Then, two teams designated for the rural development program were deployed in the latter part of 1963, and from October of that year, the United States Operations Mission (USOM), whose functions were later replaced by the State Department's U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID), sponsored and financially supported these two teams. Getting supplies over the beacheswith the Marines taking over from therewas to be the primary mission of NSA. 3 For further discussion on this point, please turn to Commander F. O. McClendon's essay "Doctors and Dentists, Nurses and Corpsmen in Vietnam" in this edition and Captain K. P. Huff, USNR, "Building the Advance Base at Da Nang" in Naval Review 1968, pp. At any given time, normally two of the seventeen CEC officers assigned to a construction battalion would be limited duty or warrant officers. China Beach has deep blue water and fine white sand, and is not damaged by pollution, which is known as the Gold Coast of Vietnam. I was listed as the Cargo Operations Officer,
In other cases, under the stress of wartime planning, items might be left out of the drawings and the construction forces would move on before the occupant-to-be realized what was missing. Captain Merdinger was Public Works Officer at Naval Support Activity, Da Nang in 1967-68, and currently commands the Western Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command at San Francisco, California. When the Marine Expeditionary Brigade was ordered to land at Da Nang in March 1965, there was no naval activity ashore to support it and no indication in official files that the Navy would move to establish such an activity. As late as 28 May 1965, Chief of Naval Operations sent "do not concur to establishing NSA Da Nang to CinCPacFlt. Thus, for a variety of reasons, public works was also, in part, a construction force. It must be emphasized that offloading at DaNang for the first year was all by lighterage as there were no deep draft piers. Their placing of two eight-section causeway piers from the open sea was described by Major General Collins, Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Division, as ". WebDa Nang Vietnam. In company with the Marines were Seabees of Amphibious Construction Battalion One, deployed from Yokosuka, Japan. Moreover, personnel programs developed to complement the unit rotational concept, enabled the Navy to reduce total Seabee manpower requirements by about 2,000 men. In addition a new offensive was
The concept of public works operating only in a "secure" municipality was to break down completely in 1967. In June 1965 the Chief of Civil Engineers in a letter to Chief of Naval Operations noted that the current planning for NSA did not contain Public Works components. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. In August and September 1954, elements of ACB-i under Commander L. N. Saunders participated in Operation "Passage to Freedom, a massive evacuation of people and equipment from the Tonkin Delta region of French Indo-China to the south. Subsequently 50 more were added to provide perimeter security for base camps and job sites, bringing new authorized allowances to 24 officers and 738 enlisted men. They did, however, in the next month, install a number of fuel systems, provide causeways for off-loading LSTs, and establish camp support ashore in Da Nang. An incident I remember was that the 5th Transportation Command took over the
United States combat troops were now committed to the mainland of Asia. He is so thankful I called and we exchanged addresses and he wants to come and visit. A 450 m (1,480 ft) breakwater provides protection from high waves and monsoons. Supply Corps officers and rates attached to the battalions working with the Seabee oriented Construction Battalion Center supply departments played a major role in accomplishing this support through various routes of the Navy supply system. Experience ultimately showed that the life cycle of a piece of equipment committed to Vietnam averaged 45 months from the time it was received from the factory in a U. S. depot until it passed out of the system. Press BACK to return to this page). Coincidentally, in January 1962 the Saigon ROICC office was expanded to eight officers and 72 civilians and upgraded under a more senior officer. Go to https://www.militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire video, or to see movie trailers of over 700 other military videos.This is a short clip. Veteran L. Prickett, "Dear VetFriends, Thanks so much for your help! However, Seabee strength measured in terms of numbers of battalions could be somewhat misleading, for not all of the Group VIII enlisted men (as the construction trades had come to be designated) were in Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (NMCBs) in 1965; nor are they today. The 30th Naval Construction Regiment continued in Da Nang, and the new 32nd Naval Construction Regiment established headquarters to the north in Phu Bai-Gia Le. I was on duty the night
Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is the port's authority. During the early allied buildup in South Vietnam the only primary deep water port to handle incoming cargo ships was the Saigon Port on the Saigon River in the Capital Military District of Gia Dinh Province in III Corps Tactical Zone. daylight shift and arrived at the port to find a newly assigned cargo operations
Operations at NSA Da Nang have clearly demonstrated that we must be prepared to handle large amounts of cargo in underdeveloped ports in areas where the Navy will be required to support the Marine Corps. Though this report referred essentially to timber bridges, the Seabees also used precast concrete, steel substructure with timber decking, Bailey Deck type, and the AMMI (a multi-purpose steel pontoon designed by NAVFAC's Chief Engineering Advisor, Dr. Arsham Amirikian). [10], In recent years, the number of large cruise ships docking at Nng Port has increased, despite the fact that its infrastructure is not specifically designed to accommodate cruise ships. Most of the materials coming in country came by ship to Da Nang where they were off-loaded and placed in shallow draft vessels for further shipment south to Chu Lai and north to Tan My and Hue, servicing Phu Bai. The concept at this time was that NSA Da Nang would concern itself with operating ports and beaches from Chu Lai to the DMZ and would operate a supply depot, shipping, and some ancillary services. To get young men into the Seabees simply to build up to the required numbers was not particularly difficult. Central Vietnam. Until 1966 each service, upon receipt of its military construction funds, placed its requirements directly on the OICC for design and contract accomplishment. NMCB-6, the last peacetime battalion to deploy to the war zone, arrived in May 1966. If paucity of numbers produced a complaint during World War II when the Seabees reached a strength exceeding a quarter of a million, surely one can sympathize with involved operational commanders on the eye of the Vietnam adventure when Seabee (Group VIII) strength world-wide totaled only 8,500 men. He therefore urged the inclusion of a Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (none in commission at the time) and early action to determine the scope of public works functions at NSA. reluctantly told me that the Korean stevedores were in a hurry to remove six
WebDanang had become the largest fuel complex in South Vietnam capable of holding over 500,000 barrels. In one way or another every career CEC officer will have some duty with Seabees, and most officers tend to consider Seabee duty among the most rewarding they have experienced. This transfer of expertise to the Vietnamese in the building tradesalso accomplished under the RMK-BRJ contractorsgives promise of being in the long run the greatest legacy the U. S. will leave in Vietnam. What we saw was a White
do with the LST. The above are just some of the highlights; there have been, obviously, many other lessons to be learned from our involvement in Vietnam. We should, therefore, maintain the Seabees at sufficient peacetime strength to meet the construction requirements of approved contingency plans. By late 1967, the contract force had dwindled to less than 16,000. First of these was the 30th Naval Construction Regiment, formed in Da Nang under Captain H. F. Liberty in early May 1965 to provide operational control over all Seabee battalions in Vietnam. By 2030, this port will have 8 general cargo terminals with a length of 2,280 m. It is forecast that by 2020, the volume of goods via Chan May port will reach 7.4 million tons / year. This is actually the first time I have discussed this information since
Located close to international routes with the shortest distance across the Pacific compared to Hong Kong and Singapore, Van Phong port has the potential to become an international transshipment port in Vietnam. The other two Pacific battalions were at their home port of Port Hueneme, taking leave and retraining, having recently returned from overseas assignments. NMCB-10 had been, prior to the Marine landings, the alert battalion on Okinawa, prepared to move en masse to any trouble spot on short notice. Chu Lai The original $22 million worth of work had grown to a total of more than $150 million over the three years. With this salute to the Navy's construction men, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Wallace M. Greene Jr., continued the accolades which stretched back a quarter of a century to World War II when General MacArthur complained to their boss, Admiral Ben Moreell, ". For all practical purposes, it was now Public Works I Corps. Provided by Shannon Nichols. The warehouse building damaged by the typhoon was still utilized as the port
