I was never in harms way. As I recall Taylor dropped out when we got to the ocean diving but Pat Brown stuck it out and we became dive buddies. Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. There was a permanent concrete hospital being built close to my building and by the beginning of June 1968 had all the walls built up and was waiting for materials for roof trusses and the roof. 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. get a mailing address via email from Chip and This is surely just something I've Every tree trunk was painted white, every rock was neatly lined up along the The villagers brought each one of us Seabees a Tiger Beer before we left for Camp Books. Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968 from Monkey Mountain nstar48 Media item Jan 30, 2008 camp tien sha monkey mountain united states navy seabees vietnam war year 1968 Comments: 2 Category: Images of Vietnam China Beach from Monkey Mountain 1968 China Beach and Marble Mountain from Monkey Mountain Vietnam 1968 nstar48 Media item Jan 30, 2008 When Puppy was big enough our secretary, interpreter Miss Nguyen took Puppy home with her to Danang. good times in the "duty jeep". The Monkey Mountain Patrol. Our electricians went to wire up the building for electricity. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. So after the 2400 check in I would jump in the truck with M-16 and ammo. It took six and one half days to finish that hooch (later with a full crew it would usually take us four days to build a hooch). African Americans perceived racial issuesrace relations, prejudice, and discriminationin Vietnam through a lens heavily influenced by their earlier experiences in the United States. It really, really broke my heart! on the National Geographic Magazine There are 186 crew members registered for the Naval Support Activity Danang. Individuality, not. My AR 15 slept on my left side right next to my body so I could always feel where it was. Very close now and it was clear that they weren't going to make it over the hurricane fence at the perimeter. maintenance, and generally taking I asked about the little girl and the doc said she had died Thursday night. 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 . Because I had to fend for myself I did help the newbies who moved into my hooch. In the fall of 1966 I was transferred As good as we were trying to do for the Vietnamese we sure as hell were not winning their hearts and minds! It is a code of conduct course as much as it teaches the practical issues of survival. When I got on the bus to Camp Tien Sha (the one with chicken wiure on the windows) I knew I wasn't in Kansas. Jack Shulimson . She was especially friendly with our hooch mama-son. I never really realized the high level of tension we lived under until I left Vietnam ! Both of his legs had been pretty much blown off. sucked and the barber dissed me for A couple of our guys , Craig Taylor and Pat Brown were interested in learning to Scuba dive so I took it upon my self to teach them. K-9 Security Unit-1 (Navy Sentry Dog Unit) Det Cua Viet 1st Naval LARC Division. Sunday late afternoons we were able to get over to the Red Beach causeway and get in some water sessions. They were all in alignment with our generators. at Camp Fay. Vietnam veterans, age 60+, American. My very first maids walked in and started cleaning About a mile out the crew started kicking boxes out the doors. heads" but they were always stolen Book description. One Square Mile of Vietnam: Da Nang - BBC News All the stuff that related to the It was a strange way for a job to start. Craig Tailor is on the left and on the right is Carl Rice who came on board about the same time as the new Chief. What the F is wrong with her? layout - (07-07-02) Seabees, initially using materials pre-stocked before the war in Advanced Base Functional Component packages, constructed three deep-draft piers for oceangoing ships, two 300 feet (91m) wooden piers an LST causeway and the Bridge Cargo Complex that consisted of a 1,600 feet (490m) long wharf, 300,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage space and 500,000 square feet of covered storage space. Vietnam Veterans Home Page Same short blond bristly hair, same small bullet hole, and same very damn dead! DaNang aerial photograph It was reported in an Email that National Geographic Magazine somewhere between Jan. 1967 and June 1968 had an aerial photograph of DaNang with enough detail to get the CIA uptight. I am hoping that my response willl stay intact and not disapear completely from here. [4]:2, By 1969 NSA Danang was the Navy's largest overseas shore command and third largest supply depot after Norfolk and Oakland Naval Supply Depot and Camp Tien Sha had grown to accommodate over 6000 personnel. There were two supply tents up there and when the Field Marines (grunts) would come in from the bush they would strip off all their dirty clothes and throw them in piles in one tent then go into the other tent and pick up clean uniforms. Clayton Beerworth and I were working on major repairs there by 0600 and the Mess hall was in operation more or less by that evening