Vietnam Ballads

During my first tour in Nam (Aug. 67 - Aug. 68) open reel tape recorders/players were "the" thing. And they were cheap at the PX/BX s. Several tapes started circulating that were collections of songs recorded in various clubs throughout the Southeast Asia theater. This included bases in Vietnam, Thailand and Guam among others. The tapes were basically the same, but different versions. Somebody would get a copy of the tape and add a song or two. And this "new" tape would move along, morphing as it went. My good friend, Gary "Doc" Heffner and I made copies of the one going around Co. "C" 5th SFG(A) in DaNang. Unfortunately, my copy, along with my sound equipment, left home with my second wife. Ever since I started re-connecting with old comrades, I ve been asking about a copy of the tape. Resently, a fellow Sfer, directed me to the site listed above. I don t know how long it will remain on line as e-mails to the webmaster have bounced and the site seems no longer maintained.

There are/were dozens of songs on the site, but I just downloaded the ones with which I was familiar. Then recently, I came across Friendly FAC and recognized it from "my" tape and missing from the website listed above.

I hope you enjoy these voices from the past.