Arrival in Vietnam

Most of us entered Vietnam at Cam Ranh Bay, a large US Air Force and Navy base and US Army processing center for personnel assigned to units in the northern military regions.
 

BARRACKS AT CAM RANH BAY

C-130 HERCULES AT CAM RANH BAY

Thanks to Ray Bono for above two photos.
Here we spent 2-3 days in-processing and then we were transported by aircraft, usually a C-130 Hercules, to Camp Radcliff, located at An Khe, the original division base camp established by the 1st Cavalry Division in the central highlands during the autumn of 1965.
 

CAMP RADCLIFF AND HON KONG MOUNTAIN AT AN KHE Thanks to Sam Walker

GOLF COURSE AT CAMP RADCLIFF Thanks to Casper Platoon

Until January 1968, the majority of the division was deployed near the town of Bong Son on the coast. Therefore, Camp Radcliff served as the division rear area camp and the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment had its own storage facilities for our duffel bags containing uniforms and other personal possessions. We spent several days at Camp Radcliff attending the First Team Academy, appropriately nicknamed the “Cherry School”, which was a mandatory course for all troopers assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. Here we received instruction on a variety of practical subjects, such as, guerrilla warfare, combat air assault tactics, patrolling, radio procedures, rappelling, and the division policy on malaria control – white pill daily, orange pill weekly, and button-up/sleeves rolled down between sunset and sunrise.

 

RAPPELLING TRAINING AT CAMP RADCLIFF Thanks to James Ford

CAMP RADCLIFF

We were also issued with the necessary equipment required for out assignment; rucksack, poncho liner, poncho blanket, jungle uniforms, steel helmet, pistol belt, first aid packs, water canteens, insect repellent, water purification tablets, jungle boots, etc. Most of this equipment was specially manufactured for jungle warfare in Vietnam. For instance, inside the sole of the jungle boots was a stainless steel plate to protect the wearer from punji stakes and the insoles had special vent holes for draining moisture.

THE FAMOUS JUNGLE BOOTS

Our time at Camp Radcliff also provided us with a few days to adjust to the hot, humid tropical climate of Vietnam. There is heavy rainfall in the northern provinces, around 120 inches on the coast, and the monsoon season in our area of operation was from November to March. From An Khe, we were transported to Landing Zone English, a large base camp for the 1st Brigade and our unit, the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. A US Army plane called the Caribu was used for the short hauls between An Khe and LZ English.

CARIBU   Thanks to Tom De Young

LZ ENGLISH
LZ ENGLISH - GOOD MORNING VIETNAM Thanks to Casper Platoon	C-130

 

Landing Zone (LZ) English was located close to a town called Bong Son, in the Province of Binh Dinh. Here we met the Executive Officer of Bravo Company, who was responsible for administration and logistics. It was here where we were issued an M16 and with what was considered to be a basic load of ammunition for a rifleman; a minimum of 500 rounds of M16 ammunition loaded into 20 magazines, a minimum of 100 rounds in a bandoleer, 4 fragmentation grenades, and at least 1 smoke grenade, 1 trip flare, 1 hand fired aerial parachute flare, 1 stick of C-4 and 1 claymore mine. We zeroed our weapons at LZ English or at our field location.

TYPICAL LOAD FOR AN ASSISTANT M-60 MACHINE GUNNER

From LZ English we were transported to the field location of Bravo Company late in the afternoon on one of the many supply helicopters used for the “ash and trash” run.
 

BRAVO COMPANY NIGHT DEFENSE POSITION BONG SON Thanks to Sam Walker

ASH AND TRASH HUEY Thanks to Bill Cracchiola

On arrival we met the Company Commander and 1st Sergeant who assigned each of us to a platoon. Then we met our Platoon Leader, Platoon Sergeant and finally our Squad Leader. It was here at the squad level where we received intensive “on the job training” and under the close supervision of all the other members of the squad. This was a dangerous place and new arrivals had a lot to learn. Of course our trainers had all been through the same course, so they handled us professionally and welcomed us as a member of the team. At least one trooper remembers with gratitude the detailed guidance that he received from one of these old- timers whose photo appears below:

CLIFFORD WRIGHT

We quickly learned that the Bong Son coastal plain was our homestead and according to the old-timers, our unit might deploy on combat missions to other regions but we always returned to our base at Bong Son. These old-timers knew the Bong Son plain and became our guides on the do's and don'ts. For example, they knew that if we established our night defensive position in the vicinity of a particular Vietnamese graveyard north of LZ English, which we often did, a nasty Vietcong (VC) with one of our M-79 rocket launchers would always lob a couple of grenades at us as a sort of good night greeting. He was always at least 100 meters short of his target and we always failed in our many attempts to ambush him. However, we did get one of his colleagues in an ambush when we had the mission of securing a section of LZ English. This guy worked in the battalion barbershop during the day and was an active VC guerrilla at night until his luck ran out when he triggered the claymore mines of our ambush.
 
                 BONG SON

Thanks to Chris Decker
Thanks to Bill Cracchiola
Thanks to Sam Walker	BONG SON RIVER Thanks to Casper Platoon
RICE PADDIES NEAR LZ ENGLISH	OVERLOOKING BONG SON PLAINS
HILLS NORTHWEST OF BONG SON Thanks to Jim Beck for above three photos.
The 1st Brigade used another firebase in the An Lao Valley to the west called LZ Mustang, and one more in the northern part of the Bong Son Plains called LZ Geronimo (see Maps).
FLYING INTO THE AN LAO VALLEY Thanks to Casper Platoon
LANDING ZONE MUSTANG Thanks to Tom De Young for above two photos	LANDING ZONE GERONIMO (?)
LANDING ZONE GERONIMO (?) Thanks to Sam Walker

The nature of the war changed dramatically with the January 1968 Tet Offensive, and the massive NVA attacks throughout Vietnam. In response to these attacks, the 1st Cavalry Division was sent to the northern provinces to combat NVA units at Hue, Quang Tri, Khe Sanh and in the A Shau Valley. We left our homestead in the Bong Son Plains and we never returned. The 1st Cavalry Division established a new base at Camp Eagle, at Hue - Phu Bai, while the 1st Brigade and our battalion established a new base at Camp Evans, located west of Quang Tri. After our deployment to Quang Tri, the 1st Cavalry Division “Cherry School” remained operational at Camp Radcliff. After completing this course, new arrivals were transported by C-130 Hercules from Camp Radcliff to Camp Evans.