So off to Camp Tien Sha to get my gear and check out. It is just to heart breaking to see the suffering of the children in this world who are caught in a war! Da Nang Cluster. Only 364 more days to go! First I had to do a couple hour job at the 1st MP Quonset hut. The scarcity of lighterage and the heavy weather that often buffeted the harbor made ship-to-craft cargo transfers hazardous and inefficient. My work hours were 0600 to 1800 which made it impossible to use any of the base services! Report an offensive or inappropriate entry. I started building the 3 strong backs at 7 Motors on Monday morning June 3rd. DaNang aerial photograph It was reported in an Email that National Geographic Magazine somewhere between Jan. 1967 and June 1968 had an aerial photograph of DaNang with enough detail to get the CIA uptight. The next weekend I asked about the farmer ? By TET of 1968 most of the rural Vietnamese had been moved into relocation camps (Dog Patch). Da Nang marks the halfway point between Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Finally, the harsh northeast monsoon made cargo operations at Danang and throughout I Corps hazardous and difficult during the winter months.[1]. We were working with basic hand tools, cutting everything with one cross cut handsaw. line. 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. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. To save them from Communism was not the right answer because most of them did not feel that Communism was a threat ! He was laying on his back and we had tied his arms (wrists) to the legs on one end of the desk and then had tide his upper thighs to the other legs of the desk. standing duty after working hours you were pretty much alone. On May 15 I had finished 6 or 8 escape doors. Then I started paying more attention. The nurses were all Vietnamese and were employed there so I would often see the same nurses. There was about a weeks over lap so the knew Chief could learn his job! Before we destroyed their lives they all had jobs and skills that worked in their culture! 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. enough for me. Very often our flares would land in Hoa Kahn or Dog Patch burning down many Vietnamese huts providing more damaged children for the clinic. As usual US style plumbing, the The wounded are only those who were medivaced to a hospital. who manned the PTF base at night used for transportation to and from In July 1966 the "Bridge Cargo Ramp" (160307N 1081352E / 16.052N 108.231E / 16.052; 108.231) began operations increasing NSA's supply capability. The poor farmer screamed like you could never imagine until he finally passed out. The hooch in back is the doctors office and residents. This was a Sunday afternoon BBQ about 1800 hr. It was very clear that they did not want a FNG getting in their way. 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. The truck dropped us at the work sight. The Doc trimmed all the skin and muscle nice and neat adding clamps (hemostats) as he went. 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. 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. I think it was on May 22,Wednesday when I was on the night radio,phone watch that I wrote my poem about this event. The kids head had been stitched up and looked just like a soccer ball. When I started working on this clinic project I was full of good feelings as to how we were helping these poor Vietnamese people. Issues related to race and race relations helped to define the African American experience in the United States, and these same issues defined the experiences of black soldiers in Vietnam.Race relations in combat were typified by cooperation, shared sacrifice, and a sense of brotherhood. 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! and created an overlay of the changes to the harbor, which was Did he live or die? On 30 June 1970 NSA Danang was deactivated and on 1 July new Army-Marine service support agreements went into effect. 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. The carpenter flat bed truck. We hopped in his truck and he took me down to H&S company supply to get bedding and mess gear. 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. and Captain David A . Read their name tag,don't look at their face, it was a hell of a lot easier to pick up the pieces or load up a stretcher of some one you don't know than to deal with a friend ! . hair cutting all my time there aside I pretty much walked the whole base then back to the EM club for a cold beer Some morning I would be more tired when I woke up than when I went to bed. My barracks was an old French barracks at Camp Tien Sha near Da Nang. Coate would send dog food care packages to Judy. Danang was handling more tonnage than the port of Baltimore at the time. Well sure I heard about it and even saw them down at 1st MPs. The photos on this page are from an exhibit that was at the Collin County Historical Society Museum. The iStock design is a trademark of iStockphoto LP. . That's how we got our beds, enough for everyone. Probable a pissed of old farmer getting off a couple round while drinking his morning coffee. After our three big generators and fuel tank were up and running that area became a target for the VC. The VC had taken their 782 gear (combat gear, weapons and ammo) and bugged out. Finally I interrupted and said I would sleep in the Korean bunker on the broken cot that was in there, end of argument ! I know NOTHING of a chapel There are over 500 chapters that provide fellowship, volunteer opportunities and community service. I spent the last 5 months of my tour as a NSA Investigator for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang. Drive out the back gate and about 2 miles to the Navy Seabee base. T is a history of NSA in Vietnam, which by 1969 was the Navy's largest overseas command with the largest public works department in the world. After he was medivaced one young labor worker(Baby son) would ask me every morning If I had heard how Barbee was and if I got a letter from him. 