Accordingly, the staff had to institute a rule against malingering. Public Works Operations, 329th Heavy Boat Company / 5th Transportation Company. Dong Ha River Security Group SEVENTH Fleet ships and provided 962,131 gallons of potable water. But there was something strange about the way she’d starch your clothes. Earles had a problem with the fences right away. Click here for latest news on Agent Orange The most effective approach to sharply reducing the legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam is to focus assistance to health and disabilities services in the provinces which were heavily sprayed with dioxin and on clean-up of dioxin hotspots at former U.S. military bases. These guys just aren’t going to have much to do with you until you’re done making dumb mistakes. “I don’t like that guy, man. Naval Support Activity DaNang (1965-1970), the U.S. They avoided us completely. Other than that one error, the rest of the movie seemed to be pretty accurate as to how things really were. You could buy anything and everything there, not just toilet articles and cigarettes. It was the greatest place; and it was air-conditioned! When you’ve been here for a month or two, and some newbies come pouring in the chow hall one day and they start hittin’ on you for information like that, believe me, you won’t want to talk with them, either.”, “Well, for one thing, you won’t know what to tell ‘em. The MRFA is launching our “Historical Data Project” (HDP), featuring as much MRF TF-117 data as possible. Word was that he made a mean steak sandwich. It was depressing, rained constantly, mud up to our knees and a little gun fire around Monkey Mountain. At the very back of the base, away from most of the other buildings, there was another E.M. club, but this one was different. He served in Viet Nam 1970 and 1971 at Ahn Khe and Pleiku with the 844 engineers heavy equipment. We came under attack while I was stationed in transit at Camp Tien Sha (Danang), Nov. 1970. My favorite camp facility was the tape library. Come on, guys. Everything, beer and soda alike, was sealed with a conventional slick lid. She was staring at me with a broom in her hand. The whole right side of my body ached. I pulled out my P-38 and did the same thing to mine. Morale all over went straight in the toilet. Along with a sister unit, CBMU-301, was also commissioned. As a side note, I saw a well-known movie about Vietnam once, one that was nominated for an academy award or two, and in it guys were sitting in their hootch after a rough day in the bush opening pop top lids on Coke cans. I understand that some manufacturers made some early attempts to ship beverages with pop top lids to Nam in the mid-sixties, but the wave action at sea and the dramatic changes in temperature aboard cargo ships caused most of the cans to rupture and burst prior to arrival. There were white stucco buildings everywhere, and the doors and exterior woodwork, specifically the shutters for the windows, were painted a dark green. But none of the old-timers were eager to engage us in conversation. Get logged in Paul, a great bunch of Vets here. He was an old-timer; he’d been here before. A big, friggin’ mess. I hit the deck so hard that it tore three holes in my summer white uniform; two in the pants and one in the jumper. The line had spilled over outside the building and it took about 15 minutes for us to make it through the door. LCU-1482 f. COMNAVFORV Monthly Summary April 1967 Page 40 The port of Danang was visited 100 times by U.S. I told them, as best I could, what Guns had told me about life as a newbie. Guns finished his first beer and began opening his second. “Why? The bus drivers cranked their buses and pulled out just as the three of us entered the building. When we left the chow hall I told Earles and Jimmy that I’d meet them back at the barracks. My favorite folk artists were Ian & Sylvia and Gordon Lightfoot. When the buses pulled up in front of the main gate at Camp Tien Sha the Vietnam experience got more surreal than ever. YTL-427 If you’re wearin’ E-5 insignia, you can go to the Acey Deucy with me.”, “You won’t. I’m tired of Oz, man. Camp Tien Sha 1970. The most annoying thing about the service at both E.M. clubs was the beverage dispensing procedure. Nobody did! But there’s a measure of proof required in the support ranks as well.”, “Measure of proof? There were many organization names, abbreviations, acronyms, terms, and phrases that are important for understanding the assignments and accomplishments of personnel who served with the U.S. The old man pointed off to his right. This place is weird! “The ol’ man likes his fences, man. 