The tourist version of what I saw for 365 days
Everyone's experience was their own, good, bad or lasting ugly. Mine turned out as well as could be hoped for under the circumstances. I never spent a night outside the wire, although some wire was easily stepped over. Of course air borne deliveries didn't honor perimeters. I believe it was called "incoming".
Having said that, being an air traffic controller had it's advantages. The Vietnam life experience was about how you handled stress, fear and danger. The bottom line was - "How lucky are you".
I waited about 20 years too long to digitize these 126 ektachrome slides, so this is what I got. I've tried to organize these pictures in some logical order, but like life there isn't any. So here is my best shot. Some of the names and details are a bit foggy. I'm learning "that's life". If you haven't learned that yet, you will.
This was my first assignment and I didn't have a camera. The pics were taken when I passed through at a later date, not sure exactly when. Most of what there is to know about Quan Loi can be found here - http://www.quanloi.org/
I was assigned to the 125th Air Traffic Control Company. A history can be found at - 125th ATC
When I got there, spring of 1967, company HQ was at Bien Hoa. I was assigned to the 3rd platoon at the time, 3rd platoon HQ was at Vung Tau and soon moved to Tan Son Nhat AFB/International Airport. We, two of us, were told we were going to Quan Loi, as soon as they found it on the map. We were loaded onto "Traffic Minder 3" (UH1-D) and dropped off on a rubber plantation with 2,500 feet of laterite surface with an aircraft parking area at the NE end.
Quan Loi - 1967 - Late June
When we got there, a guy from Ohio and myself, we shared duty with Air Force Combat Control teams that rotated in and out weekly. The Army promised us a control tower, wasn't built when I left a couple/three months later. The big non-hostile event at Quan Loi while I was there was a C-124 bringing in a tracked artillery piece. For the record, I'm one of the guys standing by the jeep (control tower). A thank you to Bill Carr for the use of the image below. More HERE
Click a picture to enlarge the gallery pictures below. They can be made slightly larger again by increasing your browser magnification (settings usually top right in the browser window).
Tan Son Nhat - Sept - Apr '68
My plan is to keep the pictures and relevant information on this page and my ramblings on other pages.
3rd Platoon HQ at base of H3 tower
United States bound on a freedom bird.
Honor and never forget the sacrifice of those who gave it all.
A harsh in your face reminder of the cost of war.
Last, but surely not least to my fellow vets - Welcome Home.
And a sincere - Thank You for your service