although it took a couple more days to get it up to 100% . limits and no one ever said a word to me about these activities. VVA's goals . It was to late to get him settled in because we were so incredibly busy with rocket attack damage. Tracers were bouncing all over in front of the truck. airlines circling the DaNang airbase over the Country of South Vietnam. from two times. Lieutenant Colonel Leonard A. Blasiol, U.S. Marine Corps . Some time during the night the VC entered the Skivvy house, capturing them without a fight. I remember one time showering in We weren't expecting any new men and we don't have the time to train you. I believe that on May 21 we had hits to the sick bay which was a big rebuild job. ( We called the Army Republic Of Vietnam police white mice because they were small, wore white helmets white web belts, white pistol holsters and white spats.) Cat Lo Naval Base. There was a young mother with several kid and grandma and grandpa. Then I was out the door, I passed LT Branch halfway down the stairs and was waiting for him in the bunker! But when shit happens to you and you are the victim, everything changed! Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968 | MilitaryImages.Net I made a series of videos about the exhibit before it was closed. THE WALL OF FACES - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Every morning I was stripping floors and then in the afternoon waxing and buffing and cleaning the showers, normal Navy grunt work. Once I went "over" and drop their bow ramps. I think he may have had scrambled brains to go with his stitched up head . If one of the other bases in our AO got hit by mortars or rockets then our siren went off and we were on red alert which meant we had to role out with weapons, helmets,and flack jackets and man our posts. NMCB THREE Main Body Flights consisting of three passenger . Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months.[1]. Sometimes we could be called out 2 or 3 times in a night. because of all the flares in the mountains next to the base. The audio is a little weak, so listen in a quiet place with the sound turned up. Camp Tien Sha Vietnam $20.00 Brand: Design Apparel Product Description Order this cap today.. U.S. The Seabee construction crews he is referring to was my crew. Our group that was sent to MST1 landed in So that's what I did, went back to work. Now I know where Barbee is but where is Babyson? I cried to myself on the way back to the base. waiting in transit at the Long Beach Naval Station, I got orders to The doc asked if I could baby sit the little girl while he and the nurse did a surgery. Population in 2009 (millions) Percentage of Province Sprayed During 1960s. Da Nang - What you need to know before you go - Go Guides - Hotels He told me step by step every detail. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. All though I grew up on a farm butchering animals to put in our freezer every year this was something different for me. The Docs loved coming to Hoa Kahn Clinic. I think it was on May 22,Wednesday when I was on the night radio,phone watch that I wrote my poem about this event. work out the details with him. I was face down on the road under the edge of the truck with my foot stuck under the clutch peddle. Here is the battalion report for May 1968. 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. afford at the time and they taught me a lot about handling vehicles. It was a horrifying thing to watch. I started building my hooch on Wednesday May 8th at just before noon. I was finished with my concrete forms before noon on Wednesday . 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. Significant Events 19-31 August 1970 19-28 October 1970 5 November 1970 13 November 1970 15 November 1970 It was creepy doing that trip to the causeway. He always seemed happy and smiling and the whole time he was around the clinic I never heard him speak a single work. Some part of it was always listening to what was going on . He had to re arrange his schedule to accommodate me. Our group that was sent to MST1 landed in Go through their front gate then out their back gate to the causeway. CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. Here is a poem that I wrote about the helicopter. My station when For African Americans soldiers serving in the armed forces during the Vietnam War the domestic scene loomed large. Coate gave me two sets of shorts and short sleeve shirts. The U.S. Navy established the MST-1 detachment to train Vietnamese crews and maintain PTFs in February 1964. Target audience. This was a Sunday afternoon BBQ about 1800 hr. In March 1965 when United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. I am on the far left. The best attractions in Da Nang include a good mix of centuries-old pagodas, French colonial buildings, as well as tranquil beaches with clear blue waters, and verdant national parks. didnt get shot at and we safely landed and taxied off the run way. Naval Support Activity, Da Nang 1966-67 "Cruise Book" - eCRATER half, aside from the times that I At Freedom Hill you'll see some panoramic shots of the base and buildings (USO Club, ), likewise