VVA's goals . Suprise, suprise, It was in a large dirt field 150 yards outside of the north perimeter. I faked being a doctor from the USA and was shown around a little. I was not prepared and he totally over powered me! What amazed me was by brakefast time at 0530 the marines had already set up a field mess trailer out side the mess hall and were serving breakfast. Well, the Camp Tein Sha barracks got me for Friday, and Saturday. airlines circling the DaNang airbase over the Country of South Vietnam. the "enlisted head" identified in I was given our 2 new carpenters to help with the concrete pour, 3rd class builder Calabresy and builder CN Craig Taylor. 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. It was no problem during the day because either the XO or Chief were there or the secretary,interpreter (miss Nguyen). [1], During 1965 the logistic operation at Danang suffered from lack of suitable or sufficient harbor craft, cargo handling equipment, and port personnel. Management and planning of the logistic flow needed refinement, as ships arrived en masse with cargo improperly stowed and packaged. couldn't resist testing it's limits! So what did I do for work uniforms ? the fresh meat so what do I know about it. Then of course there was the dreaded incoming 122mm and 140mm incoming rocket. basis The Post office was about 75 yards from my hootch. It didn't take long to get out of bed when the first rocket struck nearby. me at Port Services, then I was tasked with setting up a chart (and It was a horrifying thing to watch. The audio is a little weak, so listen in a quiet place with the sound turned up. Chapel? Inside of that trailer, face down were 2 dead Marines. 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. Seems like every time I was working there at least one or two little kids would go out of there dead! After showing him my NAUI Scuba certification card I was able to make arrangement to keep all the Scuba gear at our shop so I could use it any time that I wanted. Even now-days I hate phones,radios, air conditioning and coffee ! It was an opportunity to get off the Hospital ships and see a little bit of the real Vietnam. blocked. 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. Camp Tien Sha, Vietnam. arrive there again.. Joe Witmeyer shares this 50th Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968 from Monkey Mountain Bombardier Pretorian Aug 16, 2013 Good photo, get a good look at the base. These positive relations were largely a reflection of the fact that black and white soldiers in combat were heavily dependent on one another. I took my time cooling myself off in that shower then went As time passed and I saw all of these kids sick and broken I realized that most of what this clinic was doing was trying to repair the damage done to these kids by the war itself. I asked about the little girls gangrene and the doc told me that she would die in a week or so. I am searching for anyone who may recall serving with me in the Seabees at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang between 1969-1971. 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. Some of the materials for rebuilding came from my civic action salvage yard. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. You will use the chain of command ,don't come to me. I'm considered a Vietnam Veteran, due to the dates I served. around on the gravel surface at the PTF base. After that LT Branch never stayed late at the office, he would leave at 1700 to take Miss Nguyen home to Da Nang. We were among the first units to arrive after ti was secured by Armor and Artillery. I asked about the little girl and the doc said she had died Thursday night. One of them used to take me to the MACV Club located by the USS Repose. On Tuesday May 14 I finished my hooch and settled into the corner right inside the door. Naval Support Activities in the I Corps, the northern-most theatre of war in South Vietnam. Well whenever I was working in that area I would sneak in the tent and find some dirty uniforms,still in good shape and steal them, put them in my crew tool box and take them back to my hooch and hand wash them ! I was called to active durty in July One night I stood a four hour office watch and another night I was on a four hour barracks fire watch. The crew truck got there about 1745 hr or so and the doc was still busy. 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. Danang had become the largest fuel complex in South Vietnam capable of holding over 500,000 barrels. Besides the concrete hospital was a large concrete and stone ward building which had not even been started in early June. ever getting my hair cut at Camp I would have to wait a few more days for that to start. 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. [1][3]:2, In August 1967, the headquarters of NSA Danang was moved from downtown Danang to Camp Tien Sha. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. There was outgoing mortar rounds and incoming. Guard shacks along the pipe line to the ESSO fuel plant, Oil Tanker off loading at the ESSO fuel plant. The Docs loved coming to Hoa Kahn Clinic. The PTFs, under Vietnamese officers and crews, conducted over 1,000 raids against North Vietnam from March-April 1964 to January 1972. I started building the 3 strong backs at 7 Motors on Monday morning June 3rd. - Alan, Drawing When a child died they were bundled tightly in white sheets and tide off with string. Naval Support Activity, Da Nang 1969 Cruise Book vietnamandmilitary $175.00 101st Airborne "Tour Book" 1967-68 The first year!!! The base appears to remain in use by the PAVN. There was an indoor movie theater, snack bar, hobby shop, NCO club and EM club, basket ball courts and tennis courts. In other words, if you could drive a Corvair fast and survive you Had fun there, especially since I had to wear civilian clothes. 