On Sat, 4 Aug 2018 15:46:34 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

wrote:
On Sat, 4 Aug 2018 04:21:24 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 19:31:27 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote:

Keyser Soze wrote:

I forgot...what did you do in Vietnam during that war?


I stayed in the states assigned to a military airlift wing. MAW. And
fixed airborne radar units from the transports most of the time. Also was
the ILS trained guy, but never had to work on the ground based Instrument
Landing System. Unlike you, going to Vietnam as a high paid contractor.

High paid contractor? I never heard that story. I did try to get IBM
to send me there for a while and the pay was good but they wouldn't do
it. That was probably a good thing because I would have been there for
Tet. I did room with a guy in Chicago who did go through Tet in an IBM
unit in Danang and he said it was ugly.


NCR was looking for an in country rep. My co-worker took the position.
They had NCR 500 computers at each fire base for inventory control. They
did not offer enough money, offered a 50% pay increase and $300 a month
expense money. Don said they had to raise the expense money as the rent
was higher. He probably knew the IBM rep, as it seemed all the reps
rented half a retired VN generals villa. He was there for TET, and the
Saigon attack was on the villa side. The generals wife was happy as they
never lost power at the villa as they installed one of the spare generator
for the NCR systems as backup.

IBM gave you 66% and the assignment was 18 months so you didn't pay
taxes. Expenses were actual and reasonable but they were pretty easy
going on it. He could also eat at the GI mess hall by paying ComRats.
He said he ended up pretty much banking all of the salary. He ended up
with enough to buy a house when he got back.


I wonder if he was a local to me guy. We had an IBM in country rep in my
reserve unit. E3 in reserves but in Vietnam he was equivalent of Lt.C for
access. Do not know how name. Was only at the unit one summer camp.

He was from the midwest somewhere but I don't remember where. I doubt
2 1/2 years salary would buy a house in California in 1970.

I had the same kind of thing when I went to Gitmo with IBM. I was
living in the Aviation Officers Club, I had an enlisted man ID and my
escort/driver was an E5 so I could go just about anywhere I wanted.