transcribed by otter.com
Carl Karst: Hi there. This is your roving reporter speaking to you tonight, again from Ben Tui, your base in Vietnam. It's February 5, here in Ben Tui, and we have some very important news tonight.
We want to announce that on this day, Major Carl, Karst, an aviator, succeeded in taking off and landing on multiple occasions, on the O-1f, bird dog aircraft. It's just another chapter in a glorious Air Force career for Major Karst. When reporters rushed to his aircraft after he had flown, they asked him what he thought of the flight. Aww shucks, there ain't nothing to it.
I love the self-deprecating and humorous way Dad started this tape, his first from Vietnam. He arrived at the base in early February, and at the time of this tape, he had not received any mail from the States.
He continues with an account of nearby VC attacks on the base…
Really, I did enjoy flying the little airplane, and although it seems more like a toy than an airplane, at least as compared to the B-52, I'm sure that it does the job that it's designed for. I think I'll enjoy flying it twice today and Saturday. Unfortunately, the VC hasn't been cooperating too much, since last night, again, for the second night, we were mortared.
A number of aircraft were disabled. And although the damage didn't look too severe, this shrapnel is very sharp-edged. In fact, I hope to send you some of it. It makes small holes in the airplane. And you don't know where it hits, whether it's control cables or not. So, of course, to be safe, but they have to take the panels off and inspect what damage is done.
I personally haven't found these attacks just all too amusing. Last night, I spent half my time beneath my bed, and the other half on top of it are in the bunker. These attacks don't last too long, but you just don't know when they're going to hit next. They haven't hit in the building area here, fortunately, but we have reports that are supposed to be pretty reliable that they have been massing on all sides of the base today. Numbers around four or 500 and they anticipate another attack on the base tonight, possibly trying to overrun it. We'll see what develops for evolving armed, and I don't know what we're going to do with it. I personally don't consider myself as a very proficient man with the arms, but I suppose one will do what's necessary. My roommate had left his tape recorder on when the one attack hit, and he's got all the sirens and all that kind of bit, and some of the mortars hitting. I frankly wasn't thinking about the tape recorder. In fact, Mike (Burke) had borrowed the tape recorder last night so he could make a tape, for Sue and send it home to her. Since he hasn't gotten one yet, he's doing pretty well on his program. I think he has two more days or four more flights before he'll be finished. So he'll be leaving before I do.
There is an interlude where he shares some of the local music with Ruth. Later he mentions.
If you get the feeling that I don't have much to say tonight, you're pretty close to being right, because there, after you do the same thing for a number of days, you just kind of run out of do ideas and questions to ask, especially since I haven't had any of them answered yet, I figure it'll be just pretty close to the month before I get your first letter. The mail here this week has been a little bit inconsistent. I think perhaps the mail didn't leave for three or four days, so you probably would have gone for a number of days without receiving a letter yourself. I heard a batch of mail came in today, but the mail hasn't received the priority that ammunition and that food is so I think they've been neglected a little bit.
We had a C-1 30 come in last night just about that time one of those mortars hit. Man, He didn't waste any time at all getting out of here, and I don't blame him much.
I did get a letter off to Bill and Jane last night. So I've been nibbling away at my long list, but I still have quite a ways to go. Ruth. Have you heard anything about Jim Stahl? Now he's progressing with his parents. Try to remember to mention him to me, and perhaps also send his address, in case I let you listen to some of the sounds of the airplanes around here. Whether that interests you or not, I don't know, but try to get this roll finished so I can get it off tomorrow. A very consoling fact is that every night, these AC 47, or Spookys, as they call them, hover around above our base, and when things start getting a little bit exciting. They drop flares and light up the area, and they also have the capability of firing their many guns. And that's quite a sight, because it looks just like a red hose, something being poured out of the aircraft just in a straight stream when they fire those many guns.
