That is the only time I had to get clothing issue. This is a 122mm rocket crater in the road in front of our shop. I went to the "motor pool" at least of the guys took to securing a This combined attack, executed jointly by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese People's Army, was a series of coordinated surprise attacks launched against both military and civilian targets. 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. person who was awake had access to the keys to the jeep. This would also give Beerworth time to get his guys out on their job. Here is the satellite view of There was only one hospital bed and a couple cots in the building at that time. The flares were often still burning when they hit the ground. But that only happened once as from then on I was ready. The three strong backs that I was to build for 7th motors was put on hold. At the moment it happened, my buddy Dave Lozier and I were at Camp Tien Sha at the foot of Monkey Mountain. I am very grateful to Annette for the support she gave me while I was in Vietnam. If your lost and want [4]:8. That's how we got our beds, enough for everyone. Some morning I would be more tired when I woke up than when I went to bed. The causeway was a floating pier that extended about a 100 yards into Da Nang bay and was used to off load ammunition and bombs. We went downtown in Long Beach, and we got harassed a lot. I also came down with a mild case of the flew so was feeling rather worn out. We were also vulnerable to sappers . As such a small group we couldn't do the standard Navy 4 hour watch. good times in the "duty jeep". 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. 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. 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. We went through the gate, down Main Street, took a left and stopped in front of a small building that looked like a hamburger stand. The only answer I could give them that they would except was. - Alan, Drawing Then walk the length of pier re-installing any buffer pads that might have come out. ptfnasty.com and the DaNang section, In DaNang we had what was called the "duty jeep". John arrived here on November 21, 1968 and left December 22, 1969, thirteen months later. The nurse was carrying a little girl about 4 years old. With over 81,000 members, VVA provides a community of fellowship with people who share common experiences, needs and hopes for the future. 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. Population in 2009 (millions) Percentage of Province Sprayed During 1960s. There are over 500 chapters that provide fellowship, volunteer opportunities and community service. configuration it would hold about 10 people. as soon as they were installed. Welcome! H e had white hair and a white beard and very much looked like Santa Clause. Back at the hootch the Seabees got in a major debate about where to put me. Then a voice came from inside the Quonset hut." 2023 iStockphoto LP. 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. I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic.generator hire & new generator sales, Mark, I served with the Naval Support Activity DaNang from Aug 1966 - Mar 1968. A refugee family was living in a lean too in Dog Patch south . What the hell is that? On the back of the truck was his dog Judy and inside on the dashboard was an M-16 rifle. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. I do web work now and I want to help you fix your articles so people can read them easier.I'm not asking to get paid I just want to do something for you. It had 4 windows so I went to the window for H. I handed the clerk my records pack. There are other memories of my time working at the clinic. C Chi Base Camp. It sure seemed longer then a month, to me it was more like a few months! the duty jeep normally delivered the crew to the base in the I was aguard for Tien Sha Peninsula Security division. Driving around on the perimeter of the base checking for burned out security lights could also be very hazardous . I joined the Navy Reserve and went to Viet Nam anyway. I think the thing that the evening to wonder about and check out what Camp Tien Sha had to offer. It took six and one half days to finish that hooch (later with a full crew it would usually take us four days to build a hooch). I finished the shower and got Military personnel learn some of the basics in other training, but this is the course for the big boys. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. I spent 33 years 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. Naval Support Activity (NSA) Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965. 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. the fresh meat so what do I know about it. This was a real live human! We had devastated their economy and destroyed their infrastructure. heads" but they were always stolen My body was always waiting to react. I was in country from June 1969 to June 1970. Chu Lai Base Area. 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. Find Camp Tien Sha, Headquarters unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. Coate was not there to know about Puppy. 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% . I heard the truth the next day at the mess hall. Nobody even knowing where from or if they had families. I think Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. 4. 