Happily working in a body shop in Concord, North Carolina, Jim Morrison said he “didn’t even know what Vietnam was” when he received his draft notice early in 1969. By August he was in Vietnam. He spent a year with the Americal Division on LZ Professional and LZ Mary Ann in “Death Valley.” He recalls his friendships, and the kindness of sharing that came with friendships, and the food he enjoyed. He speaks candidly about his leaders, as well as his fondness for the local Vietnamese children. While in Vietnam he wrote 335 pages of letters, and he describes their contents in vivid detail, as well as some of his less-popular means of communicating, such as MARS radio and a collect call from Australia. He also describes the variety of mail he received – care packages, letters from well-wishers, etc. He says, “The support I got from home was way above everybody else’s.”

Key Words: Eleven Bravo (11B), Lamar Plain Massacre, Deployment Expeditionary Force (DEF), LZ Mary Ann, mosquitoes, leeches, Tam Ki, LZ Judy.

Key Names: Danny Davis, Terry McKillum, Joseph “Dugan” Dover, Specialist 4 (SP4) Manuel Levi Dick, Bob Rodriguez, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Clyde J. Ball, SP4 Gary G. Winter, Tom Brown, SFC Donald M. Shue.