This photo was sent in by Joe Fraelich, USMC, Viet Nam 65-66 / 9th Motor Transport Battalion HQ

Joe's special memory was Bobby firing his rifle into a creek after the show!

 

Feb 1966  Viet Nam

Shaking hands with Bobby is: 1st Lt Daniel L. Taylor USMC (Ret).  Looking on is: SSgt Frederich H. Seimers.
  Thanks Daniel for sharing your memories of Bobby's tour of Viet Nam!

BOBBY RYDELL VISIT TO 3RDATBN CP, FEBRUARY 1966

Most of the shows that made their rounds of Command Post sites never made it to any Company Command Posts, I'm sure.  Most of the shows were of the caliber that you didn't miss anything.  They were mostly unknown girls with long legs and big, bouncy boobs dancing to Go-Go music.

There was usually a company grade officer, from one of the battalions being visited, assigned escort duty with the visiting group.  When Bobby Rydell and his troupe came to Vietnam, 3rd Anti-Tank Battalion was one of the units to receive a show and was tapped to provide the escort.  I complained to my Commanding Officer, LtCol Heflin, when he detailed 1stLt Mathews as the escort.  This was to be about his third such detail and I had never been detailed.  LtCol Heflin solved the situation by detailing both 1stLt Mathews and myself as escorts.  I would be escorting Bobby Rydell; Lt Mathews would be escorting the go-go girls!

After the introduction, a little pep talk for the troops, a couple of songs, Bobby Rydell turned things over to the go-go girls and came off-stage.  He wanted to walk around and look at our CP. He told me that he'd just completed 6 months active duty for training (boot camp, infantry training, etc.) with the Army Reserve.  He was really enthusiastic about the military.

He checked out the positioning of the Claymore mines, checked out the triple concertina and double apron barbed wire, and finally jumped down into one of our bunkers.  He went to the M-60 machinegun and talked about how much he enjoyed firing the M-60 and other weapons during his training.  He flipped up the sight on the M-60 and traversed from limiting stake to limiting stake.  He then told me that this gun was improperly laid and needed corrective action.You can imagine how incredulous I must have looked.  Who is this "SINGER" telling me that our Marines don't know how to lay a machinegun?  I pushed him aside and gazed through the sights, ready to defend our abilities.  Instead, I found that had that gun had to fire Final Protective Fire (FPF), it would have been laying a base of fire about 10 feet in front of the bunker.  I was just a little more than embarrassed.

 Bobby Rydell was pleased that he had contributed to the war effort!!!

By the way, the troops enjoyed the show immensly.

 1stLt Daniel L. Taylor USMC (RET)