We were required to have 2 awake and one sleeping in 6 2 hour shifts. Glad you are still around to share the memory. "When I Joined VetFriends, I read about the email locator service, and sent an email to my old friend. Thanks. Hq & A Co. and the 709th Bn. Survey material. The 9th Div set up home here in 1966. Still have issues with the Dept. Bat. I felt pretty useless at times doing busy work and wondering what was the point of me being there. Their new Headquarters would be the Bearcat Base Camp in Bien Hoa Province. Good luck. Didn't get issued a weapon until the following day. I was on the perimeter the night the Thais opened up with tracers. I am not positive the place you are getting your information, but good topic. Widely considered the definitive resource on the Vietnam War, Where We Were identifies the name, location and provides a brief historical synopsis of every military installation, firebase, landing zone, airfield, port, signal site, vessel and significant terrain feature of the American war in Vietnam. Convoys leaving or entering at the berm entrance. After 2/3 months we all went our separate ways. on a plane and flew onto a dirt strip in the middle of a jungle. I am not able to get much information on my unit because we all came and left at different times and came in alone. There the 9th fought with distinction in 8 campaigns as part of the Riverine Force. 52) Next assignment was STRATCOM, Okinawa where I determined a long marriage was not to be. You almost never hear of them. In 1966 she was sent in Vietnam with the 7th fleet, alternating between direct support on the fire line and screening the carriers. 17 May 45 Brig. Bearcat was the base I always found them. Do you have 9TH INFANTRY Reunion information you'd like to share. Bearcat, our remembrences, We were in Bangkok abiut 8 years ago. It was also activated as a peacetime readiness unit from 1947 to 1962 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Carson, Colorado, and from 1972 to 1991 as an active-duty . Ray Swan (Torch!) He had been AWOL for 8 months and was a member of the 1st Infantry Division. I know that's where he spent most of his time. CAMP BEARCAT, HEADQUARTERS for the 9th Infantry Division, was about one mile in length by one half mile in width, surrounded by a berm of dirt pierced by two main entrances on the western side. We were with the 9th M I detachment as interrogators. They would come out at night and croak "f**k you" Just stumbled onto your site. After opening the box, Gaynor began to investigate his own memories, digging out the letters he had sent home. Use to have stories of his time there but the memory is starting to fade. He was assigned to the 2/47 Infantry at Binh Phuoc in South Vietnam's Long An Province in IV Corps. Primary aircraft were the C7A Caribou with an occasional C-130, as when we airlifted units of the 3/5 Cav up north. I arrived with the 9th Div in early Jan 67.I was assigned to the 9th Admin Co and of in Finance. I would love to see the photo and, with your permission, add it to the blog. The 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry Vietnam In Pictures (47 Pages) If you can identify anyone in these pictures, please contact Bob Pries. Thus we were probably there at same time. VIETNAM STUDIES MEDICAL SUPPORT OF THE U.S. ARMY IN VIETNAM 1965-1970 by Major General Spurgeon Neel DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WASHINGTON, D.C., 1991 . 9th Medical Battalion (Divisional, 9th Infantry Division) 4 January 1967 - 18 August 1969 15th Medical Battalion (Airmobile Division, 1st Cavalry Division) 28 July 1965 - 15 April 1971 Div. His I too was with the 5/42 Field Artillery. . Early in the Vietnam War, the 1st Special Forces established a base there. Attacks 1967-68 Rocket. Short Story How did it feel to be aCherry inVietnam? Nobody brought me coffee while on guard duty. What I have found in North Vietnam and South Vietnam is that Vietnamese people are not only not Communist, but are just good folks. Most were hiding in abandoned hooch's and bunkers on post left vacant when the Thai Queen's Cobra Regiment moved out. Anyone in this crowd (including children) might toss a grenade into a truck., Bunker, 1967: Troops of the 77th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division hunker down in a partially completed bunker to escape the mayhem of 3,600 of our own 105mm Howitzer rounds light off at knee level in all directions. On the way downvthe steps leaving the building, she offered me a job as English Instructor at the military university. A great big warm Welcome Home to all my brothers who were in-country. Theyve continued to reward me and live on.. For the purpose of continuity throughout this Website I have used the term Bearcat. It is unknown if the 720th MP Battalion participated as convoy escorts in this movement. We flew the 02 Bird Dogs and usually put in strikes for the Thai's and the 9th. Wish I could remember the name of our ship. More Huey In 1966 the 15th Engineer Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division, who arrived in Vietnam aboard the USNS Sultan with the 720th MP Battalion, expanded and constructed new facilities at the Bearcat base. Our unit had unofficial hookers. What an experience for a whole year there. Vietnam History. How much do you know about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and itsSentinels? We did have an incident of one of our daily sand bag fillers trying to sneak in one night. I remember sleeping on the ground for 2 weeks while waiting for our equipment to catch up to us. Worked with 4/47th and E-50th. No one was hurt as it Since I had an engineer insignia they had me drive a rough terrain forklift. Never enough sleep. 