Da Nang 1970

[Tom-ADC]

Found some old black & white photos from the time I was in Danang
That's me kneeling ah to be young again[smilie=2:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL174/1021972/18168454/394388219.jpg

[JeffinNZ]

Isn't your buddy's magazine in backwards?

[imashooter2]

Being young again would be great, but not if it means I've got to be in Danang...

[Jim]

Sure glad you made it out of that, Tom. A lot of guys didn't.

[Tom-ADC]

Isn't your buddy's magazine in backwards?

Yes so is mine, we had to do that to take a picture otherwise we didn't insert a magazine unless we were going to shoot the rifle.

[timkelley]

Tom, I was just down the road in Chu Lai 70-71. We sure did have some silly rules didn't we?

[Tom-ADC]

Tim, my brother in law was at Chu Lai then he was a seabee MCB 74 if I remember right.

[montana_charlie]

We sure did have some silly rules didn't we?
On Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) there was this silly rule that anybody who was outside during hours of darkness must wear a steel pot. That made for the occaisional silly-looking apparition, in underwear, flip-flops, and helmet...heading to the outhouse for a night time dump.

The other half of that rule was...if you saw somebody in the darkness without a steel pot, you shot him.

CM

[starreloader]

Chu Lia and a few other places '66 to '68... don't remember any of those silly rules then, never went anywhere without being fully loaded

[Otony]

[QUOTE=Tom-ADC;1109504]Found some old black & white photos from the time I was in Danang
That's me kneeling ah to be young again[smilie=2:

Being young again would be nice, but I would enjoy just being able to kneel again! :mrgreen:

[Kraschenbirn]

On Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain) there was this silly rule that anybody who was outside during hours of darkness must wear a steel pot. That made for the occaisional silly-looking apparition, in underwear, flip-flops, and helmet...heading to the outhouse for a night time dump.
CM

Ah yes, Steel pot AND flak jacket! One night at LZ Evans, I was halfway between the shower (cobbled from 55-gallon drums and PSP) and our hooch...wearing flak jacket, helmet, flip-flops, and pair of survival orange surfer baggies with my gunbelt slung around my neck...when one of Uncle Ho's mortar teams walked a string of 82mm's through our company motor pool and mess tent.

Bill

[defib]

Thank you for your service and my freedom .

[TCLouis]

timkelly

I was down the road a ways from you south at Duc Pho.

Last of the 23rds AO, right next to the 173rd's and I can assure you they never got close to the area as we moseyed around down in part of their neighborhood one time.

You mean they gave the Navy magazines? ? ? <LOL>, Just kidding.

[Tom-ADC]

Speaking of silly rules, first time going to Freedom Hill exchange Marine MP stops us because our pants legs aren't bloused, so I show him my wings and explain I'm not a seabee & avaition sailors didn't blouse our pant legs, it worked and he let us in.:D

[mtnman31]

Times don't change much. When I was in Iraq a few years back, one of our stupid base rules was if you wore a face mask or balaclava it couldn't cover your face. It had to be worn on the neck and stay below the chin. A face mask for your chin, military logic at its finest.

The one that got my blood boiling was when they stopped allowing units to fly flags on our bases. Prior to the rule change, there were flags and American pride everywhere on the bases. After the rule change, the base was allowed to have one US flag flown on behalf of the base commander. They restricted the flying of flags because they didn't want to give the impression that we were conquerors. It didn't do much other than lower morale. It was such an insult to the work and sacrifice performed by every American there. It got so out of control that they even made one unit take down the yellow flags they had at their softball field - yep, the ones used to show the foul line.

[pdawg_shooter]

Hill 55, 1969-1970.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

In 69-70 I was offshore on the Ranger helping A-6s keep flying the ho-chi min trail with lots of CBUs. BvT

[scrapcan]

Thanks for your service soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines.

[Tom-ADC]

In 69-70 I was offshore on the Ranger helping A-6s keep flying the ho-chi min trail with lots of CBUs. BvT

BvT, I've landed and taken off (catshot) from the Ranger many times, I flew your favorite airplane as a crew member the COD which means mail!!

[Paul4895]

68-69 I was offshore on the USS New Jersey BB-62 supplying gun fire support

[EMC45]

Tim, my brother in law was at Chu Lai then he was a seabee MCB 74 if I remember right.



I was in NMCB 74. From 96-01, not during Viet Nam.