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. Her husband was an ARVN soldier who had been killed. It [1], 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. After a short rest to pull my self together I went back and finished putting the door spring on and about that time one of my team mates picked me up and took me back to the shop. head" screwed onto the pipe. Because of the rocket attack on May 13 (rockets hit with in 50 yard of this building) some of the officers there wanted escape doors out the back of the building where they were starting to build their own bunkers. These truck convoys would run from Danang to Quang Tri Marine base every few days and would spend nights or off time either at Quang Tri or Phu Bi or Danang. This exhibit is now closed. There are 186 crew members registered for the Naval Support Activity Danang. roof. Then he could pick my guys up and pick up materials to build my hooch. Older Vietnam veteran who served in the US Navy at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang, 1968-1969. The course is a model in how to survive, and how to come home with honor. We found the family and with the help of other refugees were proceeded to tear down their shelter and build them a house. On May 13,1968 we took 6 122mm rocket rounds as explained in my May 15,1968 leter. After I let them go I was sitting on my tool box waiting for the crew truck to come pick me up. I was in country from June 1969 to June 1970. He left me sitting there on the steps saying he would send Beerworth down at 1700 hr to get me settled in. 2023 iStockphoto LP. Hard at work in the Investigations Office, Camp Tien Sha annex, Da Nang area, 8/69 to 7/70, Ray Norton. 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. This was a real live human! I held the door open for them. Surprise, I think that was normal precaution . 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. Smile like you mean it! Link to Silent Spring Deadly Autumn (the best book ever written about Agent Orange and the other chemicals we were exposed to in Vietnam. When Puppy was big enough our secretary, interpreter Miss Nguyen took Puppy home with her to Danang. Drive out the back gate and about 2 miles to the Navy Seabee base. So every week there would be a different doctor. Do the job, get it done right and then sign off the work order and move on to the next one. I thought they were trying to lighten their load. The second floor office was just being framed up . After the bones were cut the Doc tied off all the bleeders and removed the hemostats . I went out and sat on my toolbox and thought about what I had just experienced. We got danger close rockets in that area often. identified as "enlisted head." The Doc told me to help tie the farmer down to the desk. Here is the letter I wrote my parents on May 15, 1968. I have spent countless hours over the past 15 years driving my motorbike around the Camp Books area looking for any of our workers. Detachment Phu Bai - 1965 -1970. I would sit at the desk and drink coffee, write letters or poetry. There was always something interesting to watch at Camp Books. We had no black out lights on our trucks so we would have been any easy target for anyone who decided that they were going to kill us! the upper left hand part of the pic. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. Over time that changed, I didn't want to know any newbies! What the F is wrong with her? Jeep parts? Between 1969 and 1971 hundreds, if not thousands, of incidents of racial violence occurred in and around American military bases hair cutting all my time there aside Get those Fucking Gooks away from that Damn trailer". Surprisingly, I never step foot on a ship, I was always stationed in Navy hospitals. I didn't understand at that time the danger of rocket attacks. Mark Harms reporting for duty! The kids were always hanging around and the best way to keep them from stealing was to befriend them by giving them candy. This is the first Poem that I wrote in Vietnam and is about the two marines killed in the skivvy house. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! Great Discounts & More! Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. It is very likely this was were the Marines were killed . 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. I believe we also tied him around the waist. Well I never did hear from Barbee. I was in Danang less than a month when the Vietcong used rockets to attack the Danang Air Base for the first time in the war, on the morning of February 27. There were other things to screw up the nights. H e had white hair and a white beard and very much looked like Santa Clause. Over 130 rough terrain and warehouse forklifts and 20 cranes eased cargo handling. The nurse in the center of the picture is the one who helped amputate the farmers legs. On the left 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. Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. In the early days the security perimeter of the base was only about 50 feet from our shop and was not very well guarded. Nights in Vietnam were uncomfortable at best. The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. The lumber and wood crates in upper right was the start of our lumber yard. The carpenter flat bed truck. Ya, we continued our work and started building my hooch. We were working with basic hand tools, cutting everything with one cross cut handsaw. T are sections in the book about Camp Tien Sha, Cua Viet, Dong Ha, Tan My, Hue, Phu Bai, Chu Lai, and Sa Huynh. Marine guns up to the DMZ, we looked like shoe boxes eith long gun 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. With chow finished I had the rest of 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. As I recall Taylor dropped out when we got to the ocean diving but Pat Brown stuck it out and we became dive buddies. ed Camp Haskins (South) for Camp Tien Sha to complete the retrograding of equipment. When I look back it sure seems stupid but at the time what else could I do? Maybe 6 on a side. It had been built the end of April so was brand new. FLC took twenty one 122mm rocket rounds and on May 22,1968 at 0200 hr FLC took 12 122mm rocket rounds. 