International trips

In May of 1971 we did a nine day tour of Europe performing in Germany, Spain, Holland and England.  We were booked mostly in officers clubs and American schools.  We did thirteen shows while in Europe, but what I remember most is the one day we had no performances.  It turned out to be one of the best days of my life.  (May 16,1971)

Lt. David Walter (my brother) and his wife Melanie were stationed near Frankfort Germany.  So they met us in Mainz and we all got on a boat to spend the day traveling up the Rhine River.  It was a beautiful day.  We actually got bored looking at the many castles and churches along the river.  The whole time we were drinking Rhine wine and singing German songs along with other tourists on the boat.  (Jerrel and Melanie did not drink.)  It was glorious!  As the day went on, I stopped drinking; however, Pat and David did not stop drinking.  When we got to Koblenz, we literally had to carry Pat and David to the bus stop.  They were getting sick.  They left some "relics" on the bus.  When we got to the train station to return to Mainz,  Pat and David were too sick to put on the train.  We missed several trains waiting for them to "sober up".  After several hours, they finally were able to board the train.  We made it back to our hotel in Mainz where David slept in our bathroom for at least five or six more hours.  Years later, David told me he never took another sip of wine after that day.

On October 17, 1971 we began our Southeast Asia Tour which lasted until November 25, 1971. (40 days)We performed a show at CLARK AFB in the Philippines and then one show at the the US embassy in Manila.  We then travelled to UDORN AFB in Thailand for shows at NKP (NonKomPhenom) and UBON AFB.  On October 29th we travelled to Bangkok, Thailand (via U-TAPOU AFB) for more shows.  Next, (the longest week of the trip) we were in South Viet Nam.  We performed at TAN SON NHUT AFB, PHU CAT AFB, PHAN RANG AFB, PLEIKU AFB, and KRB.  While we were at Kam Ranh Bay, it was noisy because a "sapper" had infiltrated an amunition dump the night before we arrived.  The US Army was exploding the bombs and artillery shells that did not detonate.  Explosions were happening all during our performance.  It was unnerving!   In DA NANG we were excited to see our college choir director (Dr. Paul Engelstad) who was now the USO director for the northern section of South Viet Nam.  (see picture).  While in Viet Nam, we got to stay in officers quarters, but they always put us on the second or third floors.  That was dangerous because occasionally "in-coming" artillery shells would be launched into the airbase and if the shell detonated near a barracks, the upper floors were vulnerable while the first floors had brick walls built around them.  We asked if we could stay in a below ground bunker. We were told, "No, the snakes would get you!"

After our week in Viet Nam, we did shows in Okinawa, Japan and Korea. My oldest son, Michael, was only two months old when I left.  I know that was tough on my wife, Martha.


The Goodtimers with Paul Engelstad