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 held out for over a month. It was a natural place to hangout - no matter what was playing - during the intense mid-day heat. We resented the young Vietnamese men in the bands. “Hey, man. They held out for over a month against a siege that was more intense than the fighting at Dienbienphu back when the gooks annihilated the French in the fifties. And they’ll give you a dishonorable discharge, a medical at the least, for refusing treatment.”, “Let ‘em. Links to friends, affiliates and other sites you should visit! I finished my shower, toweled off, and huffed my way back to the barracks with my towel wrapped around my waist. Recall CPO Sullivan, mentioned earlier. There was this place called Bridge Ramp. YTL-566 Naval Support Facility DaNang (1970-1972), and the Detachments. Donald J. Mabry / The Historical Text Archive, Donald J. Mabry / The Historical Text Archive. When will we know what our jobs will be?”, “I don’t know. I wanna go home!”. Most of these groups were oriental. “If you were in a combat unit things would be a lot different. He’d told me back in Coronado that he’d already done a tour in Nam. As each of us got to the duty clerk he took our records and stamped a number of documents with a time and date stamp. You got me?”. I remember traveling down the hill many times to the Navy base Camp Tien Sha (spelling??) Sometimes, there were gates at these openings, but in most cases there weren’t. “You said it was different in a combat unit. © 1990-2015 Camp Tien Sha was an old French army base. Memorials and museums dedicated to the Mobile Riverine Force. YFU-4 But until you do, you’re just new meat. It was closed in late 1969, the Admiral moved to China Beach and in 1970 I was an RM2 working at the Triangle Communications Center on the east side of the Han River (between Camp Tien-Sha and China Beach). The sauce seemed to be a combination of barbeque and soy, but whatever it was, it was delicious. The enemy's bloody country-wide Tet Offensive of February and March and the follow-up attacks during the spring influenced American decision-making in several important ways. My barracks was an old French barracks at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang. I should have known that this was as good as it was going to get. Sometimes, they encircled individual buildings. Then we glared at the clerk. Everything you’ve ever done in your life; everything you’ve ever learned; every-thing about your character; everything, it’s all just been practice for what you’re about to do here.”. Newbie mistakes.” As we began to exit the bus, Earles started another little ditty and we joined in on that one as well: “Follow the yellow brick road. Along with a sister unit, CBMU-301,[1] was also commissioned. Explore gatherings, speakers and events. Dearest Rita, I just finished a quick letter to my folks — first one since I’ve been here. “I ain’t ever done anything like that before. They work twelve hour shifts and they don’t get any days off. Any other questions?”, “Yea. And as long as you’re with me, hey, nobody’ll think twice about it. Besides, she was adamant; she would not accept piasters. 1, Thua Tien Province to repair damages caused by enemy explosives. “Man, you don’t wanna get the piers. I was midway through my shower when I heard a noise. YFNB-28 I lost a lot of respect for the military when I saw what was happening in the back rooms. Camp Carter Camp Tien Sha Cargo Handling Battalion – 2 Naval Communication Facility K-9 Security Unit-1 (Navy Sentry Dog Unit) Det Cua Viet 1st Naval LARC Division. There were slot machines in a gambling den in the back and it was perfectly legal to go in there and lose your ass every payday. YTL-587 Earles raised both arms, one at a time, and leaned his head down to smell his armpits. There was a lot of drinking and some obvious drunkenness; and I heard that there were frequently drug problems, too; mainly marijuana. We represent the Lollipop Guild, and we’d like to welcome you to Munchkin Land.”. - William Shakespeare, Henry V, Navy Cross recipients, Distinguished Service Cross recipients, and Medal of Honor recipients from the Navy Mobile Riverine Force and Army 9th Infantry Division. So you better get used to ‘em ‘cause they ain’t goin’ nowhere.”