When I See You Again Dedicated to Paul
Paul Cimmino served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He was raised in southern California, but has lived in Montana for several decades. He is a psychologist and this is part of his his Vietnam story.
Paul Cimmino: "Like a lot of people who graduated in 1969, I wasn't actually sure what management I was going to go in. I was in a rock band that really did quite well, and for some reason they asked me to leave, so my begetter — at that place's a legacy in my family, my begetter was in Patton's Regular army and uncle Jimmy was a captain and medical doctor — nosotros had a lot of background. ... Then I joined the Army thinking that I was seeking to be a war machine policeman. I had been law enforcement explorers but ended up quite misdirected by my male parent who said go in armor and you can do anything. And so I realized that armor was a tank.
Vietnam veteran Paul Cimmino.
Cimmino completed basic grooming and was shipped to Kentucky for grooming in armory and tanks. He spent a year at Fort Hood as a tanker. When he arrived in Vietnam, he was transferred to an infantry partition as a motor sergeant and was in charge of the vehicles in his unit.
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Cimmino: "If a vehicle was hit in combat, I had to make up one's mind if it was a combat loss or if information technology could be repaired. Some of those excursions were quite interesting; for example, if a vehicle had gone out and run over a mine. Where I was, I was stationed in Quang Tri, which was correct on the demilitarized zone. ... I had to drive up to a place called 'Charlie 2,' which was a firebase, and 'Blastoff ane.' ... Going up at that place was quite interesting. I haven't talked about this for awhile ...
"The first fourth dimension I went upwardly to Charlie 2, which was the start time I was exterior a regular base, which was kind of secure, dorsum and so, in 1970, we were pretty practiced and pretty solid. Later, after I left to come up home, which was an emergency. ... Quang Tri was pretty much overrun. ... I am in this quarter-ton truck, sitting on mortar armament, which was a resupply, then we drove through this niggling boondocks called Cam Lo, which was the last Southward Vietnamese town before you get to the DMZ. ... There was three or 4 miles of nothing before going up to the Charlie two basecamp, and we hit a left and as nosotros were driving up there, I was only in the back, absorbing the bumps, and suddenly there'south an explosion that was quite significant, and I recall a lot of black smoke coming dorsum and engulfing the vehicle I was in.
"OK, I'll try to get through this. And so I heard a lot of screaming and crying, and, anyhow, what happened was the vehicle in front end of us, which was a half-ton truck, had run over a mine. Yet, the state mine was attached to a 200-pound bomb that was ours. Ofttimes our bombs wouldn't become off, so the enemy would booby trap and employ our bombs against u.s.a.. So in this case that's what had happened. These guys had run over this thing. When I recall near it, if they had missed it, possibly we would run over information technology, and I was sitting on all this mortar ammunition. I would have been similar a Sputnik. Of grade, hearing these screams, I jumped out of the truck to go upward and assist and help these fellows, and I didn't get three feet and all of sudden there was an M-16 rifle put in my face by another soldier. He said, 'Stop! Get back in the truck.' And I started arguing with him. ... These guys were 25 yards from them, nosotros got to become help them. I could see the cab was burning. This guy locked and loaded down on me. And he said, 'Arrive the f---ing truck or I will accident you away.' I was stunned. What could I practise? So I went back in the truck and continuing to hear these fellas screaming for assist and fume still coming back there. And then there was a cook truck behind and this black soldier. He said, 'Hey man, exist dank.' Instead, of the discussion 'absurd' in Vietnam, 'chilly' was the word. He threw me an apple. He said, 'Consume this man, and everything volition be chilly.'
