The first time I saw the symbol for the Rakkasans
By Woody on September 17, 2010 in 101st Airborne, 3/187th, Camp Evans, Headquarters, Rakkasan, Screaming Eagles, Val Wuthrich, Vietnam 68-69, WoodyI still vividly remeber the first time I saw the Rakkasan’s symbol. It was outside the battalion headquarters at Camp Evans. I came around the corner of the building and saw it standing there. It was in stark contrast to the olive drab, the Vietnam dirt and the gray brown wood of the buildings. I pretty much stopped in my tracks and just looked the big red inverted arch. I thought it looked asian, like Chinese writing. I thought it odd that the 3/187th would have such a symbol. I never took a picture of it. I think it was becasue I hadn’t received a camera from home yet. I do remember that it was big and solid, not some flimsy thing. I vaguely remember a ring of rocks around it and the ground was well kept. It felt like a shrine or somehting. I probably asked a few people about it, but I don’t remember.
It wasn’t until years later that I really came to understand what it really means. The symbol is actually a Tori.
I took the picture of this Rakkasan Tori at this years “Hamburger Hill” Reunion Ceremony, which was held at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Active duty soldier at the Rakkasan speakers poudium
Also see: http://rakkasan.net/
TORI: GATEWAY TO HONOR JAPANESE RAKKASAN: MEN WITH UMBRELLAS
Hi Woody,
I just read “Matterhorn” and it got me thinking about my Vietnam experience. So here I am looking through the internet trying to figure out where on the map Firebase Rakkasan was. I picked up the grid coordinates (YD490198 but that doesn’t do much good without the maps with the grids marked. Oh well.
I remember the Tori, a big one, was put up on the firebase. There probably was one down in Camp Evans as well for all I know. It was after LTC Honeycutt took over as BN CO of the 3/187. He had it placed over the TOC. It didn’t seem like we were at FB Rakkasan much longer after that before we went out on Operation Apache Snow and eventually to Hamburger Hill. I was wounded before then when a gunship fired on our CP thinking we were NVA, I guess. Got medevaced in a LOH to Cam Ranh and then on to Japan.
Thanks for doing all the writing and organizing on this site. It’s the only one I’ve stumbled on that is about the 3/187 at the same time I was there 11/68 – 5/69. I don’t recognize a single name in your list and I can’t remember anyone. I must have just about flushed everything about those months out of my mind. Thanks for the reminders.
Hi George,
I tried to find where some of the firebases were myself, without much success finding a map that pinpointed the locations. I really didn’t try that hard though. For some reason it was just to hard for me to research. I did find some information in the book by Michael P. Kelly, “Where we were in Vietnam”. His reference to FSB Rakkasan has the grid coordinates you mentioned, as YD 490-198. It also says that it was also know as Hill 493 or Dong Cung Cap. Apx 23km due west of Hue, 14km SW of Camp Evans and 8km ESE FSB Gladiator.
I remember being a some of the firebases, but I didn’t know the names of them at the time. It seems that anybody that knew the names never told us or we never asked. All that information seemed to be on a need to know basis. I don’t remember a Tori being on any of the firebases, although I know your right about Honeycutt being responsible for having the Tori placed there.
I remembered the names of the guys I served the longest with, but don’t remember the names of some of the guys in my pictures. I was hoping that other people would and I did have some people put names to my unknowns because of my blog. I also found out some of their names when I attended the 101st “Hamburger Hill” chapter reunion a couple of years ago.
I would love to know more about what you do remember of your Vietnam experience. Please write again.
Woody