[Tom-ADC]

I was in NMCB 74. From 96-01, not during Viet Nam.

Long after him, he retired in 79 was at Gulfport MS, went to work there as a civilian, still lives in the area.
BTW I forgot the N seabee's are great folks.

[Rafe Covington]

Being in country was the only time I ever felt really alive, been just killing time since than.

Rafe Covington

[462]

68-69 I was offshore on the USS New Jersey BB-62 supplying gun fire support

I was at Phan Rang and heard you a couple times. Don't know how close you were, but you were quite audible.

[crashdummy]

69 and 70 I was doing my second tour up the road with the 3rd marine division at Dong Ha.
But, I was Air Force ....... guess I was lost.
Thank you all for your service

[Charlie Two Tracks]

A couple of miles outside of Cam Rahn Bay. Sep. 70- Sep 71. I remember the first time I ate at the mess hall there. I don't remember all of what I had but they had fresh bread. I got a piece and went back to sit down. In the line, I thought the bread had poppy seeds in it. Once I sat down and took a good look, I found out that it was little flies all through it. They were cooked though. Very strange and bad place. Good thing we were young.

[Tom-ADC]

My last couple of months at DaNang the Army took the galley over, sorry to say the food went to pot, the Navy galley was 100% better, we used to save our C rations incase the food at the galley was lousy again, but that said we had it way better then the guys in the field.
Used to fly down to Cam Rahn Bay about once a month.

[captaint]

I'll never forget those huge roaches!! They just looked at us and were like Yeah, what are you looking at??? Didn't even run off. Mike

[Rick N Bama]

I was just down the road from all of you at Ton Son Nhut AB (67-68) helping provide radio relay so you guys could call in airstrikes, etc. We "Armchair Commandos" weren't issued weapons, believe it or not, although we did do some trading around to arm ourselves.

Rick

[Charlie Two Tracks]

When we were on base, we had to turn in our weapons. I still have my gun card so I could run over a hundred yards to the armory, stand in line and get issued two clips of ammo when we got hit. No joke. Some of the guys had pistols sent from home so they would be armed. One of our guys killed our Vietnamese barber coming through the wire with a satchel charge and headed towards a bunker full of guys who were unarmed. He got him with a pistol from home. Very strange days indeed.

Now I have a F.O.I.D. card. I guess things haven't changed much.

[EMC45]

Long after him, he retired in 79 was at Gulfport MS, went to work there as a civilian, still lives in the area.
BTW I forgot the N seabee's are great folks.

I was stationed out of Gulfpit Ms. I met a bunch of good folks for sure!

[waksupi]

When we were on base, we had to turn in our weapons. I still have my gun card so I could run over a hundred yards to the armory, stand in line and get issued two clips of ammo when we got hit. No joke. Some of the guys had pistols sent from home so they would be armed. One of our guys killed our Vietnamese barber coming through the wire with a satchel charge and headed towards a bunker full of guys who were unarmed. He got him with a pistol from home. Very strange days indeed.

Now I have a F.O.I.D. card. I guess things haven't changed much.

Charlie, I may know the guy who killed the barber. Two of my friends who were together over there, had in the past talked about the barber getting killed by one of them when he was coming over the wire.
Both agreed he was a great barber, and they missed him because of that. I believe they were artillery guys.

[HollowPoint]

The Vietnam era was all transpiring just as I was reaching the age where I was eligible for the draft.

My sister's boyfriend (now husband) was serving in Vietnam at the time. He described himself as an army-grunt.

I remember seeing all the images they'd broadcast on the news every night coming out of Vietnam. One day at school, one of my teachers expressed is fear of being drafted and having to face an uncertain future as a solder in action.

This same teacher mentioned the draft and the ages that could be subject to the draft. It was the first time I'd ever heard that bit of information.

Being a teenager among his pears I naturally put on a brave front but, the prospect of being put in a war time environment scared the hell out of me; it really scared the hell out of me. I just new if I were drafted it would be like being sent to my death.

Even the desperate prayers of a stupid self-centered teenager seemed to get answered sometimes.

I didn't get drafted. I can't even say for sure if I ever had anything to worry about. I just kept thinking of those bloody news reels we seen every night. The one in particular that would come to mind when I'd stress out about having to go to war showed a Vietnamese Officer that put a snub-nose revolver to the head of a South Vietnamese prisoner and pulled the trigger.

