CampAlpha.jpgWelcome to Camp Alpha363 viewsNovember, 1966. The Beginning. This was the Reception Station that greeted the incoming unit "replacements" as they awaited orders assigning them to fill unit vacancies. The "Speedy Four" in charge took great pleasure in barking orders to NCOs and Officers alike knowing full well they could not do a thing about it. Every order we had was dumped into a trash barrel. You would wait for further instructions.
I was given a handful of dusty, dirty letters that had piled up. One was my promotion to 1st Lt.
TSN-Laundry.JPGTan Son Nhut / Camp Alpha362 viewsA peek inside the laundry. We soon learned that "laundry" in Vietnamese means "less dirty".
Le_Van_Cho.jpgStreets of Saigon359 viewsPort Policeman Le Van Cho on the left; Sp4 Jerry West on the right. Sp4 West was my "tour guide" in Saigon. Col Robert Sabolyk, the Provost Marshal of Saigon, arranged my one-day tour of Saigon before going out into the "field" with the 2/9th. I had a one week reprieve. Never saw Saigon again!
TSN9.JPGTan Son Nhut / Camp Alpha357 viewsSlot machines inside the Officers Club.
FFE.jpgFiring for Effect356 viewsAll six guns of the battery firing together. Likely done at the end of a daily registration to verify the pattern of the impact area and single out any short or long shooters.
The_Gate.JPGCamp Alpha / Tan Son Nhut AB349 viewsThis gate separated the incomining personnel at Camp Alpha from the Tan Son Nhut airbase just outside the city of Saigon.
TSN12.JPGBubble Park342 viewsThese Bell helicopters were mostly used for commanders to visit their units in the "safer" areas. These birds were no match for any hostile ground fire.
Montezuma-Aerial.JPGAirstrip333 viewsAerial view of LZ Montezuma - FSB Bronco at Duc Pho. Was 3rd Brigade, 25th Inf Div HQ until August, 1967.
OnTheBeach2.JPGNavy Ship331 viewsA Navy supply ship unloads at the South China Sea.
Note the CONEX container in the center of the photo. Two of these units welded together formed the highly mobile FDCs for the artillery units.
Crane-water.JPGSkycrane Delivers323 viewsA chore usually performed by a CH-47 Chinook, here you see a Sikorsky SkyCrane delivering a water trailer to an LZ.
OnTheBeach.JPGShip322 viewsA ship just offshore the beach of the South China Sea.
OnTheBeach3.JPGSandy Beach321 viewsAn appealing look at the beach of the South China Sea.
