VIETNAM CHRONICLES

CAPTAIN RICHARD L. KLOPPENBURG

SHORT STORIES FROM 1966-1967 IN VIETNAM

BELOW ARE SOME TRUE BUT UNTOLD STORIES
VIETNAM WAS THE GREAT ADVENTURE OF MY GENERATION

Pink Elephants in BAO LOC

The practice for U.S. Army 0-1 pilots, in Vietnam, was to fill out visual recognizance reports once a week. The reports contained all visual sighting in the Lam Dong Providence. The reports were delivered once a week to my headquarters in Phan Thiet. As far as I knew no one was reading the report because I never had any feedback. I did find out that the reports were being sent to Saigon. About the first of 1967 Saigon was staffing with more majors and colonels. I sent a VR report about one day in 1966 in which I located some elephants. The VR area was southeast of Bao Loc. As I flew over I spotted several elephants. They seem to be roaming leisurely in a jungle clearing. I flew over the area closer and found the elephants seem to pink in color. I later found out that elephants were pink in color because of rolling in the pink/light brown clay soil.

I included in my VR report the fact that I spotted pink elephants. Guess what? Someone was reading my VR reports. A major came to see me in Bao Loc and wanted to hear all about the pink elephants. The major thought I had been hallucinating or had lost it? After he accepted the fact of the pink clay and he realized that I was sane. His second concern was that the Vietcong were using the elephants to carry Vietcong supplies. Just another day in Vietnam!