. Any damage at FLC was my teams responsibility to asses , clean up and repair or replace so I had direct involvement in all rocket and mortar attacks at FLC. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. In my first week at Camp Books after we were finished building the office, shop we installed a short wave radio which was used for communication with the Navy. Then I was out the door, I passed LT Branch halfway down the stairs and was waiting for him in the bunker! The nurse laid across the farmers upper thighs to hold him in place. The shop doors were always open and a light on in the shop. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. The bunker in back was the Korean bunker that I slept in while I was building my hooch. Right. Some time before the end of the month we got three more guys in . Over the months as I got to know my Vietnamese and they opened up to me the most asked question they had for me. Naval Support Facility DaNang (1970-1972), and the Detachments. the correctly identified enlisted The Priest took the kid around with him and often left him at the clinic with the nurses as the other children at the orphanage would pick on him. Target audience. said hours 1700 to 2100. Just to the right of naval reserves just before graduating from high school in 1962. About a mile out the crew started kicking boxes out the doors. Seems like every time I was working there at least one or two little kids would go out of there dead! This is the near miss at our Post office. My friend and his dog Rusty had cornered a very large possum against a tree and I went around the back of the tree and shot that possum at the base of the skull at point blank with a 22 cal short. Hard at work in the Investigations Office, Camp Tien Sha annex, Da Nang area, 8/69 to 7/70, Ray Norton. 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% . The other important thing we had to do was to check the Red Beach causeway at 2400 hr. At first it was because every thing was so knew and exciting. The doc explained that she had been burned by napalm and had gotten gangrene and that was the smell. This is a 122mm rocket crater in the road in front of our shop. world in a land that nobody cared about , I was sitting in a Continental middle , Mr Kim a Korean Philco Ford electrician . I had my broken leg cot and was living out of my sea bag. I don't know what the building Da Nang, Vietnam, Camp Tien Sha, 351 Days in Da Nang Ray Norton Me, age 23, sitting on my bunk drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. Honorably Discharged as a QM2(SS) in 1971ish. 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. Sunday late afternoons we were able to get over to the Red Beach causeway and get in some water sessions. Vietnam veterans, age 60+, American. identified as "enlisted head." There was to much noise from the generators and air conditioner to hear the rockets explode or the warning siren go off . 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. The hardest things for them to figure out was the batter boards, how to measure and cut rafters and how to measure and cut gable end studs. 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. I served there and just would like to hear from some of the guys that was there. Here is the letter I wrote my parents on May 15, 1968. These detachments decentralized the support function and improved the logistic flow. Charles R. Smith . One rocket struck this barracks, but the man in this room survived by . map and make modifications, please email your This is the poem I wrote about the little girl who died from gangrene. Our shop the day we put up our sign and officially became Area Work Center #5. 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. I would have to wait a few more days for that to start. This is the day I started my real job. mind. Beerworth dropped us at 1st MPs. We went downtown in Long Beach, and we got harassed a lot. 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. I was land based in Da Nang. It is a code of conduct course as much as it teaches the practical issues of survival. Warehouses, open storage areas, cargo handling equipment, and good exit routes from the port were limited. Please feel free FLC took twenty one 122mm rocket rounds and on May 22,1968 at 0200 hr FLC took 12 122mm rocket rounds. arrive there again.. Joe Witmeyer shares this 50th We were working with basic hand tools, cutting everything with one cross cut handsaw. 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. Welcome! I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months.[1]. 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. There were at least 500 RVN Sailors, 6 American Sailors, and two Koreans who worked for Philco Ford. Suddenly dozens of tracer rounds started ricocheting off the wall about 20 feet in front of the truck! and drop their bow ramps. Da Nang marks the halfway point between Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Paperback. 1966 and assumed I would spend two years on a submarine in WesPac. From March to July 1965, III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) troops delivered supplies to the units in the field while the Seventh Fleet ran port operations. Trying to locate: Navy member at Tien Sha Ramp, 1968 - 1969 Branch of Service: Navy Unit was: Navy Support Danang Where served: Tien Sha Ramp When served: 1968 - 1969 . The huge fuel tank was just being build on the left out of the picture. Before we destroyed their lives they all had jobs and skills that worked in their culture! On May 15 I had finished 6 or 8 escape doors. Here in Vietnam with the advanced gangrene she was going to die and there was nothing that could be done! Bruce Moore says he first returned from a 13-month stint in the Vietnam War to a "poor response." "We were at Norton Air Force Base. 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. As tired as I was I never got much sleep. 