101pfdr

[chilidog]

Subject
Sprawling Bases

Posted by
101pfdr
Posted on
1/12/01 00:55 AM


Yeah, I was on one or two during my time in country. Problem was they were generally just jungle
when I got there in '66 and they didn't get to be "Sprawling Bases" until after we left. I remember, Long
Binh being a "tent city" for the Headquarters of the 159th Engineer Group and a couple dump truck
companies in March '66. When I came back through there about a year later on convoy escort it was
totally different. Black top roads, Aluminum Adams huts on concrete pads with AC. Indoor theaters, a
Steak House Restaurant, Steam & Cream, etc. They even had a large brick complex for USARV later
on in the war with cold water fountains, flush toilets, WACS and guys in Khakis. That's where our
illustrious Governor Gray Davis spent his 5 months in country and now claims to have been a "Bush
type combat veteran". He was a 1Lt. Signal Officer stationed at a depot repair facility and claims that
he had to fly out to the bush and personally deliver replacement radios to units while they were
actually engaged in combat with the bad guys. I think not!

Anyway, Long Binh was the biggest of them, but you really can't count Airbases in the same way.
Hell first thing the Air Force puts up is an NCO club then they worry about the runways. They always
live well and why not, they aren't supposed to live like grunts in the field. If I hadn't had to live that way
do you think I would have done it by choice. No way dude.

Any way I once had to be "retrieved" by a "Jolly Green" after the bird (an administrative bird) went
down on my way to a China Beach R&R. Turns out I was the only armed idiot on that bird other than
the crew and their pistols. Had a couple JAG lawyers and I suddenly became their best buddy.
Anyway, the Jolly Green drops out of the sky picks us up just as the Bad Guys are closing in, (ever
seen one of them spray the world with their weapons, .50's, 20mm and 7.62 mini guns. Interesting
effect) and they fly us to DaNang AFB. Well, I get invited to have a drink with them at their compound
and they decide that it would be interesting to see what effect a Dirty, scroungy Pathfinder Lt. would
have on the staid members of the DaNang AFB, O-Club. So off we go, drunk and disorderly, me still in
my ripped, torn and dirty cammies and needing a shower and a shave and not to mention the weapons
I was carrying. The effect was just about right, at first they didn't want to let me in and finally when
they understood that I was in fact a serving officer in the US Army they relented but I had to give up
my weapons before entering the bar. After some discussion I told them that I would give them the
ones that could be seen but I wasn't going anywhere in country unarmed. 'Bout this time there's a
USAF 2 star standing behind me and heard all this and says, "Lt. give up every weapon you have on
you right now". Well, not wanting to get into a pi$$ing contest with a 2 star I start unloading. First, the
CAR-15, then the .45 auto, then the Gerber Mk-1 knife, the hatchet, the boot knife, the sleeve knife,
then the grenades, 6 frags, one thermite, one WP and several smokes. Then I took the claymore out
of the cargo pocket on my pants, and the block of C-4 out of the other side pocket. It looked like that
scene out of the Mel Gibson movie "Mad Max beyond thunderdrom". The stack just kept getting
higher. These guys are all running around trying to tape the grenades and just about had a brick when
I dropped the claymore and C-4 on the table. All this is going on and the Jolly Green pilots are about
to split a gut laughing. Finally, I'm through and one of the pilots says, hey Lt. what about your hide
away weapons. I say "Oh yeah forgot about them" and pull another .45 from a shoulder holster under
my jacket and a .380 LLama from my crotch hanging from a cord around my neck. All the time this
two star is just standing there with his eyes and mouth wide open.
I guess you had to be there, but it was interesting to see the USAF going crazy trying to figure out
what to do with this stuff. Anyway, we went into the restaurant to had dinner and then to the bar to
have several drinks and I wasn't allowed to pay for anything. It was a great time and the club had real
silver ware, china, tablecloths and napkins and waiters and waitresses. The floor show was great and
in all I had a great time and on top of that my unit extended my 3 day R&R to five days because of the
crash.

Most large base camps supposedly in the rear like Cu Chi (25th ID), Di An (1st ID), Phu Bai and
Camp Eagle(101st Abn. Div.) were relatively civilized where we lived in wooden "Hooches" out of the
mud for the most part when we came in from the bush. This was on my last tour in '70 - '72, in '66 - '67
I was an enlisted combat engineer and guess what, everywhere we went it was Jungle until we left and
went to another patch of Jungle to turn into a contonement area for some other unit. We finally settled
into the Tay Ninh, Dau Tieng AO where we ended up in regular wooden huts etc. My first 5 or 6
months was under canvass with dirt floors then we got canvass with frames and wooden floors and
finally semi permanent buildings. All in All it really wasn't too bad on any of my time in country, just
different missions and different support facilities. No one really had it easy over there as they were
"OVER THERE" and not at home and were subject to being a casualty from any number of bad guy
weapons systems at any given time.

I personally like the Airbases much more than I did the Army facilities and once had a very interesting
time at the VNAF Officers Club on Ton Son Nuht when I had to go there for a briefing with the ARVN
Airborne. Some of their officers took me out on the town and I found Saigon to my liking very much.

[PHO127]

In Long Binh, Flew into Long Bihn from a mission with one of my NCOs and 4 Khmers. We had been in Cambodia for 9 days and someone wanted an immediate briefing on the mission. They dropped us off and we were supposed to be picked up and taken to the briefing, then a night in Saigon and back to Quan Loi. Well no one to pick us up. We waited and soon an MP patrol came by and took us to the station so I could call someone. While at the MP station someone started getting nosey and asking who we were and what we were doing and that we had to turn in all of our weapons there at the MPs, I told them that I was a U.S. Army officer and we were simply waiting for a vehicle and we were not going to disarm. We locked and loaded and silently waited for our transportation with no other words spoken.

[Beau]

I recall that that was one of my first posts over to The History Channel ....

I hope 101 Pathfinder is ok ... another initial post of mine, was a question on what the Pathfinders did (you experts don't have to jump in with your expertise ... he answered). He responded later on ... "how did you know about the Pathfinders" ... and I just stated that I was waiting in a very long long line once and I axed the Soldier in front of me (black dude) what his insignia was, and he responded "Pathfinder" .... conversation ended, resume the wait in line position.

I had posted that "Sprawling Bases" one, because my experience with the big bases was to land at one; get warehoused; fly north; land at one; and more warehousing at one; then on with the job .... so in Reflecting on what I missed, I asked about what those "Sprawling Bases" were like .... folks said Swimming Pools and movies and nice stuff .... I don't believe it.

Beau