This base is actually owned by the Vietnamese Air Force. And actually our air forces are just tenants here, and they have the primary operation. They have their a One Sky Raiders, which are piloted by Vietnamese. They also have their own helicopters. We have people here that are advisors to them, but they actually don't fly their airplanes too much, since we are here in kind of a tenant basis, the Wing Commander, the Vietnamese Wing Commander, really kind of runs the show. I met the vice Wing Commander yesterday. Day, and found it interesting that he had been down to command staff, same time I was, he was in Wing three, and then he came over here to be the vice commander. He's a major, so their rank structure is just a little bit different than ours. The amusing thing the Wing Commander here has about five head of cattle that roam the base at will, and I guess he's probably more concerned about those cattle than about his airplanes.
There's some army artillery shots going off in the background. I don't know whether you can hear them or not. There's a AC 47 overhead right now. Sounds kind of like firecrackers from a distance. The nights here have been real nice. They're clear, usually at this time of night, and then towards morning, about three o'clock, a low layer of clouds comes comes in, and then as the sun comes up, it starts burning the clouds away. And by 910, o'clock, it's pretty well clear again. So this is definitely the nice time of the year. The breeze right now I'm sitting outside. The breeze is very nice and cool and it's very comfortable. Mosquitoes have been a little bit pesky, but they're really not too bad.
You know what's tough, don't you? I bought you a Valentine up that. Not trying Ruth, but I thought I'd be back soon enough to where I could mail it from up there. They don't have any down here, so now I'm going to have to originate something real clever and send it to him. Can you imagine me doing that? Gonna have to get on the stick, because if I don't get it in the mail the next couple of days, I'm pretty won't get there on time. I was hoping I'd be would send you something real pretty and sentimental, but it seems as I haven't had access to any of that good stuff the last few weeks. I guess we'll have to hold off on that. I think Phyllis is going to send another packager from the Philippines. So it's not very sentimental, though. I hope you enjoy it. Would you believe that's a salad bowl and little bowls. So if you don't receive it, let me know when we're really bug Phyllis.
Do you think it'd be real corny if I ordered a pair of wooden wings to hang on while they do these Pilot Wings and hand carve them over there in the Philippines, and for about $12, I think they look real pretty. But for the life of me, I don't know where we hang the darn things until we get our den, and I don't know when that's going to be.
The little Vietnamese gals still haven't come back to the workforce (on the base). A few of them showed up today, but they only stayed until about noon. Of course, everybody said, well, they came back on base just long enough to find out what kind of damage they did last night. So they will know just where to aim tonight. And it is kind of kind of eerie not knowing who the people are that are the bad guys and who are the good guys, because they have found in a number of these attacks, the the people who worked on the bases in the barber shops and BXS and this type thing were the ones that were ended up being killed in these VC attacks. So it's kind of eerie. And I don't guess you can be too careful about who you associate with. I guess I should feel a little bit fortunate with my visit to town that day and Bill Anglin. I have talked about it since we probably really weren't too darn smart in stopping at this place coming back from town, since we didn't know the circumstances at all.
But as it turned out, we made out okay. Down over Canto today, the town that I had gone to and we saw a number of places, probably about, oh, a square block, maybe a little less than areas that had been burned out. All these little shacks are like you see them in the pictures. You know they're just so flimsy. Someone sets fire to them. Why, they just go like kindling. There's really not much going on out here tonight, except for these airplanes flying overhead. And I think I'm going to be eaten up by mosquitoes if I stay out, or is I'm going to go back in?
Have you been able to get out to my folks much? Or have they been in much? Incidentally, Ruth, I've appreciated having the Phillips version of the New Testament, and I've been using it for my devotions. I think, since I don't have anything else really important. I'd like to share with you tonight, the Thursday evening prayer. I think it's something that perhaps all of us should keep foremost in our mind as we go about our daily life, that's I'm trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, trusting only thee, trusting thee for full salvation, great and free. I am trusting thee for pardon at thy feet. I bow for Thy grace and tender mercy, trusting them. I am trusting thee for cleansing in the Crimson blood, trusting thee to make me holy by thy blood. I am trusting thee to guide me. Thou alone shalt lead every day in our supply, almighty. I am trusting thee for power thine can never fail. Words which thou thyself shall give me must prevail. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus never let me fall. I am trusting thee forever. With that. I think I'll close for tonight, Cathy Tommie and Doug and Ruth. Good night one and all and I love each one of you. Sweet dreams to you.
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