PADUTCH-LIFE-L Archives

Archiver > PADUTCH-LIFE > 2002-12 > 1039150468


From: "Vee L. Housman" <>
Subject: [PD-LIFE] Love letter from Vietnam
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 23:54:36 -0500


Dear Group,

For whatever reason, I've been going through all of the treasures that I have stored away for many years. And tonight I read through some of the love letters that Charlie Haggerty had sent to me when he was a Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman with the Fleet Marines in Vietnam during the war.

I can't believe that it has been over 30 years since he wrote me the letters and I can't believe that it has been almost 20 years since he passed away after we eventually lost touch with each other.

But this is what he wrote to me from Chu Lai, Vietnam, on 3 February 1966:

Dear Vee,

Well here I am again to let you know that I am alive and well. By this time the news of "Operation Double Eagle" has been published and it was the largest amphibious operation since Inchon.

The Shore Party, AmTracks and 2-4's landed Friday afternoon in heavy surf. I received a message from the beach for some medical supplies and took my first chopper flight to the beach head thirty-five miles south of here, arriving Saturday morning. Due to the heavy surf none of the other outfits came ashore. In fact, the first LST to land came in about 1600 just before I left by chopper for here.

Friday night the VC [Viet Cong] launched hand grenades and mortars on the beach and then hit a local village. A HN [Hospital Corpsman] from H Co. 2-4 was killed and was the first casualty.

I had 1500 lbs. of gear on the chopper with me and we flew over the South China Sea for 40 minutes to the landing site and then started to come in for a landing. We were about 15 feet over the beach at about 100 feet in altitude when the engine stopped. We made a complete turn and then crashed straight down onto the sandy beach. Nobody was hurt except that I got a gash on the top of my gourd as I was sitting on top of the medical gear and when the chopper dropped, I hit the overhead. Thus my first chopper flight was almost my last.

I stayed on the beach until 1630 and brought a KIA [killed in action] back to "B" Med with me.

"D" Co. finally came ashore Sunday afternoon and set up for business. Most of the gear came ashore on Monday. By this time the perimeter had moved almost a mile inland and a medical helopad was set up close to "D" Co. Lt. Dewey, the Adjutant of the 3rd Medical Battalion took some supplies down Monday so I didn't have to go. On Tuesday CDR Wilson, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Medical Battalion flew direct from DaNang to the operation site.

Yesterday I brought another 500 lbs. by chopper. We left at 0630 and all the choppers were overloaded. My chopper couldn't get off the ground until some of the cargo was removed.

This was the first time I have seen my outfit for over two weeks. There are 15 hospital corpsman, 5 doctors and 3 chaplains in Delta Co. Things were fairly quiet until 1400 and then the casualties started coming in. The operation is fairly smooth and after emergency medical treatment they are taken by chopper to the [USS] Valley Forge for any extensive surgery, from there to "B" Med, then to "C" Med at DaNang then air evac to the States.

Your letter was the nicest one that I have ever received from you. After I finished reading it I sure wished that I was in San Francisco so that I could talk with you and hold you in my arms. I guess I should have taken you to Reno on a weekend and the two of us got married.

Charlie signed his letter, "So until later, Baby, Love and Kisses, Charlie."

Such are the love letters that soldiers and sailors send home to their sweethearts in times of war.

vee

This thread: