5th Comm Bn

Important Announcement

The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More

We have a FNG. Here are his Vitales

11632 Paramont Way, Prospect KY 40059

Tour Date 4/68-5/69; Watch Ofcr II MAF.

Mikey, Dick,Ice, and all you others "BE NICE NICE NOW"

As I recall when I got moved from the

III MAF CommCtr to the Bn S-4, the O club and Snco Club, were already

built. The E club was in the building "stage".

Also as I recall the SeeBees resulted in sending

a team to show us how to convert the

hooches into tropical huts, and then left

and we did all the work.

Also after we got the water heaters for the showers, we had to get the SeeBess to come over and get them to work, which took about 1/2 hour.

Col Leesburg said troops showers first

O/snco showers next, but he would not stand for desil smell stinking up the Bn CP, so we had to "liberate" and electric

GE Water heater. SgtMaj, and me hooked it up, after we decorated it with

dents, a missing plate and instant rust,

because the the Army CID section came looking for it, but we managed to "convince" them it had been there for ever. Although that didm't work with the "litle red ice machine" in the SNCO club, but that is another story.

Leave it to our human Command Chronology guy, Gunny Simma, to have the chain of events locked tight in that shiney goard. I got to Hoa Long in March. '68 and recall the E Club was just about renovated to hard back, USO stage and screened in veranda later. Recall stories of the mutual theiving contests between us and the CB's but it all got done somehow.

If you ever get stuck in Bangkok, got a buddy resident there, Tom Harvey, ( old CAP Marine whose unit we dealt with in Gia Le), who helps out old Marine travelers from time to time. Plus, Richard Brown, on this site from time to time, lives in Danang with a Saigon commute I think it was. Hey, there's two guys that could claim the body if you have a mishap ( Tom already interceded for an old Corpsman)...Ah, the day seems brighter already. :-)

Your thoughts on the reunions, we've had a few and I can say I've had the privilege to meet some of these yahoos on this site...and some that aren't with us anymore. Don't know if a reunion is in the mill but I think there's a reunion section on the main site for anything brewing. One thing I liked about the one I went to in Vegas, is that everyone brought what info they could to browse over. Also, if we didn't run into at least one guy in 5th Comm we were mixed up with somehow, we knew of others they knew...a kind of continuity. lots of laugh stories and sad stories too. My guy was Sparky, and it's about time he reran his story of a mutual Marine connection we call "Shot-in-the-Face", and the contest between a Jeep and a Citroen on his way to Dong Ha.

I've got a couple pictures and/or a newspaper article about Herman around here somewhere. Not much of a drinker. Two beers and he was out for the day.

--- On Wed, 8/20/08, DuninsaneDude <[email protected]> wrote:

<STYLE type=text/css> #yiv231478117 #yiv231478117 ThmFgColumnHeader, #yiv231478117 A.FrameLink, #yiv231478117 A.HeaderLink, #yiv231478117 A.FooterLink, #yiv231478117 A.LgtCmd, #yiv231478117 A.MSNLink {color:#FFFFFF;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgTitleLightBk {color:#FF6600;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgSmallLight {color:#ff0000;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgNavLink, #yiv231478117 A.NavLink, #yiv231478117 A.ChildLink:hover {color:#666699;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgInactiveText, #yiv231478117 A.SystemLink {color:#666666;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgFrameTitle {color:#FFFFCC;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgTitleDarkBk, #yiv231478117 A.NavLink:hover, #yiv231478117 A.TitleLink {color:#CC6600;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgMiscText, #yiv231478117 A.Cat, #yiv231478117 A.SubCat {color:#336699;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgCommand, #yiv231478117 A.Command, #yiv231478117 A.LargeCommand, #yiv231478117 A.MsgLink {color:#003366;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgHeader {color:#333333;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgStandard, #yiv231478117 A.SystemLink:hover, #yiv231478117 A.SubLink, #yiv231478117 A.ChildLink, #yiv231478117 A.StdLink, #yiv231478117 SELECT.Standard {color:#000000;} #yiv231478117 ThmFgDivider {color:#CCCCCC;}#yiv231478117 #yiv231478117 #yiv231478117 ThmBgStandard {background-color:#FFFFFF;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgUnknown1 {background-color:#FF6600;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgFraming {background-color:#666699;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgUnknown2 {background-color:#666666;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgHighlightDark {background-color:#FFFFCC;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgHighlightLight, #yiv231478117 #idToolbar, #yiv231478117 #tbContents {background-color:#FFFFE8;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgTitleDarkBk {background-color:#F1F1F1;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgAlternate {background-color:#ECF1F6;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgUnknown3 {background-color:#CCCCFF;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgDivider {background-color:#CCCCCC;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgHeader {background-color:#9999CC;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgLinks {background-color:#8696C9;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgSharkBar {background-color:#8696C9;} #yiv231478117 ThmBgGlobalNick {background-color:#9394A9;} #yiv231478117 #yiv231478117 calfgndcolor {color:#E00505;} #yiv231478117 calbgndcolor {color:#E00505;} </STYLE>

	New Message on 5th Comm Bn

FNG

Reply

Reply to Sender   Recommend Message 20 in Discussion

From: DuninsaneDude

John,

If I was somewhere high up on the food chain, all I ever got were the crumbs. As I recall, I was probably the second or third one on the ladder in S-3, what with a major, a lieutenant, a master gunnery sergeant, a master sergeant, and a lance corporal and/or a PFC or two rounding out the rest of the office. My duties consisted primarily of taking the CO his coffee every morning, dropping a thermite grenade in the safe if we got overrun, making sure that nobody else got blown up getting his illum and frag grenades confused, and wondering how the hell I ended up in the S-3 shop as a 2542.

