Fifty-plus years is a long time. Memories fade. Photos endure. I recently rediscovered a bunch of negatives and slides from photos I took while serving in the US Army Reserves. The outfit was the 231st Transportation Company from St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1968 the unit was called to active duty and we ended up in the southern part of South Vietnam. Our mission was to operate 19 LCM-8 “Mike boats” and deliver supplies of all kinds to remote bases, mostly in the Mekong Delta region.
Some of the photos are not in the best of condition. The slides have lost much of their original color and many negatives are scratched and fingerprinted. All of the photos have been freshly scanned from the original negative or slide. I developed all of the black and white photos myself on base but I’m afraid they were not stored very well over the years. I was able to resurrect some of the worst cases, but the color on many of the slides has faded beyond repair.
Aside from the technical issues, the photos still elicit unexpected memories as the fragments come into focus. Names and places suddenly return as I recall events and smells and emotions that have been buried for decades. I discover something new almost every time I see them.
As with all history there are different versions of every story. I will admit that there are some periods of time that are totally blank in my mind. Some are just fuzzy, so I will point it out when I am unsure of names or events. If I get something wrong I apologize in advance. Each story can be accessed via the menu above.
