SEA Hut/Hardback
When the Marines of 3/9 arrived at An Hoa after leaving the Water Point near Marble Mountain in April 1966, there was nothing but shelter-halves for personal sleeping quarters. Hardbacks were finally built during the summer BUT, we were out in the field all of the time. The one night India Company got to sleep in a hardback the VC mortared us killing two of our brothers and wounding many including yours truly.
Fast forward to 1967 and 3/9 is now all along the DMZ. During the summer we (India) was the “Sparrow Hawk” force working out of Dong Ha. On a rare day that we actually had off, some officers arrived in our area requesting our assistance in moving something. That “something” just happened to be a full size hardback built in the wrong place. Marines improvise, right? Here is a photo that ended up in SEA TIGER of how we did it!
On a serious note, our Corpsman from Getlin’s Corner, Doc Chuck Dockery who lost both his legs to numerous gunshot and mortars/rockets wounds, is in the University of Washington Hospital ICU. He had surgery to repair 2 of 3 aneurysms to his aorta. His heart and part of a lung that survived lung cancer now with pneumonia plus he has only one kidney having lost one during the battle. Doc is in critical condition! Please pray for him and his wife and two kids. Doc is our rock! When we dragged him into our last stand position at Getlin’s Corner with more wounds than any of us who survived he said, “lay me next to a Marine that needs my help!”
Please pray for Doc! God bless you and God bless our troops at war!
Semper Fidelis,
Jack Riley I/3/9 1966-1967