At Freedom Hill you'll see some panoramic shots of the base and buildings (USO Club, ), likewise at Tien Sha (Snoopy's Chicken Hut, Acey Ducey Club). On 27 February 1969 a People's Army of Vietnam rocket hit LCU-1500 while it was loading at the Bridge Cargo Ramp killing 13 crewmen. middle , Mr Kim a Korean Philco Ford electrician . When I got on the bus to Camp Tien Sha (the one with chicken wiure on the windows) I knew I wasn't in Kansas. Some times a lot of shit happened . was about vehicles, building thought about was the airbase in Danang was under attack, The bunker in back was the Korean bunker that I slept in while I was building my hooch. Here are the Activity reports for May 1968 for the Marines in my AO (area of operation) . basis I think Before we destroyed their lives they all had jobs and skills that worked in their culture! Older Vietnam veteran who served in the US Navy at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang, 1968-1969. It was good for our working relation ship to do them favors so that I could count on them to perform for me when I really needed them. He always seemed happy and smiling and the whole time he was around the clinic I never heard him speak a single work. She smelled horrible! "driving deprived" at the time and any time I had access to a )The Doc gave me a large stick like a tongue depressor ,except bigger. The scarcity of lighterage and the heavy weather that often buffeted the harbor made ship-to-craft cargo transfers hazardous and inefficient. it for their personal use. 15x12. It was where the French first landed in the 19th Century in their quest to control the area and. Individuality, not. I am a 20 year old US soldier and my country says I have to be here! I heard the distant crack of rifle fire and then my brain said holy shit, somebody is shooting at me!! - 300 dpi - RGB, Royalty-free licenses let you pay once to use copyrighted images and video clips in personal and commercial projects on an ongoing basis without requiring additional payments each time you use that content. I could see through the gauze and there was some kind of wound underneath that looked like velvet. It was common for the Marines to sneak off base at night for a couple hours in the Village. seating along the sides of the rear area. [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. Tour: August 2, 1969 through July 17, 1970. 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! There were no boat parts in supply In mid-October 1968 the Deep Water Pier complex ( 16.12N 108.214E) on the Tien Sha peninsula was completed, beginning operations in September 1968. Provinces. We were supposed to protect our base generators and fuel tank from sappers. It must have been about 1100 hr. Closer and closer, the engine starting to whine! I didn't 44 Declassified Vietnam War Photos Taken By U.S. Army Photographers View Gallery History is not a fixed set of facts. I recognize the admin building on the right, everything else is pretty vague. The harbor defense unit used landing craft, picket boats and 16 feet (4.9m) Boston Whalers to monitor and protect the maritime traffic. What the F is wrong with her? Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. Historian, US Navy Seabee Museum. It's claim to fame was that it had a black prostitute. This is a 122mm rocket crater in the road in front of our shop. Did he live or die? The MPs had used their white belts as tourniquets just above the knees. It was what those So my hooch would now have 5 of us. When we arrived at Red Beach the Seabee team shop was a mad house. It didn't take long to get out of bed when the first rocket struck nearby. Great Discounts & More! Tracers were bouncing all over in front of the truck. So off to Camp Tien Sha to get my gear and check out. [3]: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. This was Maybe 6 on a side. Bet coming down the trail by the ESSO Plant east wall. Mark Harms reporting for duty! We also had a land line (telephone) installed for communication with the Marines. No. Some time that day the Catholic Priest who was in charge of the clinic and also the Da Nang orphanage showed up . You forget the bad things and you remember the good to return to We had devastated their economy and destroyed their infrastructure. right , Huan one of my carpenters. I thought they were trying to lighten their load. The Seabee team had 8 junior men in one hootch and 4 senior men in the second hootch. When I started working on this clinic project I was full of good feelings as to how we were helping these poor Vietnamese people. 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. k. It was more the "ambulance" configuration with a It was a long miserable cold 12 hour night. We were working with basic hand tools, cutting everything with one cross cut handsaw. 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. There was outgoing mortar rounds and incoming. ( the rules for Camp Books were that to be off base you had to have a weapon). James L Chambers (cause of death,misadventure). [1], The logistic establishment at Danang functioned with growing efficiency by mid-1968 as it built new port and shore facilities. Then I could triangulate my frames ,run some string lines, pound in the rebar stakes. Drawing 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 ! The number of rockets are probably plus or minus a couple rockets. The Seabee construction crews he is referring to was my crew. You FNGs get to the back of the The port of Danang contained only three small piers, three Landing Ship, Tank (LST) ramps and a stone quay that were inaccessible to oceangoing vessels; even smaller craft had trouble approaching. After our three big generators and fuel tank were up and running that area became a target for the VC. Our generators were not even running yet so I heard the rocket coming in. 