Departed 29 Palms with Capt Wilhelm.Boarded the USS Thomaston in San Diego for transport to RVN.

In country from January 66 to February 67.

Slept in our pup tents the first night in camp.

 

 

5th Comm - 21 Dec 66 to 4 Apr 68

 

Arrived a 6 months cherry-san and left a casualty at the end of Tet '68. Geat mix of old salts and new guys. I had a lot of great driving runs with the Bn and the best were the convoys up north for FLC. Of the Motor T bunch I remember Monzie, Ballard, Carter, Harris, Reno, Yslava, Meracle, Schlosser and Gunny Garrett. I am still looking for that hi-compression grease and sky hook. My last three years of a 2nd enlistment was as an Marine Security Guard with the USNATO/Embassy Detachment, Brussels, Belgium. Now it has come full circle, we have a Corpsman-son with 1/7 in Iraq. Semper Fi.               

6/68-3/69?-7th Comm-Hill 34.

3/69-1/70- 5thComm-Beach for a couple of months and then to Camp Horn.

M

Called a friend of mine up who was stationed at Camp horn one night.  His C.O. wanted to know how come I could call in on the red phone.  Just told him I had axcess and not to worry about it.  When my friend Ray got on the phone I told him "Get your Head Down, your gonna get hit any minute now!"  He laughed, in the background you could hear the mortars start walking in.  He said OK and gotta go.  His C.O. kept asking him "Who da hell was that guy and how did he know that stuff?"

 

Sat down at a PTSD group in Wisconsin and told the boys "Did you know that every shot fired in Viet Nam was accounted for?"  They didn't believe me.  We had a daily round expenditure in 68 along with the daily body count.

 

I will get the photos to you folks as soon as i can find them all and it will take time to re-do and transfere my movie of the drive around DaNang, and the ride to 5th comm. The movie is in super 8 color and i will have to transfere it to video tape then to the computer.   I also have a reel to reel tape i left running during the day at III MAF. (very noisy place) and one I left running at night during one of our famos rocket attacks.  It may also take me some time to dig that one up.

 

One of funniest things i'd ever seen was on the 5th com. compound.  An all night rain and when I looked ouside the hooch in the morning someone in the hooch next door did a high dive into a foxhole next to the hooch full of water.

At the time it just looked outrageous.  Also remember having to swim to get to the E-club at 5th com. because of the rain.

 

Did I tell you I"m glad you folks are here.

I remember the raining days the most.  I also remember watching puff the magic dragon overhead spitting out death and watching the pink elephants in the trees while on guard duty and feeling the what it is like when a grenade bounches in your bunker.  I remember watching the clounds move accross the mountains like it was being poured from the other side. 

Entered the Corps in 6/63 going to MCRD Parris Island, Plt 238. From there went to Camp Lejuene for 27 months with 2nd Shore Pty Bn. Went on several cruise in the Caribbean and ending up in Santo Domingo 4/28/65 making a wet landing on Red Beach. This ended up being a joke because we landed on a hot beach with blank ammunition. We finally got ammunition about 0200 and shortly after got hit. After returning to Lejuene went on a couple more cruises I thought I was short but got orders to RVN with only 13 months left.  Got to RVN in June 66 assign to 5th Comm.  The first few months I was assigned to I Corp HQ working on the switchboard and finally getting promoted to Cpl. Trf to RR & Cons and went on the construction changing field wire to cable. After a while got a crew that was responsible to repair and replace telescopic poles that the ARVNs shot up.  We had a SSgt promote 2nd Lt who became our CO but I can't remember his name.  If anyone knows his name send an email with his name. Please !! Does anyone remember Dunn or Ashby.  They where bunked in my home.  Left RVN 5/28/67 and left active duty 6/10/67.

I was one of the original 7 marines that cleared the land for the 5th comm camp.  I arrived just after the 9th marines in April of 65. I was also one of the 10 people that put in the swimming area and was one of the life guards.  About May-July 66. Rotated in July of 66.

How in the hell is everyone?  Man, it has been a long time.  Came in country Oct. 67, rotatated back to the world Dec 68.  TAD Radar school, 1stMARDIV ; TAD Task Force Hotel' Khe Sanh, TAD POL Dong Ha. Anyone who was there with me, say hello!!!!!

