Vietnam, Part 1

It got very quiet on the airplane when the stewardess (now we call them flight attendants) announced that we were beginning our descent into the Cam Rahn Bay Airbase. The flight had been a long one and it seemed at times like a pretty good party. We were flying on a World Airways charter (Military Airlift Command [MAC]) from McCord Air Force Base in Tacoma, Washington to the Tan Son Nhut Airbase in Saigon, Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Now we were on approach to Vietnam, but to the wrong airbase. Then she announced we had been diverted to Cam Rahn Bay because of a rocket attack at the airbase at Tan Son Nhut.

As I looked over the men on the flight during the hours we were together in the DC-8, I saw that there was a pretty good mix of combat hardened veterans who were returning for a second or subsequent tour, and soldiers like myself who were newbie’s and making their first tour to the combat theater. None were particularly scared, but at the same time, none were anxious for the airplane to land.

In mid-November, 1969, I arrived at the replacement station at Fort Lewis to begin processing for deployment to Vietnam. At the Air Traffic Control School at Keesler AFB I had worked hard to be in the top ten percent of my class so I would go to Germany rather than Vietnam. At least that was the rumor. Apparently it was just a rumor because I was the third highest in class, on the Commandants List, and processing for deployment to Vietnam. The actual Army term and acronym is Process for Overseas Replacement or POR. I arrived with everything the Army issued me … four sets of fatigues, a set of dress greens and two tan uniforms, boots and low quarter shoes. Except for the dress greens which I was wearing, everything else was shoved into my duffel bag.

The first order of business was to sign in. I had copies of my orders and found the orderly room and the CQ (Charge of Quarters) signed me in and assigned me a bunk. I found my bunk, changed into fatigues, and got comfortable and waited for someone to yell “FALL OUT!” I didn’t have to wait very long. I never saw a place that had so many formations a day. I guess that with the number of people moving in and out of the Replacement Center it took a lot of formations for accountability. The formations were for different purposes. Some were for assigning details, some were for uniform issue, some were for chow and some were shipping formations. My first was to go get new uniforms. After we fell out for the formation, names were read and if our name was read we moved to another location and formed up into another formation. The drill sergeant told us to go get our s#%& and fall out in 30 minutes.

At the appointed time I fell out with my stuff and we marched over to the uniform issue point. Behind the counter, all along the counter were large cardboard bins into which we tossed the appropriate uniform item –IE– Dress green coat, dress green trousers, fatigue shirt, fatigue trousers. By the time we got to the last bin, we were standing in our BVD’s, and sox. Then we moved to the next station where the supply specialist handed us four sets of jungle fatigues and two pair of jungle boots. We quickly put one set on, signed our issue and turn in documents, and fell back out into the street, in formation. The entire process took about fifteen minutes.

The next formation was for details. I was assigned to guard the supply warehouse over night. So after chow I went over to the supply warehouse. The supply sergeant was not very happy to see us and used some very colorful language about how he keeps telling those @#%&*$ %^&#@%& not to send any detail people. So he told us to jump upon the piles of uniforms, grab a blanket and get some sleep. A little later he had us move some boxes, and then he sent us to the chow hall to get midnight supper. When we came back we crawled back upon the uniform piles and slept until about 0530 when he woke us up and told us to go eat and have a nice day.

The next formation for me came at 0900. We were exempt from the earlier formations because we had “worked” all night. At the 0900 formation we were told about our flight to Vietnam. We had to form up at 1300 to be bussed over to McCord. At 1300 we fell out, bag and baggage, and boarded a bus. At about 1400 we arrived at the terminal and got off the bus. We processed in and were told to find a seat and wait until our manifest was called. And wait we did. We waited; and waited; and waited; and waited …………………………..! And our seats were not the nice seats you see at DFW …. although there were some of those, but they were already taken. So I found a spot on the floor and cuddled up to my duffel bag. I got out a book and commenced my wait for our manifest to be called. About 10 hours later we heard the speaker crackle and our manifest number was called.

Our World Airways DC-8 was sitting on the tarmac. We moved to the assembly area and turned over our duffel bags. The bags were taken on a cart to be loaded and we walked out on the tarmac to the stairs leading into the airplane. There was no first class section, all economy. I found a seat with a new found friend and buckled up and waited for departure. Soon the doors were closed and we began rolling to Vietnam.

Our route took us to Honolulu where the aircraft was refueled, restocked, and change flight crews. One would have thought we would have gone to Hickam AFB, but we pulled up to the terminal at Honolulu and we were deplaned. We were there about an hour. While we were waiting, a girl came up to us and was handing out orchids. Not everyone took an orchid, but I did. Now I had this flower and I didn’t know what to do with it. As we boarded the plane the new stewardess commented on the flower. Teasingly I told her I got it for her and handed her the orchid. She said that when a boy gives a girl a flower in Hawaii he had to kiss her on the cheek. So I kissed her on the cheek and she put the flower in her hair. Boy, everyone was hooting and hollering over that. I tried to play it off, but I don’t remember when I had ever been so embarrassed!

