Mike Preston

EASTER SUNDAY 40 YEARS AGO

by

MIKE ''ANIMAL'' PRESTON

So do any of you have any memories of Sunday April 16th 1968 ? I sure do . I remember that day with great clarity , or so I thought until I read a letter home that I found amongst my mothers papers . She passed a while back and some box's didn't get examined at that time . About 9 months ago I was doing just that when I came across all the letters I had written my folks during my tour , WOW ! what a revelation !

   It made it very apparent how the mind and memory can get things screwed up in 40 years . Amongst her letters was letter from a lady friend who lived in Shreveport La. who informed my mom that I was in a AP wire story in the Shreveport Times . The article was written by Jurarte Kazickas for AP wire services. I called the Shreveport Times and they were glad to send it to me .

   This was Jurate's 2nd trip to Khe Sanh , she was there the first time the 7th to 8th of March . She was wounded along with Lt. Bill Gay and 3 others , arty. She went down to Dong Ha to D med I think. Well this ballzy lady came back with operation Pegasus for more . She interviewed three of us , myself , Frank Faur , and Cpl. Al Brewster . Amazing courage to come to a place like Khe Sanh when one did not have to be there , reminds my of Sean Flynn and Dana Stone .

    Jurate was a tall (6') raven haired beauty , certainly memorable , Frank Faur  remembered her with great clarity . I had a little fun with Frank by calling him up anonymously and just asked the question ''HOW MANY EASTER EGGS DID YOU GET IN 1968 ''!  He of course thought this was some kind of nut (he was right) or a crank call , I yanked his chain for a few minutes until I didn't figure he was going to take any more , then I told him who I was . You are now wondering what the hell am I talking about , huh ? Well when you read the following article it will become clear and then you can have a good laugh too !  Give him a call he lives in ''Joysey'' now , not far from ''Big John''.

EASTER EGGS

                               by

JURATE  KAZICKAS

 KHE SANH, Vietnam AP _

Six thousand Easter eggs arrived by helicopter at  Khe Sanh this foggy Sunday morning. Two minutes later six mortar and rocket rounds exploded on the air strip, wounding three Marines.

         "They told us there were Easter eggs on the strip," said Marine Pfc. Frank Faur, Easton, PA. "I went to check them out and then those rounds started coming in. They say the siege of Khe Sanh is over. Who are they trying to kid?"

         This was Easter at  Khe Sanh. Religious services were held at the base early in the morning, but the men in the field, outside the barbed wire perimeter, had no time for organized prayer.

         Five miles away, on Hill 881 North, units of the 26th Marine Regiment were fighting an estimated battalion of North Vietnamese soldiers in a bitter struggle to take the hill. contact continued all day.

         More than a dozen dirty men with bandaged hands, heads and feet came limping off the choppers from Hill 881 to await evacuation to the medical station at Dong Ha.

         They had missed the incoming rounds by only a few seconds.

         The sun finally broke through the thick clouds and the uneasiness brought on by the morning attack diminished. Billows of red dust from Jeeps and trucks covered the Marines as they worked near their bunkers, packing their gear.

         The Marines have been relieved at Khe Sanh by Army troops of the 1st Air Calvary Division. The Leathernecks are expected to be gone in three or four days.

         "Easter? Yeah, I heard about it on the radio," one Marine said. "I celebrated by jumping into a hole."

         Word spread that Easter eggs were to be flown up from Da Nang and distributed. By mid afternoon Marines were carrying pink and green tinted eggs in their helmets. Most of the egg shells were cracked. Some eggs were raw inside, but the men didn't seem to mind.

         "The last time I has eggs was three months ago," said Cpl. Al Brewster, of Delhart, TX. "I can't believe we got them. Its a nice surprise."

         Waiting to leave, the Marines made jokes about the eggs, about the 1st Cav painting their insignia all over the base like they had been there all along or had ''saved'' the Marines and about the end of two long months of incoming artillery.

         "Am I glad to be getting out of this place," said Seabee Mike Preston of Arnold, Calif., both of his hands bandaged.