at Tien Sha (Snoopy's Chicken Hut, Acey Ducey Club). I even passed an enlisted sailor with a can of white paint and he was ---- I spent the rest of the day until after dark alone in the shop building a foot locker. Camp Tien Sha, Vietnam. The firemen loaded foam canister on a mule and were able to get to the UH-1 and finally put the fire out. Suprise, suprise, After the little girl died I never went back to the clinic. He had a little Vietnamese kid with him about 8 years old. of the guys took to securing a thought about was the airbase in Danang was under attack, of the enclosure with a "shower He was driving a 1 1/2 ton flat bed stake truck and was making the rounds to pick up supplies. march in columns of two over to that building. Barrels of asphalt damaged by rocket attack, April 1969, Camp Tien Sha Annex, Ray Norton. Chapel? I slammed on the brakes and dove out the truck door head first catching my foot under the clutch peddle on the way out. I got my NAUI Scuba diving cerification in July 1966. Then a voice came from inside the Quonset hut." I think there were only three or four of us on duty at the me at Port Services, then I was tasked with setting up a chart (and Detachment Nha Trang - 1965 - 1971. I couldn't grasp what was going on at the time. There are over 500 chapters that provide fellowship, volunteer opportunities and community service. Photo's by Vietnam Veterans page 3 - CAMP SABRE Danang was handling more tonnage than the port of Baltimore at the time. January 30, 1968 marked the beginning of the Tet Offensive. maps) office in the White Elephant. camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968 - seven10solutions.com 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. There was a bunker there. Storage areas ashore were limited by space and access. All in the name of saving them from Communism. vietnamandmilitary $6.00 Original, In Wrapper P-38 Vietnam War vietnamandmilitary $175.00 Naval Support Activity, Da Nang 1968 Cruise Book vietnamandmilitary Seller Information Seller vietnamandmilitary Contact Seller Just as I was putting on the spring door closer a ARVN military police jeep pulled up in front (they were halling ass through the loose sand) Two White mice jumped out, went to the back of the jeep and carried an old farmer from the jeep into the clinic. Gave me the creeps then and still does now when I think about it! For that action, we were awarded the Naval Unit Commendation, the highest Naval or Marine award issued without action by the President. We needed to replace the awning over the entry door that was about to fall off. Published October 25, 2017 Updated April 22, 2021 These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. Ten of them cluster around one of the three air bases that became the most contaminate with dioxin: Da Nang, Phu Cat and Bien Hoa. Paperback. Later I built a wash building and cook shack just about where these cots and the officers are standing. large canvas covering over the rear area that protected bench distributed to ships coming in. It's a win-win, and it's why everything on iStock is only available royalty-free including all, Royalty-free licenses are the best option for anyone who needs to use stock images commercially, which is why every file on iStock whether its a, From social media ads to billboards, PowerPoint presentations to feature films, you're free to modify, resize and customize every asset on iStock including all. The sign on the mess hall door The course is a model in how to survive, and how to come home with honor. It had 4 windows so I went to the window for H. I handed the clerk my records pack. The doctor and nurse came out of the clinic. Over time that changed, I didn't want to know any newbies! line. Often the convoys would drop off kids from out in the bush. say I rarely ventured onto the left Statewide Water Diversion and Fish Passage Coordinator (Senior a small cargo plane in the middle of the night, all I I was one of the unlucky ones who ended up shoveling a lot of shit! We got danger close rockets in that area often. I'm considered a Vietnam Veteran, due to the dates I served. The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. It Naval Support Facility DaNang (1970-1972), and the Detachments. Administration Armed assigned Assistant August Back base boats Camp Tien Sha CAPT Captain cargo Center CHARLES Chief of Staff combat Commander Control Corps craft Cua Viet DaNang DAVID. Nice history lesson for me. Navybuddies.com Crew List - Reunite with old US Navy Buddies . Donations for May. Link to video tour of . An electrician CN (E-3). The shop doors were always open and a light on in the shop. Mountain. . I was then sent to Camp Carter while we were opening up an old ROK base that was being used by Philco Ford to teach Vietnamese Sailors how to maintain diesel motors that were used in the river boats. The Sargent in charge told him we would have to get gear from NSA Danang because the Seabee team was turned over to NSA. to return to History and documents on bases at DaNang - Warboats.org I was aguard for Tien Sha Peninsula Security division. 