Military personnel; Soldiers; Uniforms; Military uniforms; Hats; Arms & armament
Eleven soldiers in a squad about to go on a patrol around the signal base on Vung Chua Mountain. A soldier in front of the group poses with an M-60 machine gun. He has belts of ammunition for the weapon over both shoulders. The soldiers in the...
Letter from Christopher Ammons telling about meeting Thomas Page, a friend from Clarksville, in Qui Nhon. He and Page, a truck driver in the army, had a long conversation. Ammons asks his family to call Page's parents and tell them he is doing...
Soldiers waiting to leave Vietnam from Cam Ranh Bay. There are dozens of men in uniforms and hats standing around a booth marked with the sign "507th Replacement Company." Above the booth is another sign titled, "Be in proper uniform," with a...
Mountains; Military facilities; Trucks; Cities & towns
Eight soldiers posing in and around a truck in Qui Nhon. Chris Ammons is standing in the center wearing glasses, helmet, and flak jacket. Other soldiers wear hats, helmets, or no headgear at all. Only one carries an M16.
Mountains; Military facilities; Bunkers; Forts & fortifications
One of the many concrete bunkers on Vung Chua Mountain that defended the signal station. The photograph was likely taken at night and is illuminated by the base lights.
Men; Soldiers; Radios; Military uniforms; Military personnel; Helmets
Radioman operating his field set. He carries earphones on his helmet with a handset in his left hand. Cords attach the earphones and the handset to the radio equipment he carries on his back. Wooden base structures are visible behind him. The...
Qui Nhon and the South China Sea as photographed from the base on Vung Chua Mountain at dusk. The foreground shows utility lines and poles, with the Qui Nhon city lights and harbor on the South China Sea filling up the rest of the image.
Mortars (Ordnance); Artillery (Weaponry); Military personnel; Soldiers; Military uniforms; Arms & armament
Five soldiers appear in various stages of involvement in the task of sighting an 81 mm mortar. The walls are constructed of ammunition boxes that have been nailed together and filled with dirt.
Mortars (Ordnance); Artillery (Weaponry); Military personnel; Soldiers; Military uniforms; Arms & armament
Five soldiers surround an 81 mm mortar as one of them prepares to fire it. Their faces are down and their hands are over their ears. The walls around the group are constructed from ammunition boxes that have been filled with dirt and nailed...
Military vehicles; Cities & towns; Streets; Military personnel; Soldiers; Military uniforms; Arms & armament
Several soldiers outfitted with helmets, rifles, and flak vests are riding in a small truck through Qui Nhon on their way back to the military base at Vung Chua Mountain. All but the driver are wearing helmets. They are driving toward a group of...
Two Vietnamese women in traditional dress are entering from outside into a dark room. A guard appears outside in the sunlight. The doorway appears to be quite thick. Another female worker appears in the light and is about to be passed in by the...
Three-page handwritten letter written from Ammons to his family recounting his attendance at the Bob Hope USO show on Christmas Eve in 1967. He describes being issued clean fatigues, flying on a Chinook helicopter to Lai Khe Base Camp, and viewing...
Three-page handwritten letter from Ammons at Lai Khe Base Camp to his family describing his assignment to the 3rd Platoon as a Rifleman. He will be carrying the M79 grenade launcher, two Claymore mines, trip flares, grenades, and a .45 caliber...
Three-page handwritten letter from Ammons to his family. He describes returning to his company's Lai Khe Base Camp from Close Infantry Combat (C.I.C) training to find the company had two men killed and two wounded in an ambush. The unit had...
Three page letter from Thunder IV (Highway 13 was nicknamed "Thunder Road" by US troops). "Our base camp (Lai Khe) has been hit daily by mortars and RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] rounds. Even in daylight Charlie hits Lai Khe." Letter includes...
Three-page handwritten letter by Christopher Ammons to his family describing a Viet-Cong mortar attack on the fire support base occupied by his company.
Two-page handwritten letter by Christopher Ammons to his family describing the casualties his company sustained while on their most recent search-and-destroy mission from Dong Tam Base Camp.
Five-page handwritten letter from Christopher Ammons to his family describing a 7-day search and destroy mission in the woods of Song Be. Ammons's company located Viet-Cong base camps and bunkers as they "dug in" six times during the operation. ...
