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! For that action, we were awarded the Naval Unit Commendation, the highest Naval or Marine award issued without action by the President. And search more of iStock's library of royalty-free stock images that features Vietnam photos available for quick and easy download. Memoir of my time served with the Navy at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang, during the Vietnam war. Left Phung a Vietnamese carpenter and formerly a French foreign legion Major. The Chief did manage to get bedding (Ha,Ha) I got one bed sheet and one pillow case. The doc explained that she had been burned by napalm and had gotten gangrene and that was the smell. This was a Sunday afternoon BBQ about 1800 hr. What was done was done! The following information was emailed in to We destroyed what they had and were teaching them skills that didn't even fit into their culture. I would sit at the desk and drink coffee, write letters or poetry. The new wood frame building that I did was behind the camera. Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968 from Monkey Mountain Bombardier Pretorian Aug 16, 2013 Good photo, get a good look at the base. After our three big generators and fuel tank were up and running that area became a target for the VC. The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. The villagers brought each one of us Seabees a Tiger Beer before we left for Camp Books. Travis, Hawaii, Subic Bay (and shore patrol in Olongapo), then to I don't remember when I stopped doing work at the Children's clinic, Maybe the end of June or early July. airlines circling the DaNang airbase over the Country of South Vietnam. Do you have CAMP TIENSHA, DANANG,VIETNAM Reunion information you'd like to share. January 30, 1968 marked the beginning of the Tet Offensive. African Americans perceived racial issuesrace relations, prejudice, and discriminationin Vietnam through a lens heavily influenced by their earlier experiences in the United States. This is the poem I wrote about the little girl who died from gangrene. Although the rules were they had to go back and check out. the place. Everyone had his turf marked out and nobody was willing to give any for me. Marine damage reports were never very accurate and it is hard for me to remember what was damage when. 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 . Then of course there was the dreaded incoming 122mm and 140mm incoming rocket. ---- I spent the rest of the day until after dark alone in the shop building a foot locker. this pic sure isn't it, at least cold glasses of chocolate milk, ice cream and an apple to go. The official report was small arms fire on the perimeter. What the F is wrong with her? Everyone was busy as hell and I didn't have any idea as to what was going on. The course is a model in how to survive, and how to come home with honor. work out the details with him. - (07-07-02) I have NO remberance of All in the name of saving them from Communism. ] [ Base Drawing Legend ]. He didn't mince words. " Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. It Additional responsibilities included harbor defense and the transshipment of cargo to the smaller ports in the region. The Doc told me to help tie the farmer down to the desk. Our generators were not even running yet so I heard the rocket coming in. I just haven't had time for any more. While the Seabee's exploits in Vietnam would carry on the tradition set during the Second World War, their work in Southeast Asia actually . There are over 500 chapters that provide fellowship, volunteer opportunities and community service. I wish I would have known about it then! Sandoval. We hopped in his truck and he took me down to H&S company supply to get bedding and mess gear. and drop their bow ramps. 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. couple of Corvairs (ok, stop laughing!) I couldn't grasp what was going on at the time. Cn Th Base Camp. of the DaNang Military Complex, One of 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. [4]:8. Learn more. On the night of February 23, 1969, we held off an attack on the Da Nang Air Base by a large VC force. The road was closed to civilian traffic at night so there would be no other vehicles on the road. The huge fuel tank was just being build on the left out of the picture. They were simply ghettos with poor sanitation , communal water supply, no roads or electricity. not leaving a big enough tip. Over 130 rough terrain and warehouse forklifts and 20 cranes eased cargo handling. The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. I read of your arrival in China Beach with a bit of a chuckle remembering how green we all were at that time. "Ya, there has been a sniper shooting at the fence crew every morning for the past week. You FNGs get to the back of the perceived attacks. 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. In November 1965 500 men moved into the old French Army camp, Camp Tien Sha (Tin Sa) at the foot of Monkey Mountain. I am not sure what possessed me to write poems there. Detachment Phu Bai - 1965 -1970. Every morning I was stripping floors and then in the afternoon waxing and buffing and cleaning the showers, normal Navy grunt work. Target audience. the duty jeep normally delivered the crew to the base in the whole story here. List of battleships of the United States Navy, http://www.worldcat.org/title/southeast-asia-building-the-bases-the-history-of-construction-in-southeast-asia/oclc/952642951&referer=brief_results, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/by-sea-air-land-marolda/chapter-4-winding-down-the-war-1968-1973.html, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, United States military bases of the Vietnam War. things. 15x12. [3]: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. My day was done!! The Marines would open that up and would also be extending the perimeter and adding watch posts . She giggled a bit (talk I'm considered a Vietnam Veteran, due to the dates I served. With chow finished I had the rest of The U.S. Navy established the MST-1 detachment to train Vietnamese crews and maintain PTFs in February 1964. Now I know where Barbee is but where is Babyson? map to the right is intended to be used as a to Danang. They were trying to fly that chopper to the safety of Camp Books. just out of the picture on the right. 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. two parts, right and left, I have to The Marines slept 12 to 14 men in a hootch. 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. Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. 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. May 27 was my birthday. 