Anthony “Chris” Critchlow arrived at Firebase Ripcord between April 4 and 7, 1970, along with three other cooks from the HHC Mess Section. Their mission was straightforward but anything but easy: set up a working kitchen on an active firebase that was already drawing enemy fire. Their first location near the helicopter pad proved unworkable with helicopters landing throughout the day, so they moved just below the pad, near the Vietnamese 155mm artillery sites.
The crew dug out a larger position, put up walls, and covered it with PSP — pierced steel planking — for a roof. The finished bunker served as both kitchen and serving line. Men walked in, got their food, and went back to their fighting positions to eat. There was no room for anything else.
Chris and his crew served three meals a day under conditions most people cannot imagine. Breakfast was cooked fresh each morning. C rations were distributed at lunch. Supper was sent up from the rear for the cooks to serve. At night, they kept coffee, soup, and Kool-Aid on the serving line so men coming in from their positions at any hour could get something warm.
It was unglamorous, essential work — the kind that keeps men going when everything around them is trying to wear them down.
On July 6th, Chris left Ripcord for a resupply run to the rear PX and missed the last helicopter back that evening. He was at the pad on July 7th when he was told their bunker had been hit — that was the day SP4 DeFore was wounded leaving the kitchen. Chris returned to Ripcord one final time to collect his duffle bag and personal belongings. All the original cooks had by then rotated back to Camp Evans and been replaced by a new crew. Chris began the process of clearing to go home. His time at Ripcord was over.
Chris returned home to Boise, Idaho, where he has lived ever since. He has been married to Dennise for over 50 years. He found the Ripcord Association in 2000 at the Shreveport reunion — his first — and has been an active member and dedicated presence ever since. He serves as the Association’s Facebook Administrator, keeping the community connected online and ensuring that the men of Ripcord can find each other across the miles.
