ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Two Army draftees from Wisconsin...
LONG DAZE, noun: A state of confusion or bewilderment characterized by a lack of clarity and lasting for an extended
period of time such as 12 months... which just so happened
to be the length of Fred and Steve's tour in Vietnam.
Fred climbs 24th Evac water
tower to scout for enemy
infiltrators or sunbathing
nurses... or the beer truck
The Long Binh Mortar Forkers hard at work, L to R:
Donovan, Borchardt, Favero
The names of these three
men are being withheld
to protect whatever is
left of their reputations.
No, Steve did not paint
that hideous sign . . .
Wisconsin draftees Fred Borchardt (Oshkosh) and Steve Donovan (Madison) met in 1965 when they were inducted together into the US Army as part of the buildup for the Vietnam War. They struck up a close friendship immediately, but little did they know then that they’d go to Missouri together for Basic Training... then to Texas together for Medic Training... then to the 24th Evacuation Hospital in San Antonio... and then to Vietnam together as members of the hospital staff.
During their 16 months with the 24th Evac, Fred and Steve managed to perform the duties of more than a dozen different military occupations ranging from Hospital Orderly to Prisoner Guard to Construction Worker to Sign Painter to Cement Finisher to Jeep Driver to Bartender to Emergency Room Assistant to Litter Bearer to Armed Sentry to Translator to Medical Records Clerk to Headquarters Clerk to Civilian Personnel Specialist.
Whatever Uncle Sam needed at the time, Fred and Steve were there to answer the call while the war raged on just a scant few miles away. Never a dull moment, as they say. (Well okay, there might have been a few of 'em now and then, but... Bartender?)
Following Vietnam and college, Fred and Steve went on to successful careers in Marketing and Journalism, their chosen fields of study. And now they've written a highly entertaining book about their wartime adventures!
If you were one of the more than two million Americans who spent a year in Vietnam without ever seeing any actual combat— or if you've ever wondered what life was like for those folks, living in a war zone with no front lines and no clear distinctions between friend and foe, then you should find this book informative, entertaining and more than just a little bit funny. Fred and Steve hope you enjoy their efforts!
SP4 Fred Borchardt detains VC suspect caught ransacking
our hooch in search of Chuck Berry records. Fortunately
for the kid, the weapon had no clip in it.
LONG DAZE AT LONG BINH:
A humorous memoir
based on a true story
Yes, it looks like Steve just finished smokin' a Vietnamese doobie, but actually he always blinked whenever
he heard the camera shutter click. It drove his old man crazy— "As usual, you've ruined every single photo!"
Prior to the invention
of GPS, Fred offers
free directions to any
and all short timers
who will be heading home as soon as
their tours in Nam
are finished
PFC Donovan invents the photobomb in 1966, 30 years ahead of its time. The
victim was,
of course, the
unsuspecting
PFC Borchardt. Steve should have gotten a patent on the idea right then
and there
"Woody" Woodson was inducted along
with Fred, Steve and Stumpy. He and Steve had been students at UW Madison. Woody & Stumpy would reunite
at the White House