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My Favorite PX Memory in Vietnam

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My Favorite PX Memory in Vietnam “My Favorite PX Memory in Vietnam” When I arrived in South Vietnam on December 1969, the least I could imagine was that I will have a flying PX service coming out there to the jungle risking their lives. After being assigned to an infantry unit of the 1ST Cavalry Division, I spend almost a year moving from Fire Base to Fire Base every one or two weeks. The flying PX chopper (that is how we called it) came in at least once a month during pay day, time permitting, to deliver beers ($2.40 for a case of 24), who could beat that. They also provided all the block ice we needed to cool them. You have to provide your own improvised cooler build from ammo boxes. Nothing better than enjoying a cold beer and leftovers from the Mess Hall (now call Dining Facility) with your fellow soldiers after a hard and hot working day. I also bought my first Polaroid instant camera and film. I bought a Sansui music system and an AKAI reel recorder thru a catalog order and it was shipped to my home in Puerto Rico. We could buy personal hygiene items like soap, shaving cream, razors, and small electronics. They have car salesmen available in case you want to buy a vehicle and ship it home. It was always a happy moment to see the PX chopper carrying goodies, arrive at the Fire Base. Sure made our war time gone a little bit easier for us. Thank You for the opportunity to participate and to reminisce those special moments. Ramon L. Alamo Hernandez, MSG, USA (Retired) ******** Wow! A contest for Vietnam Veterans! After seeing the Camp Enari Exchange picture, the memories came flooding back. I couldn’t believe it! I quickly got a magnifying glass to see if I could see myself in line. The Enari Exchange was my first introduction to the Exchange System. Up to that time I was always a trainee. Basic Training at Fort Ord, California; Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana; Primary Flight Training at Fort Wolters, Texas; and Advanced Flight Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. During those times, I was not allowed to visit post facilities. I arrived in Vietnam in April 1969. Being a newbie, I was not accustomed to the fineries of the Army’s facilities. On a day off, a rarity, I went to visit the exchange with several buddies. It was like a field trip. I was excited to do something different other than wage war. I stood in line, just as the picture indicated in the contest. Once inside, I was overwhelmed. There were so many stateside things I could buy; clothes, stereo gear, things for the hooch (I eventually would buy a small refrigerator), toiletries, and booze at the class 6 store. I returned to my hooch with socks, and a bottle of scotch. Not an overwhelming shopping spree but one has to set priorities. I would eventually buy a reel to reel tape player with 8 track player, two 4 foot tall speakers and an amplifier that would literally light up the Company area. I have been an avid Exchange patron since those times so many years ago. My 99 year old Mother has an unbelievable “Hummel” collection, compliments of the Exchange in Nuremberg, Germany. The PX and commissary have been a way of life since my first introduction at Camp Enari, Vietnam. CW4 Dale E House, US Army Reserve (Retired) ******** I was stationed at a small radar site in Ca Mau Province in 1967-1968 during the Tet Offensive. I worked in security, and was also the paymaster for my detachment. Whenever we had a day or a week-end off, my buddies and I would fly into Saigon on a helicopter or on an Australian Caribou. I also traveled to Saigon for my duties as paymaster. Military personnel were paid in script, the only currency accepted in-country. One of the highlights of our visits to Saigon was when we patronized the Tan Son Nhut Airbase Exchange. We were able to purchase small luxuries not available at our worksite. The most coveted items were toiletries and electronics. The guys all pitched in and rented a house in Saigon which we all used when we were on leave, a safe and economical arrangement. The exchange was invaluable in supplying us with the household items we needed to maintain our lodgings. As paymaster, once a month I picked up and brought back wages for the Air Force personnel on our site. Whenever possible, a stop at the Tan Son Nhut Exchange was also on the agenda. The guys in my detachment would give me lists to fill and then look forward to my return. The Tan Son Nhut Exchange was our connection to home. Bruce J. Habowski, Msgt. (Retired) ********* I never knew if half the stories were true but, my four sisters and I would listen to every word as if Chesty Puller himself were telling them. My dad was a rare speaker, so when he spoke of his time in Vietnam we has to gather around. He didn't like to speak of his time there and to this day he has a difficult time. In between coughs...and lighting his next cigarette he would begin. Most were heroic, somewhat unbelievable stories of grabbing knife blades with his bare hands and sewing his fingers back on himself or carrying two wounded marines under his arms 3 miles in the rain and mud....all while under heavy gunfire. Either way, true or made up, we enjoyed the stories. One evening he woke up from one of his standard evening naps and called us all over. He turned down the Star trek episode he wouldn't let us change, even though he was sound asleep, lit up a cigarette and search his brain for his story. "Did I ever tell you about the time I was shot in the chest?" You would think that this story would be one that we would have known about years ago, but no...we had not heard this one. He said that he was laying on the beach in Vietnam when his sun bathing time was interrupted by a Vietnamese soldier pointing a rifle at his chest. He grabbed the rifle and clenched his chest muscles just as the soldier shot it. The bullet only dented his skin because his chest muscles were so strong that metal and gunpowder could not penetrate. He proceeded to show us the dent on his chest...my sisters and I looked at each other, all of us knowing that the dent was really caused by the cross necklace that he got at the Exchange in Vietnam pressed by crossed arms as he napped. We never said a word. HM1 Jennifer Heiselman ********** Just after the Moon Landing July 20, 1969 I wrote my girl Tara and asked her to marry me. I got the reply back on 22 Aug 1969. I went to the Freedom Hill PX while there I realized as much as a 19 year does that ...Hey I need a ring! I had a young lady set down with me and go over book after book of engagement rings... as an E-4 cost was a real issue, yet I wanted the best I could afford. Finally she got me a deal with Tiffany's that was with in my small budget. Wow.. sending your gal a ring from Tiffany....I was really really excited. I ordered and about 5 week's later it arrived......it was so beautiful and when Tara got it back in "the world" it was the talk of our neighborhood. The young lady got me a deal for less than $150 I got home April 30, 1970 which was my birthday...now that's a birthday present. 8 days later May 8th 1970 Tara and I were married and celebrated our 44th Anniversary this year. She still wears that ring and it is as beautiful as the day I got it. If not for the PX I would never got" a classy ring for a classy gal". HMC(FMF) Thomas R. Mooningham, USN (Retired) ********** I arrived in V N the second week of February 1968 to Co B, 716 MP Bn in Saigon. This was just a week or so after the Tet offensive started. When I arrived at the International BOQ, I was not allowed to leave due to the fact I was inexperienced, however I was placed on the alert force. This meant that if an attack was imminent at any U S facility we would be dispatced to defend it. After about three days of being confined to our quarters, I became very restless. I knew there was a U S military bus route that went to the Cholon PX. I decided I would take a chance and catch the bus to the PX. I was still on the alert force and confined to the International but I sneaked out anyway and caught the bus. I arrived and did my shopping. I only bought a few snacks, nothing important at all. When I got back I found everyone in a big uproar. The U S embassy was being threatened and the alert force had been called out. No one knew where I was, I was AWOL! One MP told me to get in his jeep, he was going to the Embassy. When I arrived I, as casually as I could, blended in with the other members of the force. When the threat was over, and we had been transported back to the International, I got a message that Capt.Chester, our C O wanted me on his office "right now".
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