I arrived TAD to N0EFC in the
later part of July 1967, coming from Comm. Co. at Marine Air Base Squadron
36, MAG-36 in Ky Ha. I had spent a tour of duty as a 2531 providing field
radio comm for helicopter support to a variety of outfits including
various Marine Company's with the 7th and 5th, Shore Party, the Koreans &
RVNs. Other duties included helping get shells onto target from the Navy
guns (H.M.S. Hobart et al). Walked many miles with the old PRC-25 and
PRC-6 on operations and a few with the 47 (HF) and 41 (UHF) with the help
of a jeep.
During the time of July 1966 thru Feb 1967 I
became weary of this adventure and TOP felt my luck was running out. I
figured I was on a winning streak because Victor Charlie could take my
radio off my back, but not kill me. The Doc's on the Repose treated
my bruised spine from a sniper round that the PRC-25 absorbed and TOP
figured it was time for me to lay low. He figured that since I had trained
several others in the fine art of field communications and survival, he
grounded me to spend a couple of months in the TSC-15 Van, training new
operators and instructing others in the Zen of diesel generator
maintenance and repair.
At last, I was in the rear with all the hot
food and cold beer I could stand (we did have a good mess hall and a fun
club.) Got to enjoy the happenings of being in the rear. In March 1967 I
went on R&R to Kuala Lumpur and upon returning, I had orders to report to
Helicopter Gunners School in Okinawa. I had volunteered a few months
previous to going on R&R and thought they had forgotten (I forgot too).
Following a six week school at Camp Hansen training in the Sikorsky UH-34
I returned to RVN and was sent TAD to the "White Knights", HMM-165, a
CH-46A Squadron base at Ky Ha. That's the MAB that had the two radar domes
and UHF/Micro Relay set up on the hill overlooking the South China Sea.
There were squadrons of UH-34's and CH-46A's here. MABS 36, Comm. Co. was
on the north side of the radar domes. Flying seemed like a short duty (45
days or so) but it was scary-crazy-exciting and some days would never end.
There are some good stories to tell.
After 132 missions in a little less than a
month and a half, I was grounded due to the fact I had been shot up and
forced down three times, the last was bad enough to send me to the
Hospital Ship USS Repose again. Bunged up shoulder and neck. When I was
done flying I was sent home, Stateside for 30 days. I needed the rest.
I must have been crazy to get on that jet
and head back over to the Nam, but it seemed better than staying stateside
and being abused by the social revolutionists who thought we were all
murderers. When I arrived back at my base, my company was on the move, up
north to Hue and Phu Bai. I was asked if I would stay at Ky Ha and help
run the MARS station. I remember my CO (Sullivan) asking me if I could
operate civilian radio equipment. Without hesitation I said yes, avoiding
asking questions and further details. I did not feel like moving up north
(been there and done that), but helped get the company settled and then
came back down to Ky Ha for MARS duty.
I was never so excited in my life to have a
responsibility such as this, and little did I know what a fantastic ride
it would be. I was an eager student and a quick study. Later ( after three
months at the station), I got my orders to Special Services (a little
slow---but orders from heaven). I found out that Special Services was
headquartered in DaNang with 1st Mar Div. For about three months I
had no CO. It was just the CHOP and myself. The CHOP for N0EFC at
that time was a short timer, SSGT "Mac"
McCullum.
Mac was due to rotate state side at the end of August 1967. Although
I did not have an FCC license, Mac saw I had the desire and know how and
felt confident with leaving the station in my hands; he said my CW was no
too bad. Mac trained me in the "how to's" handle the traffic and fix
equipment and maintain the antennas. He said my skills as a scrounger
would serve the station well.
N0EFC was in a technological transition,
having depended upon some old back box military equipment that came by way
of FLSG. The antenna farm had a home made inverted V's, a center fed
dipole and a fifteen meter stretch on a donated metal tower. Some of the
antenna loading equipment was military--black & heavy and mysterious.
Before Mac left we got a new Collins S-Line 100 Watt Transmitter and
Receiver and a Henry 4 kW Amp. The old antenna and AMU would seem to
resonate and buzz at times with all that horse power. I have some good
pictures of the station that I will post when I figure out all this web
technology.
When I arrived at N0EFC in late July 1967,
SSGT Frank McCullum
was the CHOP. The CHOP "Mac" was a character, he had a hot side, and he
liked to put a few down. Lots of crazy stories and chuckles. At the time I
thought he was due for a liver transplant. God, he could be obnoxious, but
in a funny way. We got along great and I loved to hear his stories.
When I arrived at N0EFC, he was short and I
was assigned to be on duty 24 hours a day. Where's Mac? On the
beach, in the club, but not here! My bunk was in the room next to
the rigs-- always on and waiting for traffic one way or the other. Loved
to josh around on the in-country net and always enjoyed the early morning
hook up with MCRD, N0ANP, N0RTW. Always talked to you guys out there but
never got a chance to meet-- what a deal.
Shortly after "Mac" left, the USMC sent some
help to allow me to get some sleep. Bill Rabel and Bob Hancock had come to
the rescue. Later on in late 1967 or early 1968 a fellow by the name of
Paul came on board. We made some changes and finally got hooked up with a
CO. Lt. Col. Barlow from MAG 12/13.
He was a Phantom pilot and CO of the
squadron. He decided that we needed to move south to Chu Lai, closer to
the Marines. MAG 36 had moved up north and the US Army had moved into Ky
Ha with a hospital battalion and Dust-Off squadron. For the first time,
Vietnamese civilians were allowed on base to care for all those needs the
GI required that only a good mama san could take care off, such a laundry,
cleaning and haircuts. This open door policy gave Victor Charlie the
chance he was waiting for, for before too long we had to take serious
stock in the bunkers.