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. An electrician CN (E-3). I think he may have had scrambled brains to go with his stitched up head . Naval Support Activity DaNang (1965-1970), the U.S. I asked about the little girl and the doc said she had died Thursday night. My AR 15 slept on my left side right next to my body so I could always feel where it was. Yes that's me smiling up from the 122mm rocket crater. K-9 Security Unit-1 (Navy Sentry Dog Unit) Det Cua Viet 1st Naval LARC Division. The rocket attacks in my AO meant that I was called out to man my post which was defense of our base generators and our very large generator fuel tank. I pretty much walked the whole base then back to the EM club for a cold beer I slammed on the brakes and dove out the truck door head first catching my foot under the clutch peddle on the way out. But the better YFU-54 (Car 54 where are you). There was a young mother with several kid and grandma and grandpa. Read their name tag,don't look at their face, it was a hell of a lot easier to pick up the pieces or load up a stretcher of some one you don't know than to deal with a friend ! It was to late to get him settled in because we were so incredibly busy with rocket attack damage. blocked. Fishing Boats of Da Nang in NMCB THREE Main Body Flights consisting of three passenger . 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 was in Vietnam from November 3, 1968, through November 7, 1969. Only 364 more days to go! We had devastated their economy and destroyed their infrastructure. They never did a direct hit on the fuel tank but the got damn close several times! 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. Do you have CAMP TIENSHA, DANANG,VIETNAM Reunion information you'd like to share. It really, really broke my heart! Surprisingly, I never step foot on a ship, I was always stationed in Navy hospitals. Every morning I was stripping floors and then in the afternoon waxing and buffing and cleaning the showers, normal Navy grunt work. We aren't sure where he is yet and haven't got permission to go after him! He left me sitting there on the steps saying he would send Beerworth down at 1700 hr to get me settled in. If you served in Camp Tien Sha, Headquarters, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. I suppose that I needed that time alone to recover from the amputation! 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. "driving deprived" at the time and any time I had access to a I am not sure what possessed me to write poems there. There were other things to screw up the nights. and the LT moved to the Da. There were no more shots that day but there would be on the next two mornings. BBC News, Da Nang, Vietnam Da Nang is one of Vietnam's major ports, a city rich in history. It was what those When that needle went in that poor farmer screamed and jerked up headed for the ceiling! This was The saw he used was a miniature version of the bone saw we used when we cut up cows or pigs at butchering time on the farm! Da Nang Air Base (1957-1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) facility. So back around to the front of the hut and to work on the awning . Had tied their hands behind their backs and executed them. The Sargent in charge told him we would have to get gear from NSA Danang because the Seabee team was turned over to NSA. I am very grateful to Annette for the support she gave me while I was in Vietnam. It After the bones were cut the Doc tied off all the bleeders and removed the hemostats . Book description. Everyone was busy as hell and I didn't have any idea as to what was going on. Anniversary story of his trip back I am hoping that my response willl stay intact and not disapear completely from here. Back at the hootch the Seabees got in a major debate about where to put me. The pain they suffered was of our making and they just wanted us to go home! 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. The shop door are between the 2 telephone poles. Whatever, I was very Technicaly they were out side the perimeter so were not recorded, I guess. I'm at camp Tien Sha at Da Nang now. So after the 2400 check in I would jump in the truck with M-16 and ammo. by the time they got to us AWC# 5 we would be awake (hopefully) and report in. 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. Camp Haskins, Da Nang, Vietnam, served as headquarters of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, who exercised operational control of Seabee units deployed to Vietnam. such a small vehicle. The weekend after the amputation I went to build a small operating room and install a examination light. Danang Vietnam 1966 1967 Camp Tien Sha was an old French army base. There wasn't much blood ,just a small whelp where the bullet went in. the late 60's and early 70's. Another thing that screwed up the night for us was our night radio, phone watch, it was a real bitch ! I'm considered a Vietnam Veteran, due to the dates I served. little early to get back in school and finish my degree. camp where you get sheared. 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. The Doc trimmed all the skin and muscle nice and neat adding clamps (hemostats) as he went. Welcome to Viet----fuckn Nam you FNGs ( funking new guys) !!! The wounded man was the Mess Sargent who was the only one at the mess hall at the time. The Marines would open that up and would also be extending the perimeter and adding watch posts . Chn Thnh Camp. Statewide Water Diversion and Fish Passage Coordinator (Senior History [ edit ] Following the initial landing of Marines in South Vietnam on 8 March 1965, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (9th MEB) established their headquarters in an old French Army compound on the western edge of Da Nang Air Base . about culture clash!) was directly below the building good times in the "duty jeep". When I came off my Saturday night watch I was told I would be standing six hours duty at the PWC trouble desk on Sunday morning. I dreaded standing that watch but ever 5 and then 7 days I was going to get it! 4. The tents were on the right. of any of that. perceived attacks. They were pissed off at him because they were sent out there that night when they had already done a day patrol, and they wanted to scare the crap out of him. Tour: August 2, 1969 through July 17, 1970. It turned 90 degrees to the right and touched down between two rows of concertina wire in the middle of the perimeter. My Vietnamese had never even figured out what was happening and were still hunkered down by the lumber pile. I wondered how I would feel if someone burned down my home ,killed my dad and took my little brother away to a hospital. After the little girl died I never went back to the clinic. Well guess what ? She