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. The doctors at the Hoa Kahn Clinic were all Navy I think mostly off the hospital ships, they would volunteer for the clinic and rotate out every week. There were at least 500 RVN Sailors, 6 American Sailors, and two Koreans who worked for Philco Ford. So that's what I did, went back to work. Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968, viewed from Monkey Mountain. I recognize the admin building on the right, everything else is pretty vague. and went on I stood there wondering how I was going to drive wood stakes into that hard ground. 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. The villagers brought each one of us Seabees a Tiger Beer before we left for Camp Books. I could see through the gauze and there was some kind of wound underneath that looked like velvet. There was an indoor movie theater, snack bar, hobby shop, NCO club and EM club, basket ball courts and tennis courts. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. The best attractions in Da Nang include a good mix of centuries-old pagodas, French colonial buildings, as well as tranquil beaches with clear blue waters, and verdant national parks. Fish and Game, as a diver/biologist, and retired as the If your lost and want CONTACT: VETERANS CENTER OF NORTH TEXAS. Camp Tien Sha Vietnam 1968 from Monkey Mountain Bombardier Pretorian Aug 16, 2013 Good photo, get a good look at the base. this place, wearing only "shower One about half way from knee to foot and the other just below the knee! It wasn't a normally She is always with me ! No. I slowly walked around the trailer checking them out. [1], By July 1968 NSA Danang handled 350,000 tons of cargo each month for the 200,000 allied troops in I Corps. of the guys took to securing a I was finished with my concrete forms before noon on Wednesday . For that action, we were awarded the Naval Unit Commendation, the highest Naval or Marine award issued without action by the President. They cut a hole through their new fence and cleared a path threw the tangle foot and mines wide enough for a 4 wheel drive mule. I didn't understand at that time the danger of rocket attacks. The doc had no idea but it was a sure thing she was going to die. We all thought that everyone on this earth was doing the highest and best possible all the time for each situation. I am hoping that my response willl stay intact and not disapear completely from here. 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. Suddenly dozens of tracer rounds started ricocheting off the wall about 20 feet in front of the truck! When I got to the gate it was a little past curfew and the guard started to give me some shit and wanted my travel chit. - Alan, Drawing We could sleep but we had to report in every hour on the radio to our parent command at PWC China Beach. Chu Lai Base Area. Amphibious fuel lines were laid along the sea floor to storage tanks ashore at Red Beach Base Area, north of the city and the Marines' Marble Mountain Air Facility to the south. 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. Although the rules were they had to go back and check out. from two times. YFUs and LCUs such as the 62 were assigned to Lighterage Div of the Naval Support Activity, DaNang, and were based at Camp Tien Sha Annex. one of authority noticed. Chapel? 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! I was land based in Da Nang. Besides the concrete hospital was a large concrete and stone ward building which had not even been started in early June. After I let them go I was sitting on my tool box waiting for the crew truck to come pick me up. 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 . whatever you say Mr. Anyone who tried to open that door without giving our pass word would have been shot. On Sunday most of my team mates loaded up our flat bed truck with building materials from our salvage yard. "personal" shower head and keeping All the stuff that related to the course. Sunday late afternoons we were able to get over to the Red Beach causeway and get in some water sessions. Vietnam veterans, age 60+, American. never even gave a thought that a Guess earlier generations of residents at Camp Fay had their there. Keep exploring. His name was Coate and he was a 3rd class yeoman. Download this Camp Tien Sha photo now. map and make modifications, please email your There was a bunker there. [2] 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. 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. 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. She wanted to send care packages and letters to me as part of a High School project. Here are the Activity reports for May 1968 for the Marines in my AO (area of operation) . 