Once the tension of the seal and search of the village was over, life went back to what passed for normal. American soldiers always drew kids.

Once the seal was off, the medics also held impromptu clinic. Old and young Vietnamese would seek out the medics. They recognized our medical aid bags and the CMB (Combat Medical Badge).

What was hard to deal with was the more seriously ill (like babies with pneumonia or tropical diseases) that we came across and tried to treat as best we could. This happened frequently when we went through more remote villages, such as the Montagnards. However, we knew that once we moved on the treatment might not be followed, the drugs we left taken by the VC or NVA, or it just might not be enough to help. That was discouraging.