Anyway, it was a very meaningful time at Ky
Ha running patches for the hospital staff and recovering wounded. They
wanted to pay us to stay, but we had to shuffle off down the road to the
south.
Lt. Col. Barlow found us a hooch for our new
digs on the east side of the Chu Lai - Ky Ha highway, on the north side of
the water tower. We had a view of MAG 11/12/13 (A4's, F4's and A's) and
the mountains to the west. He hooked us up with a 15kw generator, ordered
an LPA and rotator for us to assemble and mount on top of the water tank
with the help of Sgt Bill Stillinger who was sent down from DaNang to help
assemble it. The Lt. Col Barlow procured us a new air
conditioner and pallets of full sandbags. We insulated the radio station
with white Styrofoam bomb-fuse casings and dug a bunker under the hooch to
keep out stray pieces of flying metal from VC rockets. In the basement we
set up remotes for the in-country and stateside rigs.
Lt. Col. Barlow insisted that we set up an
"emergency use" radio in case of a raid/rocket attack on the base. We had
two frequencies that we could use to contact other Wings in DaNang if
needed. Before I left in February 1968, we used it to call in for
reinforcements during an all out assault on the base. That's another
story. I still to this day believe the Marine policy of "no civilians on
base" is a good one. I can never remember getting one round into the base
until the Army let in civilians to work and walk (pace-off) around.
During our time at this location (it must
have been a different location than where N0EFD had been), we ventured
forth to bring "home" to the guys in the field. Paul and "Big Budda"
Mike helped coordinate the sorties to the field. Got to know the land-line
system pretty well and a few of the operators who were very helpful. I got
in touch with a high school buddy down in Cam Rahn Bay on the landline and
discovered that this could serve the guys in the field well. Before
we knew it were were being shuttled all over the place to Marine Bases to
provide "call home time". I will never forget how exciting that was, and
how well it worked. Some patches were done by radio-to-phone-to the
station then across the water to San Diego. Even had a wedding performed
with proxy on each end (Jewish and Catholic). What a time those days were.
Of coarse, Lt. Col. Barlow felt that we required every comfort and had a
driver for us if we needed to get out and scrounge or make calls.
He always had some great sortie stories and at times smelled of napalm. We
always had some Crown Royal around for him to sip while talking with his
wife.
The sad thing is, when I left country, I
never again saw or heard from anyone again. It was like it was all a
dream. I suppose why I can't forget any of it is because I am waiting to
hook up and download all of these memories again, like V--GER. God, would
I like to meet some of those guys again. Even when I came back to the
States and was stationed at Camp Pendleton and did some Comm. Training
down at MCRD for the Reservists. I popped into the MARS station and it
seemed deserted--- no familiar names or voices. It was like the twilight
zone. What happened to those voices and names. I was so looking forward to
meet them.
I heard from Will about SSGT Mac. He
relayed this to me. Bill:
In '65 and '66
Frank McCullum and a Sgt who I think was
called Smitty (Smith, not to be confused with Roger Smith at N0EFB at
DaNang) were at N0EFC at KyHa just up the road form us at N0EFD (I have
pictures of all three I'll have to get scanned, as well as the guys down
at the SeaBee station, N0EFE I think).
Frank was a SSGT and had a wonderful bunch
of stories which would keep you rolling on the floor (especially after 6
warm Korean beers). He told one about the new Col who took over his R4D
squadron when he was up in Japan and ask Frank if he wanted to fly to the
Philippines with him in the second seat. Just the two of them. Frank said
sure, he'd go along for the ride. At the end of the runway the Col looks
at all his instruments and says, "I think I can fly this thing." It was
evident in an instant that he had never flown an R4D in his life (DC3 to
you civilians). He got it off the ground and headed towards Subic Bay or
Clark Field or where ever they were headed. When he sets up for the
landing, Frank is watching the airspeed indicator as they plunge down
towards the runway. When it gets to 250 knots per hour he pulls out the
aircraft manual and sure enough, it says that at 250 the wings are
supposed to fall off.
The Col gets it on the ground and tells
Frank that he's going to the officers club for a couple of drinks and to
meet him back at the airplane in 2 and 1/2 hours. Frank said, "No sir,
you're crazy, I'm going to get a ride home with someone else and left the
Col to go back alone. Frank was a red-headed Scot with just a little
bit of an authority problem. - Will k5wd.
Will was right on. Mac fought like
crazy for us and left us in better shape than the station was when he took
over.
I never had any difficulty "adjusting" after
my time over there. I believe the time at the MARS station really help me
to heal, refocus and relax. The first 18 months were a survival thing and
I was pooped-out. I new what the grunts were going through because I had
been there, and wanted to help the situation however I could. A call home
was a pretty good tool to help with the moral, and I loved hitting the
road to make it happen. Sure, we all have bad images left over in our
heads but that was then and now is now. Personally, I will never forget
any of it, but I do not believe I was psychologically traumatized by what
I saw or for what I had to do, but certainly can't blame others for
reacting to it in the way they did, because that's them. We are all wired
differently. I just felt so sorry and helpless to help that some could not
let go and forgive, and get on with their life. We had to do what we had
to, to stay alive and keep our buddy alive as well, and that included the
mental state of well being. I was a little shy for the first couple of 4th
of Julys though (kept getting down), and did awake abruptly from sleep
some nights sweating and yelling. But I think that's over with now, my wife
says. The last time it happened, I pulled her out of bed with me as I
rolled onto the floor --- "Sorry honey, thought I heard incoming--- must
have been dreaming--- are you OK?" We got a good laugh out of it. I also
get palpitations when I look at pictures of those times. Check out