2005-11-14; 17:37:22 EST
Member Since
2002-09-17
Posts: 4946
Bob, Our living quarters were very primitive. They were wooden shacks up off the ground and had tin roofs. The roofs were tied to the ground with barbed wire so the tropical storms wouldn't destroy them. There was a wall of 55 gallon drums filled with dirt surrounding the hut and sand bags on top of them. Each hut had a bomb shelter next to it which was a hole in the ground with a roof covered with sand bags. While I was there we dug ours up and replaced it with the shell of an old VTR (Vehicular track Retriever, BIG tank retriever) We buried it in the ground and piled lots of sand bags on top of it. I felt very secure in there. Our beds were cots, no mattress's and we hung mosquito netting over the bed. Slept on something called a poncho liner and had a pillow sent from home. Sleeping in the field was a whole different story. Ever gone a month without a shower? The rainy season was cold and wet so I had the family send me an electric heater. That was considered a luxury, but at least I could dry my clothes when they got washed. I'll see if I can dig up a couple of pictures I still have laying around somewhere. I'll try to post them to the list. RummySee the original archive post