The inhabitants of the rooms would pay the Vietnamese for material that they used to cover their particular room in the hooch. In general, one could hire them, tell them what was wanted, give them money for it, and they would bring it back the next time they came (Guarisco interview). Garey and his unit were supposed to spend ten days in the field and then come back for three days of rest and relaxation. More frequently, it was twenty days in the field and then three days back at the base camp. A convoy consisted of four to five rows of anti-personnel carriers (APCs). An APC is a two-track armored vehicle with two sixty-caliber machine guns, one on each side of the vehicle and a fifty-caliber machine gun mounted in the center. Gareys duty on a convoy was to man one of the sixty caliber machine guns on the side (Guarisco interview). Artillery was meant to soften up an area that was thought to contain troops of the enemy. In one instance, the commanding officer of Gareys unit called in artillery and one of the shells fell short landing in the hatch of an APC. The result was the death of the five men that were inside. Once there was a firefight, which resulted in a casualty on the opposing troops side (Guarisco interview). The climate in the field was much like that of Louisiana: hot and muggy. At night, sleeping under the APCs, the temperature would be or sometimes even exceed one hundred degrees. The heat and humidity were made worse by the mosquitoes. When the weather was not hot and humid, as it was for the first couple months of Gareys stay, it was the monsoon season (Guarisco interview). Monsoon season started in October and lasted for approximately five to six months (personal letters). The guards at the base camp needed a break just as much as Garey did. Garey was assigned to a special detail which entailed taking over the vacationing guards station at the rest and relaxation center on the base. A serge...
