morning. I forgotten how much it sucked being there? My big problem was how to build those damn concrete forms without using wood stakes. "I'm at camp Tien Sha at Da Nang now." - Letters from Vietnam Shortly after 1000 hr the team expediter showed up and I was introduced to him . The Navy Doc was probably in his mid 30s and it was obvious to me that he had done this type of work before. This was a Sunday afternoon BBQ about 1800 hr. One of them used to take me to the MACV Club located by the USS Repose. 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. vehicle I took full advantage of it! training), ands a week at Whidby Island (E&E, and SERE. ( very much reminds me of cutting up chickens at butchering time). pilot said that was to avoid being shot at by the VC. Coate was not there to know about Puppy. With chow finished I had the rest of I slowly walked around the trailer checking them out. 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. and to listen to music. Then I was out the door, I passed LT Branch halfway down the stairs and was waiting for him in the bunker! The doctor and nurse came out of the clinic. IN VIETNAM. It was no problem during the day because either the XO or Chief were there or the secretary,interpreter (miss Nguyen). The were riding shotgun on truck convoys to and from Danang to Quang Tri Province. I even passed an enlisted sailor with a can of white paint and he was I had my sailboat and some line. the late 60's and early 70's. That sure screwed with our sleep! I tried one other time a few months later but didn't have the appropriate paper work. They had been covered with poncho liners but they had blown off. Rocketed PX photo - Richard Calmes photos at pbase.com He was wearing his best short timers uniform. I wish I would have known about it then! camp tien sha danang, vietnam 1968 - precisionlearning.com The guy on the right had black hair, he had been shot with a small caliber pistol right where the skull meets the spine. I was never in harms way. In 1997 I drove my motor bike through the gate while the guard was taking a nap at lunch time and was able to get to the main office and talk to a doctor. world in a land that nobody cared about , I was sitting in a Continental airlines circling the DaNang airbase over the Country of South Vietnam. Detachment Nha Trang - 1965 - 1971. I served until 1970. To add your photos, please email them to webmaster@ccvva.org. Our shop the day we put up our sign and officially became Area Work Center #5. She was especially friendly with our hooch mama-son. I read of your arrival in China Beach with a bit of a chuckle remembering how green we all were at that time. Sometimes we could be called out 2 or 3 times in a night. What the F is wrong with her? embarrassed but she didn't seem to The Priest took the kid around with him and often left him at the clinic with the nurses as the other children at the orphanage would pick on him. navy was the hair thing. He's shooting from a long way out and hasn't hit anyone yet. heads all in an area I'd call around 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. Ch Linh Camp. He was honorably discharged in 1968 after completing his tour in Vietnam, as Petty . Older Vietnam veteran who served in the US Navy at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang, 1968-1969. The second floor office was just being framed up . Because of Da Nang's strategic location on rail, air, and highway routes, development of its . It is just to heart breaking to see the suffering of the children in this world who are caught in a war! Then it was back to the base ( it took about 50 minutes to do the whole trip) and hopefully be on time for the 0100hr radio check in . Charles R. Smith . Individuality, not. . I hated that phone, radio, air conditioning and black coffee! Total Area Sprayed (sq. I think the thing that The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. submariines (SS) designated. get a mailing address via email from Chip and Camp Horn - Wikipedia The green building upper right is the hooch that I built for our Vietnamese workers. Well I answered once about the FNGs. The Marines broke out in laughter. He got in line and they loaded his truck with beds, lots of beds. blocked. Vietnam, Museum, Photos, Hanoi Hilton - 351days-in-da-nang This is the Hoa Kahn clinic at the time I started working there. a lot in Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War (1959-1975), stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there. at Camp Fay. Still, So just go back to work and keep moving so he doesn't have a stationary target and you should be OK!" As ship demand for potable intensified at NSA Danang, on page 82 of COMNAVFORV Monthly Summary May 1968, A new dam on Monkey Mountain was completed and an effort was begun to store as much water as possible in this 1,900,000 gallon storage site. The guys loaded up my tool box and gave me an M-16 so I would be able to walk back to the base later. standing duty after working hours you were pretty much alone. I had orders in September 1966 to go to [3] NSA Danang originally operated from a commercial pier on the city side of the Hn River and this "Museum Ramp" (160300N 