34 Life History --- Serving in Vietnam - Volunteering to Stay Longer; Touring Saigon

orders to hop planes to Europe

I enjoyed my job in Don Duong, and nobody was shooting at me, so I volunteered to stay an extra six months beyond my required year.  I also wanted to be a captain, so the promotion and Vietnam tour extension necessitated my signing up for a third year in the army beyond my required (from ROTC) two years.  My extra six months in Vietnam earned me a free transportation 30-day excursion anywhere in the world, so I chose to go to Europe.  I received my promotion orders on the way through Cam Ranh Bay, pinned on my captain’s bars, flew to Saigon, where I spent a day sightseeing while waiting for a flight, then flew to Bangkok.  After a couple hours there, I flew to New Delhi India, the Istanbul airport, then to London.

pictures of Saigon

33 Life History -- Serving in Vietnam - Nha Trang

Each month I had to go to Nha Trang to pick up the payroll. I usually traveled by myself. It took me most of a day to get there and a day to get back.

26 Life History --- Serving in Vietnam --Landing in Viet Nam - Cam Ranh Bay Headquarters

I first landed at Cam Ranh Bay.

32 Life History --- Serving in Vietnam - Building a Road

We built roads and bridges. We were not in the combat area.

31 Life History --- Serving in Viet Nam -- Dalat

I occasionally traveled to Dalat, another of the very nicest Vietnamese cities, which was a little higher in the mountains northwest of Don Duong.  The temperature in our area was hot, but it was still a lot cooler than down in the coastal areas.  After an excursion to Cam Ranh Bay we always enjoyed returning to the mountains.  I spent my last couple months with another engineering battalion at Phu Bai in the north, near the old imperial capital of Hue.

30 Life History --- Serving in Viet Nam - Travel

I was next assigned to be the battalion’s civilian personnel officer (CPO).  We hired a lot of native Vietnamese to help in our road building.  I was in charge of hiring them and paying them monthly.  I had to travel to Nha Trang, north of Cam Ranh Bay and one of the nicest Vietnamese cities, each month to pick up the payroll.

29 Life History --- Serving in Vietnam- Villages

Vietnam Villages I Visited

Central area

28 Life History --- Serving in Viet Nam - Building a Bridge

 The highlight of my supply career was riding in the big Sikorski ‘sky crane’ helicopters to transport large I-beams for a bridge we were building at the battalion’s other camp about twenty miles south of Don Duong.  I also got to fly in some smaller helicopters and a small plane.

27 Life History --- Serving in Viet Nam -- First assignment - Tuy Hoa and Don Duong

On the way to Vietnam I visited the folks, then went to Salt Lake City to do research at the Genealogical Library.  I also got my Patriarchal Blessing from the Patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint. I stayed with the Kalunkis whom I knew from Fort Benning.  

Then I boarded the plane at Fairfield CA, stopped at Honolulu during the night, and arrived at Saigon the next day.  I was anxious but excited.  After a couple days at Saigon, I flew to my first assignment at Tuy Hoa, north of Cam Ranh Bay.  My engineering battalion, the 577th,  was building a road which we called I577.  A couple months later the battalion was transferred to Don Duong in the mountains just west of Cam Ranh Bay.  We built a base camp right below the Don Duong dam.  I was the supply officer for several months and frequently traveled down the winding mountain road to transact supply business at Cam Ranh Bay.  

I arrived as a 2nd Lieutenant and made Captain right before I left.