The S.O.A.P. Lab.
Sgt. Koopman standing near the S.O.A.P. Lab entrance to the Engine Shop.
Sgt. Koopman inside the S.O.A.P. Lab.
S.O.A.P. Machine
After the attack I got a few hours sleep on the mattress stored behind the S.O.A.P. machine.
Engine Oil Door on the S.O.A.P. Machine
Working in the S.O.A.P. Lab.
In the foreground my partner sets up for a run as I insert an oil sample into the S.O.A.P. machine. SOAP was an acronym for Spectrometric Oil Analysis Program. Engine oil was burned in the S.O.A.P. machine to create a spectrum of colors which corresponded to different varieties and amounts of metal content. The purpose of this was to predict engine wear.
My associates in the S.O.A.P. Lab.
One of my friends and associates in the S.O.A.P. Lab. A1C Tom Lindholm.
Vietnamese Snack Bar Waitress
A visit to the S.O.A.P. LAB by Dinh Le Nhan; one of the Vietnamese Waitresses from the Snack Bar near the Engine Shop.
Our first trip to Bien Hoa
Occasionally our S.O.A.P. machine would brake down. While it was being repaired we had to run our oil samples at Bien Hoa Air Base. The serious look on my face was caused by the SSgt. on the right. He had just informed me that I was going to drive the Duce and a Half to Bien Hoa and back. I hadn't driven any kind of vehicle in the two years I had been in the Air Force and I had never driven a Duce and a Half before. Saigon was a chaos of pedestrians, ox-carts, mopeds, taxicabs, and trucks. I'm sure you can understand why I became a little sober.
Bien Hoa Air Base was about twenty air miles from Tan Son Nhut; a little more than that by road.
