There was a small base North of Dong Ha, and just South of Gio Lin, on the left side of the road going North. I was there; or at another place in the same area in 1968. Charlie Battery was the first to man this position. The Seabees had built the bunkers and the gun pads. The area was very rough, not cleaned up and spruced up as the Army would have it. The bunkers were very well built -- 12 x timbers and heavy boards. They were under ground, with a lot of PSP and sand bags, layered upon each other. The gun bunkers were very spacious with a section for the gun crews and another for all of the gun gear, such as the section chests, etc. The powder and projo pits were not inished, so the gun crews had the pleasure of finishing them. The area was a compound within a compound. We were on the inside, with our own wire, trip flares, claymores, etc. The ARVNs were on the outside with another perimeter on the outside. We
would go over across the road, and get the people from the village to fill sand bags by the thousands. They would work like crazy all day for C's or sardiens. Then we would go back and stack the sand bags on the bunkers. After a time the area looked real good. The place still looked the same, except for a lot of holes caused by incoming rounds. I last saw C-1, when I made an ammo run as a truck driver; after having been taken off of the guns with busted ear drums. This was in about mid April of 1968 (I think). The Mariners were still on ConThien at this time. I went on R&R with Cpl. Richard Blue, and upon arriving
back in Dong Ha, I got my traveling papers to go home. |