"Then later, I find out that new officer had made a policy when a mine was hit we couldn't go out because we had to do mine sweeping before we went out, which I withal recollect was stupid. But this other young man with the G-16 didn't. Somewhen, the hospital helicopters came downward, and I didn't hear any more voices. I have no thought what happened to them. I don't think those guys fabricated it. That was the starting time thing. And so we move on, and we go on to Charlie 2 and inbound the base, the guard that was there was an interesting fellow. He was like, 'C'mon in man. Peace, man.' I am maxim to myself, 'Dad, this isn't Patton'southward Army.' ... I am looking for my vehicles (to do mileage logging and inspection), and I couldn't find them. I see this man standing there, kind of a big guy, and he was an officer. I could tell that. And I poked him on the back, and he turns around and there are two stars, it's a general. I go, 'Uhhhh, uhhh.' I said, 'Uh, uh s-s-s-sir, exercise you know where the motor puddle is?' And he'due south just looking at me and he doesn't say a give-and-take, and all of sudden, our major comes in and says, 'Are you in my unit?'
"'Yeah, sir. Yes, sir,' I said.
"He starts chewing me out. Then this fellow, our master sergeant who died May 21, 1971 — a bad day — and that'due south another story. He tells the major, 'I'll take care of this guy.'
"The major says, 'You better... blah, blah, blah.'
"And so the starting time sergeant says to me, 'Son, do you lot know what that was over there?'
"I said, 'Uh. Uh. A full general.'
"He goes, 'Yeah, it was a general.' He goes on, 'Number one: You lot don't phone call a general 'sir,' yous call a general 'full general.' Number two: Where's your helmet?' I was wearing my boony hat.
"'You don't have information technology, do you?'
"No.
"'Where's your weapon?'
"I didn't bring information technology.
"He goes, 'OK.'
"He says, 'I am going to tell that major that I took care of you, but listen, 'Become carry out your duties, and when I see yous again, you better have your helmet on and your .45.'
"I said, 'Aye, sir.'
"He said, 'I'm not an officeholder. I am a sergeant.'
"I said OK, and I was shaking in my boots, and he told me where the motor pool was. And I go and take the mileage. At the terminate of the twenty-four hours, I am looking for this quarter-ton to go me dorsum home — a lot nicer because it wasn't total of ammunition. ... It started raining because it was monsoon season. We had to become gas. ... And of a sudden, incoming, incoming. The enemy started firing rockets at us. Now, they were lousy shots. They didn't even get into the compound. Ninety percent of the time they didn't get into the compound, they hit all around. So nosotros're getting gas, wanting to get the heck out of at that place, so nosotros started going upward the hill, and we tin can't get up, even with the 4-cycle drive, we're sliding back downward. Seven or eight guys push u.s.a. out. We finally got out, and I call up that guy just screaming out of there, looking back and seeing those petty puffs of black smoke and thinking, 'Oh my God, this was my first day out of the base camp.' I don't know if I desire to get to Charlie ii anymore."
Vietnam veteran Paul Cimmino, correct.
Gazette: How does a person deal with that? How practise you cope with that?
Cimmino: "I am 19 years quondam. I had been through training. And to be honest, my family knows this, when I left to go to Vietnam, we flew over San Francisco bridge. ... I looked down on it and said, 'That'southward it.' I already determined that I was non going to return, and I call up that attitude actually helped me."
Gazette: How?
Cimmino: "I wanted to live and survive, just there was a function of me that already wrote myself off. If I got dorsum, that was an actress approving, you know? So with that attitude, I just couldn't wait to go dorsum to my unit and become with my buddies — mayhap go party a bit and listen to some Janis Joplin and we only had four tapes — Janis Joplin, Blood Sweat and Tears, (Paul) McCartney and The Doors."
Gazette: In that location was a lot of great music during that time, and a lot of veterans recall hearing different songs or having unlike songs go a sort of anthem for them in Vietnam. Was that true for you?
Cimmino: "I was buddies with a supply sergeant, and he had his own room in the back, and in those days, nosotros had the former reel tapes. I know nosotros had four of them, and all I know is that we listened over and over again to Janis Joplin, McCartney that offset tape he made on his ain, just McCartney, and Claret, Sweat and Tears. So those three albums stand out in my listen. ... They become kind of signature reinforced in your encephalon."
Source: https://billingsgazette.com/special-section/news/vets/paul-cimmino-when-i-see-you-again-you-better-have-your-helmet-and-your-45/article_6e95cbf4-4454-5296-ba70-790f0528c9f2.html
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