Christmas 1971 at Phu Loi...30°..Snow forecast..eggnog around the tree. The nicest thing about this particular Christmas is that it was the last one that B Troop would see in Vietnam. Photo: Bill Dunlap

Maintenance Shop: The tools are just for show. The paper clips, duct tape and chewing gum was kept hidden in the toolbox. That red thing in the background is a Mr. Frostee machine. Photo: Bill Dunlap

Welcome Wagon...Stogie 36 extends a warm welcome to a small group of NVA who happened to camp out here, 4 miles SE of Cu Chi. This type of confrontation was fairly common in this flat, rice growing area. Typically, small groups of NVA, lead by a VC pathfinder, would travel by night and hunker down in a small isolated terrain feature during the day. Scouts could easily spot their trails in the early morning and be telling war stories over a can of ham & lima beans by lunchtime.

Remember this?...if things weren't weird enough...we had to deal with three types of currency. This 10¢ note and your good looks would buy a beer at most camp clubs. I could never figure out how my 4th grade teacher got her picture on military script. Photo: Dale Barnett

Don MaGill and Gil Garza were quietly minding their own business over an NVA basecamp, when hostilities broke out. Both Don and Gil were awarded the Purple Heart and Don received Scouting's Highest Award..The Purple Eye. Jan 1968. Photo: Gilbert Garza

During the last two weeks of December '67, B Troop moved into a large open field next to the village of Soui Da, under the shadow of Nui Ba Dien Mountain. The camp was shared by an Engineer company from Tay Ninh and the open exposure created a feeling of vulnerability. The B Troop First Sargent built a portable mini-gun with mount into a jeep trailer which also contained batteries and ammo. About every 3rd evening, he would perform a one-man 'Mad Minute' into the nearby jungle. On January 1st, a sapper shot one of our gunships with an RPG and the next day everyone moved back to Tay Ninh. Intelligence reports later confirmed that 11,000 NVA had moved through Soui Da in December, preparing for the Tet Offensive. Photo: Gil Garza

Been there, done that.... Robert Pierce has a broad historical perspective of Vietnam and B Troop...2 tours... spanning August 1968 thru April 1970 as flight line mechanic, door gunner, and NightHawk missions. Still in one piece and happily living in Washington State. Dong Tam 1968. Photo: Robert Pierce

On a good day....we only broke one. This wasn't a good day obviously. A couple more and you'd have an interesting windchime. Photo: Jim Kuttenkuler