I also was with the 9th of the 49th. Crew chief on f4s. It was almost like a camping trip at first. No water, lights, plumbing, but we did have screens on some of the doors and windows. Snakes, humidity, rain, rice bugs, nights on the town. Unforgettable!
There was no such thing as light starch from the laundry, I remember standing my pants up in a corner after I retrieved them from the cleaners. Hooch girls pounding our clothes on cement, and local beer was a daily thing. Did I mention snakes?
Really big snakes!!