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Every year at this time I remember the three days of prue hell we all went through and I keep asking why those of us in the dump did not dye. I also have to think of how many of us are left to remember that day. My prayers will always be for all how severed during that war and that time.
God Bless All!!
Best fireworks display this old Texas boy ever saw
I was on Con Thien when they blew the ammo dump again ,must have been around July 1968. NVA arty fired first rounds at fire direction spotters on Con T then fired on Dong Ha . I was many miles away but could see that ammo dump go off. Quite a blast .
Our rear was right next to it. There was absolutely nothing left but ashes when it was all over. Why they stored all that ammo it the same place, stacked together when Dong Ha was getting hit with rockets every day is a classic example of military intelligence?
I wonder how meany ammo dumps got blown up during the war.
Think Da Nang was hit after Dong Ha and Dong Ha was hit again in 68 or 69. Tony we were told to start getting all of our rolling stock up and running fast, like four days the week before the dump went up as we were going to re-supply all bases quick. Thats why all the ammo was there, we started hualing all the ammo off the boats on the river that morning to the dump been working from sun up until they hit us. It was one big f**ked-up mess that day. Don't know who planed all this just know we paid the price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ggyoung
We had two blow up on Bien Hoa in a nine-month period. One was from Vietnamese Air Force carelessness, the other a sapper attack into the napalm dump. The negligent one really taught me the meaning of "blast overpressure" when it came to explosions.
In 1968 when I witnessed the ammo dump at Dong Ha go up there was fuel bladders for choppers that also went up ( a major supply point for area Gio Linh, Army 175 MM arty, Alpha 3, Con Thien ,C2 , Rockpile , and probably even Khe San . ) It was NVA arty from across the Ben Hai that did the deed .
You could see that dump from miles away. It was like flying a flag that said "drop arty and rockets here" and they did. The whole thing reminds me of the parking the airplanes side by side because they were easier to protect sh*t that they did in WWII. It proves that the military leaders didn't get any smarter, kind of like the trace and the strong point plans that put in in places like con thien, gio lin and ka sahn where we cound sit in holes and get pounded day after day insterad of going out and kicking the NVA's azz like we were doing in 66 and early 67.
I was there that day, stationed with 9th Marine Regiment. That was absolutely the largest I had seen.
Yeah, saw two ammo dumps go up between 68 and 70.
Was in Dong Ha when that one went. We were there for 3 days on the way from Da Nang to Quang Tri when I first got in country. We didn't get hit every day. We got hit with rockets and recoiless rifle 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Spent a lot of time in the trenches. Spent my 21st BDay in those trenches with a bottle of Jim Beam my mother had sent me.
I was a ammotech storing ammo the morning of sept.3rd. It was myself a truck driver and forklift operator.
I made it to the seebee compound and shared abunker with a seebee.
I don't remember much after that. I also have a block to remember the names of the Marines I served with in the ammodump.
Would like any info from other ammotechs, like how did you get out.
The Lord was with us all.
Was stationed at gio Linh in 67 and watched the fireworks from there.
was there went it went up, was with hq.co. 11th engrs. one Hell of a explosion! Some of the Marines from 3rd shore party came to our co and was supplied with clothing etc because theirs was burned off! I remember a couple of Marines whose dog tags had melted around their necks, very bad **** to say the least!!!!
Harvey Harrison, did you know PFC Mickey Wilson. He was in Motor-T with 3/3 and on that day, 9/3/67, drove in with his truck and rescued a lot of guys trapped in bunkers while the ammo dump was going up.
Think I remember a PFC called Wilson don't know what unit he was with can't even remember what he looked like. I supplyed so many units it hard to remember them all. As far as that day all I remember is being on the back burm of the dump then on the ground below the burm where I got blasted to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tedph
PFC Mickey Wilson was a tall, 6'-3" redheaded, freckled faced Marine with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, H&S, Motor-T. He made 3 trips into the ammo dump when it was going up on 9/3/67 with his truck and rescued a bunch of guys he didn't know (they were all from other units). I thought if anyone remembers him coming to their rescue, maybe they would like to know his name. Mickey is alive and well, but does not use the computer.
OK, looking for my pics from then and we had a tall PFC red hair that was sent to one of the units H&S when we first got to Chu Lai in 1966. Think I have some pics of him and the rest of the unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tedph
Thanks for checking your pics. Might be another Marine because PFC Mickey Wilson arrived Vietnam on 12/29/1966 and went directly to Dong Ha.
I was in comm center, that by the end no longer was left. Lucky we had another shelter inside center.
My name is Bob Kerr. I was a 2311 in the dump. When the incoming started, I was inventorying bombs in the berms at the far end of the installation. I laid in a old rice paddy for about 10 hours before I finally felt safe enough to head toward the main compound. It was pure hell! When I stood and crawled out, the entire compound was leveled and not a living soul was in sight. I was completely deaf or over 24 hours. I ran cross the air strip to the field hospital, dodging incoming rockets, before I found others.
I was unlucky enough to be in the shore party rear at Dong Ha right next to the ammo dump when it happened. I had a thing about bunkers I saw 2 get hit at Con Thien, the guys inside were cut to pieces by the splinters from the logs supporting the ceilings so I stuck to the zig zag trenches. When they started hitting Dong Ha I grabbed my 14 and made it to a trench. When they hit the dump It went off like an a bomb. It felt like someone hit me in the head with a baseball bat and it started raining shells and shrapnel and pieces of burning wood then everything started to burn. I skyed to a bunker and stayed there for I don't know how long, hours I guess with a bunch of other SP guys. When I went out there was absolutely nothing left of our rear just smoldering debris. Like a lot of the guys I couldn't hear **** for a few days and my jungles were scorched. A bunch of us went across the air strip near Charlie or Delta med and got some water food and cloths. I stayed there on some cots for a few days then they sent me out to 3/4. I was sure happy to get the hell out of Dong Ha
I was there working on a generator in mag 16 compound stayed in bunker till artilly died down went down hill stayed in slit trench till left on jolly green was ordanace everywhere
I was there when the ammo dump blew up. Iwas on the hill by FLSU 1s Generator shak watching it go off and when the powder want off I thought it was a nuke. the shockwave came across the helo pad,(they had already run from the choppers when the first one had been hit trying to take off) seting fire to the fuel dump. I was backing up in awe of the rising mushroom cloud when the shock wave hit me picked me up and slamed me into my buddy Clair and we were boath throne into a bunker where we stayed all day.
Hugh B Sullivan
Sgt. 2140034