Vietnam, Second Tour, Part 5 of 6; scroll down to part 1 to read in order.

  Long Binh, Vietnam, in 1966 before Jon arrived. Army photo, in the public domain.
     Sue says:It wasn't a pretty time. As Country Joe Cocker sang, "And it's one, two, three, what in the hell  are we fighting for,don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Viet Nam."  Read on as Jon continues his narrative:
    As we were preparing to leave Ft. Harrison, Barbara for Tacoma, WA, and I to Vietnam, I assumed I'd be assigned as a personnel advisor to the ARVN (Army of Vietnam), working out of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, headquartered in Saigon.

     On maybe our last Friday at Ft. Harrison, at the Officers' Club, we got into a conversation with an Advanced Course student who happened to be from Oregon. His name was Monte McCall, and he was the nephew of Oregon Governor Tom McCall.

     On learning that I was on my way to Vietnam, Monte said: "You gotta go work for the  'Godfather,' and I'll set it up." Barbara & I didn't think much more about it, but upon my arrival in Saigon, I was met by my new boss, Lt Colonel Miller, and driven north to Long Binh, USARV (U.S. Army Vietnam) headquarters. Under LTC Miller, I'd be working for Major General James J. Ursano (the "Godfather") who was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel & Administration, USARV.

     Morale was bad in those days. Our country  was trying to dis-engage from what we should have recognized as a nationalistic cause from the get-go (How many centuries do we have to keep bailing out the French?) *

We tried to do what we could: Combined 7 days leave with 7 days R&R (the 7&7 Program), and provided transportation back to the States; improved recreational & sports facilities on the bases & at the in-country R&R Center at Vung Tau; and came up with a program to, hopefully, reduce or eliminate "fragging"  (where the troops were rolling grenades into the tents of officers they didn't like).

     Toward the end of the tour, as General Ursano's exec was leaving, he asked me if I'd mind an assignment to the D.C. area. I said: "Not at all."

     Next stop, northern Virginia & Department of the Army headquarters!

jl

*A little editorial 'license here.....since I'm writing this!