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painting rocks. May 1. Because of Da Nang's strategic location on rail, air, and highway routes, development of its . On May 21,1968 at 2400 hr. I had orders in September 1966 to go to I went back to my cubicle crawled into bed, ending my camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968. I couldn't grasp what was going on at the time. They were trying to fly that chopper to the safety of Camp Books. So just go back to work and keep moving so he doesn't have a stationary target and you should be OK!" Then of course there was the dreaded incoming 122mm and 140mm incoming rocket. risking my life in a really inadequate vehicle! what it is like now. Welcome! During the first half of his in-country tour, Norton made the best of a boring and life- consuming job as a Tien Sha Peninsula Security Division guard. I started building my hooch on Wednesday May 8th at just before noon. CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. half, aside from the times that I I have no significant memories I shook my head when the CO sent you to Red Beach to exercise your idealism, knowing no one would want you there in the CB team already established. I was hugely So there I would be for over a week trying to keep the mosquitoes off of me by covering with the sheet and putting my head in the pillow case. I think even included a week in Coronado, a week at Pendleton (weapons I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic.generator hire & new generator sales, Mark, I served with the Naval Support Activity DaNang from Aug 1966 - Mar 1968. All of the rounds hit in swamp area between the main base and FLC command building . )The Doc gave me a large stick like a tongue depressor ,except bigger. I joined the It is a code of conduct course as much as it teaches the practical issues of survival. that's one of our generators upper left. The next work order I got for there I gave it to Beerworth and told him I would not work there any more! Well sure I heard about it and even saw them down at 1st MPs. Because I had to fend for myself I did help the newbies who moved into my hooch. Ch Linh Camp. Most of the time if you were For that action, we were awarded the Naval Unit Commendation, the highest Naval or Marine award issued without action by the President. In a while the nurse and doc came out to get the little girl and I volunteered to hold the little girl if they had other things to do. Historian, US Navy Seabee Museum. I cried to myself on the way back to the base. After that LT Branch never stayed late at the office, he would leave at 1700 to take Miss Nguyen home to Da Nang. Here is the satellite view of it for their personal use. the two boat docks at DaNang. Fay, although it must have happened. And there were certainly good things there, at least in the [1], During 1965 the logistic operation at Danang suffered from lack of suitable or sufficient harbor craft, cargo handling equipment, and port personnel. Drive out the back gate and about 2 miles to the Navy Seabee base. OK, Im new here, the rooky, Vietnam veterans, age 60+, American. There was an indoor movie theater, snack bar, hobby shop, NCO club and EM club, basket ball courts and tennis courts. I was standing in front of the hut assessing the job. The ESSO fuel plant from the north east side where we were snorkeling. In November 1965 500 men moved into the old French Army camp, Camp Tien Sha (Tin Sa) at the foot of Monkey Mountain. The cot had a broken leg so I had to prop it up with a sand bag and it was missing one end piece so it just wanted to fold up on me when I laid on it. He expired nine days later. He did some stitching ,packed gauze into the stumps, put in shunts and temporarily closed the stumps. I was driving on the perimeter road with the dry storage ASM wall on my right. He got the point and let me through the gate, no more questions asked. Pham Ba went around back to take a pee. [1], By July 1968 NSA Danang handled 350,000 tons of cargo each month for the 200,000 allied troops in I Corps. I stood there wondering how I was going to drive wood stakes into that hard ground. T are sections in the book about Camp Tien Sha, Cua Viet, Dong Ha, Tan My, Hue, Phu Bai, Chu Lai, and Sa Huynh. Back at the hootch the Seabees got in a major debate about where to put me. Smile like you mean it! aspects of it are certainly more memorable than the bad parts. The shop door are between the 2 telephone poles. and Captain David A . My day was done!! The Docs loved coming to Hoa Kahn Clinic. The He was standing about 10 feet from me and the first round of a rocket attack went through the ventilator on top of our building ,exactly four feet above the LTs head and exploded in the ware house bay next to our shop. Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. I had plenty of time to take it all in and it was very UN-nerving. Learn more. was the building directly adjoining Remember the talk we got about staying away from the prostitutes that I got my first day in Vietnam? The Doc trimmed all the skin and muscle nice and neat adding clamps (hemostats) as he went. Before we destroyed their lives they all had jobs and skills that worked in their culture! I surveyed I went home in August 1967, There were Seabees, Korean Philco Ford, Vietnamese all working like mad . from Danang, Republic of Vietnam. I asked about the little girl and the doc said she had died Thursday night. Military personnel learn some of the basics in other training, but this is the course for the big boys. Total Area Sprayed (sq. After our three big generators and fuel tank were up and running that area became a target for the VC. That distance above us was only 4 feet. I joined the Navy Reserve and went to Viet Nam anyway. Style attributes. Here is the battalion report for May 1968. The Chief did manage to get bedding (Ha,Ha) I got one bed sheet and one pillow case. $10 of that came from me. really care. U.S. know what it was about "shower once. He got in line and they loaded his truck with beds, lots of beds. ( the rules for Camp Books were that to be off base you had to have a weapon). A small craft repair facility and an Auxiliary Floating Drydock (AFDL) helped keep NSA vessels in working order. First came the steps and as soon as that was finished I helped the Navy doctor and Vietnamese nurse move in a big grey office desk and an open book shelf unit. Da Nang is known as the tourist capital of South-Central Vietnam, with a west coast location that makes for beautiful sunsets against an impressive backdrop of lush mountains. A smell I have never smelled again in my life time. specialty up the Cua Viet to Dong Ha, where we supported the Marines So what did I do for work uniforms ? Nice history lesson for me. time does that. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. Jack Shulimson . Here is a poem that I wrote about the helicopter. The firemen loaded foam canister on a mule and were able to get to the UH-1 and finally put the fire out. He finished his tour with detective work as one of six NSA investigators at Camp Tien Sha, adjacent to Da Nang. He had no hair and always had snot running out of his nose and down his chin. It was to late to get him settled in because we were so incredibly busy with rocket attack damage. Da Nang Cluster. Chu Lai Base Area. the place. Amphibious fuel lines were laid along the sea floor to storage tanks ashore at Red Beach Base Area, north of the city and the Marines' Marble Mountain Air Facility to the south. NMCB THREE Main Body Flights consisting of three passenger . The VC had taken their 782 gear (combat gear, weapons and ammo) and bugged out. of any of that. I was in country from June 1969 to June 1970. ACTOV addition Admiral Army assets assistance attack August base Beach beds began boats Bridge buildings Camp Tien Sha cargo Center changes Class closed combat Commander Communications. In mid-October 1968 the Deep Water Pier complex ( 16.12N 108.214E) on the Tien Sha peninsula was completed, beginning operations in September 1968. That sure screwed with our sleep! The solution that I found was just to build big rectangle frames (20 feet by 40 feet) sitting on top the ground . Danang. What has stuck in my mind all these years is how much that bullet hole in the blond guys head looked like the bullet hole in the back of the head of a very large possum that I had shot in the back of the head when I was about 16 years old. I was later assigned to the Monkey Mountain Patrol. Besides the concrete hospital was a large concrete and stone ward building which had not even been started in early June. On 27 February 1969 a People's Army of Vietnam rocket hit LCU-1500 while it was loading at the Bridge Cargo Ramp killing 13 crewmen. Her husband was an ARVN soldier who had been killed. Browse millions of high-quality stock photos, illustrations, and videos. At first it was because every thing was so knew and exciting. If you served in Camp Tien Sha, Headquarters, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. The events highlighted in yellow directly affected me. Drinking black coffee trying to stay alert. C Chi tunnels. camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968 In 1968, I was about to be drafted into the Army and did not want to go to Viet Nam. on the National Geographic Magazine I was in Danang less than a month when the Vietcong used rockets to attack the Danang Air Base for the first time in the war, on the morning of February 27. little early to get back in school and finish my degree. the "enlisted head" identified in On February 10, 1970, SN Robert T. Sudduth, a sailor assigned to the camp, was traveling in truck from the Camp Tien Sha Annex to the Tien Sha Ramp when he accidently fell from the vehicle. good times in the "duty jeep". All of the workers that worked for us were dislocated Vietnamese and us putting them to work was an attempt to keep their economy rolling. There was outgoing mortar rounds and incoming. The plane started to drop, going in steep and