On June 16, 1969, the Division band performed at a Change of Command ceremony at Rach Kien when LTC Leo P. Sikorski (later in the year, on September 17, 1969, he would be killed in a tragic collision of two Army helicopters) took command of the 5/60 Infantry from LTC Edward Cutolo. The helicopters delivering the band set down on the connection road between Routes TL-18 and 225 north of town. We walked into the village and turned east into the base. Rach Kien also hosted a detachment of Vietnamese National Police and ARVN troops who had a penchant for shooting at each other. Occasionally their exchange of gunfire in town would be confused with an incoming ground attack.

 

The 5/60 Infantry Battalion had a convoluted history in Vietnam. When it arrived in-country on December 22, 1966, it had been fully mechanized. In September 1968 the battalion was traded to the 1^st Infantry Division for their 1/16 Infantry Battalion. The Big Red One was in need of mechanized firepower and the 9^th ID could always use more ground pounders. The swap was made and the dismounted 5/60 Infantry reorganized as conventional infantry. The 5/60 Infantry departed Vietnam on October 12, 1970, after suffering 236 fatalities.

The 5/60 Infantry Battalion HQ camp at Rach Kien was somewhat unusual in that its perimeters encompassed part of town and had no protective berm. Many of the camp's structures were Vietnamese buildings.

The ARVNs stopped their war with the National Police detachment long enough to attend the Change of Command ceremony held at battalion headquarters. The 5/60 Infantry displayed weapons that they had captured around their battalion HQ area.

We were waiting for the arrival of our second Slick outside the east gate into Rach Kien when this 5/60 HQ deuce-and-a-half came Red Balling down the road. I guess the driver never saw such good looking troops as the 9^th ID Band because he took one look at us and drove off of the road. Ten-wheel drive eventually enabled him to rock his way back onto the road to the expensive tune of grind dem gears!

The east gate road was actually Communal Route 225. It was little more than a dike across the paddy fields. In the image to the left, a Vietnamese woman labors with two heavy kettles suspended from a pole across the nape of her neck. In her labor she symbolizes the delicate balance of the three ancient regions of Vietnam: Tonkin, Amman, and Cochin China.

There were also burial sites along Communal Route 225. Respect for ancestory was culturally important to the Vietnamese peasant. What they lacked in education they made up in character and perseverance. They were as eternal as the sun and moon. The June 28 concert drew a larger crowd than usual. During the concert SGT Fred K. Keesey coined the double innuendo phrase "Thanks for the clap!" after the band had received a ragged and unenthusiastic applause for their performance. It doan mean nothin, bro. Our short-timer's calendars were winding down and we were well beyond the need for artistic recognition. This had been just another day and another job that had brought all of us closer to The World. On this trip I had gone along as a security guard. We had to watch out for each other. No one else was going to do it for us. I considered anyone who threatened our well-being the enemy - regardless of age, sex, uniform, or rank. I had no moral or cultural problems with this.

5/60 MECHANIZED INFANTRY BATTALION COMMANDERS*

1/16 INFANTRY BATTALION COMMANDERS*

5/60 INFANTRY BATTALION COMMANDERS

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