From left to right in the rear are: Cpl. Terry Oldham, Cpl. David Kass, LCpl. Frank Rodriquez. Front left to right are LCpl. Benny Valdez, Cpl. David Klein, Cpl. Eddie Espinoza.
They were all, except for Rodriquez, about to rotate home after 13 months in Vietnam. I don't remember being happy when the chopper took me to the R&R center (though I was plenty happy when they pulled me out of the bush and sent me to LZ Baldy). What I do remember is an intense feeling of relief. I can remember just thinking over and over, "I made it." The first time I reread my diary I was struck by how many times, in one form or another, I mentioned how depressed I would be.
They are "Giving The Power". This was an elaborate ritual most every black would use when meeting another black. It could go on forever. It generally started out as in the picture just bopping your closed fists, taking turns being on top. This would often be followed by sliding your fist down the arm and and sort of bumping fist against elbow. As best I could tell you scored extra points for developing some new move. For those into the Black Power thing really heavily this took on almost religious tones, or, I suspected, it was some sort of test to see if you were really black or just a "Tom". At Cobb Bridge I remember Brother Lee (some black guy named Lee that was really, really heavy into black identity, if you didn't do the things that he thought blacks should do you were a "Tom") would hold guys for incredible periods of time talking and "Giving The Power". Long after they wanted to quit he'd go on and they had no choice but to follow suit. Not very long ago I saw a show on Joseph Stalin. When he gave a speech the applause would go on and on, because no one dared to be the first to quit. A very similar form of control it seems to me.