David McCarty

Sgt 4/68 - 1/69

My Dad was an old NAVY CW radio operator and a HAM.  He got me interested in amateur radio as a teenager and I was licensed at 15.  He was NAVY MARS "N0VIV" 12th Naval District NAVY MARS.

I was enlisted in the Army in June of 1966 and trained in the 05B (Radio Operations) field.  I was with the Como Platoon with A Battery, 7th Battalion, 8th Field Artillery when it departed Fort Sill to Viet Nam in June of 1967.  Because the whole Battalion had come in country at the same time, 2nd Field Forces decided to split us up so the whole Battalion would not rotate back to the US together. 

I was assigned with HHB 2nd Battalion 35TH Field Artillery’s Husky Relay, tactical radio relay site.  This was located on top Hill 837 or Signal Mountain.  The Vietnamese Name was Nui Chua Chen Mountain.  This was out side of Xaun Loc.  I was assigned around Oct 1967.  I worked in the Como Platoon doing all the others duties as assigned and filling sand bags.

In Jan 1968 I was sent up to Hill 837 to work Husky Relay.  We only had to do about 3 months there due to the stress of being mortared almost every night.

When I was brought back I was made a Buck Sergeant and I was asked if I would was interested in the MARS job.  I was told that it was Husky’s turn to provide a man for the local MARS station and they needed an NCO.  I told the Battalion Signal Officer yes and extended for 6 more months to be the NCOIC.

The rest is history.  All completed calls were special and some were even funny.  It gave me a little insight to some of the problems that other people had and allowed me to maybe lighten their load just a little.  I wish I could remember the names of all the men I worked with but it has been nearly 40 years and the old memory is not what it used to be.

Back to Top