Guard Duty at Cu Chi, RVN :: The Patriot Files :: Dedicated to the preservation of military history

I remember pulling guard duty at Cu Chi Base Camp, RVN in the Support Command area. It just so happened that there was a Vietnamese cemetery located in the Support Command area at Cu Chi.

The Army was not permitted to move established civilian cemeteries, so we were required to guard a perimeter around this cemetery at night. I remember one night very vividly. I was making the rounds as Sergeant of the Guard. I was already uneasy. Several times that night Support Command vehicles had come in and silhouetted our positions with their headlights. They were not suppose to do that - they were suppose to use their night lights, while they were in our area. Some of them had silhouetted us with their lights any way. Not good. Especially as we sometimes received sniper fire from direction of the town and were not permitted to return fire. Suffice it to say I was already nervous.

I was just about mid way between two bunkers, near a tree. Suddenly, someone jumped me from behind. I was surprised and caught completely off guard. My whole life began flashing before me. I figured it was all over.

Just then I caught sight of the monkey. It was Colonel Lowe's pet monkey (Commander, 25th Inf Support Command)- the monkey had really got to me.

Note: by Don Patrick

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Re: Guard Duty at Cu Chi, RVN

by Anonymous

on Aug 28, 2001

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I forgot to mention, this cemetery became well known later on. Enemy activity noted several times in the cemetery. Apparently they were using grave sites as tunnel entrances. After a time a tunnel complex was discovered there; the site actually housed an underground 97 person Viet Cong hospital - under the Cu Chi Base Camp..

Re: Guard Duty at Cu Chi, RVN

by Anonymous

on Sep 02, 2001

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I ,too pulled some tower & bunker guard at the
Long Binh ammo dump. One night while watching
the wire,I noticed some movement off to my left.With lump in throat and sweatly finger
on the trigger of the 16,I looked real close
before sounding the alarm,anyway, I seen a huge
lizard moving along the wire toward another
tower position. I phoned the guard in the next
tower to be alert for the animal,However, I think
he figured that I had taken some weed with me
that night and said he would be sure to keep an eye open. Nam, what a strange war.
Note: I perferred my hitch with the 1st Cav to
pulling guard duty!
"THERE IT IS"
grunt51

"Security Detachment?"

by Stick

on Dec 06, 2010

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I spent from October '67 'till August '68 in the towers and bunkers of the Qui-Nhon Airfield Security Detachment. The "security guards" were better known to Charley as targets and it was our job to report any unusual things around the perimeter fences. Once while in a tower I had a kid come out of a hooch right by the fence with an AK and start shooting at my tower and I called the Sergent of the Guard on the radio (aka field phone) to let him know what was happening and he asked me "Is he enemy?" I was told that I couldn't. About a half hour later that hooch didn't exist any more after the ARVN got to it.

We used to love working tower 14 which was over a ROK unit who every morning would be out hunting breakfast as they shot at the rats in their garbage pit.

On February 2, 1968 I climbed into tower #2 to relieve Ray Carol Banks who was laying on the floor of the tower dead and therefore not able to "guard" the Air Vietnam passenger terminal of the Qui-Nhon Airfield.

Guard duty was so much fun.

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Women in the Armed Forces in combat theaters should be