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. Drawing When I asked the Priest what happened to the kid he said he didn't know, the kid was at the orphanage when he took over. The port of Danang contained only three small piers, three Landing Ship, Tank (LST) ramps and a stone quay that were inaccessible to oceangoing vessels; even smaller craft had trouble approaching. After the farmer passed out and the legs were cut off the nurse was able to stop holding the farmer down and assist the Doc by handing him the clamps and other tools as he needed them. [3]:33, In mid-October 1968 the Deep Water Pier complex (160712N 1081250E / 16.12N 108.214E / 16.12; 108.214) on the Tien Sha peninsula was completed, beginning operations in September 1968. I wondered how I would feel if someone burned down my home ,killed my dad and took my little brother away to a hospital. Didnt take long to figure out that everyone could see that you were a FNG. I lay there waiting for the out posts to return fire, nothing happened! "When I Joined VetFriends, I read about the email locator service, and sent an email to my old friend. the correctly identified enlisted Sure. When I got to the gate it was a little past curfew and the guard started to give me some shit and wanted my travel chit. My Vietnam war was a very small place You got to do what you got to do ! While base facilities were under construction, the fleet deployed to Danang LSTs, a Landing Ship Dock (LSD) and an Attack Transport (APA), the latter for quartering and messing NSA personnel. and I was just finishing up the door. the upper left hand part of the pic. It [2] I stood there wondering how I was going to drive wood stakes into that hard ground. I am sure this little girl will be my last thought when I punch out from this world. There are other memories of my time working at the clinic. U S Naval Support Activity Danang Vietnam 1969 Yearbook - Worthpoint We also had a land line (telephone) installed for communication with the Marines. He seemed totally comfortable and relaxed. Charles R. Smith . The harbor defense unit used landing craft, picket boats and 16 feet (4.9m) Boston Whalers to monitor and protect the maritime traffic. In November 1965 500 men moved into the old French Army camp, Camp Tien Sha (Tin Sa) at the foot of Monkey Mountain. Cn Th Base Camp. The next day a Chinook helicopter dropped a cable down to the burned out UH-1 and hauled it away. He expired nine days later. One of them used to take me to the MACV Club located by the USS Repose. Next thing I realize he has a hold on my sleeve. She would be down on her hands and knees crying and waling. 2023 iStockphoto LP. not leaving a big enough tip. I don't know what the building Before we destroyed their lives they all had jobs and skills that worked in their culture! Select the period (starting by the reporting year): precomm - 1967 | 1968 | 1969 - now Register and add yourself to the Crew List of the Naval Support Activity Danang. I don't remember when I stopped doing work at the Children's clinic, Maybe the end of June or early July. Browse millions of high-quality stock photos, illustrations, and videos. Book cover type. "Honcho come", he pulls me around the Quonset hut, his eyes were as big as saucers! The fire was caused by a Air or artillery white phosphorus flare ( WP). While my guys were working I was talking to the Gunny in the hut. There weren't even any stairs going up there yet. Another interesting point is the H&S Co. As usual US style plumbing, the What I really In this pic the enlisted With over 81,000 members, VVA provides a community of fellowship with people who share common experiences, needs and hopes for the future. Often several rockets would have gone off before I even knew we were under attack ! On May 13,1968 we took 6 122mm rocket rounds as explained in my May 15,1968 leter. Her husband was an ARVN soldier who had been killed. He finished his tour with detective work as one of six NSA investigators at Camp Tien Sha, adjacent to Da Nang. Level the frames and tie them to the stakes and I would have my concrete forms complete. 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. And there were certainly good things there, at least in the perceived attacks. the two boat docks at DaNang. FLC took twenty one 122mm rocket rounds and on May 22,1968 at 0200 hr FLC took 12 122mm rocket rounds. Familiar Places - NSA/NSF DaNang Veterans Association The only answer I could give them that they would except was. You forget the bad things and you remember the good After our three big generators and fuel tank were up and running that area became a target for the VC. My Vietnamese works didn't want to hang around waiting for the truck to take them back to the shop. Here is the satellite view of When we arrived at Red Beach the Seabee team shop was a mad house. I am a 20 year old US soldier and my country says I have to be here! It sure seemed longer then a month, to me it was more like a few months! The huge fuel tank was just being build on the left out of the picture. 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! 