Was I a teenage coward for being afraid to go to war? My parents were far from perfect but, despite that they raised us to obey the laws of the land. Fearful or not, if I had been drafted I would have gone. And I would have done the best I could under those circumstances.

I thank God I didn't have to go. And I thank God for those of you who did go. I'm humbled by your bravery.

As a side note: My sister's boyfriend, my brother-in-law; had the misfortune of walking next to one of his buddies as that buddy tripped a land mine. He's not ashamed of the long scare he now has across his chest and abdomen but, the Purple Heart they gave him stays hidden away for no one to see. And he never talks about it.

HollowPoint

[montana_charlie]

When we were on base, we had to turn in our weapons. I still have my gun card so I could run over a hundred yards to the armory, stand in line and get issued two clips of ammo when we got hit. No joke. Some of the guys had pistols sent from home so they would be armed.
When I wasn't TDY to Nui Ba Den, I lived and worked on Tan Son Nhut...and was subject to that same type of system.

My 'hideout handgun' was (is) a Type 54 Chicom Tokarev that I 'liberated' from a VietCong Lieutenant.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/montana_charlie/Tokarev.jpg

Poor quality image was produced with a flatbed scanner.

CM

[Poygan]

I was at Tan Son Nhut '69 - 70. Our M-16s were locked away in a conex. We could not legally have any weapons, plus we had to be in uniform if we went into Saigon. OTOH, the Aussies on base were issued Browning HiPowers and could go into town into civies. Guess which made the most sense to me?

[Tom-ADC]

I carried a Hi Power that I sold for mega dollars just before I left.

[lyktohunt]

I am not from your country (just a little north) but I appreciate and respect you guys and gals that served and are serving. Thanks

[1Shirt]

Phu Cat, 68-69. Got to Da Nang only to fly out on R&R. However the night before we flew out, was watching the movie/Romeo & Juliet out of doors projected on a screen made up (if I remember right) 3 sheets of 4x8 plywood painted white. Sat on slab benches, and there was a rocket attack on the far end of the base. Movie continued, we watched, attack ended, movie ended, we went to bks and hit the rack. Told the next a.m. that no one was killed or injured the night before. Always have thought it was a strange thing to watch a movie during an attack. Must have been about 100 or so of us there.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[9.3X62AL]

Those were very strange days, indeed. I just missed the draft (turned 19 in 1974), but did register with SSA. No real objections to serving my country, and I still retain a profound distaste for the idiots who disrespected our servicemen/women duringand after the Viet Nam conflict. THANK YOU, and BLESS YOU ALL for your service to our country!

No, Jane Fonda--I won't forget, and will never forgive your treason.

[Poygan]

Ah, another fan of Hanoi Jane....

[Rick N Bama]

I was at Tan Son Nhut '69 - 70. Our M-16s were locked away in a conex. We could not legally have any weapons, plus we had to be in uniform if we went into Saigon. OTOH, the Aussies on base were issued Browning HiPowers and could go into town into civies. Guess which made the most sense to me?

Were you USAF? During my stay there I wore the one set of civies I had there into Saigon many times.

Was the big PX still at Cholon when you were there?

During Tet of '68 the conexes with weapons were installed around but the weapons were only for members of trained response teams.

Rick

[Poygan]

Rick,

Yes, USAF. The conex was down by the flight line close to our unit, the 12 TRS. We did get the M-16s when we had a local exercise.

Think I got to the commissary at Cholon once - I think we needed a letter from our commander to get stuff there for a squadron party.

Some must have had personal weapons as there was some 9mm and .25acp ammo left in the latrine area I assume after someone left.

[Tom-ADC]

Ah, another fan of Hanoi Jane....

We used to get a paper from the state of Michigan called Michigan Oversea's Veteran I think that is what it was called may have been put out by the VFW, I still remember the VFW in Holland MI doing a ribbon cutting dedication of the local sewage treatment plant in Jane Fonda's name:smile:

[Rick N Bama]

Some must have had personal weapons as there was some 9mm and .25acp ammo left in the latrine area I assume after someone left.

I was in the 1876 Comm Sq. We had an assortment of weapons (none offically) which included 1 full auto AK47 we had traded an Army Capt out of, a 12ga shotgun, a couple 38s & I finally traded an Army guy out of an old 1911 & 2 mags of ammo. I sure wish I could have brought the 1911 home but I was scared to even attempt it.

