A Minnesota PBS Initiative
My First Clothing Drive
My story of Vietnam started shortly after I got there at the end of 1966.
I was sent to the 8th Field Hospital in Nha Trang of the coast just north of Cam Rahn Bay. The Chaplain that held Sunday services ask a few medics if the would help out on a visit the orphanage in downtown Nha Trang. It seemed like a big adventure and something I had never done before.
The next day with supplies in hand we followed the Chaplain to the orphanage. The day was uneventful. We bandaged some cuts and scrapes. A few shots and a few pills were given out. Most had never had any real medicine so you could give very limited amounts. If you watched, some pills of one color were exchanged for another color.
We returned to the 8th Field Hospital after a very intriguing day. I laid on my rack and thought about the day and what I had been exposed to.
I grew up knowing what it was like to have worn and faded clothes. I thought I had it bad until I saw these kids. They didn't seem to care but I guess they never knew of anything different. Seeing these kids haunted me for several days and I had to do something!
I finally got an idea for a clothing drive. Now, how could I do this hundreds of miles from North Dakota?
I was living in Barney, North Dakota with a population of about 85 people before I jumped on the Greyhound and went to Oakland, California to enlist. I was 18 when I moved there and rented a room. About a block and one half was the Barney Peace Lutheran Church. I never attended services there but I knew everyone in town and for several miles around the town.
I told him I did not want to go. I didn't do this for any glory, I just saw a very sobering sight and I knew I had to do something.
I got out the pen and paper and wrote a short letter asking for kids clothes.
The letter was mailed and I waited a few weeks and the Mail Room said I had two big packages and to come and get them. It was two very big cardboard boxes packed with kids clothes! I was a bit upset that there were long sleeved shirts! This is Vietnam! I soon learned that cold in Vietnam is not like the cold in Barney, North Dakota. The kids appreciated the warm clothes as well as the summer wear.
I got some help and we toted the boxes to the Chapel with was 75 feet away from my hooch. We set them inside and I waited until the next day to talk to the Chaplain.
He was impressed and surprised with the boxes. He said he would contact me when the clothes were going to be given out. After I left he rummaged through the boxes and he had another idea. When we next met up he asked if one box could go to the orphanage and another to the village of Khanh Hoa? Why not, I am now 20 and what do I know about any of this.
He asked what day would work best for me to go to the orphanage. The reasons are clear today but they were not then. I told him I did not want to go. I didn't do this for any glory, I just saw a very sobering sight and I knew I had to do something. He delivered the clothes to both the orphanage and the village of Khanh Hoa.
On a later visit to the orphanage I saw several of the donated clothes. The most striking was a young boy wearing a Cub Scout shirt. He thought he was royalty! I have enclosed that picture.
It was a few weeks later when I was on a MEDCAP mission to Khanh Hoa. We were getting set up and the villagers were coming to see what was going on. Soon I recognized some clothes from Barney, North Dakota. I have also enclosed some photos.
I have also enclosed a picture of some boys, one with a toy. Toys were scarce in my home but I never made one of mud and a tin can.
A couple of years ago I finally looked at my pictures from Vietnam. Only a couple are of the war.
When I spotted the kids in new clothes I started to wonder if I ever said "thank you" the people of the Barney Peace Lutheran Church. I was old enough to drink and make an ass of myself but did I have the manners to say thanks? So, I sat down and wrote a Thank You and an Apologyle combination letter. I wasn't ready to let them know who the guy was that maybe didn't say thanks, so I wrote it anonymously.
Everything that was done in Vietnam was not all bad. The War was bad but not the soldiers!
I have also enclosed two pictures of my latest project, the Little Canada Veterans Memorial, Little Canada, MN.
Rocky Waite
8th Fld Hosp. 1966-68
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Little Canada, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Nha Trang, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Dates of Service: 1965 - 1968
Unit: 8th Field Hospital
Story Themes: 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 8th Field Hospital, Barney, Cam Ranh Bay, Doing Good, Humanitarian, Little Canada, Medical Personnel, Nha Trang, North Dakota, Reflection, Rockne Waite, Rocky Waite
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