WARNING: Zippo and Lighter Graphics, Content and Language may not be suitable for viewing for all.

Paredes, Leonard D.
BH, 34th TFW - 3rd APS,
65-66

Unknown.
6251st SPS

At Binh Thuy we got a nice new fridge and stocked it with soda for the night flight and kept it chained closed. The soda cost $2.40 a case, and we were selling it for $.15. My Boss, MSgt Tomlinson also a member here of VSPA told me with the profits to buy zippos for everyone a month before they DEROS. I couldn't come up with how many I purchased but it had the QC patch, persons name and year of service and squadron name. I think it held 6 cases and we would stock it when we got off duty so it was ready for the next night. It was just the honor system and it worked. WE had this old cooler and were getting ice from the mess hall. Most of the guys refered soda over coffee as long as you would stay on the post a while and BS.

I almost lost this lighter to a sneaky ARVN soldier. I was in a perimeter tower on the east side of Binh Thuy AB. I think it was Kilo 7Alpha. It was getting pretty dark and as usual the ARVN troops were being posted on the cement pillboxes along the perimeter road that were in front of our towers. One of the ARVN troops came up to the base of the tower and indicated that his lighter was out of fluid; he needed at light. I motioned for him to climb up. When he came up, he flicked his lighter, showing me it was out of fluid. "No sweat," I said and I gave him my lighter so he could light up. He pointed out to the fence line distracting me long enough to palm my lighter and exchanged it for his. He would have gotten away with it except I decided to have a cigarette myself and as I tried to light my Marlboro with his lighter, I got no flame, only sparks. He started to move toward the ladder just as I realized there was something fishy about this deal and it didn't have anything to do with Nouc Mam. Mine was easy to identify, even in the dark and the one I had in my hand wasn't mine. I grabbed him by the sleeve and growled, "Give me my lighter, you asshole." Even thought he didn't speak English, he knew he'd been caught and handed it back to me. I probably should have thrown his into the canal behind the tower, but I was so pissed I just told him to get down ... but I wasn't that nice about it.

Erdley, Howard T. (Tim)
CRB, 12th SPS
1966-67

Schrater
CRB, 1967-68

Unknown.
Phan Rang AB,
823rd CSPS
1969

Unknown.
Phu Bai, Vietnam
1968-69

Unknown.
Thai' Police.
c.1970