. Facer, Thomas CS3 Jun 3, 1969 – Jun 5, 1970 Supply I worked in the Tien Sha Galley overnight from June 1969 until February 1970. Then, I just plopped down in my rack with my clothes on. “OK, asshole! YOG-76 I bet you can’t see them fuckers in the dark. The PX at Tien Sha was massive. I never knew whether that was true or not, but I would always get her to starch my clothes. I think C company. in 1969 and 1970. THE TET OFFENSIVE AT DA NANG 143 survivor to the Naval Support Activity hospital where he died of his wounds . He was 4th infantry engineers. All those boys died for nothing! YFNB-16 Wikert received two weeks leave in December 1970, returning to the U.S. and getting married, before serving out his tour through April 1971. APL-30 A few days before Christmas 1969 I landed at Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam, to begin a one-year tour with NavComSta Philippines NavSecGruDet Delta at Camp Tien Sha (Monkey Mountain Receiver Site), ComSecTeam 3 at Vung Tau and various other locations throughout the Mekong Delta region, including the USS Hunterdon County (LST-838), and finally NavComSta Cam Ranh … ‘CAUSE IT WILL! YFNB-2 As the bus made its way through the base compound we passed a large sign. We didn’t get stone-cold, knee-walkin’, toilet-huggin’ drunk, but we were lit enough to wrap our arms around each other and sing Anchors Aweigh all the way back to the barracks. Main Gate Camp Tien Sha Vietnam As we approached the camp we were unsure what to expect, I mean this was a war zone after all, but what we really did not expect were the rows of buildings, and the lawns … . I went through the Little Creek SERE school in December 1968…prior to my duty station at NSA DaNang from Dec 1968 to Jan 1970. Nobody knew whether the ground we were fighting for was worth it or not. “What does ... what does ‘it don’t mean nothin’ mean?”, “I didn’t hear that expression until the end of my first tour. We had a ton of questions, and who better to ask than somebody who’s been around for a while. CDT3 now assumed Organizations There were many organization names, abbreviations, acronyms, terms, and phrases that are important for understanding the assignments and accomplishments of personnel who served with the U.S. They’d already finished eating, but they sat at the table with me while I ate. Camp Tien Sha was an old French army base. I stopped dead in my tracks. Was there 10 months before I got a hot shower. The reason was obvious: the more faded my utilities looked, the less I looked like a newbie. Right down the street from the gedunk area was the base theater. John Fitzgerald, crewmember of YW-101, further advises the 8-inch water-line was route to a buoy in Tien Sha Cove for water barges to replenish from.) We were hungry, so we decided to go back to the gedunk stand operated by the little Vietnamese guy. YFRN-383 Many of the guys came down with heat rash in the first few days we were there. Tasty, though ... ain’t it?”. With the move the nature of the task changed. I just haven’t had time for any more. I was halfway up the steps when Earles grabbed me and bodily yanked me so hard that I landed on my side on the gravel walkway. If you don’t do it right the first time, THERE AIN’T GONNA BE NO SECOND TIME! The command wants you to have an opportunity to move around and get familiar with the base. Cargo Handling Battalion – 2 A lot of guys who’d saved up their money would do just that, and when their tour was over, their new car would be waiting for them when they got home. It’ll go away in a few days.”. “Report my ass. The Navy’ll discharge your ass for a skin condition.”, “Yea! Just outside the main gate at Tien Sha, between 6 and 8 in the morning and 6 and 8 in the evening, there was a laundry cart. It got so bad that when the special services guy saw me come in the door he’d just grab the tape off the shelf and hand it to me; I didn’t even have to go through the check-out procedure. First thing the next morning, woozie but awake, I headed straight for the head. R&R; stood for Rest and Relaxation. By day two, Earles had it, and he had a monster case; his face, neck, chest and arms were totally inflamed. They were everywhere. They were different, that’s for sure, but they really tasted good. Because Da Nang was in an area under constant enemy attack, the Seabees also built fortifications to help protect the base. It’s the main office, so to speak. Naval Support Activities in I Corps, the northern-most theatre of war in South Vietnam. A lot of young men got hooked on the slots. After checking in at the Elephant, we retraced our steps and got back to Tien Sha about two hours after we’d left. It was activated at Fort Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1 June 1941.The hospital was then reorganized and re-designated as the 95th Evacuation Hospital 14 August 1942. Explore our catalog and purchase official MRFA gear here. Why’d those assholes just get up and leave like that; with their plates still loaded down with food? They hadn’t even finished their meals, and rather than talk to us, they just up and left, with their plates still loaded down with vittles. If you put a piece together and it goes out in the field and doesn’t work, you’re gonna kill somebody. Ain’t nothin’ can change that. Once you’d been in-country for a certain period of time you could put in for a three-day R&R; at the facility. How is that different?”. Explore historical photos, gripping stories, poetry and song submitted by MRFA members.