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. didnt get shot at and we safely landed and taxied off the run way. Honorably Discharged as a QM2(SS) in 1971ish. The rocket attacks after that the would be on target! May 1. He had to re arrange his schedule to accommodate me. I was aguard for Tien Sha Peninsula Security division. Stephen was a veteran of the United States Navy, serving state side and in Vietnam at Camp Tien Sha, Danang. line. One night I was in the office with LT Branch . The sign on the mess hall door Some times she would get so drunk that she couldn't walk anymore, was really funny watch her four legs going in different directions! couldn't resist testing it's limits! 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. Danang. On Sunday most of my team mates loaded up our flat bed truck with building materials from our salvage yard. Guess information beyond what we already have. There wasn't much blood ,just a small whelp where the bullet went in. 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). So back around to the front of the hut and to work on the awning . Welcome! I was a certified SCUBA diver. There weren't even any stairs going up there yet. Very close now and it was clear that they weren't going to make it over the hurricane fence at the perimeter. called to general quarters was in They were only a couple hundred yards away! IN VIETNAM. Well, the Camp Tein Sha barracks got me for Friday, and Saturday. [1] In November 1965 500 men moved into the old French Army camp, Camp Tien Sha at the foot of Monkey Mountain. This exhibit is now closed. things. Remember the talk we got about staying away from the prostitutes that I got my first day in Vietnam? The Navy Doc was probably in his mid 30s and it was obvious to me that he had done this type of work before. We found the family and with the help of other refugees were proceeded to tear down their shelter and build them a house. 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. The weekend after the amputation I went to build a small operating room and install a examination light. If one of the other bases in our AO got hit by mortars or rockets then our siren went off and we were on red alert which meant we had to role out with weapons, helmets,and flack jackets and man our posts. once. Surprise, I think that was normal precaution . I didn't think about the danger but was aware of it. I am searching for anyone who may recall serving with me in the Seabees at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang between 1969-1971. The day we put up our sign . He spent the night at the shop bunker by himself , totally confused as to what was going on. It had been a very busy month with a lot of things happening. The following information was emailed in to 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. That sure screwed with our sleep! 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. I took my time cooling myself off in that shower then went On Friday I left the shop at 1800hr and went to the Children's Clinic. He's shooting from a long way out and hasn't hit anyone yet. say I rarely ventured onto the left 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. I wish I would have known about it then! She would throw dirt into the air and scratch at her face until it was bleeding , rubbing dirt into the cuts. In March 1965 when United States Marine Corps combat troops landed at Danang, the support establishment was rudimentary. We stopped work and watched. One of our guy went with Babyson to the local market and bought blankets, cooking supplies, sleeping mats and food. On 1 April 1966 Naval Forces Vietnam was established in Saigon and assumed control of NSA Danang from III MAF. 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% . 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. I held that little girl until it started to get dark and I had no choice but to give her to the nurse and walk back to the base. We went downtown in Long Beach, and we got harassed a lot. I spent the last 5 months of my tour as a NSA Investigator for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang. ---- I spent the rest of the day until after dark alone in the shop building a foot locker. Ten of them cluster around one of the three air bases that became the most contaminate with dioxin: Da Nang, Phu Cat and Bien Hoa. Dearest Rita, I just finished a quick letter to my folks first one since I've been here. click here or click "back" until you The doc had no idea but it was a sure thing she was going to die. I was in Vietnam from November 3, 1968, through November 7, 1969. I remember one time showering in Driving around on the perimeter of the base checking for burned out security lights could also be very hazardous . navy was the hair thing. Find Camp Tien Sha, Headquarters unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. 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. Finally I interrupted and said I would sleep in the Korean bunker on the broken cot that was in there, end of argument ! All of the rounds hit in swamp area between the main base and FLC command building . person who was awake had access to the keys to the jeep. Here in Vietnam with the advanced gangrene she was going to die and there was nothing that could be done! The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. of the DaNang Military Complex, One of He had no hair and always had snot running out of his nose and down his chin. roof. 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. Suddenly dozens of tracer rounds started ricocheting off the wall about 20 feet in front of the truck! Coate would send dog food care packages to Judy. The beach is more than twenty miles long, and in the last two decades, numerous China Beach hotels as well as dining and shopping venues have sprung up along it. Camp Tien Sha, Vietnam. 