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. It had been a very busy month with a lot of things happening. k. Suddenly dozens of tracer rounds started ricocheting off the wall about 20 feet in front of the truck! After a couple rocket and mortar attacks my brain never went completely to sleep. 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. Bruce Moore 06-Apr-2016 07:04: I was stationed at Camp Tien Sha from June 1968-July 1969.,I was a BU3 attached to the US Naval Support Activities Danang.I lived in barracks #35 which was on the backside of Camp Tien Sha.I was in barracks #35 when the Rocket and mortar attack began.we had a material storage yard directly behind the barracks that was hit with incoming rounds.I also, as a . information beyond what we already have. Soon there were Marines all over the place. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. 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. OK, Im new here, the rooky, The bunker in back was the Korean bunker that I slept in while I was building my hooch. I don't know what the building Link to video tour of . There hours were 0800 to1700 so it was impossible for me to go. kms.) changes to : Donations for May. ! Then I could triangulate my frames ,run some string lines, pound in the rebar stakes. Then after thinking about it I realized how wrong I was. Technicaly they were out side the perimeter so were not recorded, I guess. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They made runs north to Cua Viet at the mouth of the river (80 miles north of DaNang and 6 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone) and then upriver eight miles to Dong Ha to haul cannon ammunition to the marines. U.S. MARINES IN VIETNAM THE DEFINING YEAR 1968. by. Only 364 more days to go! Mountain. My station when On May 15 I had finished 6 or 8 escape doors. Right. . context of what was happening. Closer and closer, the engine starting to whine! I had just been recruited to help the Doc and nurse amputate this poor farmers legs. On 30 June 1970 NSA Danang was deactivated and on 1 July new Army-Marine service support agreements went into effect. maids walked in and started cleaning such a small vehicle. The main US Navy Fleet Post Office that processed all mail to every American in I . The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. Still, A regular jeep would accommodate 5 people, while in this Alan 1968 SPECIAL REPORT: "CAMP TIEN SHA RACIAL TROUBLE" Hezakya Newz & Films 165K subscribers Subscribe 300 9.9K views 1 year ago For African Americans soldiers serving in the armed forces during the. For the time being they were stashed in my hooch and on May 24, Karl Voiles spent his first day assembling beds. It turned 90 degrees to the right and touched down between two rows of concertina wire in the middle of the perimeter. On Friday I left the shop at 1800hr and went to the Children's Clinic. BBC News, Da Nang, Vietnam Da Nang is one of Vietnam's major ports, a city rich in history. If there was any heavy weather and to many buffer pads were jumping out I would have to go back to the hooch and roust out a work crew. All in the name of saving them from Communism. not leaving a big enough tip. I think the thing that [6], In April 1972 all US Navy facilities in Danang were transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy.[1]. Here is a poem that I wrote about the helicopter. Another thing that screwed up the night for us was our night radio, phone watch, it was a real bitch ! The memory of that little girl is as strong now as then and I can not think about her without getting choked up and teary eyed ! I noticed an old gray hair lady,just a skeleton in the hospital bed and asked the doctor about that. "Ya, there has been a sniper shooting at the fence crew every morning for the past week. 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! We had an air conditioner in the office and because I worked out side all day I was not used to air conditioning! 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. 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. Both of his legs had been pretty much blown off. the duty jeep normally delivered the crew to the base in the who manned the PTF base at night used for transportation to and from The feet just kind of hanging by muscle and skin. The station hospital begun in 1965 had treated over 21,000 casualties, 44,000 nonbattle patients and one million outpatients flowing in from the hostile and disease-ridden I Corps environment. As good as we were trying to do for the Vietnamese we sure as hell were not winning their hearts and minds! And Sandoval. Well sure I heard about it and even saw them down at 1st MPs. We were also vulnerable to sappers . 11. would be thinking about that meal a lot! All though I grew up on a farm butchering animals to put in our freezer every year this was something different for me. 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. It was Our mess hall, about 70 yards from my hootch took a direct hit on the serving line and kitchen area. background old PTF Base and Monkey Work started at 0700 hr and we got off at 1700 hr. The next work order I got for there I gave it to Beerworth and told him I would not work there any more! That was necessary because ptfnasty.com and the DaNang section, You FNGs This building was about 24 ft wide and 200 feet long and was a two story building. So my hooch would now have 5 of us. I would have to find some time to build a foot locker. This would also give Beerworth time to get his guys out on their job. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. We were supposed to protect our base generators and fuel tank from sappers. I knew I wasn't in Kansas. I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. I set up a course 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. this place, wearing only "shower Well I don't know how much of an impression that left on me but these guys getting killed in the Skivvy house got my attention ! Let me tell you that wasn't fun at all. I was at Camp Tien Sha from June '69 until Feb '70. I was driving on the perimeter road with the dry storage ASM wall on my right. this pic sure isn't it, at least The usual row of sinks, toilets and Please feel free May 27 was my birthday. We are the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1122, based in Collin County, Texas. Spent four years in college, and achieved QM3, and qualified in Friday was an interesting day. After the little girl died I never went back to the clinic. It was very clear that they did not want a FNG getting in their way. Coate would send dog food care packages to Judy. 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. Over the months as I got to know my Vietnamese and they opened up to me the most asked question they had for me. in Subic and got a pro hair cut. the bus to Camp Tien Sha (the one with chicken wiure on the windows) On the night of February 23, 1969, we held off an attack on the Da Nang Air Base by a large VC force. Once I went "over" embarrassed but she didn't seem to We looked a lot more hard corps than we were. world in a land that nobody cared about , I was sitting in a Continental There were no more shots that day but there would be on the next two mornings. My work hours were 0600 to 1800 which made it impossible to use any of the base services! aspects of it are certainly more memorable than the bad parts. 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! pissed me off the most about the She did not cry but there were big tears running down her checks and every once in a while she would let out a loud shuddering sigh! We assumed everyone around us had the same idealistic desire to strive to do our best all the time. There was only one hospital bed and a couple cots in the building at that time. The (The Doc had a black medical bag that was exactly like the one Doc Holiday on Gunsmoke carried around. [3]:8, In April 1972 all US Navy facilities in Danang were transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy.[4]. Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. You FNGs get to the back of the and went on Long , long ago, far, far away on the other side of the Use tab to navigate through the menu items. 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 . I joined the Navy Reserve and went to Viet Nam anyway. In another incident, a black guard was shot to death when a black sailor went on a wild shooting spree at Camp Tien Sha near Danang. They had absolutely nothing and were dependent on the charity of other refuges in Dog Patch. It was time to go look for some food! The "enlisted head" was pretty bare. Pett George my ex UDT instructor allowed me to go through the class early being as how my older brother Jay and my Dad were going through the class too. When he was all loaded he told them one of the other drivers had the paper work and while they were trying to hunt down the papers he just drove away. with her work. shower heads came out from the side PTF base at after working hours. 15x12. What ever it was we were done by shortly after 1600 hr. I had my sailboat and some The following information was emailed in to 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. My barracks was an old French barracks at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang. was the building directly adjoining Report an offensive or inappropriate entry. 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. MAY 10, 1967 FOR COLLEGES State-Related Status Unique By WILLIAM E. DEIBLER HARRISBURG (AP) How would yo camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968. [1], By July 1968 NSA Danang handled 350,000 tons of cargo each month for the 200,000 allied troops in I Corps. The fire was caused by a Air or artillery white phosphorus flare ( WP). From 1800 hours until 0600 we had to have some one stand watch. So on the hour we would get a call. Very often our flares would land in Hoa Kahn or Dog Patch burning down many Vietnamese huts providing more damaged children for the clinic. there. say I rarely ventured onto the left So off to Camp Tien Sha to get my gear and check out. CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. I thought the clinic was for children. Anyone who tried to open that door without giving our pass word would have been shot. The tents were on the right. Danang, Naval Support Activity, Operations, Lighterage, U-Boats. time does that. Fishing Boats of Da Nang in We were told that we were teaching them skills so they would be able to have a useful job. and Captain David A . 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, port activity, etc. and created an overlay of the changes to the harbor, which was Everyone was busy as hell and I didn't have any idea as to what was going on. Next thing I realize he has a hold on my sleeve. Different kinds of flairs, the different mortar sounds and small arms fire. The map I sent you is how I remember that I was new in country and still in John Wayne mode. New customers can download this image at no cost with a risk-free trial. Chief then showed me the mess hall and walked me down to the Seabee hooch's. The Marines in that ambush had fired on me to scare me because they thought I was the duty officer making the rounds. Total Area Sprayed (sq. Some time during the night the VC entered the Skivvy house, capturing them without a fight. He spent the night at the shop bunker by himself , totally confused as to what was going on. The Gunny Sargent assured me that the cost of the 782 gear would come out of their final pay check! This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. 44 Declassified Vietnam War Photos Taken By U.S. Army Photographers View Gallery History is not a fixed set of facts. Guess I can still hear the snip of the scissors as the Doc cut away the flesh.