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Subj.: RE: Black Cat Lounge |
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Lord. The Black Cat Lounge. And 30 years since. Sigh. |
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I first arrived at the 213th in Phu Loi right around the beginning of December, 1967. Amid the normal chaos of my first week or so as a FNG the Captain then "in charge" of the Black Cat Lounge had to go home suddenly when his stateside house burned down. All officers and warrant officers had to assume an "extra" company duty - circumstances dictated what mine was to be.
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I was 20 years old, born and raised middle-class suburban,
never faced real hardship of any sort, well cared for and provided for all
my life, a neophyte in so many ways. I could balance a check book, sure, but accounting? Profit and Loss statements? Balance sheets? I must have had that frozen, dear-in-the-headlights look on my face as I carried the tomes (United States Army Non-Profit Funds, Administration and Accounting Manual, Edition 2.1.222, Version 2.3 .......... or whatever the damned things were titled) back to my room. Theirs was one consolation - if I got shot down and perished I wouldn't have to deal with THIS shit any more .........
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No such luck.
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As I recall theirs was an E5 actually in charge of the Lounge, with an E4 assigned to him as assistant. I have no memory of their names after so long, a disservice but one I cannot alter. There was actually three clubs at the 213th: the Black Cat Lounge as the EM club, a NCO club, and an Officers club. The Lounge was the only "official" club, that is the only one whose funding and administration was subject to military accounting rules, reporting, and review. As the club officer I did purchasing for all three clubs, and I did the monthly accounting report for the Lounge club fund to the Army.
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Purchasing. For well over 200 men. Booze and snacks. High school fantasies. Ever wonder what it would be like to go to the liquor store with a 5-ton truck? Buy beer by the pallet? (480 cases to a pallet, 2 pallets at a time). Buy hard liquor by the case? I don't. Not any more And to tell the truth it's mostly hard work!
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Of course it wasn't always easy to get that truck we needed for supply runs, or any truck for any reason. And theirs was always something we needed, something to be picked up or scrounged for. Guess it was in February 1968 sometime that the E4 from the club came to me one day and asked if the Lounge could use a 3/4 ton truck. "Well, sure, most of the time." Of it's own. "That would be great - then we wouldn't have to fight the motor pool every time." Because we have one. "Oh, okay, that's great ...... WHAT? What do you mean, we have one?"
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Seems we did. And there might be one reported missing out of Long Binh. Uh huh. Right. Hmmmm Well, by that time I had learned the military ropes well enough (read been given enough to fashion a noose.....) to respond to gift horses in the traditional manner. We kept it. And changed the numbers to be same as another 3/4 at the 213th. "Just be sure you never park this one next to the other one, okay?" Right.
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I think it was about the end of April the same E4 did just that. In front of Operations one day. Almost got away with it but the Company CO, Major McGee (spelling?) happened by and happened to notice. Oops.
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Seems the company was due for an IG inspection. Also seems a new Chinook outfit was due in-country and they were going to pick some pilots to trade for some of their FNGs. The 3/4 ton truck want away in a hurry to an artillery outfit out of Quan Loi I owed some favors to. I was not far behind, top of the trade list. Ah well
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| I don't know who ended up in charge of the clubs after I left! |
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Gary Thewlis |
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