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. . The bunker in back was the Korean bunker that I slept in while I was building my hooch. He lets fly with 8 or 10 rounds then he is done for the day. painting rocks. I can still hear the snip of the scissors as the Doc cut away the flesh. African Americans perceived racial issuesrace relations, prejudice, and discriminationin Vietnam through a lens heavily influenced by their earlier experiences in the United States. This was the closest skivvy house to Camp Books , a very short walk. At the base of Monkey mountain was Camp Tien Sha, the main Navy base. Some time during the night the VC entered the Skivvy house, capturing them without a fight. But that only happened once as from then on I was ready. Driving around on the perimeter of the base checking for burned out security lights could also be very hazardous . It had 4 windows so I went to the window for H. I handed the clerk my records pack. I didn't know it then but that was my last good meal for a long time! I had my sailboat and some I always had hot meals and a warm bed. I held the door open for them. It had been a very busy month with a lot of things happening. Bombardier Jan 17, 2016 I bet they had to patrol that high ground a lot though Media information Category Images of Vietnam Added by nstar48 Date added Jan 30, 2008 View count 16,033 2 It was kind of a taste of what we would get when the monsoons came in September. There was outgoing mortar rounds and incoming. It My station when The Marine on the left was blond and looked like a California surfer.He to had been shot in the back of the head. 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! 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. Khoi Tran and Hong Th Hin faved this 3,723 views 2 faves 0 comments Taken on March 17, 2017 Some rights reserved Nikon SUPER COOLSCAN 9000 ED You got to do what you got to do ! When I came off my Saturday night watch I was told I would be standing six hours duty at the PWC trouble desk on Sunday morning. I yelled "incoming" and took off running to the nearest watch post which was 150 yards away. The kid had a big yellow Tonka dump truck and would sit for hours in the sand playing with that truck. to pull a copy and edit in the configuration it would hold about 10 people. The feet just kind of hanging by muscle and skin. The Doc told me to help tie the farmer down to the desk. Link to Silent Spring Deadly Autumn (the best book ever written about Agent Orange and the other chemicals we were exposed to in Vietnam. The road was closed to civilian traffic at night so there would be no other vehicles on the road. I was going to have to hit the ground running if I intended to stay with this team. I believe that on May 21 we had hits to the sick bay which was a big rebuild job. I don't know what the building head has about the lightest colored This is surely just something I've head" screwed onto the pipe. This is my Poem about the farmer who stepped on the mine. Charles R. Smith . Camp Tien Sha Stock Photo - Download Image Now - Vietnam, Military Base, 1968. "Ya, there has been a sniper shooting at the fence crew every morning for the past week. shoes" and one of the Vietnamese I needed to know which of the sound meant danger! On 1 April 1966 Naval Forces Vietnam was established in Saigon and assumed control of NSA Danang from III MAF. I was a certified SCUBA diver. I did a phone call to the Marine Duty officer and he calmly told me the incoming fire had already been reported by the outposts. I spent 33 years 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. Donations for May. 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. Under the supervision of the Doc , the Vietnamese nurse and I got him tied down. when I was there. Mark Harms reporting for duty! If I wanted something I had to have Bet or Ski pick it up. Bet coming down the trail by the ESSO Plant east wall. Barrels of asphalt damaged by rocket attack, April 1969, Camp Tien Sha Annex, Ray Norton. That distance above us was only 4 feet. Our boat and one other transported the BU 3 Beerworth s crew took over and finished the walls and roof on Saturday May 18. VVA's goals . Then he could pick my guys up and pick up materials to build my hooch. T are sections in the book about Camp Tien Sha, Cua Viet, Dong Ha, Tan My, Hue, Phu Bai, Chu Lai, and Sa Huynh. 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. When I look back it sure seems stupid but at the time what else could I do? [4]:33, Logistic vessels under the control of NSA Danang included Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM 3 & LCM 6) and LCU landing craft; harbor utility craft (YFU); small harbor tugs (YTL); open lighters (YC); refrigerated barges (YFRN); Army craft; and a refrigerator ship. [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. Whatever, I was very I faked being a doctor from the USA and was shown around a little. identified as "enlisted head" in Storage areas ashore were limited by space and access. On the left I was . The sign on the mess hall door whole story here. half, aside from the times that I ed Camp Haskins (South) for Camp Tien Sha to complete the retrograding of equipment. uniform. Travis, Hawaii, Subic Bay (and shore patrol in Olongapo), then to 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). the two boat docks at DaNang. Da Nang Air Base (1957-1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) facility. thought about was the airbase in Danang was under attack, On May 21,1968 at 2400 hr. The Docs loved coming to Hoa Kahn Clinic. While I was building the door the Doc and nurse moved in medical supplies to the shelf unit. One of our guy went with Babyson to the local market and bought blankets, cooking supplies, sleeping mats and food. Just kind of shut it off excepting that I had very little control over my situation and excepting that if shit happened ,shit happened !! 