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I, too, took German for 47 weeks, at DLI but it was in D.C. and then I went to RVN. In 1965 I was assigned to the 24th Division in Augsburg. I went back to RVN in 1967-1969 and then transferred to Fort Ord as the SF Recruiter.
I could see DLI across the bay so at the end of the year at Fort Ord, I rewquested another language at DLI. At the time you had to state wether or not that you would accept training in the Vietnamese language. I put down that I would not accepth the Vietnamese language. My 1049 form was denied by the Army and I got orders to go to Fort Bragg.
My assignment at Bragg was to attend the MATA (Military Advisory Training Assistance ) Senior NCO Course. For 26 weeks we learned all about the Vietnamese Army and its weapons and tactics. From there we were assigned to the DLISC at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss, Texas to learn Vietnamese in a 12 week course.
An Intel Sgt (E-5) Watson became my training partner. We had 6 hours of class a day and 3-4 hours of homework each night. Watson and I went to Juarez each night and studied the "Midnight bull fights". In the morning we would go to class an hour early and memorize our dialogs. He would learn the questions and I would study the answers. When class began, we would sit at opposite sides of the classroom and when the teacher would call for volunteers we would both raise our hands. The class started out with 35 reluctant students and graduated 20. Watson and I both scored a 2-2 on our final exams ant the rest of the classes scored 1-1 on theirs.
I was subsequently assigned to be an advisor with the BDQ when I got to RVN.
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