This was a reactivation of the last Seabee Regiment to be decommissioned when the large Seabee construction effort at Cubi Point, Philippines, came to a close some ten years before. Ships in this category entered Vietnams inland waterways temporarily as part of their gunfire, interdiction, or support missions. Captain Merdinger is the author of a book, Civil Engineering Through the Ages, and has contributed articles on education, construction, administration, and history to many periodicals and has been invited to contribute an article on viaducts to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Port Size Medium. Furthermore, battalion strengths differed. Consisting of a junior Civil Engineer Corps officer-in-charge, a hospital corpsman, and eleven men in the ratings of construction equipment operator and mechanic, builder, steelworker, construction electrician, utilities man, and engineering aid, these teams were normally given some months of intensive language and technical unit training at one of the three Naval Construction Battalion CentersPort Hueneme, California, Davisville, Rhode Island, or Gulfport, Mississippi (starting in 1968), prior to being sent on a mission. A few months later when it came time for the chief staff officer, Colonel W. R. Gould, to be relieved, he was replaced by a CEC officer. More Photos from Shannon Nichols (Click on thumbnail to enlarge. The idea of one-service support in an area was pushed by top command and began to make some headway. I was told
Future programming must be on the broadest possible basis and must be more responsive to the operational commanders needs. Additionally, design personnel, Americans, Filipinos, and Nationalist Chinese, were provided through a contract with Metcalf and Eddy. already be aware, Sealand vessels had top priority for berth space, so I was in
TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. Essentially the Seabees of Public Works and the CBMUs attached to them had the same basic missionto come in behind the construction forces and maintain and operate the bases already built. find my friend." my first 6 months in country and a LTC Hickey took over Command until we
operations of running the port of Chu Lai late in 1971. Embassy organization entitled Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS), and the subsequent placing of Seabee Teams came under its jurisdiction. The availability of spare parts tends to be a perennial problem, but the Seabee forces after a period of shakedown did not find it an insurmountable one. In the initial months the Marines occupied three major enclaves at Da Nang, Chu Lai, and Hue-Phu Bai, with a primary objective of driving the main force Viet Cong units back into the hills and linking the enclaves. of the ship and when it blew, instead of blowing up everyone within two miles
The Navy, on the other hand, used Philco-Ford primarily to furnish Korean artisans who were integrated into a combined Seabee-civilian Public Works Department at Da Nang run by CEC officers. WebChu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Ni Thnh District, Qung Nam Province, Vietnam. [9], Nng Port consists of two main terminals (Tin Sa Seaport and Song Hn Terminal) and an additional freight warehouse, Tho Quang Station. attack. Slowly, Americans began to fill the vacuum left by the French. By early 1969 nearly half of all the military construction in Vietnam had been undertaken by some force other than RMK-BRJ. General William C. Westmoreland, while still commanding in Vietnam in 1968, stated that the Viet Cong got their rockets too late, that with Soviet weapons they could have neutralized Saigon in 1966. The majority of the remaining 1,800 were Vietnamese. each evening and morning. Hotline: (+00) 65 9018 4988. unloading container ships at CMTV port in particular Vung Tau port in general. For example, roving one and two man Seabee automotive and generator repair teams rendered service to Special Forces, MACV Advisors, and U. S. Government civilian agencies located in remote provinces. It is the third largest port system in Vietnam (after Saigon Port in H Ch Minh City and the port of Hi Phng). It's been nearly 40 years since we parted. These teams have earned praise from high officials of every country involved, even though the program as a whole is still relatively young. As expected, the international transshipment port in Vietnam is capable of receiving 5 million TEUs per year, with 8 berths for container ships with a capacity of up to 12,000 TEUs and 8 berths for feeders and the total port area of 405 ha. Well as you may
