Dak To
Miss America!

1969

Dak To - Miss America, 1969

Towards the end of my first tour in the Nam, I was sent to LZ Pony, just south of coastal Bongson. It was in August of ‘69. My unit was the 299th CBT Engrs. BT. And we were upgrading the road from QL 1 to LZ Pony, about a 12 klicks. We also were improving the air strip and the artillery battery there. As usual, it was hot and miserable all the time. We were living in a GP medium tent outside the ARVN compound on the airstrip.

Mail and just about everything else was slow, and to make matters worse, we were constantly harassed by the VC. One day a slick was landing just 50 or so meters from our tent (as they always did), and the dust and rotor wash made our cots fly everywhere. We thought it might be the mail, and it was. There was also some special delivery that no one (at least not us lowly engineers) knew about. Hell, they landed right by our hooch.

Photo: Miss America USO Show Troupe, 1969. Miss America - Judith Anne Ford (in white dress). Photo courtesy of The III MAF Band Homepage (Camp Horn, Đà Nẵng-1969 )

Getting off that chopper was seven of the most beautiful ladies any of us had seen in a year. They were Miss America, herself and six of her court. Because we were right there they came over, before the Lifers had a chance to butt in, and shook hands (HUGS), and explained they were on a USO tour. It really made our day, as you can imagine.

Photo: Miss America 1969, Judith Anne Ford, getting ready for the show. Photo courtesy of The III MAF Band Homepage (Camp Horn, Đà Nẵng-1969)

Some years latter (35 to be exact), I contacted the then 1969 Miss America, from Illinois. She was so surprised to hear from a troop that still remembered, and told me her visit to Vietnam in 1969 was a real wakeup call for her. She hadn’t realized how important their contribution to the USO tour meant to so many young men. She told me that prior to her visit she was unsure of her feelings about the war, but the trip opened her eyes and gave her a new mission to help bring a little bit of America to Vietnam.

Jay Gearhart
2nd Plt. 15th Engr. Co. (LE) 299th CBT Engr BT.

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