The war in Vietnam has been described as the first “living room war” meaning combat was seen on TV screens and newspapers on a daily basis. Newspaper and television crews documented this war much more intensely than they did earlier conflicts. This willingness to allow documentation of the war extended to the military’s own photographers who captured thousands of images that covered every aspect of the conflict between 1962 and 1975.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Operation “Yellowstone” Vietnam: Following a hard day, a few members of Company “A,” 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry (Mechanized), 25th Infantry Division, gather around a guitar player and sing a few songs.
USMC Tour of Duty 1967-1968
In 1967, I was assigned to the USMC 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (1st LAAM Bn) that had become operational in Da Nang, Vietnam in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. U
1st LAAM Bn had set up headquarters in an old abandoned French fort. It hadn’t been occupied since 1954 when the French were defeated by Vietnamese Nationalists. The walls, barracks, and bunkers were all still intact.
Rather than using the barracks for living quarters as the French did, we stored military equipment and supplies to keep them dry. Our living quarters were located outside the French fort itself. They were called “hooches” and had aluminum roofs with canvas siding. These hooches were about 300 feet from the runway and 20 feet from a landing pad for helicopters.
It took weeks before I could finally get to sleep at night. Sometimes, I would wake up to what sounded like an F-4 Phantom jet taxiing up to the front flap of our hooch. When I returned home to the world (California), I had a hard time sleeping. It was too quiet.
A story told to me on one of my first nights of guard duty was that the French soldiers were overrun when they occupied the fort. The Vietnamese Nationalists were merciless in their night attack. Scores of bodies were found the next morning with their throats slashed.
I really don’t know how true this story was but when you’re an 18-year-old boot Marine trying to keep warm in some dark and damp bunker on guard duty, your imagination can get the best of you.
Starting in August and lasting through October was the monsoon season. The days were cool and refreshing, which was a welcome change from the blistering heat of the months before.
I remember the area around Da Nang as being very picturesque. Da Nang is a seaport city with beautiful landscapes and Marble mountains that are 5 miles south of the city.
I didn’t have much of a chance to really get to know Vietnamese people living nearby. I wish I had. Most were farmers who spent long hours working in their fields.
I would often wave to farmers as we moved in convoys across their land. They may have been Viet Cong for all I know.
It was a small gesture of acknowledgement to these farmers who were living through some very difficult times.