The terminal has five berths, located along the shore; berth No. Southeast Asia became Navy responsibility. Camp Tien Sha is a former United States Navy base located in Danang, Vietnam. At the same time, the largest vessel can receive 40,000 DWT at Lan Ha transshipment area and the lowest with 700 DWT at Bach Dang buoy. It might be noted that the OICC office had some capability for doing its own design in house with a small number of U. S. civil servants and third country nationals, but the bulk of its design work was carried out by architectural and engineering firms located in Southeast Asia. the only trouble with your Seabees is that I don't have enough of them.". English. Ultimately every Seabee unit went to Vietnam except CBU-201, which was a small force serving the Antarctic research program. What have we learned about those areas which are vital to our military posture, and which affect or are affected by the naval civil engineer? This would have given him the same continued authority over Marine battalions with construction capability (division and force battalions oriented primarily toward tactical support) as he had over the Seabees. National Strategy in Southern Vietnam. according to the Coast Guard investigator, it simply ripped a large whole along
When the tug boat came in to tie off the barge, the
250,000). No further project similar to this one in size and scope came to fruition outside the established construction policies. fact I was required to draw up an escape plan in case the port came under
Among the career Seabeessecond reenlistments and beyondthere was also a gradual dropping off, the reenlistment rates from FY66 through FY69 being 91 per cent, 86 per cent, 80 per cent, and 76 per cent. Another incident I remember was a morning that I also was again working the
Except for LSTs which could beach, all cargo had to be discharged into lighters and transported to the beach where it was offloaded again and loaded onto trucks. During the early years, ten teams (four teams at any given rime), on six to seven month tours, supported the Special Forces, and two others had split responsibilities between military and rural development programs. Da Nang Port: more tourists, more worries, "Seabourn Odyssey Cruise Ship brings 352 visitors to Nng", The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, "Da Nang Port facilities: Yards and Warehouses", "In Vietnam cruise ships dock at cargo ports", "Da Nang Port facilities: Navigation Channel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Da_Nang_Port&oldid=1131352128, Articles containing Vietnamese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 19:40. Also significant were a few large U. S. contractors who did not belong to the RMK-BRJ combine. Sa Huynh local - Photo 3 . For instance, during one critical period of the extensive rebuilding of the runway at Khe Sanh there were more Seabees from Public Works Da Nang on the job than there were from the time-s CBMU. The next significant change, the placing of all Seabee battalions under a Civil Engineer Corps Flag Officer in Vietnam, came with the formation of the 3rd Naval Construction Brigade under Rear Admiral R. R. Wooding, CEC, United States Navy, on June 1, 1966, at Saigon. Collectively these local contractors had accounted for some $75 million worth of construction by the fall of 1966. run Deep Water Pier. The crew viewed it as a bad omen and wanted nothing more to
Container tracking service provides a very convenient and easy to use way of tracking the current location of containers with your cargo by container number. And in I Corps, supporting the Marines, were the Seabees. Vice President Hubert Humphrey in addressing the Senate of the United States put it this way: "The Seabee Team has been called the military peace corps and the reasons for that comparison are obvious. Especially, Lec owns a warehouse system right next to the ports in the. The truck being driven away from the pier. It was responsible for administering contract construction, including design, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Sound contingency plans must be developed which encourage appropriations necessary to keep the stocks current. The need for NSA to establish a base at Cua Viet, some four and one-half miles from the DMZ, to support Dong Ha in the late spring brought Public Works Seabees to construct and maintain the camp. In July 1966 the "Bridge Cargo Ramp" (160307N 1081352E / 16.052N 108.231E / 16.052; 108.231) began operations increasing NSA's supply capability. Like the war itself, Navy involvement was piecemeal and gradual, planned almost on the spur of the moment. the official turn over to the Vietnamese in June 1972. The port controlled 900,000 square feet of supply depot space, 2.7 million square feet of open-air storage space, and 500,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage space. Their officersCivil Engineer Corpswho had reached a high of 10,000 during the war now numbered less than 1,700. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command. Where were the engineers to come from now? This brought an exchange of personal notes in late May and early June between the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Vice Chief of Naval Operations. The Support Activity's Public Works Department, during Captain S. C. Gill's tenure as PWO, ultimately numbered well over 2,000 people, of whom nearly 200 were Seabees. Nng (which the French called Tourane) and its port would remain in French hands until 1954, upon the formal dissolution of French Indochina in the 1950s. Initially, these were to maintain the airstrips at the three sites mentioned above and to render whatever other public works support the battalion was capable of. We only had four deep draft berths
The Advanced Base Functional Component system, an outgrowth of lessons from World War II, consists of definitive advanced base component designs and pre-stocked hardware which had been designed, refined bought, sorted, and stored during the peaceful years. returning home. As a matter of fact, as the contractor's force was reduced, it turned a number of its jobs over to the troops for accomplishment. Did you proudly serve in DANANG VIET NAM, DEEP WATER PIERS? Champion shooting at kids stealing supplies from convoy - NSAD Sa Huynh . . The primary mission of NSF was to train the Vietnamese Navy to take over after U.S. It is interesting to note the comparative age of the World War II Seabees who averaged 35 years of age, whereas their successors during the Vietnam conflict averaged 23 years. It soon became evident, however, that this was not to be a short hit and move-on amphibious operation but rather one in which the Marines, contrary to their normal doctrine, would settle in. Get to know the time in transit of cargo on popular container shipping lines between ports of loading and port of discharge. Like the rest of the CEC they were scattered throughout the Navygenerally in shop management positions. Some observers have attempted to compare the Armys P.A. Shaffer arrived I took the pictures which are on the
This was converted to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract in January 1962 in the amount of some $15 million, plus government furnished materials and equipment which brought the total to more than $22 million. 88-113. I Corps, comprising all five northernmost provinces of Mouth Vietnam, from the DMZ southward over 200 miles, became the Marines' responsibility. And few people were quite sure how it had happened. received a call from the Navy Pacific Command, to enter our harbor at daybreak
Parenthetically, as a matter of comparison, it might be noted that the Army Engineers, who at their peak had 27 battalions in country, had two kinds of battalions combat and construction. prior to the mine sweeper making a pass thru the channel in order to off load
The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. Thanks VetFriends, It was a wonderful moment that we will both remember for the rest of our lives, and we owe it to VetFriends. It seems the helicopter flew right into
were removed and fresh water tank trucks came to the port every two hours to
Air shipment to Vietnam of critical items could normally be accomplished within 30 days of ordering. only four deep draft berths from June 9, 1971 until the facility was turned over
The former stated that the Marines did not have this support capability and suggested that naval assets outside of Pacific Fleet be tapped. Most expats live outside of Sng Hn Terminal can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 DWT. A steady shift to tactical support construction was also in evidence. Initially, to counter Viet Cong political influence in the villages, their missions in Vietnam were of two basic types: to construct small fortified camps and support facilities for U. S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets), and to assist Vietnamese civilians in civic action projects in relatively secure rural areas. Like This Movie Trailer? The Marble Mountains. to the Vietnamese on June 6,1972. Within six months 5,000 new petty officers had been recruited. [3], Nng has been a port city for many centuries, long before the first arrival of European traders in the 16th century. While a vigorous recruiting plan was instituted, the initial buildup of the battalions was accomplished by transferring Seabees out of shore stations all over the worldsome to the battalions and some directly to Vietnam. In one of their largest concerted efforts of the war, six Seabee battalions worked on the upgrading of Routes #1 (from south of Hue-Phu Bai through Quang Tri and Dong Ha to the DMZ) and #9 (from Dong Ha west through Khe Sanh to the border)an