         "That is what happy Easter means"

End of Article

       Well now you know about the Great Easter Egg Hunt , why didn't they bring beer ? oh , I remember , they already had beer to go along with their steak sandwich's. I tried to buy some of their beer but just laughed and said no . Well what was I to do ? Well being a SeaBee I had attained the rank of ''Master Comshaw Artist'' so I offered them a bottle of ''Mikies Magic Elixir'' which was furnished by Sean Flynn for rack rent in the ''Hilton'' and that worked . I hope they all got sick drunk. If you don't know what that is it is a jug of booze with some special additives from the corpsmen that are guaranteed to drain you

While I am on the subject of comshaw I just have to stray from Easter for a moment and relate a little episode involving myself and ''Flash'' Mytnic , I think. We had a con-ex box buried for a supply bunker in our equipment yard . A young Marine appeared and said he needed some nails for the C P , I replied , what do you have to trade ? He informed me that Col. Lownds wanted the nails and could not believe that someone would shake down a Col. He left only to return later with a large can of ''real'' coffee ! I bet the Col. never knew , I always have wondered ? One thing for sure is the coffee came from ''officer country'' and we celebrated with a good cup and some stashed pecan rolls .

    Back to Easter Sunday : I am not sure of exact days and dates that things happened and any input would be welcome . I think the ''siege was officially over the 8th , and the incoming all but stopped as I recall , got ''spooky'' quiet . Enter the ''Cav.'' I remember them going around with out pots and flak jackets , we on the other hand wore ours even to the ''chic sales'' , they thought we were nuts .......... well .

     We had a area for people waiting to be flown out , seems to me it was a square of sand bags 4-5 feet high in a square 20 feet square or so . I was not hurt all that bad and just hung out letting others who were hurt badly go on to DaNang.  When the incoming came in I thought to my self , yes ''Sir Charles'' just sprung the trap , let some people get complacent then ''Kerblaam'' . If memory serves me correctly they ''walked'' the rounds down the runway  from about the center of the strip , 150 yds. or so from us towards the south east end of the runway where the ''Cavs'' helos were staged . What I remember was a bunch of guys running to the helos and gittin outa here. Did they ever come back ? I don't know because I got a flight out a couple of hours later . Someone got a answer for me I sure would like to know . I recall reading something about it in Rays book but it escapes my mind now. We talked much later and the reason they didn't come back was very vague .

   Whom ever said the ''siege '' was over sure as hell didn't think about hills 881 and 689 and others to-many to mention now. There was a young Marine on a litter laying next to me who had come off 861 I think . I don't think he even owned a razor yet and his career in the NFL as a place kicker wasn't going to happen thats for sure. I held a smoke for him as best I could , he never shed a tear or complained once , brave young man , real Marine grit .

   My outfit lost one of our own that day also (even though the siege was over) SWF2 Edward ''Cody'' Adams was KIA by artie .  I must have a leak in my roof because there are water drops hittin my key board now .  I sense will move away from this morbid subject now and compose myself and regain my sense of humor .

    The Marine Corps is certainly the stepchild of the services there is no doubt when it comes to budget ! The helo that I got a ride out on was a CH 34 piston engine job I am pretty sure , some were retrofitted to gas turbine but I don't think this one was as yet . This was definitely Korean vintage aircraft . Just think it was probably older than most of its passengers ! , Not me I was 24 . After surviving Khe Sanh your mind starts doing strange things to you . I started to think of all the guys who died leaving in a chopper or a plane !

My out fit lost a First class BU Charles Spillman just that way !  As I gazed at this flying antique it struck me funny that the pilot was sitting right above a big red cross I recall , wow what a good aim point ! hells-bells why not a cross-hair or a bulls-eye ''YIPPS'' !

     Well here is the punch line to this whole article , I have perfect clarity about that day I can see it in my minds eye at will . But to semi steal a quote from a past president who said ''I DO NOT REMEMBER THAT WOMAN'' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How could I not remember a beautiful round-eye after not seeing one for 5 to 6 months ? To much morphine ? Distracted by more important things , the wounded around me , concern for them ? that is what I remember most vividly for sure , the frustration of not being able to do more for them ? I have that same feeling now when I assist a disabled vet now , wishing I could do more but I do get a lot of satisfaction from what I can do for them. I am really sorry I don't remember Jurate  but with any luck I will meet her some day , maybe in Reno........? S F ''Animal''