12.30 PM MON

13 MAR 67

My Darling Girls,

I'm on radio watch again. I think today is the most physically tiring day I have ever spent. We got up at 6 and started building ourselves a home. The three of us dug two weapon pits, then we filled 600 sand bags and built a blast wall across the front of the room a fighting bay [diagram] I've completed the sandbagging on down in the [drawing] sections, tomorrow we go on to the [drawing] to reinforce the two walls still standing and they have big blast cracks in them so I'll reinforce with two layers of sand bags to head height. I've sent the other two to bed we worked until 10 PM and I'll stand radio watch until 3. The day after tomorrow I have timber and steel planking coming and we'll get a mortar proof roof on - fortunately its been fine and it's a lovely night tonight. Its been a hard day my back aches like hell and my hands are a mass of blisters but its been satisfying we've got a decent place to fight from now - even if they come tonight we are in great shape and could hold out. My chaps feel the same way and are beat but now confident. The team that we've killed didn't have a weapon pit or a single sandbag - they just lived in a three room building I've got 3 claymores out from our building to cover the inside of the compound and I've set up a switchboard so I can riffle fire them if need be The village is still pretty shook up 80% of the men were killed here (from the village) (30) and the 2 who were taken from the compound were found killed today. They also took 6 civilian men from the village and killed them. A lot of the villagers came down today to watch us work and practically all of them said "COVAN KHONE DE?" "Advisers will no leave?" so I think our presence is doing some good to give them a sense of security They sent the kids down at lunch and dinner with rice and fish and bananas for us as we worked and the kids were fetching the empty sand bags for us to the filling part and some of the women were tying the mouths of the sandbags. They are wonderful people. They have so terribly little yet they share willingly everything they do have.

I had USAID send in roofing iron today to start on the repair of the civilian shacks that were damaged and to start repairing the first aid/hospital building down in the village. I also got on the radio to old VAN SICKLE down at Special Forces and he choppered us in 2 - 60 mm mortars and 6 Thompson submachine guns. The PF have got M2 carbines and they won't work in the sand here - the Thompson will, and at night have terrific short range stopping power. The APC squadron caught up with one company yesterday of 804 Bn that hit here. They had 3 M113's knocked out but killed 10 VC and captured 6 including 4 armed females. If they give us another 48 hours I hope they attack again. This time we are ready and we'll lick them. Its tremendously satisfying to create some thing out of the ruins and I've never seen people work so hard, with such determination. This time we'll hold! I'm sorry darling. I've run off on so much but at the moment all my mind is concentrated on the work here, to get this place on its feet again to hand over to the new team. I'm tired and filthy but I'm happy and I love my beautiful wife and little girls more than anything else in the whole world. Soon this will be over and I'll be coming home to the most wonderful family that ever were. That I want so very very much. I love you my darling Neisi. Petie