Bravo2-7.Org

Nov. 13, 1968 – Outside LZ Billie, Vietnam
7:30 AM-Went out on a small patrol this morning, back in LZ at 10:45…No contact…Right now I’m at one of the observation post, outside the LZ….Nothing going on…WE are getting ready to move to a new LZ.

Today – The World
I want to tell everyone about something really strange that happened to me a few days ago.  I was sitting around one day looking at “The Virtual Wall” site, reading remembrances to guys killed in Vietnam. I did a search, to see how many guys from Dallas were killed, and it listed 261 people.  I went thru and read every name, the last name listed from Dallas, was a man by the name of Gary W. Cooper, Sr., since it was the very last name listed, and on a page by it self, it sorta stuck in my mind.  A few days later, on a Sunday morning, as Faye and I were eating breakfast, she tells me that she would like to go to the Macedonia Cemetery in Pittsburg, Texas someday, to get some names, and dates off of tomb stones for her genealogy study she is doing on her family.  We decided to go that day, so we loaded up her truck, and took off.  Within two and one half hours, we were at the cemetery searching for her ancestors.  I was mindlessly walking along looking at head stones, when one in particular caught my eye, because it had a young soldiers picture embedded in it.  I could tell by the picture that It was from the Vietnam era.  I read the name, it was Gary W. Cooper, Sr.  I did my best 66 year old a-ten- hut, and saluted this guy.  Any way guys, I just thought this was really weird, or is it just me, who knows?

Nov. 12, 1968 – LZ Billie, Vietnam
Stayed at LZ Billie all day.

June 2, 2003 – The World
Looks like we had a real exciting day on LZ Billie that day.  I read and reread my diary, and the daily staff journal for that day, and there was absolutely nothing going on, just the kind of day a Grunt likes to see.  Maybe it was a Gook holiday, who knows?

Charlie Company requested permission to test fire their 50. Headquarters responded, go ahead, but be sure and don’t shoot your own people.  Ahhhh, the Army, don’t you just love it?

Nov. 11, 1968 – Northeast of LZ Billie, Vietnam
We headed out east from our NDP this morning…We hadn’t walked 200 meters when we found gook bodies that were partially buried, Sgt. Holtz got the honor of digging them up.  There were two of them, and neither one of them had a head, and they didn’t smell very good.  There were over one hundred bunkers, and trenches out there.  We also found four bicycles that were used for hauling equipment… We had no contact today…. I hear that we are going back to the rear for a while…..Yeah, Whoopee.

Today – The World
I remember that when we found the bodies, that they were all bloated, and stinking.  Naturally, Sgt. Holtz got the honors of digging them up.  I remember that he keep puking inside his gas mask, and I thought, this guy must be nuts…. I was right, but I still love him to this day.  The moving wall was in a little town, by the name of Allen, just north of Dallas one Memorial holiday.  I had never seen the moving wall before that.  I went out and looked up the names of all the guys in Bravo 2/7 that were KIA while I was in Vietnam.  I said a little prayer for each one.  There is probably not a day that goes by, that I don’t think of at least one of them, they are the real heroes.

Nov. 10, 1968 – Outside LZ Billie, Vietnam
We went out tonight to set up a small LZ…..Tomorrow we will go out to the East, and cut back to LZ Billie, to  check out the damage the B-52 strikes done to the gooks.

Today – The World
Damn I feel old!!

Nov. 9, 1968 – LZ Billie, Vietnam
We went out today, didn’t see anything……….Thank God. We left the LZ at 11:00 AM, and made a big clover leaf.  Back in the LZ by 1:45 PM.  Damn it’s hot here.

Nov. 8, 1968 – LZ Billie, Vietnam
Just sitting around my bunker, taking it easy…I got up at 4:30 AM this morning and made me some cocoa, it sure was good.

Today – The World
Some days you got the gold, some days you got the shaft.  November the 8th must have been a gold day, not a whole lot was going on in my little world that day.  It’s too bad that youth is wasted on the young.