Welcome home guys!

Sorry if I've hijacked the thread :hijack:

Rick

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I like this thread. So many stories from so long ago. I can't believe the stuff I did and got by with. Not bad stuff. Just crazy young guy things. MY MY

[462]

"Just crazy young guy things."

Hmmm...like a 3-day binge?

V.O. was $4 for a 40-ounce Imperial quart. When you were down to 30-days left in-country, the base tradition was to drink a bottle of V.O., by yourself at one sitting, remove the gold and black ribbon from the bottle and tie it in a shirt button hole. I still have my ribbon.

Still have my FIGMO calender, too.

[TCLouis]

It's funny Gun control was really starting to get active when I got back to protect folks from accidental discharges etc.

From the day I showed up on the hill till we moved to Chu Lai to dismantle we all had basically the same thing in our hooch if we we on the hill.

Cooler with beer (on the coast)

M-16 unloaded

Some kind of H harness and a ruck

Ruck always had 200 round of 5.56 in strippers (4 and 1 or 9 and 1)
200 rounds M-60 ammo (except for the specialty personnel)
Claymore
4 - 8 grenades

Some C-4 (cooking and EOD use)

Food

Hooch was about 50 feet from our bunker so it was easy to carry everything if needed.

Never messed with much on the hill so bunker was guard duty post mainly.

Theere was a Colt Gold Cup that was passed around for 50 bucks per transfer.

[montana_charlie]

I was in the 1876 Comm Sq.
I was also in the 1876th, Ground Radio Maintenance.
We worked the transmitter and receiver sites, several stand alone radios located around the base, and covered the RAPCON trailers on the flight line. In addition to that stuff...which was just like any base, anywhere, we also had two men TDY to 'the mountain' to maintain a relay set up there.

We had a wall locker in the transmitter building on base which was assigned six M-16s and four S&W .38s.
Since two rifles and two sidearms were always TDY, that left four and two...except on a day when we were chaging out people on the mountain. Then the locker would hold only two rifles.

We had a 1911 that stayed on the mountain for anyone who wanted to carry it, and I managed to scrounge a Swedish Nine submachine gun in mint condition.
Unfortunately, I could never get a line on a regular supply of ammunition for it.

The 1876 Comm Sq. morphed into the 1964th Comm Group about halfway through my tour. The cease fire was signed a month before I was due to leave.

Our mountain was overrun the first night I was on it...and the war was over when I climbed on the Freedom Bird ten months later.

It was a wild ride...

CM

[Beau Cassidy]

Tom I think we might have a mutual friend in San Diego.

[Tom-ADC]

Tom I think we might have a mutual friend in San Diego.

Really PM me with the name.

[Rick N Bama]

I was also in the 1876th, Ground Radio Maintenance.
We worked the transmitter and receiver sites, several stand alone radios located around the base, and covered the RAPCON trailers on the flight line. In addition to that stuff...which was just like any base, anywhere, we also had two men TDY to 'the mountain' to maintain a relay set up there.

CM

I was actually in the Telephone group, but we spent many hours out at the Radio Relay site working on the circuits there. I also spent a little time in the RAPCON working on their phone stuff. Hit the "Bail Out" circuit one time & looked up to find myself all alone in the unit:) Everyone else had hit the bunker.

Remember where the SCMO-SMC office was? We worked out of that old French building just to the south when I first arrived. About halfway through my tour we moved to the same building where the Central Office was located.

I gave the 1911 to a buddy & could be the one your group wound up with. I think it was an Ithaca.....but that was 43 years ago. We went through many motar & rocket attracks during the Tet Offensive & the months after.

Rick

[Dean D.]

FIGMO....wow, its been a looooooong time since I have heard that term!

[PatMarlin]

Wish my scanner was working. I went over there in 97' and I've got a bunch of pictures you guys may find entertaining.

Thank you for your service-

[Tom-ADC]

I have a couple of friends that went back but not for me at least right now.
I probably still harbor some bad thoughts from that place.

[PatMarlin]

It was a remarkable journey for me for sure.

I could see the Vets that were there had a good time, and were glad they went, but I could not compare my feelings on it, as I'm bout' 10 years behind you guys.

