Robert Babcock grew up in Heavener, Oklahoma. He graduated from what is now Pittsburg State University in Kansas in 1965 with an Army ROTC commission. After infantry and airborne training at "the Benning School for Boys," he sailed for Vietnam aboard the USNS General Nelson M. Walker (T-AP-125) with the 1st Battalion, 22d Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division in the summer of 1966. He describes his “green as grass” company, which arrived with no experience and no combat veterans, building Camp Enari with machetes and grit during the monsoons. He tells heartbreaking stories of friendly fire and sucking chest wounds, the starkly different outcomes for those who listen to dog handlers and those who do not, and the loss of friends. He remembers no time off: “Recreation, off duty. I do not understand those words.” He recalls the fearful sound of lizards shrieking what sounded very much like “f--- you” in the night, and the South Korean White Horse Division in camouflage looking like a walking Christmas tree farm. He is grateful that he gets to enjoy the pride of a grandfather and the brotherhood of veterans. And he suggests Americans ought to heed this simple advice, "If you're got to go start a war, win it."
Key Words: ROTC, Pittsburg State University, Kansas, Benning School for Boys, infantry, airborne, Fort Lewis, Washington, 4th Division, AIT, train and retain, FTXs (field training exercises), USNS Nelson Walker, Port of Tacoma, Qui Nhon, Pleiku Air Base, C-130, Camp Holloway, Pleiku, Camp Enari, pucker factor, monsoons, Bamboo vipers, Montagnard villagers, mahogany, lambretta, boom-boom girls, interpreter, Tuy Hoa Air Base, South China Sea, Mosquito Valley, 101st Airborne, Korean White Horse Division, combat assault operation, Paul Revere IV, Nam Sathay River Valley, DEFCONs (defense readiness conditions), dog handler, FO (forward observer), four deuce rounds, tree burst, Dust Off, detcord, C-4, RTO, South Korean White Horse Division, Ivy Leaf Newspaper, Battle of Dak To, National 4th Infantry Division Association, 22nd Infantry Regiment Society, IBM, AVVBA (Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association)
Key Names: Sergeant Quan, Sergeant Frank E. Roath, Colonel Leonard “Len” Morley, First Sergeant McDonald, Sergeant Ben, Sergeant Burrell, Sergeant Willie Cheatham, Lieutenant General Henry Everett "Hank" Emerson, Private First Class Albert Collins, Major General Arthur Collins, Jed Miller, First Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Collins, Mark Enari, Walt Ferguson, David Mendez, Sergeant Roy Reynolds, Charlie Black, Walter Cronkite, Pat Payne, Bill Bukovec, Mark Petrino, Jim Stapleton, Bill Saling, Lou Donetz, Dick Donnelly, General Ray Odierno, Lieutenant General on Campbell, General J.D. Thurman, Major General Jeff Hammond, General Dave Perkins, Hal Moore, Richard D. “Buck” Ator, Jim Lawrence