 

I was at 5th Comm from Oct 1969-Sep 1970

If you look at George Powell's bio,it tells the same story about how we got to the Nam.While at Hague on Okinawa,I was with Radio Relay Plt.Cpl Walter Anderson had a Boonie Hat made for me that had our patch and then below it read "Radio Relay Attache".He is the one who nicknamed me Tank.Walter is now the publisher of Parade Magazine ,you know the Sunday paper mag.He is also the author of a couple of books.I am sure he would really love to hear from some of guys from RR that served in 65-66.I remember Jim Coffee,Joe Lewis,Sgt.Ted Ford,Cpl.Jim Weiman,Cpl.Steve Valarga.Gunny Futch,S/Sgt.King.I have forgotten the names of so many others,but I remember faces as I see them periodically over the years in my dreams.I lost all of my stuff(pictures,etc.) many years ago in a fire.If anyone out there remembers me or has pics of the old guys from 1965 I sure would love to see themThis web site is the greatest ! I have had tears in my eyes and goosebumps since Jim Fowler e-mailed me.Why don't we have a reunion?

Arrived in country abord the General Gordon in March 67 with 1500 Marines and they took us to some large grinder in Danang. So we're all sittingon our sea bags and they start calling out lists of names. Each list went to an awaiting cattle-car and off they went. Hours later they finished calling out names and 7of us were still sitting there like abandoned children in this enormous field. The NCO in charge yells out, "Who the hell are you? You're not suppose to be here!". That was fine with me but how was I going to get back to San Diego? Five days later they located our orders and I was on my way to the 5th Comm Bn at the beach paradise Camp Hoi Long, The Flower Garden.

Arrived in country Sept 1967....left Oct 1968.  Remember some of the things that we missed....throwing beer cans at the out door movie screen (4x8 sheets of plywood painted white)...walking guard....patrols....and the great food at the mess hall....I stuck to pound cake and peaches.....And the missions that the Top sent me on........

GOT IN COUNTY AUG 66 LEFT NOV 68. WAS HOUSED AT

III MAF HQ, WORK IN THE COMM CENTER. LONG TIME AGO.

WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FMSOME OF THE GUYS

THNAKS

EO

RVN Dec67-Oct69

4thMarReg3rdMarDiv

Comm Section

Radio Relay

Radio

53 Area (CommCo(Rein), 1stMarDivFMF Mar65 depart Braodway Pier SDIEGO aboard LSD-3 Carter Hall.  Couple of months at Hague, then to Da Nangon the LST-1168 Wexford County.  Moved from airstrip (swamp side/tent city) near "Dogpatch" across the river (Marble Mountain).  Remember Restad, Denny Sargeant, Wise, Wuergler, Prendergast, Crutchlow, Foster, Giles, Santos, Dycus, Schiffers.........Harvest Moon, Prairie, Hastings, Starlight and R&R in Hong Kong.  Never left comm, been at it since the day I left the Corps, continued using hooks for 16 years (gets to be hard on the knees)

USS Okanogan from Long Beach, CA JUN66 to CHU LAI,

JUL66, via Hawaii for a few days. And of course the Typhoon

we ran intonear the Phillipines. After a short while, some of

us went to DaNang (some nice pictures on this site). Lived

at the Beachfront property for a while and then moved to

III MAF HQ to work in the message center. All in all I have

some fond memories of the time spent in VN. I have a few

pictures of the 5th Comm camp and local areas. I drove a jeep

and made a lot of courier runs when the lines were down. Not

all of them were fun. Approx. tour dates Left Long Beach at end

of May 66, arrived Chu Lai about one month later. Left from

DaNang about mid July 67.I heard the day after I left, the DaNang

AirStrip was hit pretty bad. Would be glad to hear from anyone

I served with or any others.

Oct '65 to Dec '67.

Started out with Comm Spt.Co., HQ Bn., 3dMarDiv.Helped build Hoa Long. Served around Danang, then around Phu Bai and at Khe Sanh. Got to see so many of the scenic spots of sunny I Corps.