[PatMarlin]

2 worlds old and new on the Mekong in Phnom Penn. Ski boat docked with guys out looking for drift wood.


http://www.patmarlins.com/mekong2.jpg




http://www.patmarlins.com/1Mekong.jpg

[tward]

was in LZ Marylou 2 in 1969. Close to Kontum City. Had a sargent that wanted me to go on guard duty with a unloaded M16, said I might shoot somebody, told him I might kill somebody!
Tim

[gunslinger20]

I too was at Da Nang 69-70 convoyed to Phu Cat through the jungle during the monsoons via Phu Bi where they had a qwansant hut turned into a masage parlor I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Not so nice in Da Nang rockets, rockets and more rockets, many casualties. Bad time in my life.

[trk]

Drafted in May of '70. Suicide is Painless hit the top 10 that month. Retired 23 years later.

[PatMarlin]

Was there an Air Force Base in Phu Cat?

Cause if I remember correctly that's where a good friend did air craft maintenance his whole stint.

He said they lobbed in mortars at em' periodically, and they could not carry arms either. He bought a handgun, but I forgot what it was.

I don't get it. In the middle of a war and unarmed? ...:shock:

[Chiefs50]

I was up the road north of you near Hue (Army) in 65/66.

[462]

"Was there an Air Force Base in Phu Cat?"

Yes.

When I returned to the world, in'69, one of my load crew members had been stationed there. He was in an A-1E squadron, but I don't know if there were other birds there, or not.

[Arisaka99]

Keep the stories coming!! My grandfather and uncle were in Vietnam. My grandfather got 3 purple hearts, and wont tell me anything about it, and my uncle came back just fine, and will tell me anything I want to know.

[PatMarlin]

Talking to my buddy on the phone now, and he was at the base in Phu Cat from 8-69 to 8-70.

He said the Air Force had locked all their arms up.

[Tom-ADC]

"Was there an Air Force Base in Phu Cat?"

Yes.

When I returned to the world, in'69, one of my load crew members had been stationed there. He was in an A-1E squadron, but I don't know if there were other birds there, or not.

Speaking of Spad's I took this from the right seat of a A1E in 65 my first tour there.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL174/1021972/1908390/108765356.jpg

[Gray Fox]

70-71 I was up in II Corps doing various Military Intelligence( I know, a contradiction in terms) jobs. During one period I actually wore the brass "US" insignia on my collars like CPT Flagg in MASH. Lots of weird stuff went on there. Our CO, a major, had had a negligent discharge as a lieutenant and trusted no one with a weapon, and so even when we had VC in the wire we had to line up at the supply room to draw weapons and ammo. My later team was out in the boonies a bit, and I had them armed with AKs we had taken from POWs and KIA. We cleaned them up, as well as the mags and ammo, and then used them only within our wire shooting out. I wonder what the VC thought when they saw green AK tracers coming back at them? We had a bunch of Model 37 Ithaca 12 gauge shotguns, but word came down that the Red Cross had deemed them inhumane and we had to turn them all in. I swear it wasn't a week before we were issued buckshot loads for the M79 grenade launchers.

I saw the movie MASH for the first time while I was in the hospital in Qui Nhon recovering from 122mm rocket frags. Sitting two rows in front of me was a pear shaped curly-haired doctor and he had two gorgeous nurses with him, one under each arm! Life sometimes does imitate art.

Best of luck to all of you other Boolit launchers who are still out there with your own 'Nam stories.

[gunslinger20]

Sorry guys I havent thought about Viet Nam for a long time noe. I got the cities wrong. Phu Cat had the masage parlor we convoyed to Touy Houe or however it is spelled i cant remember that either.

[Kraschenbirn]

"Was there an Air Force Base in Phu Cat?"

I was a Huey crewchief with 1st Cav and we operated in the Bong Son Plain (just north of Phu Cat) through most of '66 and all of '67. Occasionally, we'd make a "precautionary landing" at Phu Cat just to make a run at their PX and get a meal in one of their messhalls. The place was almost like stateside; concrete block barracks with real showers and flush toilets; sidewalks; indoor movie theater; separate officer, NCO, and EM clubs...the whole nine yards.

So far as aircraft, I can recall seeing a little of everything there: F-100s, RF-101s, A-1s, F-4s, and even a few of the old AC-47 gunships (some called 'em "Magic Dragons" but we called 'em "Spookies").

