look at a lot of U.S.A. skin and eat sweet things at the same time. (Ha!)

I've taken two rolls of 'around the base camp' pictures. They are on their way to you. There are a couple of pictures of me after our 7 day Operation. Notice how combat ready the animal looks. He should, for one hour before the picture was taken he had three shot wizz over his head.

Please send some of the prints back so I can see what mistakes I made with the camera. Going to start taking it out in the field tomorrow. The pictures will become more interesting.

Won't say much about the last few weeks because it gets too involved and not real pretty. Part of the operation was in our paper. I sent the article to Bonnie. Ask her to let you see it. What the article mentions wasn't the beginning of the Operation, nor the end.

I'll tell you now, this place might even rattle my cage before the year is up. That's the way it goes.

How's is every one in the manor? Is Mel excited about the oncoming of a family addition? Being stuck here in the boonies made it impossible for me to make myself a papa before you and Harvey made me an uncle again. For that I guess I'll have to be the first Evans to be in the army, go to war, and come back still in one piece.

Too much. This place sucks.

Truly,

Donnie

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

http://evans.amedd.army.mil/newcomer/evans_letter.htm
www.212veterans.org/History%20of%20the%20212.htm
http://alphaassociation.homestead.com/

Third Platoon on the berm .This appears to be the men preparing the position just in front of the bunkers on the A/2/12 area of responsibility at dau Tieng. This must have been fairly early after arriving there, as they look like they are uncoiling the barbed wire that protected the area that we were assigned to defend.

Reinforced bunker position, a/2/12. This shows a completed bunker as it looked in January 1967. Note the three portholes which allowed the defenders a panoramic view, enabling them to cover not only to their immediate front but also to provide support for positions to their left and right should those positions come under attack.

Third Platoon tent area. This was Donald's tent that he shared with other men in the platoon he was assigned to.

Third Platoon returning to camp. This was Donald's mates from his platoon, returning from operation. To the right was Walter Sanford delivering some refreshments to the returning troops. The fact that he had his shirt off probably indicated that he had missed this operation (due to being on r&r?) and was assigned the detail. In the center is Jim Shulsky, reading the letter which was waiting for him. Note the ponchos being dried out in the background. In the distant background was the company latrine, it wasn't much, but it offered us some semblance of comfort while we were in camp. lower section of the latrine was where the receptacles (55 gallon drums, cut in half) for human waste, collected. Every few days some men were assigned to remove and burn the contents with gasoline.

Third Platoon receiving hot chow.

Additional bunker positions, a/2/12. This shows the A/2/12 area of defense forward of their bivouac area at Dau Tieng. There was a considerable area of clearing in front of the camp, which afforded little cover for enemy infiltrators. In the background you can see the Michelin rubber plantation where we had pitched our tents. Not all parts of Camp Rainier was imbedded in the tree line, so we were fortunate, as the shaded area provided some relief from the scorching sun.

Shower area , a/2/12. It wasn't much, but it was appreciated by the troops when they returned from patrolling. The water was stored in the aviation tanks and heated moderately by the sun. There were a number of valves which allowed the men to control the gravity fed water to drop into cans with holes punched through the bottom.

The Bridge leading into Dau Tieng. This bridge was to the west of dau Tieng and was of strategic importance to the area, not only militarily, but commercially. While our Company was in camp, squads of men from our units and others would take turns manning that bunker that protected the bridge from the enemy.

This completes the Donald evans collection of photos that he wanted to share with his folks back home. Donald never had the opportunity to explain the images he caught on film to his family. These are the details that Don wanted you to know about, showing the exotic locale where he served so gallantly. Today many of the men you see in the photos survived their tour in Vietnam because of Donald's heroic deeds while administering to them that day in January 1967. They never forgot him, nor will any of the men of A/2/12.

After he was lost in the action of January 27th, 1967, the rolls of film (mentioned in his letters) were found on his bunk, as his personal belongings were gathered to be returned to his folks back home. When the Evans family received the rolls they made two copies and kept them in safekeeping. When we found Richard, Don's older brother, many years later, he graciously forwarded to Alpha Association some of the cherished original photos for our 'Doc Evans Tribute Archive'. We will be forever in debt to him for his generosity.