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. and drop their bow ramps. She was wearing light blue pajamas with little lambs printed on it. Marine damage reports were never very accurate and it is hard for me to remember what was damage when. I'm at camp Tien Sha at Da Nang now. The number of rockets are probably plus or minus a couple rockets. Vietnam War Home Movies Tien Sha & Da Nang 1969 ammo dump explosion, freedom hill VintageFilmArsenal 2.48K subscribers 37K views 8 years ago Go to vintagefilmarsenal.com to purchase a. That night at the mess hall it was, " did you hear about the 2 grunt that got shot and killed at the Skivvy house last night"! I had a ball throwing that jeep (a hooch is a 16 by 32 ft wood framed plywood building with 5 foot high walls and a tin roof.) things. After the little girl died I never went back to the clinic. Left Phung a Vietnamese carpenter and formerly a French foreign legion Major. It was no problem during the day because either the XO or Chief were there or the secretary,interpreter (miss Nguyen). 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. Everyone was busy as hell and I didn't have any idea as to what was going on. quarters. Then of course there was the dreaded incoming 122mm and 140mm incoming rocket. On the back of the truck was his dog Judy and inside on the dashboard was an M-16 rifle. All of the rounds hit in swamp area between the main base and FLC command building . This is the first Poem that I wrote in Vietnam and is about the two marines killed in the skivvy house. He was wearing his best short timers uniform. corner and pretty balanced oversteer under power out of the corners. We looked a lot more hard corps than we were. [1], The logistic establishment at Danang functioned with growing efficiency by mid-1968 as it built new port and shore facilities. I even passed an enlisted sailor with a can of white paint and he was I sure didn't void We also had a couple of American Philco Ford teachers. I finished the shower and got Mountain. of the DaNang Military Complex, One of Maybe it's just me. say I rarely ventured onto the left 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. We were supposed to protect our base generators and fuel tank from sappers. On Friday May 17 I was sent out on another job. Camp Horn is a former United States Marine Corps and United States Army base located in Danang, Vietnam. After checking in, I was assigned to any old charts, photos or drawings of the PTF The "enlisted head" was pretty bare. The firemen loaded foam canister on a mule and were able to get to the UH-1 and finally put the fire out. I believe we also tied him around the waist. shower heads came out from the side I held that little girl sitting on my tool box and in a short time she was used to me and clutching onto the front of my shirt. So every week there would be a different doctor. I have 'issues' from that crap hole as well.I don't want to put my email address in here publicly so how can I get in touch with you?Ernie Hodge, is this the Ernie hodge that was with the fuel crew in 1966-1967. my name is larry Kirby and my twin brother is gary Kirby if this is the same Earnie Hoge please email me at lwk472000@yahoo.vom. I could feel the rasping of that bone saw through the stick in the farmers mouth! Nice history lesson for me. ( Short timers uniforms were your oldest most faded fatigues but always clean and well kept.) This comment has been removed by the author. Well, the Camp Tein Sha barracks got me for Friday, and Saturday. loved cars and fast driving. Some guys were able to go through their whole tour in Vietnam in John Wayne mode. Guest 31-Aug-2016 02:35: . Over the months as I got to know my Vietnamese and they opened up to me the most asked question they had for me. because of all the flares in the mountains next to the base. I asked where she was now and he said the Priest had taken her to Da Nang to be burried! I didn't think about the danger but was aware of it. He always seemed happy and smiling and the whole time he was around the clinic I never heard him speak a single work. Provinces. Often times during a rocket or mortar attack rounds would over shoot landing in Hoa Kahn or Dog Patch ,providing children for the Clinic. training), ands a week at Whidby Island (E&E, and SERE. The only answer I could give them that they would except was. The tents were on the right. )The Doc gave me a large stick like a tongue depressor ,except bigger. A regular jeep would accommodate 5 people, while in this The green building upper right is the hooch that I built for our Vietnamese workers. I was driving on the perimeter road with the dry storage ASM wall on my right. Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. "Sorry that's all we have!" It was at maximum power and flying very fast. So after the 2400 check in I would jump in the truck with M-16 and ammo. As such a small group we couldn't do the standard Navy 4 hour watch. Learn more about royalty-free images or view FAQs related to stock photos. Soon there were Marines all over the place. It sure seemed longer then a month, to me it was more like a few months! The Marines in that ambush had fired on me to scare me because they thought I was the duty officer making the rounds. to develop this map. Didnt take long to figure out that everyone could see that you were a FNG. ---- I spent the rest of the day until after dark alone in the shop building a foot locker. May 27 was my birthday. Before I went into the Navy I had a It was a real learning experience for the three of us. Then I could triangulate my frames ,run some string lines, pound in the rebar stakes. K-9 Security Unit-1 (Navy Sentry Dog Unit) Det Cua Viet 1st Naval LARC Division. 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. Please feel free I turned 20 years old and of coarse it went un- noticed although I had gotten a care package from Annett Burrel, a couple surfing magazines from my brother Jay and a birthday card from my girl friend Linda! Some where along the line the nurse had done an IV drip. 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.