And, yeah, I remember the Air Force wouldn't let us off the flightline with our weapons, too...had to check them with their security guys. Had one poor A1C looked like he was going to pee his britches when my door gunner laid a couple of frag grenades on counter along with his sidearm, ammo, and survival knife. Called in his supervisor and they had a discussion about whether or not they should call EOD to pick them up. Finally, gave him a lift back out to our bird so he could leave them there.

Bill

11th Air Assault Gp.
1st Cavalry Div (Airmobile)
'66, '67, '68

[PatMarlin]

My buddy was an air craft maintenance tech (Air Force) stationed at Phu Cat, but he was also a musician and his band played the NCO, Officers Clubs, etc. at Phu Cat.

He said there were 2 bands, a country and western, and then his band was a 6 piece, and played Motown R&B. He and I played music together in the latter 70'so that's how I got to know him.

He told me tonight that the Air Force had rules on base that all firearms were to be locked up accept for security personnel.

Well I guess when the Marines came in from the bush, the Air Force attempted to disarm them, and the Marine commander flat out told the Air Force to stuff it, that his marines would be armed with their rifles at side at all times.

So Jay (my friend) said even in the clubs on base, the Marines were armed.

He on the other hand had to buy a side arm, and he passed it on when he left.

[gunslinger20]

I was in 820th red horse sp forces and we had M-16s and 870s with the with the fletchet loads (small darts that look like ramset pins with steel fins.

[gunslinger20]

When Red Horse went to other places in country we didnt disarm. When we convoyed or flew on our own choppers we had our own commanders and we didnt report to other base commanders.

[PatMarlin]

Speaking of Spad's I took this from the right seat of a A1E in 65 my first tour there.



That is an awesome shot Tom. Very cool plane.

[Boz330]

Speaking of Spad's I took this from the right seat of a A1E in 65 my first tour there.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL174/1021972/1908390/108765356.jpg

That aircraft was one of the few prop jobs that could carry it's own weight in ordinance. I believe the engine was the R-3350 which is the same engine they used on the B-29s. Lots of HP.
A friend of mine said that he saved a Sky Raider pilot's butt when he was in Nam. He was a tank commander and they saw one go down close by and hot footed it over to the bellied in aircraft to find the pilot hiding behind that big 3350 trying to hold off some Viet Cong with his 38. He was pretty glad to see the tank crew since the Viet Cong didn't hang around long after the M-48 showed up.

Bob

[Wayne Smith]

I was a sophmore at Northern Virginia Community College, 1A, draft #2! I hotfooted it over to Georgetown University and joined the ROTC unit there, did two semesters in one, but halfway through the second semester Congress killed the draft. I dropped out of ROTC and continued my education.

The ROTC unit was run by a Captain and an E7, I believe. The E7 had done three tours in Nam, very professional soldier, who predicted rightly that the post-Nam Army was not going to be a nice place. I have great respect for those of you who did serve and who do now. I was a year or two too young.

[462]

At Phan Rang, those whose job required them to be armed, i.e. the Air Force Security Police, the Army's 101st Airborne, and the Koreans, carried their weapons.

All the rocket and mortar attacks were launched from beyond the perimeter wire (guarded by the above), so those of us who worked on the flightline weren't armed. However, one night, Charlie was spotted on the runway and we were issued M-16s and two full magazines.

We flew a lot of night missions, so I spent many uneasy and unarmed nights on end of runway duty.

[Echo]

Nothing to add. I was stationed in Thailand, @ U-Tapao, in 66-67. The only thing I had to worry about was getting drunk and falling into a klong, and I never did those two things at the same time...

[Tom-ADC]

My younger brother served also he was a crew chief on a Huey with this group.
I think 67-68 http://a227ahb.org/

[PatMarlin]

Any of you guys believe there were/is was POW's over there held long after the war like they did to the with the French?

[Tom-ADC]

Any of you guys believe there were/is was POW's over there held long after the war like they did to the with the French?

Yes I do. One of the reasons I'll never visit there.

[Kraschenbirn]

My younger brother served also he was a crew chief on a Huey with this group.
I think 67-68 http://a227ahb.org/

Good troops!! One of the guys I trained with at Ft. Eustis, VA was with Bravo, 227. Had no idea he'd been assigned to 1st Cav until we (almost literally!) ran into each other at An Khe when both our aircraft were in for maintenance.