The Wall of Honor at Fort Hood with plaques for all the all the men who earned the CMH while in service in the 4th Infantry Division

On this Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on March 05:
1324 David II Bruce king of Scotland (1331..71)
1326 Louis I [the Great] King of Hungary (1342-82), Poland (1370-82)
1512 Gerardus Mercator Rupelmonde (Belgium), geographer/mapmaker
1574 William Oughtred England, mathematician/inventor (slide rule)
1637 John van der Heyden Dutch painter/inventor (fire extinguisher)
1658 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac French colonial governor of America
1746 Jacob Wallenberg Swedish writer/naval chaplain
1824 Elisha Harris US, physician/found American Public Health Association
1824 James Merritt Ives lithographer (Currier & Ives)
1825 John Dunovant Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1825 Joseph Albert German photographer (albertotype)
1893 Emmett J Culligan founder of water treatment organization
1908 Rex [Reginald Carey] Harrison Huyton Lancashire England, actor (My Fair Lady, Dr Doolittle)
1908 Sophie Stewart Scotland, actress (As You Like It, Under the Red Robe)
1914 Joan Sterndale-Bennett London England, actress (Those Fantastic Flying Fools)
1920 Virginia Christine actress (Mrs Olson)
1934 James B Sikking Los Angeles CA, actor (Hill St Blues, Star Trek 3, Doogie Howser)
1935 Philip K Chapman Melbourne Australia, astronaut (Apollo 14 support)
1936 Dean Stockwell Hollywood CA, actor (Quantum Leap, Blue Velvet)
1938 Fred "Hammer" Williamson Gary IN, NFLer (Chiefs)/actor (Julia)
1946 Michael Warren South Bend IN, actor (Bobby Hill-Hill Street Blues)
1946 Rocky Bleier Wisconsin, NFL running back (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1952 Alan Clark keyboardist (Dire Straits-Sultans of Swing)
1953 Russel D Feingold (Senator-D-WI)
1953 Valery Grigoriyevich Korzun Russian Colonel/cosmonaut (TM-24)
1954 Marsha Warfield comedian/actress (Roz-Night Court)
1955 Penn Jillette Greenfield MA, magician (Penn & Teller-Penn & Teller are Dead)
1974 Kevin Connolly actor (Beverly Hillbillies, Rocky V, Angus)
1977 Natalie Bevins Miss West Virginia-USA (1997)

Deaths which occurred on March 05:
0254 St Lucius I Pope (253-54), dies
1291 Sa'ad al'Da'ulah Jewish grand vizier of Persia, assassinated
1605 Clement VIII [Ippolito Aldofireini], Pope (1592-1605), dies at 69
1625 James I (VI) king of England (1603-25)/poet/author, dies at 58
1770 Crispus Attuks slave, is 1st of 5 killed during Boston Massacre
1827 Alessandro Volta Italian physicist (made 1st battery), dies at 82
1932 Takuma Dan Japanese baron/financier/industrial, murdered

1953 Josef V Stalin soviet leader responsible for 11 million murders, dies at 73

1953 Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev composer, dies at 61
1963 Cyril Smith actor (Adventures of Sir Lancelot), dies at 70
1963 Hawkshaw Hawkins country singer (Ozark Jubilee), dies at 41
1963 Patsy Cline country singer (Crazy, I Fall To Pieces), dies in a plane crash at 30
1967 Mohammed H Mossadeq premier of Persia (1951-53), dies
1974 Solomon I "Sol" Hurok US impresario, dies at 85
1980 Jay Silverheels actor (Tonto-Lone Ranger), dies at 60
1982 John Belushi comedian (Sat Night Live), dies of drug overdose at 33
1990 Gary Merrill actor (Time Tunnel, Huckleberry Finn), dies at 75
1994 Abdullah Al-Sallal President of Yemen (1962-67), dies
1994 Joe Daley jazz tenor/clarinet/flute player, dies at 75
1995 Ed Flanders actor (Dr Westphal-St Elsewhere), dies

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 HESSOM ROBERT C.---ALAMEDA CA.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 17 OCT 94]
1970 ROSENBACH ROBERT P.---KIRKWOOD MO.
[REMAINS RECOVERED]
1971 HATLEY JOEL C.---ALBEMARLE NC.
[EXPLODE,NO SEARCH, NO REMAINS-EMPTY COFFIN BURIED, REMAINS RETURNED 1/90 I.D. 9/17/90 BURIED 9/21]
1971 KING MICHAEL E.---CALHOUN GA.
[EXPLODE, NO SEARCH ID'D ON ONE TOOTH, MINUTE BONES, REMAINS RETURNED 1/90 ID 9/17/90]
1971 MOREIRA RALPH A. JR.---BEAVER FALLS PA.
[EXPLODE, NO SEARCH ID'D ON ONE TOOTH MINUTE BONES. REMAINS RETURNED 1/90 ID 9/17/90]
1971 NELSON DAVID L.---KIRKLAND WA.
[EXPLODE,NO SEARCH NO REMAINS EMPTY COFFIN BURIED, REMAINS RETURNED 1/90 ID 9/17/90 BURIED 9/21/90 DISPUTED]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0254 St Lucius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1179 3rd Lateran Council (11th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
1461 Henry VI was deposed by Duke of York during War of the Roses
1496 English King Henry VII hires John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) to explore
1558 Smoking tobacco introduced in Europe by Francisco Fernandes
1616 Copernicus' "de Revolutionibus" placed on Catholic Forbidden index
1623 1st American temperance law enacted, Virginia
1743 1st US religious journal, The Christian History, published, Boston