It was dark when we took off and we flew quietly along. A couple of hours later the stewardesses began serving a meal and a party like atmosphere began. People were out of their seats talking and laughing. It was getting pretty loud and most everyone was having a pretty good time. One of the stewardesses, without a flower in her hair, asked me what I did in the Army. I told her I was an Air Traffic Controller. She asked me if I wanted to go up into the cockpit and talk to the flight crew. I said sure I did. She had to clear it with the captain. A few minutes later she came back and escorted me to the cockpit. I sat in the jump seat and was there for about a half hour or more. I think I was the only one who got that tour. Before I left the cockpit, the captain told me to look carefully at the horizon. The lights on the horizon were from Vietnam. When I returned to my seat, the “party” was still going strong. A few minutes the announcement was made and everyone took their seats and withdrew into their own thoughts. Talk about a downer! What a contrast.

We landed without incident and taxied to the terminal. The deplaning began. Senior Officers first, followed by other officers. Then it was the E9.s followed by E7’s and E8’s. After that, everyone else got off. I was a lowly E4, but soon we were all off and formed up for accountability. Sometime later our duffel bags were brought out and we boarded busses to the replacement company. We got off the bus and were told to go into the billets and find a bunk. Inside I found a bunk and a friend. One of the guys I went to ATC School with had arrived just a few minutes before me. He had flown out of Travis AFB. Having both been thru the experiences we had getting out of the States and being low men on the totem poles, we decided it was time to take matters into our own hands. Although we had turned our orders in when we signed in, the NCOs conducting formations were replacements themselves, like us. We knew that they had no idea who was in the formations, so we promoted ourselves to sergeants. When it came time for details to be handed out, we fell out with the sergeants and were given charge of squads. My friend, Leonard Richofski and I were assigned to the same detail. Ski and I were in high cotton being in charge. I don’t remember the detail, but I remember we didn’t do much but stand around and watch. Finally the day ended and I got back to my bunk. It was quite and then I heard the guns. I knew that before morning we would all be killed as the VC overran our position. Turns out what we heard was artillery …. ours. And later I would learn how to tell the difference. The shelling taking place was probably 25 miles or more away from us. We could hear it at night because noise travels further at night.

The next morning we fell out and found ourselves in a shipping formation. I got my stuff and boarded an Air Force C-130 for our flight to Tan Son Nhut. Arriving an hour or so later we were bussed to the Army base at Long Bien. The replacement company processed me and I was sent just down the street to the 165th Aviation Battalion (ATC), 1st Aviation Brigade. Now we were home. No longer just an E4 with a detail to perform. We were part of the Company … our own unit. This was a band of brothers to whom we would trust our very lives, who would look to make sure we all made it home to our families.

I had to in process into the Company, which took a couple of days. I in processed thru personnel and supply one day. The next day I in processed thru finance. Then off to operations to get my assignment. I had been talking to some of the old timers (been in-country at least a week) and found I wanted to go to the H-3 heliport at Tan Son Nhut. The two places I wanted to avoid were Cu Chi and Tay Ninh. Both were hot beds. Cu Chi was west of Saigon and Tay Ninh was right on the Cambodian border, right where the Ho Chi Minh Trail meandered. All I had heard about on the news back in the States was Da Nang and places up north. Cu Chi and Tay Ninh were in the Southern part of the country, west of Saigon. The ops sergeant asked me where I wanted to go! Could this really be this easy? I told him H-3. He laughed and told me I was going to 362nd Aviation Detachment (Provisional) in Tay Ninh.

Tay Ninh! They just got hit with a huge mortar and rocket attack the other night. Great. “Are you sure you want me to go to Tay Ninh?” The sergeant told me I would like it there, and it was better than some of the other sites. Some sites were on Landing Zones (LZ’s) which were the hot spots during most of the conflict. So early the next morning I got my orders and things and boarded a C-130 for Tay Ninh. We landed at Cu Chi. What is with this country? So far I have yet to land where I was supposed to go. The flight to Tay Ninh didn’t leave until noon the next day. I was told by the Sergeant Major to go directly to Tay Ninh, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I was not to go to any replacement training along the way. My weapon would be issued when I got to the unit. Now I was stuck in Cu Chi and no one to call and no bed to sleep in. Someone told me I could get temporary billeting at the Holiday Inn East, the transit quarters and replacement training station.

I went to the Holiday Inn East (not that Holiday Inn). I got checked in and found a bunk in the open bay. I was tired. It was dark so I went to bed. The lights in the building were on, but there was no air conditioning and no fans. The doors were propped open and in came the roaches and locusts. Flying thru the air and landing on everyone and everything. I made my bed and climbed under the sheets to keep the bugs off of me. I would come to realize that the bugs in Vietnam were worse than even Mississippi. And the humidity was a killer. And the temperature was as high as the humidity. And I was under the covers to keep the bugs off. Finally about midnight someone turned the lights off and the bugs went away. Hot and sweating I figured I would be awake all night. But as tired as I was, I fell asleep and slept all night.

At eleven o’clock I showed up at the terminal and waited for my flight. An E7 started to talk to me. Then he asked me where my weapon was. I told him I hadn’t been issued one yet. He asked me if I had been thru the replacement training yet. No. He told me to get back over to replacement and go. I still needed to go on two patrols. I told him my Colonel told me to go directly to Tay Ninh and I would be issued everything there. He was livid! An E4 refusing to go to training. Just as he was getting wound up, they called our flight and I headed out to the aircraft. Thirty minutes later we landed in Tay Ninh. We taxied off the runway up to the terminal and deplaned. I only had to walk across the ramp to the unit. It was easy to spot because the GCA radar and the control tower were right there.

I walked into the Orderly Room and reported for duty.

TO BE CONTINUED