Bill

[1Shirt]

Pat Marlin, We had F-4's at Phu Cat. We were north of Quin yan. Yeah, we had a massage parlor on base also. No weapons allowed unless we were going off base. Had a 1911 between my mattresses. Had two mattresses on my rack, and figured that if I was under the rack, two mattresses would probably save my sorry butt. I was a supply type at that time.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Kraschenbirn]

Any of you guys believe there were/is was POW's over there held long after the war like they did to the with the French?

I think it may be questionable whether there were POWs held for any long period after the war ended, but I'm absolutely certain there were a number of our guys who were captured and never accounted for. In 1968, one of our Hueys went down along the Laotian border during the A Shau Valley campaign and the crew was never seen...or heard of...again. According to the recovery team, crash was definitely "survivable" but, by the time they got to the site the following day, the wreck had been pretty well stripped of anything useable. No indication of any ground action; no small arms damage to the wreckage, no empty brass on the ground, no bloodstains, nada...but, also, no sign of the crew and their names have never shown up on any of the POW or casualty lists provided by the Vietnamese after the war.

There are a few ex-army and marine aviation types who spend a couple months a year in 'Nam investigating old crash sites, trying to locate ones that weren't recovered during the war. I've often considered getting in touch with them to find out if they could use another old crewchief who's done a bit of amatuer archeology.

Bill

[472x1B/A]

Echo, I was at U-Tapao also. '73-'74 Worked in Refueling maint., Transportation Sq.. POL was pumping 1,ooo,ooo gals of JP-4 every 24 hrs. for the Buff's and KC-135's. Was the best tour of my 20 yrs.. Ol PACAF hrs. of 65 hrs. a week sucked then, but now don't seem so bad. The job I have now, sometimes we work for 40 days with out a day off. Yup the good ol days. Newland too.

[jnovotny]

First off guys I enjoy reading your stories and greatly appreciate your service to our country. I have worked with, in the past, a coulpe WWII vets. One was a pilot in the pacific theater and the other was in the army, he stormed the beach at Normandy. The stories that both of these guys told me were interesting just as yours are. I myself was a little kid in 1974, the ripe old age of 10. I remember watching TV when I was even youger and seeing what was happening over there. So once again thanks from the bottom of my heart.

John

[462]

jnovotny,
Thank you, for the kind words.

I'm glad I did what I did, and would do it again, without hesitation.

[MT Gianni]

Great stories, and thank you all for your service. I had a draft number of 300+ in 1972 and was told I was given a gift and not to mess it up.

[pearson1662]

Thank you for your service and my freedom .

+1 and for my children's freedom, too. Thank you, men.

Jay

[Tom-ADC]

I for one think my 21 years was the must fun I've had in my life time.
Just got back from the Colorado river we were next to the Yuma proving grounds had to stop and wait while a Bradley and some big truck with a M2 mounted crossed the road in front of us, plus got to see a M1A up close, what I would give to go for a ride in one of those!!:)

[Frank]

I give thanks to the Korean War and Vietnam War veterans since they fought Communism. In the bigger picture of things, the most noble sacrifice was the war against the Soviet Union. If the Nazi's won WWII there would have been no Korean War or Vietnam war, 100,000 American lives would have been saved. Anyway, to all those soldiers, German, Italian and American, Thank You again for your sacrifice. :drinks:

[MikeH]

70-71 was in USAF at Monkey Mountain overlooking Da Nang. When our mountain wasn't fogged over at night, we used to watch all the fire fights around the base and the surrounding areas. My M-16 was locked up like everyone else's. Prayed that I never had to get it in a hurry.

We were the main control point for the attempted POW rescue at Son Tay prison. Two years later while attending a school in Florida, I met the crew chief on the chopper that crashed into the prison compound.

[462]

"If the Nazi's won WWII..."

Means we would have lost.

[PatMarlin]

I've got an incredible story, that most folks do not care for, or think I'm full of it. I hesitate to even mention it anymore.

I was over there on a business venture with a small group of American and Cambodian partners for a few months, and was to be there for a few years but decided it was to risky for a variety of reasons. Most of our time was spent in remote NE Cambodia and along the Tonle San river and a northern province close to the Viet Nam boarder.

We had full escort and security provided by the Royal Cambodian Army. The Cambodians had a detailed story of our guys still being held then- in 97 by the Vietnamese with evidence. We reported it to US officials in our government. While I thought at the time I was going to be a part of something really big happening, nothing was ever done about it.

