We spent many a night here at the drive-in. One of the odd things about
it was at times the old TV series "Combat" was playing. So you could
either watch "Combat" or the Gunships (AC-47s) make their nightly runs
around the main gate.....make believe or the real thing. While going to
the theater we also discovered that one could fit the better part of a case
of beer in all the pockets of a set of jungle fatigues. Youth, go figure.
The bomb dump, taken from the NCO club. If I remember right we had 25 or 30
revetments that housed the hard case munitions, and the roads were lined with
Napalm. We kept several thousand BLU/27's (napalm) on hand at all times.
These are the smallest bombs, other than CBU's, we flew. These weighed
25lbs. each. For the most part, they were over sized hand grenades. They
were not used often but an interesting item. They came 6 bombs to a rack.
Me and a puppy we had, named "FRAG". This was at the flightline
office. We really enjoyed having him around. He used to ride in
the Ammo trucks going from the bomb dump to the flightline.
Wow...a paved road! Thing were getting down right civilized. This was taken
just outside of the Orderly room. It's the first pallet walk way to the left.
This was a big deal. It sure cut down on the dirt flowing into the barracks.
Our barracks were located across the road that goes up to the NCO Club,
so you can guess the traffic there wasn't bad....sure.
If this appears to be out of focus it is. But for that matter so
was the photographer and the subject matter. This is some of the
life in the enlisted man barracks. Being enlisted we could not
buy or consume hard booze. But being the good all American boys
we were......stuff happens. This was taken right above the Orderly
room.
When you have smokes, booze, and tunes, life is good.
This was taken from the top of the control tower, looking south east.
Many of the F-100s belonged to the 614th and 615th Tac Fighter squadrons.
At the extreme right were the B-57s of the 8th and 13th Bomber Squadrons.
(I think that you can see the Temple in the background).
An F-100 maintenance building at the south end of the flightline looking west.
This "retriever" sat on the edge of the flightline. I don't ever
remember it moving but it is an impressive piece of equipment.
When one deals with high explosives caution must be used. This is no place
for screwing around. Always treat a 750 lb.bomb with the greatest of care.
As in the prescribed method of the official manuals....but then again..'grin!'
We were getting ready to unload some M118, 750lb. GP bombs, at an F-100 revetment.
This was a common sight on the flightline. The bombs had the lugs, booster, and fins
installed at the bomb dump. We had a holding area on the west side of the flight line,
by the tower. There were always many trucks full of all sorts of goodies parked there.
A shot of the tower with an ammo truck parked below it. We would check in
with the folks there and let them know what we brought in from the bomb dump.
Taken from the top of the control tower, looking west.
?? Can anybody name any of the buildings pictured ??
****************************************************
****BELOW ARE A FEW ARTICLES I COPIED FROM OUR OLD PHAN RANG AB PAPER ****
****************************************************
The Phan Rang Weekly - August 2, 1967
AIR COMMANDOS AID C- 123'S AT DA NANG
In the wake of the massive rocket attack on Da Nang
Air Base, the 315th Air Commando Wing of Phan Rang is
helping out the 311th Air Commando Sq. up there. Three
C-123's have been flown to the unit, according to the
scheduler TSgt. Weldon D. Knox. He noted that three of
the DaNang unit's C-123's were damaged in the attack,
and will undergo major maintenance at Phan Rang. Wing
plans and scheduling technician SSgt. Donald G. Von
Buskirk noted that a C-123 wing was flown up this week.
****************************************************
Last week's temperature showed an extreme maximum of
102 degree and an extreme minimum of 76 degrees.
Precipitation over a five day period was just .13 of an inch.
****************************************************
THEIR 200TH MISSION
Capt.Charles R. Rasnic, 8th TBS pilot, flew his 200th
combat mission in Vietnam Sunday. Lt.Col. Nathaniel
Gallagher, the 8th TBS Operations Officer, turned
the same trick on Monday. Both are completing their
third two-month rotational combat tour in Vietnam,
averaging a combat mission per day.