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. I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. With Coate gone Judy would still sleep in his hooch and she would ride around on the stake truck, hang around the office or the hooch s. Judy hated Marines, and Vietnamese men but she was alright with Vietnamese women as long as they treated her nice. Retro. I was 1966 and assumed I would spend two years on a submarine in WesPac. - Alan, Drawing Charles R. Smith . A refugee family was living in a lean too in Dog Patch south . Level the frames and tie them to the stakes and I would have my concrete forms complete. Both of his legs had been pretty much blown off. 44 Declassified Vietnam War Photos Taken By U.S. Army Photographers View Gallery History is not a fixed set of facts. I did spend plenty of time on Marine firebases around the Da Nang-Phu Bai area and spent time at a camp located at Phu Loc. 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 two guys shot in the skivvy house that night were, Pvt. You will use the chain of command ,don't come to me. and their 155 and 175 guns. Yes that's me smiling up from the 122mm rocket crater. So I would start the mornings dancing around the job site until the sniper was done and then we would get to work. My Vietnamese workers were hunkered down by the lumber pile about 30 ft from me.Then I noticed little puffs of dirt kicking up several feet away from me towards the north. In this pic the enlisted 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. Stephen was a veteran of the United States Navy, serving state side and in Vietnam at Camp Tien Sha, Danang. The fleet also managed logistic operations at these locations. I always had hot meals and a warm bed. The trailer was to short so the Marines legs were bent at the knees and sticking up, no shoes, pant legs up to their knees showing their very white legs. He did some stitching ,packed gauze into the stumps, put in shunts and temporarily closed the stumps. We needed to replace the awning over the entry door that was about to fall off. It had 4 windows so I went to the window for H. I handed the clerk my records pack. One night I stood a four hour office watch and another night I was on a four hour barracks fire watch. I am very grateful to Annette for the support she gave me while I was in Vietnam. There was a Marine listening ambush set up outside the perimeter in that area. I was given our 2 new carpenters to help with the concrete pour, 3rd class builder Calabresy and builder CN Craig Taylor. meal in Vietnam was roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas, 2 large I served there and just would like to hear from some of the guys that was there. Pham Ba went around back to take a pee. It must have been about 1100 hr. "Honcho come", he pulls me around the Quonset hut, his eyes were as big as saucers! Drinking black coffee trying to stay alert. I suppose that I needed that time alone to recover from the amputation! Another interesting point is the H&S Co. I stretched it to it's to DaNang. Soon we came to the bridge across the Han River. There was one thing that bothered me about Tien Sha. Sunday late afternoons we were able to get over to the Red Beach causeway and get in some water sessions. On the left those Nastie's were fun boats! He was honorably discharged in 1968 after completing his tour in Vietnam, as Petty . 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. My first assignment was YFU-54, then Link to video tour of . I held the door open for them. I was in Vietnam from November 3, 1968, through November 7, 1969. such a small vehicle. Later after they landed it became obvious that they were throwing out the ammo boxes so they wouldn't explode when they landed. The "enlisted head" was pretty bare. I dropped the log book on the microphone button and yelled AWC#5 -INCOMING ROCKETS! Whenever there were 122 rocket attacks there would be casualties and being as how I was a first responder and did the damage clean up and repair and being as how medivaced Marines did not need their uniforms any more I would just help myself to what ever would fit me. I was going to start building my own hooch so I would have a place to sleep ! 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. Issues related to race and race relations helped to define the African American experience in the United States, and these same issues defined the experiences of black soldiers in Vietnam.Race relations in combat were typified by cooperation, shared sacrifice, and a sense of brotherhood. Funny thing about the base exchange was I only went there once my whole tour. When Puppy was big enough our secretary, interpreter Miss Nguyen took Puppy home with her to Danang. aspects of it are certainly more memorable than the bad parts. Fun! Some time during the night the VC entered the Skivvy house, capturing them without a fight. At that time the base fir truck showed up. I would like to help you with your content on your website. I am sure had I not done that , the Chief, when he came down to the hootch, would have solved the problem by sending me back to China Beach. There were no boat parts in supply Yes, we would help them build new huts and we would patch up their children and pay compensation for the damages done. They were only a couple hundred yards away! We also had a couple of American Philco Ford teachers. They did hit the fuel bladders at truck company several time so I knew there would be a nice warm fire if our fuel tank got hit. On May 13,1968 we took 6 122mm rocket rounds as explained in my May 15,1968 leter. With tears in my eyes I told the guard that I had been helping the doc at the children's clinic and he could take his fucking travel chit and shove it up his ass! Soon, the fleet dispatched Naval Beach Group One Cargo Handling Battalions 1 and 2, nucleus port crew, Mine Force, Service Force, Underwater Demolition Team, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units to Danang. It The MPs left in a hurry. [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. Mountain. It was the UH-1 trailing smoke. Late in the day we had built them a nice hootch and had them moved in. the upper left hand part of the pic. ( 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.) Apart from some shopping highlights and historical sights, the main reason for most travelers staying here is its proximity to the well-known My Khe Beach, Lang Co Beach, Hoi An and My Son. 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. changes to : It started raining Saturday June1st and rained continuously until Wednesday morning but that didn't slow down work any. U.S. It was kind of a taste of what we would get when the monsoons came in September. 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. Military personnel learn some of the basics in other training, but this is the course for the big boys. . Bet coming down the trail by the ESSO Plant east wall. 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. Naval Support Activity DaNang (1965-1970), the U.S. Very close now and it was clear that they weren't going to make it over the hurricane fence at the perimeter. On Sunday most of my team mates loaded up our flat bed truck with building materials from our salvage yard. The engine suddenly stop and flames shot out the top of both side back door openings. Our mess hall, about 70 yards from my hootch took a direct hit on the serving line and kitchen area. If you were to divide Camp Fay into