fast. Mostly I was just kind of mentally numb. Coate was not there to know about Puppy. maids walked in and started cleaning Whatever, I was very Provinces. My barracks was an old French barracks at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang. I experienced rocket attacks, an ammunition dump explosion, total boredom, drug busts, police raids, China Beach, and the birth of my daughter, Rebecca. I have absolutely no recollection of We found the family and with the help of other refugees were proceeded to tear down their shelter and build them a house. They cut a hole through their new fence and cleared a path threw the tangle foot and mines wide enough for a 4 wheel drive mule. I asked if the prostitutes had been shot ,he didn't know but thought they were probably the ones who came to the gate and reported the incident! So over time it was easier to just not know anyone. The after noon of May 14, I had a work order to make escape doors out of the back of FLC (Force Logistics Command) administration building. May 27 was my birthday. Guess Sunday late afternoons we were able to get over to the Red Beach causeway and get in some water sessions. maintenance, and generally taking Although the helicopter was only a couple hundred feet out there was no way to put the fir out as they couldn't cross the mine field. She promised not to eat Puppy. We were supposed to protect our base generators and fuel tank from sappers. An example of what we did. Was a different Doc and Nurse and they didn't know anything other than the farmer had been moved to the civilian hospital in Da Nang City. The first half of my year in Vietnam (1967) I was stationed at the large U. S. base in Danang. The pilots jumped out . So as May 1968 ended I had been in Vietnam for 1 month! The advantage was that I got a whole extra year of dive time at Hoods Canal with Pett and got to do deep water dives with him ( 120 to 140 feet) in the summer of 1966. The wounded are only those who were medivaced to a hospital. Go through their front gate then out their back gate to the causeway. Gave me the creeps then and still does now when I think about it! to return to These positive relations were largely a reflection of the fact that black and white soldiers in combat were heavily dependent on one another. On Tuesday May 14 I finished my hooch and settled into the corner right inside the door. line. He left me sitting there on the steps saying he would send Beerworth down at 1700 hr to get me settled in. "Sorry that's all we have!" Surprise, I think that was normal precaution . The nurse was carrying a little girl about 4 years old. I thought the clinic was for children. The other important thing we had to do was to check the Red Beach causeway at 2400 hr. The causeway was a floating pier that extended about a 100 yards into Da Nang bay and was used to off load ammunition and bombs. I knew I wasn't in Kansas. march in columns of two over to that building. The nurses were all Vietnamese and were employed there so I would often see the same nurses. All though I grew up on a farm butchering animals to put in our freezer every year this was something different for me. Work started at 0700 hr and we got off at 1700 hr. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. They were waiting for electricity and to get more beds from Catholic Charity . 4. What I really All terrain forklifts would scurry back and forth off The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. probably had some car handling skills. There were no boat parts in supply He asked the officer in charge about them and was told that they didn't have any use for them because they didn't have any Marines who were certified divers. It was an opportunity to get off the Hospital ships and see a little bit of the real Vietnam. Suddenly dozens of tracer rounds started ricocheting off the wall about 20 feet in front of the truck! [1], U.S. NSA Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965 under the operational control of Commander, III MAF. I don't know what the building Soon we came to the bridge across the Han River. . In another incident, a black guard was shot to death when a black sailor went on a wild shooting spree at Camp Tien Sha near Danang. One night I was called out for some lights on the west perimeter. There was a young mother with several kid and grandma and grandpa. I finished the shower and got to Danang. meand I translated it to this map. "Ya, there has been a sniper shooting at the fence crew every morning for the past week. [1] In November 1965 500 men moved into the old French Army camp, Camp Tien Sha at the foot of Monkey Mountain. ---- I spent the rest of the day until after dark alone in the shop building a foot locker. The Seabee construction crews he is referring to was my crew. I heard the distant crack of rifle fire and then my brain said holy shit, somebody is shooting at me!! What we finally did was a one man 12 hour watch. For the time being they were stashed in my hooch and on May 24, Karl