VIETNAM 1967 — EINSTEIN’S PROFILE

Profile #2 of the men who participated in the Special Operations team I commanded from 1967 to 1968. There were seven of us.

Einstein was tall and angular. His flawless skin was the color of sweet milk chocolate, and his voice carried a delicate Southern twang that was soft but not feminine. His intense brown eyes focused as his charming smile flashed, displaying a set of large white teeth. But Einstein’s actions were slow and deliberate, easygoing in the fluid movements of a feral cat.

Einstein was one of the most intelligent men I had ever met. I considered his understanding of diagrams, topographical maps, mathematical equations, and ability to invent and manufacture any item his mind conjured genius. He was constantly thinking up gizmos and gadgets to improve our performance and make life easier and safer.

For example, he created an inside steel reinforced pocket strapped under our fatigue shirts that would stop a fifty-caliber round. Then there was the time he designed and machined the metal piece necessary to complete the mount of the quad-50 four-barrel machine gun. And there was the fold-up gurney on bicycle wheels that could easily haul a man across a soggy…