And What Was I Doing There?

William McCormick landed in Bien Hoa, Vietnam on September 22, 1968 to begin his tour of duty with the 174th Ordnance Detachment (AR) in Cam Ranh Bay. The detachment was part of the 191st Ordnance Battalion that supplied ammunition to Central Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was not shot at on a daily basis. He did not "hump the boonies" or sleep in foxholes. He and his compatriots slept in barracks-if you could call them that-and had bunks and housegirls and clean clothes and ate chow in mess halls. But that does not mean their lives were easy or uneventful. They worked hard, under difficult conditions, and played hard when they got the chance. With an eye for detail and a soldier's sense of humor, William McCormick offers his unique take on twelve months in a place as far away from home as one could ever imagine.