Safe...AT LAST!!!

That same afternoon, I was informed to have my "SEABAG" ready for a possible transfer the follwing day. I went to the boat basin to bid farewell to my old crew and friends, and wished them all good luck. That was the LAST time we saw each other.



The following day, an Army Gunship took me to Tan Son Nhut airbase in Saigon. And from there, took a bus ride to Camp Alpha for "Processing Out Of Country". It was about a week of processing, and on or about 08 April 1969 I was on a plane headed towards Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. The plane landed at Clark AFB around 2300 hours 08 April 1969. Soon as the tires hit the ground I said to myself "I'm safe AT LAST!"



The Air Force personnel was very courteous and accomodating. Could this be because of the "TWO STARS" on my collar device? As a Boat Captain and Patrol Officer, my collar device is a patch with 2 Stars above the Eagle. I figure, "Well, I'm just going to play with it." Hence, after a brief inspection of my seabag, the Air Force Inspector gave me a salute and said: "That's it, Sir. Do you need any assistance?"



My reply was "I'm so TIRED I need some rest. I need transportaion to Manila."



The inspector accompanied me to the terminal lobby and introduced me to a local driver. After we talked and agreed with the FEE, and CERTAIN conditions, we are on our way to Manila with my seabag in the backseat with me.



The news of "mugging" and "hold-ups" is prevalent outside the gate of Clark AFB. My Dad and I were once victims of this. Therefor, the condition I set was : NO STOPPING, NO PICK-UPS AFTER PASSING THE MAIN GATE." I don't want to take any chances particularly at night time. Everything was going with what was agreed upon. However as soon as we passed the main gate I noticed that the car made a quick right turn towards an alley. I asked the driver "Where are you GOING?" His reply (in TAGALOG) was : "I'm just going to pick up a friend."



With this, I pulled out a .22 Cal. Pistol out of my seabag, and placed the barrel at the back of his head and said: "STOP, or I'll BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF." The car came to a screeching halt. The driver tried to look back and said: "Is it a GUN?" My reply was: "Damn Right. Do you wanna FIND OUT?" The driver didn't day a word, so I say again: "Turn this car BACK to the MAIN ROAD, or you'll FIND OUT."



With this, the car turned back to the main road, and we're on our way to Manila without uttering a single word. We arrived at our place in Las Pinas around 4:00 A.M. 09 April 1969. My family was overjoyed to see their Vietnam Veteran home and alive. However, my Dad was chewing me out.



He kept saying: "You should have waited to travel in the morning! It's really very dangerous to travel at night." My reply was: "Well, I have a FRIEND with me."



My Dad's reply was: " WHAT friend?"



I replied: "Here." And showed him the .22 Cal. Pistol. I can still remember how his eyes POPPED upon seeing the gun. He yelled at me "You're CRAZY!!! That's a TOY gun!!!" All I could say was "Well, it did the job." Honestly, I was really joking with my Dad. He is the BEST mentor that I ever had, and seeing how he cares for me made this dangerous travel well worth it.



Meanwhile, my Mom overheard our conversation and started LAUGHING. Soon, my whole family started laughing.



With this, my Dad just shook his head and gave me a TIGHT HUG and said: "WELCOME HOME, SON."



NOW I know that I'm SAFE...AT LAST.