MY 13 MONTH VIET NAM TOUR IN 612 SYLLABLES (Linked Haiku/Senryu)

USMC COMBAT TOUR TRILOGY (Linked Haiku/Senryu)

I

Old salt remembers

The long, the short, and the tall

And an adventure

Interesting tour

Third Battalion Fifth Marines

Semper Fidelis

To Okinawa

Aboard APA Renville

First March Sixty-Six

Fleet Marine Force PAC

East China and South China

And Philippine Seas

We sail through typhoon

Landing Ship Tank to Japan

Mount Fuji in spring

Swimming in Subic

Overboard man overboard

Three days bread water

Training on island

Isolated Japanese

Surrenders to us

On Liberty Call

In Olongapo City

A lesson learned

Sit facing entrance

Shore Patrol says off-limits

Exit well planned

LPH Princeton

Contemplation till sunrise

Guard duty on deck

Viet Nam monsoon

All hands heave out and trice up

We are deploying

Observe search destroy

There are friendlies in region

End to non-friendlies

II

Last one in first out

Helicopter lifts off deck

Drops to sea then soars

Boarding hatch open

Perfect view land air and sea

Green hills rice paddies

Sikorsky on ground

Incoming rounds leave their mark

Perimeter set

Landing zone secure

Multiple lands and departs

Bouncing back to ship

Hot thick engulfing

High power rifle cracks air

Jungle labyrinth

Scorpions Leeches

Elusive lime green Habu

Among punji stakes

Mortars send welcome

A deafening percussion

Howitzers whistle

Marine in his sight

Take out Viet Cong sniper

Then Phantom appears

Slow tumbling barrel

F-4 shrieks splashing napalm

Opposite ridgeline

Instantly silent

Enemy cover erased

This moment in time

Civilians at ease

Water buffalo, tiger

And cobra observe

Locate new LZ

Our transport copters descend

For next objective

III

Out of the jungle

Transferred to urban combat

Adjust momentum

Three/Five alumnus

To Military Police

At Da Nang Airbase

Secure area

Troops coming in from the bush

Christmas with Bob Hope

Driving with Captain

Separated at skirmish

Find my own way back

Returning convoy

Fifty-caliber vacant

Clear jam open fire

Walking fuel pipeline

Sunset to sunrise duty

Force Recon contact

Need covert supply

Case forty-five caliber

Replenish grease guns

Use infrared scope

At perimeter outpost

Function accurate

During base patrol

Disturbance at EM Club

Ended with one round

Training and weapons

Extensions to our being

Focus and humor

Determination

One year one month seven days

Accelerated

A traditional

Bellicose experience

Cosmic deja-vu

TXu 1-673-107

Effective date of

registration:

February 10, 2010

Author: Andrew Louis Syor

 USA Copyright