Voiles spent his first day assembling beds. I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. k. Some time during the night the VC entered the Skivvy house, capturing them without a fight. I held that little girl until it started to get dark and I had no choice but to give her to the nurse and walk back to the base. shoes" and one of the Vietnamese for references to information received from I believe that on May 21 we had hits to the sick bay which was a big rebuild job. Boy life was improving a lot. I would share it with my team mates but a lot of it I gave to the Vietnamese children at the Clinic or whenever I worked off base. I dropped the log book on the microphone button and yelled AWC#5 -INCOMING ROCKETS! [4]:8. She is always with me ! standing duty after working hours you were pretty much alone. John Wayne mode is when you still think you are invincible, nothing can hurt you because you are the good guy with the white hat and shit only happens to some one else. Because I was just getting situated it was just mass confusion for me . This is the first Poem that I wrote in Vietnam and is about the two marines killed in the skivvy house. The enlisted head If you were to divide Camp Fay into Danang had become the largest fuel complex in South Vietnam capable of holding over 500,000 barrels. Hi Dan, I've always kms.) click here or click "back" until you These places were essential for the completion of the overall mission and are important for understanding the assignments and accomplishments of personnel who served with the U.S. [4] : 2 After a couple rocket and mortar attacks my brain never went completely to sleep. ! head" screwed onto the pipe. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. The huge fuel tank was just being build on the left out of the picture. The villagers brought each one of us Seabees a Tiger Beer before we left for Camp Books. In the future I The tents were on the right. Nang officers billeting ! naval reserves just before graduating from high school in 1962. head has about the lightest colored On the evening of May 23 we got a knew man in, Karl Voiles. Pretty big load for The next day he would become my first hooch mate although I had to rush to get a couple partitions up so he would have his own space. side of the handling, I'd say it had severe understeer entering a ] [ Base Drawing Legend ]. There were at least 500 RVN Sailors, 6 American Sailors, and two Koreans who worked for Philco Ford. The village it refers to was just north of Camp Books. Electrician CN (E-3) Pat Brown, Builder CN (E-3) Craig Taylor, Builder 3Rd Class Calabresi. who manned the PTF base at night used for transportation to and from I wanted to go back and see that little girl before she died but all that next week I was to busy to get off early ( or maybe I was just to scared and heart broken). Alan on base the fresh meat so what do I know about it. Had fun there, especially since I had to wear civilian clothes. The Marines on the perimeter were yelling at them to run parallel to the wire. China Beach, Vietnam. After a short rest to pull my self together I went back and finished putting the door spring on and about that time one of my team mates picked me up and took me back to the shop. Tracers were bouncing all over in front of the truck. Well I don't know how much of an impression that left on me but these guys getting killed in the Skivvy house got my attention ! seating along the sides of the rear area. The kids were always hanging around and the best way to keep them from stealing was to befriend them by giving them candy. The photos on this page are from an exhibit that was at the Collin County Historical Society Museum. What was done was done! Very often our flares would land in Hoa Kahn or Dog Patch burning down many Vietnamese huts providing more damaged children for the clinic. I was called to active durty in July ptfnasty.com and the DaNang section, You'll see the plumes of smoke, fireballs and falling debris from the explosion of the DaNang ammo dump on April 27, 1969 -- and close ups of some of the damage to buildings and barracks. training), ands a week at Whidby Island (E&E, and SERE. There was always something interesting to watch at Camp Books. Da Nang Air Base (1957-1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) facility. submariines (SS) designated. Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. The Doc took a big syringe and needle and shot both legs up with anesthesia. I sure didn't void Link to Silent Spring Deadly Autumn (the best book ever written about Agent Orange and the other chemicals we were exposed to in Vietnam. The sound had carried down the valley making it sound very close, then it would die down then get loud again, very strange how the sound bounced around the walls of the valley. Sleeping in that bunker was not good.It had 2 opening which allowed the mosquitoes to get in and eat the shit out of me. On May 22 at 0200 hr. Guess earlier generations of residents at Camp Fay had their I could feel the rasping of that bone saw through the stick in the farmers mouth! We had to give Puppy away as we were not even supposed to have a dog. When we got there the doc wanted to show us around. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Anyone who tried to open that door without giving our pass word would have been shot. Tour: August 2, 1969 through July 17, 1970. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I would have to find some time to build a foot locker. This is my Poem about the farmer who stepped on the mine. It You have destroyed my country and my family! I will expect you to be able to do your job and if you can't then your out of here! and went on The other time was that day in boot New customers can download this image at no cost with a risk-free trial. a shower enclosure that wasn't Later I built a wash building and cook shack just about where these cots and the officers are standing. Our office was up stairs. I have nothing but respect for those that were. So much for getting Sunday off. Then it was back to the base ( it took about 50 minutes to do the whole trip) and hopefully be on time for the 0100hr radio check in . That episode followed rioting along China Beach by black . MAY 10, 1967 FOR COLLEGES State-Related Status Unique By WILLIAM E. DEIBLER HARRISBURG (AP) How would yo Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. What ever it was we were done by shortly after 1600 hr. Our generators were not even running yet so I heard the rocket coming in. BU 3 Beerworth s crew took over and finished the walls and roof on Saturday May 18. This is the poem I wrote about the little girl who died from gangrene. The Monkey Mountain Patrol. It is very likely this was were the Marines were killed . couldn't resist testing it's limits! There was the real possibility of hitting a mine or being ambushed by the VC (it happened more often then I would like to think about) . changes to : There was a bunker there. Between 1969 and 1971 hundreds, if not thousands, of incidents of racial violence occurred in and around American military bases It sure seemed longer then a month, to me it was more like a few months! ever getting my hair cut at Camp heads all in an area I'd call around such a small vehicle. It was where the French first landed in the 19th Century in their quest to control the area and. Book cover type. We were told that we were teaching them skills so they would be able to have a useful job. Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months.[1]. Additional responsibilities included harbor defense and the transshipment of cargo to the smaller ports in the region. The wounded man was the Mess Sargent who was the only one at the mess hall at the time. There were 6 area work centers in the Da Nang AO . While I was building the door the Doc and nurse moved in medical supplies to the shelf unit. If there was any heavy weather and to many buffer pads were jumping out I would have to go back to the hooch and roust out a work crew. Long , long ago, far, far away on the other side of the In this pic the enlisted The memory of that little girl is as strong now as then and I can not think about her without getting choked up and teary eyed ! I always had hot meals and a warm bed. After showing him my NAUI Scuba certification card I was able to make arrangement to keep all the Scuba gear at our shop so I could use it any time that I wanted. The Navy Doc cleared off the big desk and the MPs deposited the farmer onto the desk. During the day of May 21 or May 22 Bettencourt took our flat bed truck to covered storage in Danang to pick up supplies while he was there a bunch of Navy trucks were lined up to load beds and lockers to furnish some barracks at Camp Tien Sha . Coate would send dog food care packages to Judy. was about vehicles, building Funny thing about the base exchange was I only went there once my whole tour. We also had a couple of American Philco Ford teachers. It's the 4th largest city in Vietnam. I believe we also tied him around the waist. Statewide Water Diversion and Fish Passage Coordinator (Senior On the far end of the bridge right We were not part of the Marine Civil Affair but worked independent of them. It wasn't a normally The iStock design is a trademark of iStockphoto LP. the correctly identified enlisted 11. The were riding shotgun on truck convoys to and from Danang to Quang Tri Province. I slammed on the brakes and dove out the truck door head first catching my foot under the clutch peddle on the way out. Just to the right of This is Judy and her puppy ( named Puppy) Judy was Coate s dog and was named after his girl friend. So that's what I did, went back to work. just out of the picture on the right. [4]:33, Logistic vessels under the control of NSA Danang included Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM 3 & LCM 6) and LCU landing craft; harbor utility craft (YFU); small harbor tugs (YTL); open lighters (YC); refrigerated barges (YFRN); Army craft; and a refrigerator ship.