giggled a bit (talk There were 6 area work centers in the Da Nang AO . Here is the battalion report for May 1968. Danang, Naval Support Activity, Operations, Lighterage, U-Boats. Because I was just getting situated it was just mass confusion for me . Anyone who tried to open that door without giving our pass word would have been shot. Additional responsibilities included harbor defense and the transshipment of cargo to the smaller ports in the region. He got in line and they loaded his truck with beds, lots of beds. seating along the sides of the rear area. I could see through the gauze and there was some kind of wound underneath that looked like velvet. Some times I would bend the rules and just let them go and I would take care of checking them out. The nurse in the center of the picture is the one who helped amputate the farmers legs. Khoi Tran and Hong Th Hin faved this 3,723 views 2 faves 0 comments Taken on March 17, 2017 Some rights reserved Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED They had to be manned 24 hours a day. Gallons of Herbicides Sprayed. There was about a weeks over lap so the knew Chief could learn his job! He finished his tour with detective work as one of six NSA investigators at Camp Tien Sha, adjacent to Da Nang. The sound was very loud so at first we thought it was close but couldn't see it. Quite the contrary, African Americans frequently complained that they were disproportionately assigned menial duties, not promoted to the level they deserved, unfairly targeted for punishment, disproportionately drafted, assigned to combat units, and killed in Vietnam. to return to I was told to put it between the farmers teeth with the ends sticking out of the sides of his mouth and I was to gently but firmly hold on to the ends of the stick and hold his head down. The Doc took a big syringe and needle and shot both legs up with anesthesia. We were told that we were teaching them skills so they would be able to have a useful job. I faked being a doctor from the USA and was shown around a little. VVA's goals . After checking in, I was assigned to I got my NAUI Scuba diving cerification in July 1966. We all thought that everyone on this earth was doing the highest and best possible all the time for each situation. All though I grew up on a farm butchering animals to put in our freezer every year this was something different for me. The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. Click Below to watch some clips from "Tien Sha & Da Nang 1969" -- Please note that because of the transfer process this You Tube video is of a lesser quality than the actual DVD. Made a very good impression on me, I didn't even consider it my whole time in Vietnam ! He didn't mince words. " As ship demand for potable intensified at NSA Danang, on page 82 of COMNAVFORV Monthly Summary May 1968, A new dam on Monkey Mountain was completed and an effort was begun to store as much water as possible in this 1,900,000 gallon storage site. 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. Report an offensive or inappropriate entry. Sandoval. I am a 20 year old US soldier and my country says I have to be here! It was a long miserable cold 12 hour night. right , Huan one of my carpenters. The new pier facility allowed deep-draft ocean-going vessels to unload cargo directly onto trucks instead of offloading into Lighters while anchored in the harbor. Was I scared ? The new pier facility allowed deep-draft ocean-going vessels to unload cargo directly onto trucks instead of offloading into Lighters while anchored in the harbor. snakes and other items of entertainment. They were the best I could It was really to late to save the helicopter but at least nobody was killed or hurt! The new wood frame building that I did was behind the camera. Naval Support Activity Danang or NSA Danang was a United States Navy logistics support organization located in Danang, South Vietnam active from October 1965 to April 1972. Some part of it was always listening to what was going on . H e had white hair and a white beard and very much looked like Santa Clause. Some times a lot of shit happened . Phu Loi Airbase Information by: Daniel Hanley, Phu Loi Airbase is 30 mile North of Saigon.I was with A Company, 1st Aviation Battalion, Infantry Division, October 1965-1966. Dearest Rita, I just finished a quick letter to my folks first one since I've been here. was the building directly adjoining I donated money several times while at Camp Books. I cried to myself on the way back to the base. With over 81,000 members, VVA provides a community of fellowship with people who share common experiences, needs and hopes for the future. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. We had to give Puppy away as we were not even supposed to have a dog. Marine guns up to the DMZ, we looked like shoe boxes eith long gun Late in the day we had built them a nice hootch and had them moved in. cold glasses of chocolate milk, ice cream and an apple to go. It You'll see scenes filmed along the roads between Da Nang and Camp Tien Sha -- driving through villages and countryside, past ships in the harbor . [4] NSA Danang originally operated from a commercial pier on the city side of the Hn River and this "Museum Ramp" (.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}160300N 1081328E / 16.05N 108.2245E / 16.05; 108.2245) near the Cham Museum began operation in November 1965 off-loading Landing Craft Utility (LCUs) and LSTs. To save them from Communism was not the right answer because most of them did not feel that Communism was a threat ! So every week there would be a different doctor. My very first We stopped work and watched. I needed to know which of the sound meant danger! Didn't get any meals so after we were finished we ate sandwiches with the mid watch Marines at the mess hall. I stretched it to it's It seemed a bit strange to see everything so neat and tidy when I thought the clinic was for children. maps) office in the White Elephant. shoes" and one of the Vietnamese Very close now and it was clear that they weren't going to make it over the hurricane fence at the perimeter. What we finally did was a one man 12 hour watch. After that LT Branch never stayed late at the office, he would leave at 1700 to take Miss Nguyen home to Da Nang. I didn't understand at that time the danger of rocket attacks.