2023 iStockphoto LP. Mountain. So I took a trip in September 2016 back Chief then showed me the mess hall and walked me down to the Seabee hooch's. C Chi Base Camp. Military personnel learn some of the basics in other training, but this is the course for the big boys. When I asked the Priest what happened to the kid he said he didn't know, the kid was at the orphanage when he took over. whatever you say Mr. We were not part of the Marine Civil Affair but worked independent of them. I experienced rocket attacks, an ammunition dump explosion, total boredom, drug busts, police raids, China Beach, and the birth of my daughter, Rebecca. Keep exploring. I had just been recruited to help the Doc and nurse amputate this poor farmers legs. Learn more about royalty-free images or view FAQs related to stock photos. Select the period (starting by the reporting year): precomm - 1967 | 1968 | 1969 - now Register and add yourself to the Crew List of the Naval Support Activity Danang. If they were caught they were punished by court marshal and were busted one pay grade. Significant Events 19-31 August 1970 19-28 October 1970 5 November 1970 13 November 1970 15 November 1970 I served there and just would like to hear from some of the guys that was there. In DaNang we had what was called the "duty jeep". The exhibit was known as "The Vietnam Syndrome". [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. They were simply ghettos with poor sanitation , communal water supply, no roads or electricity. So after the 2400 check in I would jump in the truck with M-16 and ammo. Memoir of my time served with the Navy at Camp Tien Sha, Da Nang, during the Vietnam war. This was a real live human! He was standing about 10 feet from me and the first round of a rocket attack went through the ventilator on top of our building ,exactly four feet above the LTs head and exploded in the ware house bay next to our shop. 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. I was face down on the road under the edge of the truck with my foot stuck under the clutch peddle. 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. CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. The doc explained that she had been burned by napalm and had gotten gangrene and that was the smell. A smell I have never smelled again in my life time. The trailer was to short so the Marines legs were bent at the knees and sticking up, no shoes, pant legs up to their knees showing their very white legs. I wanted to know everything about what happened to those Marines. I am not sure what possessed me to write poems there. So as May 1968 ended I had been in Vietnam for 1 month! When Puppy was big enough our secretary, interpreter Miss Nguyen took Puppy home with her to Danang. The doctor and nurse came out of the clinic. Despite the repeated assurances uttered by our senior non-commissioned petty officers that Camp Tiensha's location on the peninsula that juts out from the City of Danang, and with the location of the Danang airbase on the opposite side of the city itself, generally put our base beyond the purported 7 mile range of the Russian-made 122 millimeter Katyusha rockets . I sure didn't void Style attributes. The huge fuel tank was just being build on the left out of the picture. It was time to go look for some food! Even now-days I hate phones,radios, air conditioning and coffee ! A refugee family was living in a lean too in Dog Patch south . Well I had 11 months to go and it was going to be a very long 11 months ! When I got on [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. It was a real learning experience for the three of us. not leaving a big enough tip. Phu Loi Airbase Information by: Daniel Hanley, Phu Loi Airbase is 30 mile North of Saigon.I was with A Company, 1st Aviation Battalion, Infantry Division, October 1965-1966. Published October 25, 2017 Updated April 22, 2021 These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. In the fall of 1966 I was transferred of the enclosure with a "shower I'm at camp Tien Sha at Da Nang now. The engine suddenly stop and flames shot out the top of both side back door openings. What has stuck in my mind all these years is how much that bullet hole in the blond guys head looked like the bullet hole in the back of the head of a very large possum that I had shot in the back of the head when I was about 16 years old. This is the Hoa Kahn clinic at the time I started working there. The Marines slept 12 to 14 men in a hootch. The Maybe it's just me. Detachment Phu Bai - 1965 -1970. Every tree trunk was painted white, every rock was neatly lined up along the couple of Corvairs (ok, stop laughing!) These positive relations were largely a reflection of the fact that black and white soldiers in combat were heavily dependent on one another. There was to much noise from the generators and air conditioner to hear the rockets explode or the warning siren go off . From 1800 hours until 0600 we had to have some one stand watch. LCU-1498, then the chart office at the White Elephant. The Chief did manage to get bedding (Ha,Ha) I got one bed sheet and one pillow case. I jumped into the fighting hole beside the post and yelled at the Marines there "holy shit some one is shooting at me!" 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. Then we saw a little dot far up Elephant Valley. Both of his legs had been pretty much blown off. There are other memories of my time working at the clinic. 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. CD-ROM, but it didn't provide any new The ESSO fuel plant from the north east side where we were snorkeling.