90% were exempt. was spread out, but most of the multi square mile base was evacuated to The company streets, HQ & A Co. 31 is looking. He is not doing well and having contact with anyone who served with him would be the best medicine he could receive. Trucks were named 'Pittsburgh Pimps' thanks to a hulking black Sgt. I introduced mtpyselfcas former Company Commander of US Army unit stationed at Bearcat July 69 to Jan 1970. We were the ones who built Camp Bearcat. mangrove plantation, and a rubber plantation. We had an M-60, Claymores, an M-79 grenade launcher, our own rifle, and flares. I lost nearly 30 lbs. 61) Bearcat from the air. Better thee than me Bill I was a surveyor at Bearcat May 68 to July 68. If you think the bunkers were bad when you were there they were really bad for us, never went down stayed on top. WelcomeHome Brother! Hello Mr Heckman, I remember pulling guard duty many a night on those rat infested bunkers at Camp Eagle. "Royal Australian Signals, 104 Signal Squadron replaced 103rd Signal Squadron in Vietnam in 1966. tree. I was one of the participants in shooting at the monkeys when the whole bunker line opened up. Left ft Riley in dec of 66 and shipped out from Oakland on the uss rose. 27 Nov 43 Maj. Gen. Manton S. Eddy. Between 8 [] When the Tet cease-fire period began on January 28, the battalion was called back to the vicinity of Bear Cat, a base camp near Long Thanh. We did kill 2 monkeys found in the next day sweep. I didnt want to deal with it.. about 1,000 meters to give us a clear line of sight and fire. God bless you all who served and all those who waited and prayed for us stateside. The Division incurred 2,624 causalities and was inactivated in 1969, then reactivated in 1972 and served as an equipment testing Division at Ft. Lewis, Washington . from 1969-70Sgt. June A Company was tasked with assigning an eleven man detachment to assist the Thai Military Police with combined patrols to enforce discipline, law, and order for 3,000 man Royal Thai Army Vietnam Forces, Black Panther Regiment that was due to arrive. I was with 9th Admin Finance Office from April 67 to April 68. . Let us know in the comment section below. 27 July 1LT Joseph L. J. Brillion, A Company, was assigned as the Bear Cat Deputy Provost Marshal. Richard Thomas Jackson RIP I didnt look at them, I put them in the box, sealed it up, and they stayed in that box until 2007, Gaynor, now 70, recalled. The country is quite safe on personal security and poverty is greatly decreased. Then they racked a 60 and scared the S out of me. Oct 69- Oct 70 More insight. The final phase of their training program involved a practical exercise in which the Thais joined the A Company escorts during the Operation OVERTAKE Night convoy escorts. We where relived by our backup and returned to Bearcat to report it to the post commander and our MP desk. Behind the berm the trees you see are part of a mangrove plantation. Before the jeep stopped rolling, Gene had his gun belt off and he was down the bank and into the water. HQ were also located there. More dust I served the next year with the 111th Engineers working water supply points throughout the area just south of the DMZ to just south of Da Nang from July 69 to July 70. Someone fell into hole in the middle of the airfield which is how they discovered it. The armored vehicles within the battalion were divided between A and C Company. the 709th, 72) According to unverified information, the Bearcat base was renamed on 4 July 1966 to Camp Martin Cox for SFC Martin Cox who was killed in action on 7 April 1966. Most of the incoming enemy fire was in the form of mortars and rockets with the occasional ground probes of the perimeter defenses by the local Viet Cong Main Force units. There are 10's of thousands of such Got to the third strand of wire before the tower guard scanning the starlight scope saw him. Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Election 2012 They sometimes landed on it while I was there and some (especially the Chinooks) blew pot holes in the surface which made your take offs and landings uncomfortable/dangerous. We always slept 2 with one awake, risking getting caught. To work with the U.S. Military Police is a great honor. Through cooperation and working together we have established a good relationship with the troops.. And thank you for burning IT. HQ & A Co orderly room at Bearcat, 17) Scenes 2/47th Mech Inf. Well, by the first picture, you know you are at Long Binh. The Division trained at Fort Riley, Kansas, and deployed to Vietnam in 1967. . 14 Sep 1947-10 Dec 1967. Vietnam has changed radically in the years between the war and now. 59) The division stayed in German as an occupational force until 1947 when it was returned to the United States. I was at Bearcat during the Tet Offensive in 1968 and recall how tough it was. Pulled Guard duty 1 night only. The photos on your site are going to be helpful in recreating Bearcat in miniature. I arrived in Nov 68 and stayed until Nov 69. On January 6, 1967 we loaded on a train and headed for Oakland, California where we then boarded a troop ship and headed for Vietnam on January 10th. from sapper attack on Long Binh ammo dump about 12 miles away. Bearcat was originally a French airfield, later used by the Japanese during World War II. Due to the constant enemy activity on the roadways of III Corps Tactical Zone during and after the 31 January Tet New Years Offensive and its following May Mini-Tet attacks, the 9th Infantry Division (rear) Transportation Headquarters at Bearcat requested escort assistance for their critical night convoy supply runs from Bearcat to the U.S. Army Newport Terminal on Highway-1A (#316), and back. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Best time to draw was 8-10 and 2-4. I was on guard duty 65 times. of Army's issues. It was an eerie feeling. He spent the following years in England and Spain, and didnt return until the year the war ended, which happened 40 years ago this month on April 30, 1975.I put [the photos] in a box, a box from Lavoris mouthwash. Le Vietnam. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. GENERAL 1964-73 MAC-V Tour 365 . Then, for the last week in January, the 2-47 was sent south of the 9th Division's base camp to patrol the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. Sea Scouts Army Vehicles. Members for the 104th were drawn from the 139th Signal Squadron at Enoggera Brisbane, Australia. 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