Things must have gotten a lot more civilized when you were there.  I got there just as the SeaBees were giving up on putting tin roofs on our hooches to replace the canvas. They quit because we had stolen all of their building materials and most of their tools, so we pretty much finished the job ourselves.

You must've have gotten much better chow by then, too. If Herman had been around when I was there, he'd have been the main course at one of our Sunday afternoon barbecues. Pork with fish sauce - yummy!

Mikey, Thane of Duninsane



View other groups in this category.

To stop getting this e-mail, or change how often it arrives, go to your E-mail Settings.

Need help? If you've forgotten your password, please go to Passport Member Services.
For other questions or feedback, go to our Contact Us page.

If you do not want to receive future e-mail from this MSN group, or if you received this message by mistake, please click the "Remove" link below. On the pre-addressed e-mail message that opens, simply click "Send". Your e-mail address will be deleted from this group's mailing list.
Remove my e-mail address from 5th Comm Bn.

I res3mble that statement about a shiny gourd, but I ain't the only one.

All I know is that when we needed

h3lp materials to get the camp livable they were more than happy to help.

Most of the time we got what we needed by "liberating" it from the USN

Camp Tienshaw (or spelling to that "effect". I know we got the quonset hu5s for sickbay from there for the price of a choclate ice cream sundae,

a NVA flag, a pair of Hoa Che Minh sandals ( "home made of course), and

few other items (water heaters, plywood, etc)

You know, you'd better start writing all this stuff down before you go totally senile on us. While I realize that those of us who have shiny gourds have gotten that way because we have such large brains that there is no room left for hair follicles, the gray matter tends to turn to mush when one reaches an advanced age such as yours.

You can tell the truth, too. The statute of limitations has long since expired, even for grand larceny. A word of caution: There is no limitation on homicide, so don't tell where the bodies are buried. Especially the one in congressman's kid's ice machine.

Speaking of bodies, decrepit and otherwise - Dick! How is Cory doing?

Mikey, Thane of Duninsane

Ha! I hadn't thought of "Ol Shot in the Face" for quite a while...though I believe he was the shooter. Maybe we should change his nickname to "Ol Shoot in the Face".

As I recall the incident in question involved the members of Tannic Acid 2 (or 3) at Phu Bai while the above mentioned individual was field stripping a, thought to be empty, Model 1911A1 .45 cal pistol. Needless to say that everyone was quite surprised when the pistol discharged and the round traveled through the "target's" cheek and out the other cheek. I'm not sure if any teeth were involved...Not many people survive a "head shot" by a .45 cal round at close range eh?

If you still hear from him, say hello for me.

That was the "official" report on the shooting incident. I was his replacement in Hue and got the off the record report from the Army LT, with a finger in my chest which instantly got me in his face, and a promise for us two Marines to "behave". Yeah, both guys involved are still in touch and doing good.

Anyhow, I was looking for your story where after we all recovered from our WIANE's, your leg from the Khe Sahn gig, and him from the face injury, where he drove you to Dong Ha and your encounter with a Citroen full of natives. Come on, fess it up with your magic key strokes.

Opps, forgot the P.S. on my last. Cory's nerve block wore off and now is doing fine. I'm glad they put her in a velcro equiped harness to hold her arm and hand tight as she was getting pretty animated during her sleep. Looks like she'll be using up the extra Percocet Rx tho to keep the pain down. So much for my plan of a couple Percocet's, a glass of Gibson's Finest Canadian on the rocks, a Dominican cigar from my daughters wedding while watching a sunset over the Elk Horn Mtns behind us as the Army avaition Blackhawks start their night ops training. Who needs TV! Guess I'll just have to make that two glasses of hootch.

you better start writing things down then, or better still, in the case of writtin documents tryn taking pictures

As I said earlier, I would rather be in the field, and so when I returned from R&R (6 days in Hong Kong with Bob Ela) I volunteered for a shot. Gunner Carmichael sent me, L/Cpl. Murphy, L/Cpl Ponder, and a PFC whose name I can't recall to replace the personel at Tannic Acid 4 (Quang Tri) and Tannic Acid 5 (Dong Ha).

One of the things I liked about being in the field was that there was a minimal amount of supervision...Like I was in charge. Well when we weren't working providing Comm for the Army unit that was handling all the POL, we travelled. Many times into Quang Tri City to sightsee, and many trips further south to Phu Bai and Hue.

