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Summary August 1965

The frantic preparations for movement to Vietnam continued.  After getting a few days to say goodbye to families, the company loaded onto "cattle trucks" on Kelley Hill, and rode to the rail head at Ft. Benning.  After an overnight trip to Charleston Naval Base in South Carolina, the troopers boarded the United States Naval Ship Buckner, the troop ship that would carry them to Vietnam.

The journey took them down across the Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal, past Acapulco, into San Diego.  Ed Boyt remembers passing a Norwegian cruise ship while going through the Panama Canal locks, and felt the Buckner list to one side as everyone moved to the right side of the ship to watch the young ladies on the cruise ship.  On another occasion, some of the local ladies atop a bridge tantalized the troopers with a bit of a "view."  (Source:  Recorded conversation with Ed Boyt, J. D. Coleman, Jim Mullen, and Don O'Keefe on April 28, 2001)


August - Exact Date Unknown

1st Cav troopers on the USNS Buckner entering one of the locks in the Panama Canal.

Comanche_USNS_Buckner_in_Panama_Canal_from_Lunati.jpg (57085 bytes)
Click on Photo to See Larger Version

Courtesy Frank Lunati


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Updated September 08, 2006