Vietnam Slides Too

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I drove through Pleiku twice each day to get parts.
For the OH-58A Helicopter needed for reliable starts.
One day I took my camera and took pictures on the way,
A few of them are below with a few words I did say.

 

My trusty old Hawg Wagon I drove the wheels off of.

 

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Vietnam Slides Too

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Along the way there was a bad part of town with ladies,
That sold themselves as they were just a little bit shady.
If you look at the photo closely , there’s a bare leg in the door.
One might even think that the lady was a real (bore).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There were hundreds of small vehicles on the streets,
That were like oversized motorcycles in huge fleets,
Most were open with room for six passengers to ride,
Looking like mini trucks viewed from either side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not too far from the Hill, I passed a south Vietnam camp,
Where their army regulars were based and did tramp.
We went there to relieve them of plywood we did need,
But I’m sure the USA paid for it so it wasn’t a bad deed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the down town area, it was kind of smelly and nasty,
They had open markets there infested with flys so tasty.
Sometimes I went on the highway bypassing town,
So that nasty awful smell would not make me frown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I passed a building that appeared to be an old church,
That looked like a place where people might perch.
But I never did see too many people hanging around,
When I drove on the highway bypass around town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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There was also some kind of statue I passed there,
But I never figured exactly what it was there for, so bare.
It was white with black statues all around the sides,
Suggesting some kind of religious basis or the like.

 

 

 

 

 

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One day I carried some old chopper manuals to the dump.
That was always full of locals digging looking dumb,
The guy with me sprayed near them with his M-16.
To keep them away until we could burn them unseen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I took several pictures of the locals in their habitat,
Which nearly always looked trashy for me to look at.
I guess that was just their way of living life in fear,
That they or their families may be killed by VC so near.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The children there looked like children everywhere,
I took a picture of two young girls beside the road there,
Who looked like girls that you might see here at home,
Walking looking happy and carefree as they did roam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here’s a couple more pictures from our hill air field,
One is a helicopter flying into its bunker for the night,
The other is a helicopter coming in so fast on a rip.
Seeming like he is going to overshoot our little strip.

 

 

 

 

 

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By Bill

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading Vietnam Slides Too,
Bill