174th Assault
Helicopter Company


DOLPHINS & SHARKS

Thanksgiving Dinner, 1968


From Jim Towle: Thanksgiving dinner for the troops in 174th mess hall. Officers and NCO's were not allowed into the mess hall until after the enlisted men ate. We (the officers and NCO's) got the leftovers. This was Major Brown's decision. He said the enlisted personnel deserved it, and the rest of us didn't.

It was GREAT! I was the mess officer and got the credit for the extravaganza, though the Mess Sergeant and cooks did it all. They really deserved the credit. They did get paid, incidentally, for I bought each of the cooks a bottle of booze and I left the Mess Sergeant alone to run his mess hall. (Photo by Jim Towle, Duc Pho, 1968)

(Webmaster's note: In the enlargement, below, except for the fact there's a turkey left, it's hard to tell if this is a "before" or an "after" photo.)