Fire Base Anzio | 101st Airborne 327 Infantry

Fire Base Anzio

Name: Melvin Fenn
Hometown: Alvarado , Texas
Date: July 28, 2010 - 11:58 AM (pacific)

Great site. I can smell burning bamboo and taste the unique taste of the water there. My achilles still hurt so I have that effect going. Very proud I served; collectively we halted the cancer of communisim in that region of the world. We had a window of opportunity, for the blink of time we were just the right age...we took it and served. --Shot in right calf, medic Pate fixed it, did not infect...no lost time since we did not move much just then. A rare time of carrying a rolled up poncho at all, shot through it into the butt...Pate and Lt Eklund pulled it out...don't think any of us enjoyed it. Laughing. Grenade to right side during an assualt; no idea where we were when that thing flipped me, but instantly back to the feet as if carrying a fountain drink and not wanting to spill a bit...another piece of those frags just may be making it to the surface at this very time, and it is minorly exciting after so many decades. Bad deal on a parachute jump (no idea of who to thank for getting me out of that little deployment), and a comma for a few days, then right back to work. No purple hearts, as they were refused, same as I saw other guys do for insignificant wounds. I remember a cigarette lighter we were given just prior to leaving, one of my daughters holds it now, it reads on the face: "America's Finest at Freedoms Frontier". Wow, did I wear out several pairs of boots for that honor. We were tired, right! ---I've had a great life as I hope others have as well...lustfull times, confused times, fortunate and earned...most things once wronged were gotten 'better'. I Cannot complain.

Vietnam

Fire Base Anzio

click on image to enlarge

These are of the gun pits for the ARVN 105 Battery that was there in Oct - Dec 1970. I was there with a Det of the 2/11 Arty/101st Abn during that period. I took the pictures just because they were the most 'by the book' gun pits I'd ever seen in Nam. I guess the ARVN used to show VIP's around the area. Hope you can use them. By the way, that is a great web site!

Welcome Home.
Airborne!

Vince Vitale
RVN 1970-1971
101st Abn