Info Sheet - Hugh M. Stovall
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I was the only Stovall on Tan My Island in the Blue Platoon that road shotgun on Major Larson's Slick as his door-gunner more often than not, and did the same anytime I could to replace one of the guy's in the "Zoomie's" hootch, that normally flew in the Loaches and the Slicks.
Here's some more info that only guys that were there at the time would only know...
"rusty Tube". Literally, and old mortar that sat outside of the Blues Hootch.
I came to Tan My after the 3/21 of 196th Bde stood-down in Danang. Not directly after, maybe two-months later. Call it mid August, or a lille before, or after.
To the best of my recollection, there were only 3, maybe 5 Black guys on TM. I was one of them, but people thought I was a PR. And because, my buddy for my future life until he passed was this guy, and he was also the "bac si" on Tan My. The Medic, Alvin E. Maynard, another PR, and we spoke Spanish while there for shits and giggles.
If I recall correctly, when I DEROS'ed I'm also thinking that besides Doc Maynard and myself, MAJ Larson DEROs'ed to Ft. Ord, California, too.
Here's a couple of other things only folks from Tan My would only know:
We had our own whorehouse very, very close to the barracks and going East, I think, if I recall the sun went down because the Birds took-off going towards the beach, and not the lagoon-side which was West.
Oh...our cook was the 3rd Black guy on Tan My.
Just two more things I can think up now...
I seriously doubt that anyone at Tan My at the time, or before, knows that for target practice, or some kill-time. our shooting-range was just beyond the barbed-wire and in front of the ammo dump and the pilot's side of the runway when taking-off towards the South China Sea. We surely must have fired-off 5,000 rds and a shiload of rockets and .60 ammo from the Cobra's on the last New Year's Eve. Which now reminds me, I didn't DEROS in February. I left TM around early-mid January '73. The lifers in Da Nang cut me some slack