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The 1/92nd Field Artillery
Association - Vietnam

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The Great I.G. Inspection

by Anthony J. Cich 'Jack' - Cpt. USMC

My little tale centers on the week of the much-anticipated IG visit to Artillery Hill. My fuzzy memory doesn't allow for exact (or even approximate) dates. But this happened sometime between June 1967 and June 1968.. Others may have a clearer memory of these events.

Anyway HHQ was frantically preparing for the visit, washing vehicles, painting tires with black paint and generally applying spit and polish to everything we could. This included scraping green mold from all the leather goods.As Battalion surgeon I was responsible for making sure our narcotic records were in order and that the pint of medicinal alcohol was accounted for (and not to severely watered down!).

As the great day approached rumor has it that the mess people were preparing special menus-including my favorite (sic)-liver roll! Mess folk, no offense, you did a marvelous job with what the Army provided. Anyway Hot Sauce could make anything palatable.

A shipment of fresh eggs had arrived and the cooks hard-boiled them. To keep them from the IG team, we stashed as many as we could in the hooch. That provided for a number of our favorite dinners-hard-boiled eggs and whiskey or beer. And I loved the tropical chocolate bars for desert!

Anyway the IG arrived and was scheduled to spend a week with the Battalion doing what it is they do. On the third day of the visit (The NVA must have heard the IG folks were on the hill) we were showered with 122 mm. rockets. Fortunately no one in the unit was seriously hurt.
But we were gratified that at least the NVA shortened the IG inspection-they were out of there the next day!
My apologies to any IG folks!

Anthony J. Cich (Jack) Cpt. USMC
Battalion Surgeon
1st BN 92nd Field Artillery