****************************************************
Tomorrow night at 8 p.m. the 1967 Command
Preformance Varity Show will be on stage at
the base theater at 8 p.m. Sounds promising.
****************************************************
Movie Mirror
Tonite ---- Murders' Row, a spy spoof in the Matt
Helm series, starring Dean Martin and (I think)
Ann Margret. Monday --- Rage, reported to be worth
seeing. Sounds like a melodrama. Friday - Oh Dad,
Poor Dad, Momma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm
Feeling So Sad, a wild comedy Rox Russell
Saturday --- Hercules, Sampson & Ulysses
****************************************************
NEWS BITS
A charcoal pit is now under construction
alongside the patio of the NCO Club It will be used for a
"speed line" of sandwiches and soup at dinner and supper
time. Due for completion in five days.
****************************************************
HOW THEY MOVED THAT MOUNTAIN
(Editor's note: this is the wrap-up of the story of
how the 554th "Red Horse" Civil Engineering SQ. "moved
a mountain" to build a parking ramp for the C-123'd of
the 315th Air Command Wing). "First we removed the
aluminum matting and begun from scratch. This matting
was salvaged for use as an expeditionary runway for some
other infant air base in Vietnam. "Seventy men of the
Red Horse Squadron, working in two shifts, worked around
the clock, seven days a week, to prepare a new base for
the asphalt ramp. " We stripped off the surface of the
old base materials and used a Paddle Foot Roller to vibrate
the base materials into a denser state and reduce moisture
content and then build up the sub-base until it was 20
inches over-all. "Our survey of the ramp area told us that
we would need 200,000 cubic yards of crushed rock for the
sub-base and 18,000 tons of tar for making the asphalt.
" This meant that our rock-crusher and asphalt plant would
have to work at full capacity to satisfy our needs. " After
107 days and nights of hard labor under the broiling hot
sun and the monsoon showers, the first C-123 was parked on
the ramp, and we had only hours to spare in order to have
the ramp ready for the first arrival of the C-123's.
" Part of the ramp was hardly cool, but we made it!"
****************************************************
Bang!
When it comes to weapons, the 35th Security Police Squadron
relies heavily on A1C Donald L. Cook, 24, from Dwight, Ill.
As armorer of the law enforcement armory, he's responsible
for the 100's of rifles, pistols & hand radios.
****************************************************
FREE DOG SHOW
Dog show 6 p.m. next Tues. Bus leaves Airman's Club at 5:30 p.m.
****************************************************
CLUB HI-LITES
Friday --- The Rhytm-errors will perform their music
at the Airman's Club from 7 till 10 p.m. There will be
a Happy Hour at the NCO Club from 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday---
The Rhytm-errors will be at the NCO Club with their music
from 7 till 11 p.m. Tuesday-The Tony Milo Variety Show
will be on stage from 7 till 8:30 at the Airman's Club
and will then be at the NCO Club from 9 to 10:30 p.m..
****************************************************
The obligatory: "look world I have an M-16" shot. I think that most everyone
has one of these. In my own lame defense I was one of the "Augmentee Guards".
We had to go out and help the Air Police when the base was under alert. Its
really dark and quiet (this is a good thing), setting in a small sand bag
bunker someplace on the perimeter. We were called out 2 or 3 times while
I was there. I always liked the M-16, it is good for......see next photo.
Move the clock ahead a couple of years.......OK 34 years, and I still like that type
of rifle. This was taken a couple of weeks ago (May 19, 2001)in eastern Oregon.
I enjoy shooting but am not a hunter (there are too many fools out there with guns).
I am a target and match shooter. Although, a friend of mine and I were shooting
ground squirrels. No this is not hunting....... it's target practice and great fun.
"Tap on address below to drop
a line to Gene using Netscape":
bonham@peak.org
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