[Tom-ADC]

If the Nazi's won WWII there would have been no Korean War or Vietnam war, 100,000 American lives would have been saved.

Not quite sure what to make of this? If the nazi's had won are you saying for the rest of the world that would be a good thing? Would they have then came here and built more of those death camps? How could this be good?
Sorry I'd give my life for freedom the American way, no way I'd want to live under nazi control.

[Frank]

Tom-ADC:
Quote:

If the Nazi's won WWII there would have been no Korean War or Vietnam war, 100,000 American lives would have been saved.

Not quite sure what to make of this? If the nazi's had won are you saying for the rest of the world that would be a good thing? Would they have then came here and built more of those death camps? How could this be good?
Sorry I'd give my life for freedom the American way, no way I'd want to live under nazi control.
Hitler had no designs for Britain, or the U.S. He only wanted to control continental Europe, Britain to control the seas and it's empire, Germany to dominate the land. For Germany the land acquisition was to come from the east. Thus the invasion of the Soviet Union, operation Barbarossa commenced. The battle of Britain was only to get Britain to negotiate a peace. This is explained in a book, Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War, by Pat Buchanan. Hitler also forbade the Germany Navy from attacking U.S. shipping to keep the U.S. out of the war.

[Tom-ADC]

Do you honestly think that if we had lost WW2 to Hitler he would have said, okay all is well now you guys go back to Britain & the USA all is well now that we own Europe?
No way, we would have been next on his list.
Darn hi jacked my own thread.:hijack:

[starmac]

In my way of thinking we stayed out of ww11 too long as it was only getting in full force after pearl. Are you saying that if we lost that we would have been alright from then on, Do you think the Japs would have just left alaska and said everything is cool now.

[PatMarlin]

Them Japs wanted to come right into California and take us over.

A weather balloon fire bomb- one of the many they sent in landed just a few miles from here in the Forest. Got taken care of quickly. I'd say the threat and intention was real and planned, and no- they would certainly not have just dropped by to say hello.

[montana_charlie]

Any of you guys believe there were/is was POW's over there held long after the war like they did to the with the French?
When Nui Ba Den was overrun (Apr. 8, 72) Army Captain John Ray was commanding.
He was captured early in the fight, and we ended up using his hooch as our final holdout spot.

His name was on the list of released POWs at war's end.
CM

[Frank]

Don't forget, when Germany invaded Western Poland, the Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland. Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. But no war declaration against the USSR. How come? Germany did that deal to make a temporary peace in the East so they could turn to the West and tackle Britain, then she would negotiate. Then he could go back to the east, defeat the USSR and end the war. The Germans had a dismal Navy, but that suited them well since all they ever wanted was to expand to the east and a continental Europe.

When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, in response, in October 1941, the U.S. sent a representative to Moscow agreeing to supply Stalin with arms to defeat Hitler. So the U.S. was already at war with Germany before Dec 1941. This was concealed from the American public.

The pact with Japan was to put pressure on Britain to negotiate with Germany and to keep America at bay so it wouldn't aid Britain. But Hitler regretted that scenario. He said, "How ironic, we support an Asian country against Britain the far east (Singapore), and Britain supports the Soviet hords against Germany.'

He wanted the British and U.S. to leave him alone in his war in the east, but since they wouldn't do that, then pacts and alliances had to be made.

[Tom-ADC]

Frank you can babble this BS as much as you like but the fact is if germany had won WW2 you'd be typing your reply in german!
Thank the Allies military you can do it in english.
My last comment I'd hope you get the hint and stop hijacking my thread with this junk, start your own.

[Frank]

Tom-ADC:
Frank you can babble this BS as much as you like but the fact is if germany had won WW2 you'd be typing your reply in german!
Thank the Allies military you can do it in english.
My last comment I'd hope you get the hint and stop hijacking my thread with this junk, start your own.
It's not BS. I was just answering your question. I'm glad you're enjoying your fond memories from Da Nang.

[1Shirt]

Frank, You are welcome to your opinions for sure. However, I see a lot of "coulda, woulda, shoulda type thinking", that has little logic as far as I can see. You make for interesting reading however.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[Frank]

...massage parlor..
After the visit to Thailand, the line coming out of sick bay went all the way down the hall. Live and learn. 8-)