In June, 1969, I was detailed to attend the wedding of one of the Battalion interpreters. The bridal couple requested a case of Cokes for a wedding present. Originally the Battalion S-3 was assigned to be the representative but declined due to religious reasons when he heard that the wedding present was a case of Cokes.

The wedding was west of Quang Tri Combat Base and was conducted on the bride and groom's parent's farms. The ceremony was primarily the groom's family proceeding to the brides house for a short ancestrial worship, then a procession of the bride's family to the groom's house.

I arrived before the bride's family arrived. The first pictures are of the head of the bride's family leading the procession carrying the huge wedding umbrella. He was followed by the procession of beautifully attired women. At the end of the procession was the bride.

There was a bried ancestrial worship ceremony, then a large feast. The feast was interesting in that outside of the ox blood gelitin and rice, the food was a complete mystery. I was given a shot of clear liquid from an old Pepsi bottle that nearly closed my throat. It was a big joke to the Vietnamese and they poured the acid drink back into the bottle.
I was then given a dark colored drink which proved to be the same fire-drink with Pepsi added. My reaction was again a big joke.

The pictures are self explanatory. I have wondered many times what happened to all of the participants as the war would go on for another five years.