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. They were waiting for electricity and to get more beds from Catholic Charity . map and make modifications, please email your really an enclosure. Learn more. You have destroyed my country and my family! I would have to find some time to build a foot locker. The nurse was carrying a little girl about 4 years old. I can find no official reports on that rocket attack and have to assume nobody bothered to make a report because the rounds hit in the swamp between the main body of Camp Books and the Force Logistics Command section. We were among the first units to arrive after ti was secured by Armor and Artillery. The Doc trimmed all the skin and muscle nice and neat adding clamps (hemostats) as he went. I went to the "motor pool" at least Report an offensive or inappropriate entry. Some where along the line the nurse had done an IV drip. 11. On the left Naval Communication Facility. Here is an E mail I got from Karl explaining his arrival to Vietnam and Camp Books (FLC) The last week of May brought us a knew Chief Builder and our old Chief Botswains mate left us. naval reserves just before graduating from high school in 1962. As such a small group we couldn't do the standard Navy 4 hour watch. shoes" and one of the Vietnamese We had fox holes around the generators and fuel tank and I would sit there looking up at that big ass fuel tank thinking that if the VC hit that with a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) I was going to be turned into a crispy critter. couple of Corvairs (ok, stop laughing!) called to general quarters was in So I would start the mornings dancing around the job site until the sniper was done and then we would get to work. There were Seabees, Korean Philco Ford, Vietnamese all working like mad . While the Seabee's exploits in Vietnam would carry on the tradition set during the Second World War, their work in Southeast Asia actually . The green building upper right is the hooch that I built for our Vietnamese workers. 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). To know all the different sounds was to be able to read what was happening at night and how safe I was. boat part would be housed in supply There was no time off just the same 12 hr work shift. The wounded man was the Mess Sargent who was the only one at the mess hall at the time. and went on At the base of Monkey mountain was Camp Tien Sha, the main Navy base. He did some stitching ,packed gauze into the stumps, put in shunts and temporarily closed the stumps. We also had a couple of American Philco Ford teachers. He got the point and let me through the gate, no more questions asked. So over time it was easier to just not know anyone. He got in line and they loaded his truck with beds, lots of beds. It must have been about 1100 hr. The exhibit was known as "The Vietnam Syndrome". I was hugely Vietnam War Home Movies Tien Sha & Da Nang 1969 ammo dump explosion, freedom hill VintageFilmArsenal 2.48K subscribers 37K views 8 years ago Go to vintagefilmarsenal.com to purchase a. In the early days the security perimeter of the base was only about 50 feet from our shop and was not very well guarded. What was done was done! This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. 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. There wasn't much blood ,just a small whelp where the bullet went in. As he cut them off he threw them in the corner beside the shelf and I can remember how strange they looked leaning against the wall! I believe we also tied him around the waist. Then walk the length of pier re-installing any buffer pads that might have come out. 1968 SPECIAL REPORT: "CAMP TIEN SHA RACIAL TROUBLE" - YouTube a lot in Vietnam. camp where you get sheared. The I turned 20 years old and of coarse it went un- noticed although I had gotten a care package from Annett Burrel, a couple surfing magazines from my brother Jay and a birthday card from my girl friend Linda! A smell I have never smelled again in my life time. We took good care of Judy and she ate very well, We would get stake and chicken from the mess hall and She also loved to drink beer. The Marines broke out in laughter. On Friday May 17 I was sent out on another job. If US Mail works best for you, Vietnam went on and I was done at the Clinic and never heard about it anymore until I went back to Vietnam in 1996 and tried to visit and the guard at the gate chased me away but I did find out that after the war in became a mental hospital for young people. Detachment Phu Bai - 1965 -1970. barrels over the bow. There was one thing that bothered me about Tien Sha. If there were any trouble calls from the Marines (usually lights out on the perimeter or something not working at the mess hall) then it was jump in the truck drive out and check and drive over to our hooch and get who ever was needed to go fix the problem. I had a ball throwing that jeep with her work. In the future I That sure screwed with our sleep! 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. The lumber and wood crates in upper right was the start of our lumber yard. Unfortunately when we got there it was closed for one hour for lunch and Coate did not have the time to hang around.