Well eventually they bring a bigger Army unit to replace us and I'm directed to shut the Pipeline shot down. So I make a trip to Phu Bai and make sure everything is shipshape and get lulled into letting LG come back to Dong Ha with us so he can make the boat ride to Danang. Even worse (read stupider) I let him drive the MRC83.

So here we are, LG and me, going up Highway 1, early afternoon and the road is packed with all the usual traffic (from Water Buffalo pulling carts to trucks) going in both directions. This is really just better than a dirt road and it was looking like a long trip. Well LG starts passing everyone like he owns the road, and we start making pretty good time; for a while. I know you all remember those black Ciroen sedans that were everywhere; well we're on the wrong side of the road trying to pass one those sedans when LG decides that the oncoming traffic is getting to close, so he moves back over to the right. The problem being that we really haven't gotten past that sedan and the front tire on the passenger (MY) side of the MRC83 hits the Citroen right behind the left front fender, and in essence we drive up the fender and over the hood of the car. I do remember seeing a vietnamese gentleman freaking out in the front windshield. LG acts like nothing out of the ordinary has happened and just drives away. We got back to Dong Ha in one piece and spent the next day loading everything up on our two MRC83's for the boatride down the Cua Viet river to the So. China Sea and Danang. I lost track of LG after we got back, besides, I was getting SHORT!!!

We all have our indelible memories of Vietnam, and one of mine was a trip on the China Beach road. There was an old Vietnamese papa-san on a moped in front of one of our gigantamundous earthmovers,which was gaining on him. Papa-san stole a glance back and recognized the hazard - thereby pedaling more furiously and cranking the throttle for all he was worth - rrrrrrrrroooonh. Alas, in vain. The earthmover was still gaining on him. Papa-san grabbed the throttle as tightly as he could grip it and screwed it to the end of the stops and beyond, all the while pedaling even more furiously as he hunched down over the bars to cut his wind resistance - rrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnneeeeeeeeh! Uh, unh. The earthmover, like an irresistable force, continued to gain.

They went out of my sight at that point, neither of them yielding an inch. I've no doubt that the earthmover eventually scooped him up and his family got two chickens and a cow in recompense,

Mikey, Thane of Duninsane

The earthmovers were wonderful things as long as you didn't get in their way. I recall a day when I was headed up to Division on 327 and saw an ARVN meet one of them. He fell in front of one. It started at his feet and worked its way up. When it was over it looked like you stomped on a big tube of toothpaste, red toothpaste. It ruined the day for a bunch of locals that were standing around the intersection.

I don't think that the driver knew that he had hit anything. He just kept going.

Laugh my ass off at that jeep/Citroen story every time. It must be Citroen day today as I was gassing up this morn, I looked over and sure as hell, next to me was a '63 Citroen, 0521 all restored, metalic purple and a grained leather top. Much smaller than I remembered so it wouldn't have taken much for a jeep knobey tire to take a short cut over one. No jeep tracks over this one tho. Your driver was is complete control as he knew the dynamics of the MRC83 and it's easy wheelie characteristics, so why not put it to good use in traffic.

Earth mover stories...oh,oh...I got one! This short gabby radioman from NYC that had never driven, much less a stick with transfer case lever's...and asked why not, his reply was, "Faak Yaa, we dan't drive in NYC, we use caaaabs, and faak yaa too." It was good entertainment watching his "drivers ed" in the dunes at 5th Comm and the Motor T guys going nuts on him. Anyhow, months later, I was to meet him on hiway one just in Phu Bai to exchange MRC83's for some reason. There was lots of traffic and here comes an earthmover, the clould of red dust behind it was about zero visibility and I saw a couple mopeds shadows in it, then I see our jeep coming behind them in the cloud, I honk and wave at him. He sees me then takes a right, straight into a moped that was waiting on the side road just ahead of me and of course nails it. To many witnesses and he got a ding on his driving record for it. The moped rider bailed off just in time but the moped was history. Ya know, I can't recall if any military driving infractions ended up on one's civiy file. Just the thought of this guy later driving on the streets of New York was a hoot.

Hey, I think I knew that guy. As I recall, he became a New Yaak City cab driver who was killed while making an illegal U-turn into the path of a speeding bus while screaming, "Faak yaah, ya big bastid!"

Mikey, Thane of Duninsane

Sounds like his temperment alright. He's the first guy we figured had something of a little persons attitude, was about 5' 6", lil stash and full of it for sure. He gave Gunny Roseberry fits when he didn't get his paper work for a second tour by writting the Sec Nav. When the shit rolled down hill, Gunny had to have two Radio Platoon formations a day while he read us every shit memo that came down the chain...lots of grumbling towards the NY boy. No blanket party tho as by then we knew of the seeming overloaded 5th Comm admin system and might have been one of those that got lost in the blurr or his paperwork was sitting at a TAD mail address. The formations quit when NY rotated.

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
5th Comm Bn	[email protected]