It certainly wasn't like the Air Force Enlisted Club but, the beer was plentiful, cold, and efficiently delivered by Suzy or "Happy Bottom".  We had a couple of slot machines that LCpl. Billy Jamison ended up dancing with later in the evening.  It was wide open to take advantage of any breeze and a safe place to unwind at the end of the day.  It did make you feel guilty when you were resupplying a Special Forces team out in the "boondocks."  They were generally hot, dirty, eaten up by insects, and dog tired.  When we had extra room we would call the Special Forces base and they would bring over a tarp, 200 lbs of ice, and a case or two of beer.  We would meet up with the team usually on a ridge line or river bed and they would come to the door of the chopper to watch the unloading of food, ammo, and batteries.  They knew we were going back to Da Nang to a barracks with beds and sheets, a bar with cold drinks and a chow hall with hot food.  We could almost see the pain in their faces as they were thinking about it.  We would ask, "would you guys like a beer?"  They looked like they wanted to grab you by the throat until you threw the tarp out to them.  When they opened it up, the smile started to break across their faces and the look they gave back to you made it all worth it. As we took off, they had generally already popped the lid on one of the cans and gave us a beer high salute.  We new they would walk through hell to get to us if we went down somewhere.  It didn't matter what service you were in then, it was a strong team that relied on each other.
 
 

Submitted by:
    Warren F. Smith, former Cpl. USMC