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Mid April we
were again reassigned several miles south of the Rockpile on Highway 9 at a
base known as Ca Lu. We arrived late in the
afternoon and it was pouring rain. We moved into the area and discovered
the trench line and bunkers were flooded. Most of us decided to sleep out
in the rain under our ponchos. (That's what we did on ambush anyway).
We
set to draining and rebuilding the bunkers so that they stayed dry. We
would dig the holes leaving dirt shelves to act as benches and beds. After
digging the hole we would lay down a layer or two of sandbags around the
edge. Then we would obtain several wooden ammo boxes with hinged lids. Next
the bottoms of the boxes were removed and set aside. The box would be
placed, lid side to the inside, on the sandbags. These would be spaced out
with sand bags in between. The walls would then be completed with several
more layers of sandbags with at least one full course of sandbags above the
ammo boxes. The roof timber would then be added and several courses of
sandbags placed on top of them. Then a large plastic tarp would be placed
on the sandbags. The tarp then had several layers of sandbags placed over
it. On the inside, the hinged lids could be opened during the day to allow
ventilation and closed at night when the candles were lit to prevent the
light from escaping. Two tarps used as a curtain across the bunker entrance
at night to block the light. Entering the bunker at night you first get between
the tarps and after the outside one was closed, you would enter through the
inside one preventing any light from escaping. The extra lumber from the
boxes were used to make shelves and tables. Frequently you would also see
signs like "Home Sweet Bunker" or (my favorite) "Home is
Where You Dig It".
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