Hollywood Studio Magazine (September 1968)

"Be it ever so humble - there is no place like home”. Second hooch from rear is where Pat lives - this is the back walk. The "front yard” of Roark’s bunker in Viet Nam has bared wire instead of grass. Bob Hastings of "McHale’s Navy” stopped to chat with Patrick Roark during a tour of Viet Nam. Hastings, an actor at Universal City Studios is a familiar sight in Asia among the troops. much. As you could guess I was to fly almost as much as I did on gun. You name the spot I was there. Every major city and important fire base. If the 52d was involved we’ve got it on film. 35mm, 4x5, 16mm, 35mm and tape. My work was accepted well by everybody con¬ cerned and distributed to all the in-coun- try newspapers. Well I flew and took what seemed to be ten million pictures. I must add that some of my best pictures were taken in a state of complete fright or while diving into a well placed mortar hole. There is nothing more beautiful than a big hole when some nut is trying to fill your fatigues with bullets. The new job was fine till one day after covering an Award Ceremony in NaTrang. Half way back to Kon Turn from Qui Nhon our ship was brought down by automatic weapon fire. We were extracted twenty-six hours later by gun ships of the 189th Aus. Hel. Co. out of Poli Kleng. My leg was a little worse for wear so the Flight Surgeon grounded me. This time I was transfered by no choice of my own. I can’t .say that I’m thrilled about being pulled back into Base Camp but at the same time I can’t do much about it. I’ll find a way somehow, just give me a chance to think up some more good reasons to get transfered. You’ll find me now with a few medals and a promotion to SGT E-5 in charge of Special Services and the Civilian Person¬ nel Office at Camp Holloway. If you’re in my area stop in. Thats ab'out it. My last two months will go fast. I’m anxious to get back to my Moviola and library and the gang at Hanna Barbera. FROM DONNA ROARK I have tried to give you photos show¬ ing a few of the different phases of Vietnam. It is hard for me to pick out pictures that you might be interested in, as I have a different point of view on them than most people do; a more profound feeling that you only experi¬ ence when you have someone directly involved in this war. Allow me to give you a bit of detail behind Pat and Vietnam. I have no idea what angle you will approach when writ¬ ing this article, but I will give you this information anyway. If you can’t use — file it in your “Useless Knowledge” file! A look up the road from Pat’s office. When Pat was drafted in September of 1966, he was an Assistant Film Editor at Hanna Barbera Productions. He went through Basic Training at Ft. Ord, Cali¬ fornia and was then transferred to Ft. Hood, Texas, where he was stationed one year. He did quite a bit of photography in Texas, developing all of his own material in the Post Film Lab. Pat received his orders for Vietnam three days after his first son was born — in December 1967. In Vietnam he was (and still is) stationed at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, in the Central Highlands. He started his tour in Vietnam as a Supply Clerk and by promoting himself and his pictures became the Post Combat Photographer. Before and during his job as photographer, he was also a door gunner on a helicopter. He continued taking pictures for the Army, some of which were published in THE STARS AND STRIPES, until about Continued on Page 12 Page 6