effort which contained 133 bridges (30 per cent ranging in length from 50 to 2,100 feet) in 138 miles of roadnearly one bridge per mile! Witness the failure to even plan for the Public Works Department at Da Nang which became the largest in the Navy within two years. for a lot of questions if I decided to stop the Sealand ship, which I did. By that time some 56 teams had served in Vietnam, and every one of the four corps areas had felt their presence. With the thought that he would be invaluable in coordinating the efforts of the Marine battalions, a Marine colonel was requested, and assigned to serve as chief staff officer of the 30th NCR. De Faria was one of the first Westerners to write about the area, and through his influence Portuguese ships began to call regularly at Hi An, which was then a far more important port than Nng. Check out top 10 below! Back in May of 1845 at Tourane (now Da Nang), Captain John Percival, commanding the USS Constitution, saw fit to seize as hostages some three Mandarins to force, unsuccessfully, as it turned out, the release of a French bishop at Hue. Thanks for making it possible!" The mountains are full of caves, tunnels and Buddhist shrines just waiting to be explored! I decided to resign my Commission in November 1975 and have been teaching
In many cases, overseas in particular, Seabees were productively employed in public works departments. In these areas the Army had this responsibility for the U. S. Armed Forces, relying heavily on its contractor, P.A. There were many highly placed recommendations to stop the interchange of battalions, but experience with the huge Seabee construction effort at Cubi Point a decade before indicated that productivity and morale were enhanced by keeping the battalions intact. Its first project was to administer an architectural and engineering contract for the layout of a runway at Bien Hoa. All six
Founded in August of 2005, SeaRates is a trusted community marketplace for people to send goods around the world. The rapid build-up of the battalions brought organizational changes to the whole Seabee structure. Clearance Diving Team 3 8th Contingent When the Marines next landed, at Chu Lai, some 50 miles south of Da Nang, during the period 7-10 May 1965, elements of ACB-i, under Lieutenant Commander R. T. Field, went ashore with the third assault wave. WebThe Delong pier was no longer located at Deep Water Pier in Danang upon my arrival in country and assignment to the 5th Transportation Command. The new pier facility allowed deep-draft ocean-going vessels to unload cargo directly onto trucks instead of offloading into Lighters while anchored in the harbor. A few 1968 figures may help to put Seabee costs in perspective. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. the bay from Deep Water Pier. Deep Water Pier was where the large ocean vessels could offload cargo to support the armed forces in I corps. Throughput capacity is over 1 million tons per year. Those in the Pacific Fleet, home ported at Port Hueneme, California, and deployed at various times in unit or sub-unit strength to Guam, Okinawa, Midway, Adak, and Sangley Point, were five in number, each of 525 men. Despite the size of RMK-BRJ and the Naval Mobile Construction Battalions, there was need for more construction capability than they could provide. These suggestions went all but unheeded and there was for all practical purposes, no Public Works Department as such included in the initial NSA organization as planned. Port Size Medium. In the late summer when the new Brigade Commander, Rear Admiral J. V. Bartlett, CEC, United States Navy, arrived in Da Nang the 30th Naval Construction Regiment was split into two regiments, each under a Captain (C. W. Turner and J. M. Hill). WebThe Deep-Water Piers were turned over to the U.S. Army on July 30th, and the U.S. Navy no longer provided logistical support in I Corps. down there to become the operations officer, but at the last minute, actually
One of the most significant factors concerning the teams was that they werefrom 1966 onembarked solely on missions essentially nonmilitary in character, even though the war continued to rage all about them. The one hundred and fifty battalions of World War II had dwindled to two shortly thereafter, were rebuilt to eleven during the Korean War, and returned to ten from that point until the Vietnam build-up in 1965. We raced volkswagens on our time off and we'd go to the range and shoot all day. Flatbed trailers being unloaded from a U.S. Navy ship at a pier in Da Nang, Vietnam during the Vietnam War. fireball almost directly over the port. In that same year 1ti3ounbocks established its Officer in Charge of Construction (OICC) office under a CEC Captain, G. M. Inscoe, at Bangkok. WEBMASTER'S NOTE
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