Vietnam 2nd battalion
Jim Mobley
A Company 1970 – 1971
Short form of my tour was: I served a split shift. 6 months as a REMF and 8 months as a grunt in that order (I extended to get the early out). I was always assigned to Alpha Co, 2/327th but, when I arrived at Camp Eagle in January 1970, this bored looking guy with a clipboard came out of the S-1 shack in the No Slack rear. He looks at us cherries just off the truck and says the magic words, “Does anybody here know how to type?” I didn’t quite dislocate my shoulder getting my arm up but I needn’t have hurried since I was the only one who raised his hand.
For the next 6 months, I was the S-4 clerk who handed out the packs and steel pots and M-16s to the cherries – all properly typed and noted on the proper form – and I was also the guy who got the gear back from the guys when they left for the World. They looked different. The 2/327th was almost always in the field – someone made up a song about 80 days out and 10 days in because out of every 90 days the grunts got about a total of 10 either on a fire base or in the Camp Eagle rear. I had a four whole barracks to myself. There were only 2 other guys in the Alpha Co. rear (the company clerk and the first sergeant). And – every once in a while – the grunts – the real soldiers – would come in for a stand-down. If you remember the “Valley of the REMFS” you’ll know where I first made friends with some of the grunts. Somehow, I felt I was missing my war.
Attached is a picture a me flashing the peace sign taken June 11th 1970 on top of T-Hawk. That’s the day I volunteered to go to the field. The day after the NVA sapper attack of June 10th.