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! New customers can download this image at no cost with a risk-free trial. By the time I graduated from High school I was a damn good diver! I wanted to go back and see that little girl before she died but all that next week I was to busy to get off early ( or maybe I was just to scared and heart broken). a small cargo plane in the middle of the night, all I A half inch pipe Please feel free They never did a direct hit on the fuel tank but the got damn close several times! The sound was very loud so at first we thought it was close but couldn't see it. Often several rockets would have gone off before I even knew we were under attack ! Pham Ba went around back to take a pee. Another source for jungle fatigues was up at Camp Reasoner. At first it was because every thing was so knew and exciting. Long , long ago, far, far away on the other side of the I served until 1970. Coate took care of my paper work and handing in my bedding while I was packing up my sea bag and then it was back to clothing issue somewhere in China beach to pick up my clothing issue which was 4 sets of green utilities a couple soft hats (the Marine Corps kind) and a pair of work boots. Ok, I Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. I was then sent to Camp Carter while we were opening up an old ROK base that was being used by Philco Ford to teach Vietnamese Sailors how to maintain diesel motors that were used in the river boats. I would have to wait a few more days for that to start. I tried one other time a few months later but didn't have the appropriate paper work. In March 1965 when United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. It wasn't a normally ed Camp Haskins (South) for Camp Tien Sha to complete the retrograding of equipment. [1][3]:2, In August 1967, the headquarters of NSA Danang was moved from downtown Danang to Camp Tien Sha. 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 . loading the LSTs and loading onto trucks. I got a letter from Annette Burrell ( Johns younger sister) sometime in May. Here is the battalion report for May 1968. 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. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. So over time it was easier to just not know anyone. 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. Besides the concrete hospital was a large concrete and stone ward building which had not even been started in early June. Finally I interrupted and said I would sleep in the Korean bunker on the broken cot that was in there, end of argument ! It was an opportunity to get off the Hospital ships and see a little bit of the real Vietnam. On May 15 I had finished 6 or 8 escape doors. So that's what I did, went back to work. The pilots jumped out . It was kind of like the work orders I got. It's claim to fame was that it had a black prostitute. The exhibit was known as "The Vietnam Syndrome". The rest of my tour I did what every good Seabee team would do, I stole them ! In your time in the CBs did you decide to be the opposite and do the right thing with newbies? We were not part of the Marine Civil Affair but worked independent of them. camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968 In 1968, I was about to be drafted into the Army and did not want to go to Viet Nam. Just keep on working in the rain. He told me step by step every detail. Then he pulled all that up to expose the bone where he wanted to cut the bone.The nurse held all the skin and muscle up while the Doc cut off the bones. I am on the far left. So I would start the mornings dancing around the job site until the sniper was done and then we would get to work. I don't Over 130 rough terrain and warehouse forklifts and 20 cranes eased cargo handling. As I recall Taylor dropped out when we got to the ocean diving but Pat Brown stuck it out and we became dive buddies. [1], U.S. NSA Danang was officially established on 15 October 1965 under the operational control of Commander, III MAF. In the future I If you are able to extract the Modern. me at Port Services, then I was tasked with setting up a chart (and Do you have CAMP TIENSHA, DANANG,VIETNAM Reunion information you'd like to share. 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. Most of them would be dead by now as most of the men were in their mid forties then . Luxury. reportedf to the USS Permit (SSN-594) at Mare Island, and got out a ( so we could see to make a quick exit to the bunker during a rocket or mortar attack. ! [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. the upper left hand part of the pic. 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. Their shirt tail were hanging out and sleeves not rolled up (Marine style). I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. There was a young mother with several kid and grandma and grandpa. When that needle went in that poor farmer screamed and jerked up headed for the ceiling! Danang Vietnam 1966 1967 Camp Tien Sha was an old French army base. Over the months as I got to know my Vietnamese and they opened up to me the most asked question they had for me. to DaNang. To know all the different sounds was to be able to read what was happening at night and how safe I was. You are a builder so Beerworth or Yost will be who you report too." Most of the time if you were CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. On Monday morning Bet returned the snorkeling gear to Special Service and noticed that they had two sets of double 70 scuba tanks with Mark-2 regulators. 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! They had absolutely nothing and were dependent on the charity of other refuges in Dog Patch. Later I built a wash building and cook shack just about where these cots and the officers are standing. It was a horrifying thing to watch. Dearest Rita, I just finished a quick letter to my folks first one since I've been here. I was hugely had to man the perimeter during We were working with basic hand tools, cutting everything with one cross cut handsaw. The Marines would open that up and would also be extending the perimeter and adding watch posts . There was a Marine listening ambush set up outside the perimeter in that area. this pic is. I stood there wondering how I was going to drive wood stakes into that hard ground. She giggled a bit (talk because of all the flares in the mountains next to the base. This is the first Poem that I wrote in Vietnam and is about the two marines killed in the skivvy house. The Doc told me to help tie the farmer down to the desk. Pretty big load for basis I have nothing but respect for those that were. specialty up the Cua Viet to Dong Ha, where we supported the Marines Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. I had plenty of time to take it all in and it was very UN-nerving. side of the handling, I'd say it had severe understeer entering a Our office was up stairs. It turned 90 degrees to the right and touched down between two rows of concertina wire in the middle of the perimeter. 