Rt 9

39mto39g · #1 10-10-2005, 01:40 PM

For any of you fortune enough to walk and come back RT. 9 in northern VN, you will understand just what VN was about.
RT. is a dirt road winding around through some pretty nasty country. It dosen't really end in Loas like the map says and when you get a little to far it gets real quiet. be carefull, be very carefull of evrything, look up alot, don't step hard anywhere, be very quiet. Turn your radio off, send out 3 man advance teams, don't stop to long, be very quiet, turn around, don't go the same way back. When you see Hueys your in VN, Thank all the Gods.

Ron

splummer · #2 10-10-2005, 04:03 PM

Ron
Wasn't route 9 between Dong Ha and Khe sanh on the way to Laos? If it's the one I'm thinking, Camp Carrol was part way there. [That was as far west as I ever went.] The only roads that I knew of that were not dirt roads in ICorp were in Danang which were black topped.

Bill Farnie · #3 10-10-2005, 04:32 PM

If I remember correctly a lot of QL-1 was paved.
Your right Steve, QL-9 intersected QL-1 at Dong Ha and went all the way to the old Special Forces Camp at Lang Vei and into Laos.
John would be able to tell more about the AO.

In my picture gallery here on the PF there's a good map of Quang Tri Province, click on the map to make it larger, that has a lot of detail like firebase locations. It also has a little of northern Thua Thien Province

There were a lot of hairy routes in Vietnam during the war, like Rt. 548 in the A Shau Valley or Rt. 547 which you already know about and QL-19 in II Corp to name just a few.

39mto39g · #4 10-10-2005, 04:33 PM

Ran right past Khe Sanh and Lang Vei and into Loas from Dong Ha on RT 1.
RT 1 was not dirt. what ever road that was by Dak To was being assvalted when I was there.

Ron

splummer · #5 10-10-2005, 05:38 PM

Bill and Ron,
Thinking back really hard, your right that a lot of route 1 was paved. Maybe not all and not real wide and it probably had a lot of holes. Danang had good paved roads it was almost like being back in the states. QL19 in the central highlands [Anke, Pleiko] was the roughest main road I had been on in Vietnam. It was mostly paved but real torn up and a lot of big holes. I think the rains and monsoons would wash away a lot of black top then you had dirt and dust. I think I do remember trying to drive down the middle of the road on route 1 and QL_19 as that was where the narrow black top was. you wanted to stay off the dirt sides of the road if you could, mines]

DMZ-LT · #6 10-10-2005, 05:47 PM

Saw a showabout two guys going back to RVN and riding Harleys . All most s#it when thy said they were riding down QL9 , which is now a four lane highway. Very scary place for awhile. Khe Sanh is now a coffee plantation

Advisor · #7 10-11-2005, 12:21 PM

When I was there, QL 9 was blacktop at least as far as Cam Lo. Didn't go out there too often..usually rode QL1 from Dong Ha to the 'Z'. North of the bridge the road got very crappy.

39mto39g · #8 10-11-2005, 05:37 PM

Cam Lo

DMZ-LT · #9 10-13-2005, 04:43 AM

QL 9 was paved out to Cam Lo. Crossing the Cam Lo bridge was when the pucker factor increased 1000%. That dirt road took you to C2 and A4 or Con Thien as the Marines called it. BNs of NVA were crossing the Z around there. They would etch under their pith helmets the day they crossed the Z

splummer · #10 10-23-2005, 07:36 PM

I've been looking a lot at maps today. I think the road by Dak To in 11Corp was QL-14. It must have been a few hundred miles south of R-9 by the DMZ. I was never on QL-14. The closest I ever got was R-19 going to Pleko and Anke before our company moved up to Danang by LST's then to the Hue area around Feb 1968. We were on so many roads, I guess I really can't remmber where they were paved and where they weren't except for Danang.