1081328E / 16.05N 108.2245E / 16.05; 108.2245) near the Cham Museum began operation in November 1965 off-loading LCU's and LST's. I am hoping that my response willl stay intact and not disapear completely from here. a shower enclosure that wasn't The VC had taken their 782 gear (combat gear, weapons and ammo) and bugged out. I asked about the little girl and the doc said she had died Thursday night. I was finished with my concrete forms before noon on Wednesday . on the National Geographic Magazine Thursday morning we stripped the forms and started building the framing of the first building. with her work. [4]:2, By 1969 NSA Danang was the Navy's largest overseas shore command and third largest supply depot after Norfolk and Oakland Naval Supply Depot and Camp Tien Sha had grown to accommodate over 6000 personnel. It really, really broke my heart! I suppose that I needed that time alone to recover from the amputation! I'm at camp Tien Sha at Da Nang now. The next weekend I asked about the farmer ? This was a real live human! There was to much noise from the generators and air conditioner to hear the rockets explode or the warning siren go off . When we arrived at Red Beach the Seabee team shop was a mad house. sucked and the barber dissed me for and drop their bow ramps. Biologist), and chaired the Diving Safety Board. 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). She would pull out handfuls of her hair and pound herself with clenched fists! I started building my hooch on Wednesday May 8th at just before noon. 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. From March to July 1965, III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) troops delivered supplies to the units in the field while the Seventh Fleet ran port operations. NMCB THREE Main Body Flights consisting of three passenger . My Vietnamese works didn't want to hang around waiting for the truck to take them back to the shop. Well I never did hear from Barbee. If you served in Camp Tien Sha, Headquarters, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. When I found out about that I went with Bet to talk to that officer. All the stuff that related to the The field had been filled with red dirt and rocks and had been compacted with heavy equipment. Some of the materials for rebuilding came from my civic action salvage yard. The "enlisted head" was pretty bare. head has about the lightest colored There are other memories of my time working at the clinic. Modern. This comment has been removed by the author. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. Here are the Activity reports for May 1968 for the Marines in my AO (area of operation) . It had been a very busy month with a lot of things happening. Vietnam veteran (Navy) wants simple design for book on Da Nang 68-69 two parts, right and left, I have to This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. and the LT moved to the Da. If US Mail works best for you, For the time being they were stashed in my hooch and on May 24, Karl Voiles spent his first day assembling beds. What the hell is that? In March 1965 when United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. Naval Communication Facility. Cat Lo Naval Base. Well damn right I was scared. So much for getting Sunday off. arrive there again.. Joe Witmeyer shares this 50th Both of his legs had been pretty much blown off. Tour: August 2, 1969 through July 17, 1970. care of the base. Every tree trunk was painted white, every rock was neatly lined up along the We were supposed to protect our base generators and fuel tank from sappers. I would have to find some time to build a foot locker. We had to give Puppy away as we were not even supposed to have a dog. Don't try to cross in to the base as there were mines. Off we went to the supply yard at one of the SeaBee battalions, while we were there we stopped for a quick lunch at the Navy mess hall. The exhibit was known as "The Vietnam Syndrome". The only answer I could give them that they would except was. Camp Haskins, Da Nang, Vietnam, served as headquarters of the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, who exercised operational control of Seabee units deployed to Vietnam. Apart from some shopping highlights and historical sights, the main reason for most travelers staying here is its proximity to the well-known My Khe Beach, Lang Co Beach, Hoi An and My Son. Right. I never really realized the high level of tension we lived under until I left Vietnam ! But when shit happens to you and you are the victim, everything changed! Within a hundred feet of the generators. Target audience. Later I built a wash building and cook shack just about where these cots and the officers are standing. He left me sitting there on the steps saying he would send Beerworth down at 1700 hr to get me settled in. February 1969. One of our guy went with Babyson to the local market and bought blankets, cooking supplies, sleeping mats and food. I donated money several times while at Camp Books. New year found I was going to have to hit the ground running if I intended to stay with this team. On the back of the truck was his dog Judy and inside on the dashboard was an M-16 rifle.