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. That's danger close to the shop! The He had a little Vietnamese kid with him about 8 years old. Local Page TIMES-MIRROR and OBSERVER Section B WARREN, PA., WEDNESDAY. They were only a couple hundred yards away! . New year found Well we Boy life was improving a lot. He got in line and they loaded his truck with beds, lots of beds. The wounded man was the Mess Sargent who was the only one at the mess hall at the time. it for their personal use. really an enclosure. Donations for May. of the DaNang Military Complex, One of I'm considered a Vietnam Veteran, due to the dates I served. This was a Sunday afternoon BBQ about 1800 hr. Retro. The nurse laid across the farmers upper thighs to hold him in place. I have never found any but I still have hope. The Doc narrated as he worked, what he was doing, what he was going to do, when I should be prepared for the farmer to go ballistic! vehicle I took full advantage of it! May 5,1968 was my first rocket attack in Vietnam and you can see the hit 7 different places in my AO including my new home at FLC Camp Books. I was not in the bush and am grateful that I wasn't. I wanted to know everything about what happened to those Marines. side was a barge with a sign. I was probably in as much in shock as the farmer. aspects of it are certainly more memorable than the bad parts. He said that if they could ship her to the hospital in Japan or back in the states they could probably save her. I served there and just would like to hear from some of the guys that was there. and I was just finishing up the door. The kids were always hanging around and the best way to keep them from stealing was to befriend them by giving them candy. I am hoping that my response willl stay intact and not disapear completely from here. This is the poem I wrote about the little girl who died from gangrene. U.S. I think he may have had scrambled brains to go with his stitched up head . 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. this place, wearing only "shower I had my broken leg cot and was living out of my sea bag. During our night watch I would lock the office door ,lay my M-16, (locked and loaded) on the desk pointing at the door. Me, age 23, sitting on my bunk drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette. The MPs left in a hurry. The green building upper right is the hooch that I built for our Vietnamese workers. It was to late to get him settled in because we were so incredibly busy with rocket attack damage. It seemed a bit strange to see everything so neat and tidy when I would like to help you with your content on your website. to develop this map. My day was done!! Do the job, get it done right and then sign off the work order and move on to the next one. 15 rounds hit us with 3 KIA and 15 wounded. For the time being they were stashed in my hooch and on May 24, Karl Voiles spent his first day assembling beds. We all thought that everyone on this earth was doing the highest and best possible all the time for each situation. 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. I would sit at the desk and drink coffee, write letters or poetry. It was a long miserable cold 12 hour night. I needed to know which of the sound meant danger! 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. There are 186 crew members registered for the Naval Support Activity Danang. "driving deprived" at the time and any time I had access to a Surprise, I think that was normal precaution . Bet coming down the trail by the ESSO Plant east wall. I am sure this little girl will be my last thought when I punch out from this world. care of the base. The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. So much for getting Sunday off. We took several trucks and picked up Pham Ba and Babyson outside the gate and headed down the road. When I started working on this clinic project I was full of good feelings as to how we were helping these poor Vietnamese people. Danang, Naval Support Activity, Operations, Lighterage, U-Boats. We got danger close rockets in that area often. 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. Well Beerworth didn't show up until 1845 and he dragged me off to the mess hall that would close a 1900 hr. I actually took the class in 1965 but at that time you had to be 18 years old to get a Scuba Certification. at Camp Fay. It was common for the Marines to sneak off base at night for a couple hours in the Village. All terrain forklifts would scurry back and forth off Well it scared the crap out of me and probably took a few months off my life ! a lot in Vietnam. We started pouring concrete Wednesday June 5, 1968. We looked a lot more hard corps than we were. The feet just kind of hanging by muscle and skin. really care. Nights in Vietnam were uncomfortable at best. Naval Support Activity DaNang (1965-1970), the U.S. Because of Da Nang's strategic location on rail, air, and highway routes, development of its . Often times during a rocket or mortar attack rounds would over shoot landing in Hoa Kahn or Dog Patch ,providing children for the Clinic. Tracers were bouncing all over in front of the truck. It really, really broke my heart! They had decided to spend the night at the Skivvy house (whore house) in Dog Patch. I spent the last 5 months of my tour as a NSA Investigator for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang. Historian, US Navy Seabee Museum. All the stuff that related to the And search more of iStock's library of royalty-free stock images that features Vietnam photos available for quick and easy download. The first half of my year in Vietnam (1967) I was stationed at the large U. S. base in Danang. It is just to heart breaking to see the suffering of the children in this world who are caught in a war! If you were to divide Camp Fay into We found the family and with the help of other refugees were proceeded to tear down their shelter and build them a house. On the night of February 23, 1969, we held off an attack on the Da Nang Air Base by a large VC force. didnt get shot at and we safely landed and taxied off the run way. There was outgoing mortar rounds and incoming. These positive relations were largely a reflection of the fact that black and white soldiers in combat were heavily dependent on one another. He left me sitting there on the steps saying he would send Beerworth down at 1700 hr to get me settled in. He was honorably discharged in 1968 after completing his tour in Vietnam, as Petty . the correctly identified enlisted I have absolutely no recollection of Danang. When I look back it sure seems stupid but at the time what else could I do? The new wood frame building that I did was behind the camera. background old PTF Base and Monkey Nobody bothered to help the new guy with the profoundly negative and dangerous war situation you found yourself in. Naval Communication Facility. No. with her work. meand I translated it to this map. head" screwed onto the pipe. Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months.[1]. Despite these positive interactions with whites, African Americans did not view the armed forces as an institution free of racial prejudice. I pretty much walked the whole base then back to the EM club for a cold beer On Friday I left the shop at 1800hr and went to the Children's Clinic. 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. through the base that would allow me to do "hot laps" as long as no We destroyed what they had and were teaching them skills that didn't even fit into their culture. arrive there again.. Joe Witmeyer shares this 50th What I really side was a area called Bridge Ramp which was where the Navy LSTs would pull in He expired nine days later. Alan on Haircuts There was an indoor movie theater, snack bar, hobby shop, NCO club and EM club, basket ball courts and tennis courts. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. The solution that I found was just to build big rectangle frames (20 feet by 40 feet) sitting on top the ground . and the LT moved to the Da. Some of the rocket attacks were on Camp Books (FLC) . The bundle was given to the mother who would take the bundle out side and set it down in the dirt by the street. Late in the day we had built them a nice hootch and had them moved in. I slowly walked around the trailer checking them out. I know NOTHING of a chapel The Navy Doc was probably in his mid 30s and it was obvious to me that he had done this type of work before. Didn't get any meals so after we were finished we ate sandwiches with the mid watch Marines at the mess hall. On the far end of the bridge right Because I was just getting situated it was just mass confusion for me . 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. It was where the French first landed in the 19th Century in their quest to control the area and. I held the door open for them. and went on She would be down on her hands and knees crying and waling. We aren't sure where he is yet and haven't got permission to go after him! 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. identified as "enlisted head." The Docs loved coming to Hoa Kahn Clinic. My barracks was an old French barracks at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang. Vietnam Vet? Then of course there was the dreaded incoming 122mm and 140mm incoming rocket. Actually there wasn't a shop or office there yet, They had just divided off a corner of a large warehouse and were building a shop and office. Gallons of Herbicides Sprayed. I got used to the nights but was never comfortable enough to sleep well. Link to Silent Spring Deadly Autumn (the best book ever written about Agent Orange and the other chemicals we were exposed to in Vietnam. Here in Vietnam with the advanced gangrene she was going to die and there was nothing that could be done! 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 didn't On 1 April 1966 Naval Forces Vietnam was established in Saigon and assumed control of NSA Danang from III MAF. Book description. Some part of it was always listening to what was going on . Every morning I was stripping floors and then in the afternoon waxing and buffing and cleaning the showers, normal Navy grunt work. on the National Geographic Magazine https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Naval_Support_Activity_Danang&oldid=1137856150, Military installations of the United States in South Vietnam, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Naval History & Heritage Command, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 20:12. corner and pretty balanced oversteer under power out of the corners. On Sunday May 19 I was dropped off alone ( The Vietnamese got Sundays off) and my job was to build steps and a door for the building. world in a land that nobody cared about , I was sitting in a Continental As I remember The Brief. Report an offensive or inappropriate entry. I faked being a doctor from the USA and was shown around a little. She would pull out handfuls of her hair and pound herself with clenched fists! C Chi tunnels. Maybe it's just me. It T are sections in the book about Camp Tien Sha, Cua Viet, Dong Ha, Tan My, Hue, Phu Bai, Chu Lai, and Sa Huynh. PTF base at after working hours. called to general quarters was in MST1 and thought it would be a good time to go back and see The cot had a broken leg so I had to prop it up with a sand bag and it was missing one end piece so it just wanted to fold up on me when I laid on it. The course is a model in how to survive, and how to come home with honor. Guest 31-Aug-2016 02:35: . I wondered how I would feel if someone burned down my home ,killed my dad and took my little brother away to a hospital. Anniversary story of his trip back It might be inaccurate in some details, suffice to say, I There was no time off just the same 12 hr work shift. We My AR 15 slept on my left side right next to my body so I could always feel where it was. The Seabee team had 8 junior men in one hootch and 4 senior men in the second hootch. and created an overlay of the changes to the harbor, which was pissed me off the most about the to my new cubicle and dressed in my slightly used green utility working The nurses were all Vietnamese and were employed there so I would often see the same nurses. Then I started paying more attention. The main US Navy Fleet Post Office that processed all mail to every American in I . 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. We hopped in his truck and he took me down to H&S company supply to get bedding and mess gear. Camp Fay in the evening and morning. mind. In the early days the security perimeter of the base was only about 50 feet from our shop and was not very well guarded. 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 .