1770 Boston Massacre, British troops kill 5 in crowd; Crispus Attackus becomes 1st black to die for American freedom

1783 King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski grants rights to Jews of Kovno
1807 1st performance of Ludwig von Beethoven's 4th Symphony in B
1820 Dutch city of Leeuwarden forbids Jews to go to synagogues on Sundays
1821 Monroe is 1st President inaugurated on March 5th, because 4th was Sun
1836 Mexico attacks Alamo
1836 Samuel Colt manufactures 1st pistol, 34-caliber "Texas" model
1845 Congress appropriates $30,000 to ship camels to western US
1849 Zachary Taylor sworn in as 12th President
1856 Georgia becomes 1st state to regulate railroads
1862 Union troops under Brigadier-General Wright occupy Fernandina FL
1868 Stapler patented in England by C H Gould
1868 US Senate organizes to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson
1872 George Westinghouse Jr patents triple air brake for trains
1877 Rutherford B Hayes inaugurated as 19th US President
1907 1st radio broadcast of a musical composition aired
1908 1st ascent of Mount Erebus, Antarctica
1917 1st jazz recording for Victor Records released
1922 "Nosferatu" premieres in Berlin
1923 Montana & Nevada become 1st states to enact old age pension laws
1924 Computing-Tabulating-Recording Corp becomes IBM
1924 Frank Carauna, becomes 1st to bowl 2 successive perfect 300 games
1927 1,000 US marines land in China to protect American property
1931 Gandhi & British viceroy Lord Irwin sign pact
1933 FDR proclaims 10-day bank holiday
1933 Germany's Nazi Party wins majority in parliament (43.9%-17.2M votes)
1934 Mother-in-law's day 1st celebrated (Amarillo TX)
1936 Spitfire makes its 1st flight (Eastleigh Aerodrome in Southampton)
1943 RAF bombs Essen Germany
1945 US 7th Army Corps captures Cologne

1946 Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech (Fulton MO)

1948 US rocket flies record 4800 KPH to 126k height
1953 Josef Stalin's death announced
1956 "King Kong" 1st televised
1959 Iran & US sign economic & military treaty
1960 Elvis Presley ends 2-year hitch in US Army
1965 Ernie Terrel beats Eddie Machen in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1966 Player representatives elect Marvin Miller, as executive director of Players' Association
1970 3 SDS Weathermen terrorist group bomb 18 West 11th St in New York NY
1979 Voyager I's closest approach to Jupiter (172,000 miles)
1980 Earth satellites record gamma rays from remnants of supernova N-49
1982 Gaylord Perry (with 297 wins) signs with Seattle Mariners
1982 Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus sends back data
1984 Supreme Court (5-4); city may use public money for Nativity scene
1984 US accuse Iraq of using poison gas
1991 Iraq repealed its annexation of Kuwait
1992 Ethic committee votes to reveal congressmen who bounced checks
1994 Largest milkshake (1,955 gallons of chocolate-Nelspruit South Africa)(PARTY!!!)
1994 Singer Grace Slick arrested for pointing a gun at a cop
1995 Graves of czar Nicholas & family found in St Petersburg
1996 Earl Weaver & Jim Bunning, elected to Hall of Fame
1997 Tommy Lasorda, Nellie Fox & Willie Wells for Hall of Fame
2000 Israel's Cabinet voted unanimously to withdraw its troops from south Lebanon by the following July.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Labour Day (Western Australia).
Boston MA : Boston Massacre Day (1770)
Multiple Personalities Day
US : National Procrastinators Week (Begins tomorrow)
National Noodle Month

Religious Observances
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Ember Day

Religious History
1179 The Third Lateran Council opened under Alexander III. It was attended by 300 bishops who enacted measures against the Waldenses and Albigensians. Lateran III also mandated that popes were to be elected by two-thirds vote from the assembled cardinals.
1555 French-born Swiss reformer John Calvin wrote in a letter to Philip Melanchthon: 'It behooves us to accomplish what God requires of us, even when we are in the greatest despair respecting the results.'
1743 In Boston, editor Thomas Prince published the first issue of his weekly, "The Christian History." It was the first religious journal published in America.
1850 Birth of Daniel B. Towner, American music evangelist. An associate of D.L. Moody, Towner composed over 2,000 hymn tunes, including AT CALVARY ("Years I Spent in Vanity and Pride"), MOODY ("Marvelous Grace of our Loving Lord") and TRUST AND OBEY ("When We Walk With the Lord").
1951 The religious program "Circuit Rider" debuted over ABC television. The broadcast featured music selections and biographies of evangelists, and was produced by Franklin W. Dyson.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"A highbrow is a man who thinks he has found something more interesting than women."

You know you're getting old when...
when you are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police.

New State Slogans...
Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes ... And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Amazing Fact #23,760...
The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."