BY: Bob Anisko
The following four part story (actually three) identifies the
beginning and subsequent memories of someone who can first remember hearing of “French Indochina”
when he was about seven years old. Little did this person know
that he would twice serve in this “exotic” geographic area, and then return
there more than 30 years later. That someone was me.
PART I (1963)
In 1961, after completing the Air Police School
at Lackland AFB, I was sent to Tachikawa Air Base, Japan.
Sometime in late December 1962, 10 of us were sent TDY for 90 days to a
place called Vietnam. I remember the names of 3 persons who went
to Vietnam with me: Harvey R. Clark, George B. Hill, and Robert
M. Cruz.
We first flew into Clark Air Base on an airlines
called Southern Air Transport which had some of the cutest looking flight
attendants. After a few days at Clark, and Angeles City, we took
off on a C-130 and first landed in a place called Bien Hoa before going on
to our final destination of Tan Son Nhut (located near a little city called
Saigon). Little did I know that I would be returning to Bien Hoa
for a PCS tour in 1964. When we arrived at Tan Son Nhut, we were
assigned to the 6220th Air Base Squadron Air Police, which probably was the
predecessor of the 377th Security Police.
At this time, there were probably less than
10,000 Americans in-country, and no combat troops other than Special Forces,
helicopter pilots and USAF pilots. The duty was fantastic.
At this time, not much was going on except for the coups which finally
resulted in the assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother Ngo
Dinh Ngu. The famous Dragon Lady was in vogue.
The things I remember most were:
carrying World War II carbines while racks of M-16s were not used; USAF
pilots were flying A1E Skyraiders with Vietnamese Air Force markings; going
on a “joy ride” with an Army Caribou to all kinds of Mekong Delta towns; a
typhoon coming in unannounced and flipping planes on their back; sitting at
the end of the Tan Son Nhut runway guarding RF-101 Voodoos and watching Pan
Am 707's crank up for a very quick takeoff; many trips into Saigon to enjoy
its “fruits”; and going to a place called Bangkok for the first of 3 R&Rs.
What a place to spoil an 18 year old. Every time I
think of Bangkok I smile. When I do this, my wife of 30 years,
Zosia, (Polish for Sophia) asks why I am smiling. I just smile
again. I went to Bangkok with a guy named Paul Larochelle.
I believe that he also joined me on a trip to Japan. I
haven’t heard of him since. I wonder if he is still smiling.
Things were so good in these days that 3 of us
extended for another 90 days before returning to Japan in June 1963.
PART II (1964-1965)
After returning to Tachikawa in 1963, I knew
that Vietnam was in my blood. I knew that I was scheduled to
return to the states in 1964, which I didn’t want to do, so I volunteered to
return to Vietnam. I got my wish. I received orders
that I would get a PCS to Vietnam. The orders read:.
34th Tactical Group, APO 96227, which translated to Bien Hoa.
Upon arrival at Bien Hoa in May 1964, I was
assigned to the 34th Air Base Squadron Air Police, which I believe was the
predecessor of the 3rd Security Police.. Again, things were kind
of slow during this period, that is until November 1964 when Charlie decided
to pay Bien Hoa a visit.. I’ll discuss that later.
Some of my more vivid memories of Bien Hoa were:
USAF pilots who were now flying US marked aircraft; we were now
deploying with M-16 rifles and M-60 machine guns; while we were guarding the
ammo dump near the old French fort, we were guarded by a Vietnamese K-9
handler - the only problem was that he was sleeping under a mosquito net,
his dog was tied up to the ammo boxes, and his rifle was lying on the ground;
watching the U-2s, and C-130 aircraft with the reconnaissance drones under
their wings take off and return. (In those days, we all wondered
where they went. When we asked, we were told “Top Secret”.
A hint: The Stars and Stripes reported that a “pilotless U2” was shot
down over Red China); 2 more R&R trips to Bangkok; and a number of junkets
for various reasons to Nha Trang, Da Nang, Pleiku, Du Co, Ban Me Thuot, and
Gia Nghia.
The true wake up call came in November 1964.
The USAF had just brought in the “new” B-57 jet bombers.
After watching all the propeller planes, the jets really seemed like
something, even if they were small. I think they caught Charlie’s
attention because before very long his mortar team came by and paid their
respects by blowing the hell out of the B-57 pad. The finger of
the future had been pointed.
Then in April 1965, just a couple of weeks
before I was to come back to the states, four of us were sent TDY to Qui
Nhon to guard some A1E aircraft. I believe that we also guarded
Madame K’s place of business. The other 3 persons were Ron Pounds,
Gerald Lummus, and Jim Starling. I wonder what happened to them.
Charlie’s Welcome Wagon wasn’t far behind. He
mortared the billets we were at. Can you beat that hospitality?
PART III (1998)
Not withstanding the fact that 33 years had
gone by since I left Vietnam, Vietnam never left my psyche (and probably
never will). I thought about returning to see what it was like,
and most reports by people who traveled there were favorable. I
decided to make the trip. All I had to do was convince my wife
to make the trip with me.
I started by asking my wife if she would like
to go on an exotic vacation to a place with lots of sandy beaches.
After she said yes, I told her where we were going. Her eyes said
it all and her affection really grew as she got all of her shots.
We first stopped in Tokyo for a couple of days
and visited Tachikawa Air Base which is now totally run by the Japanese.
No USAF forces were present. We then took off for
Bangkok. It was kind of strange to hear the Northwest pilot state
that we were now flying over Da Nang and would shortly be over Laos.
We then landed in Bangkok. Don Muang was as I remembered it,
but there were no USAF aircraft visible, as there had been in the 1960s.
After a couple of days in Bangkok and Phuket (a resort south of
Bangkok on the Andaman Sea), it was off to deja vu.
As the Thai Airbus approached Tan Son Nhut, I
could see the Saigon (oops Ho Chi Minh city) skyline in the distance.
I didn’t remember the tall buildings that now dotted the skyline.
I immediately wanted to take photos of Tan Son Nhut, but the flight
attendants cautioned against it for security reasons. I would
have to wait until later. The most striking feature of Tan Son
Nhut, other than it now being called Tan Son Nhat, were the bunkers which
didn’t exist when I was there and the old dilapidated hangar which did exist
when I was there. We cleared customs with no problems and stepped
outside into the madness of the cab drivers wanting your business.
And then there was the heat, which with the smells brought the far distant
past rapidly into the present. Luckily, our tour guide met us
with his air conditioned van.
It was now time to become a tourist.
On the first night, we had a dinner cruise on the Saigon River.
It was mainly westerners on the cruise with all of the Vietnamese on their
bicycles and motorcycles watching us. The next day we were off to
Tay Ninh, Cu Chi, and Vung Tau. It was a long day with the heavy
traffic and pollution. At Tay Ninh, we visited the Cao Dai Temple
and saw the Black Lady (Black Virgin) Mountain. At Cu Chi, we
visited the tunnels. After the visit, to the tunnels, my wife
decided that she would not like to return to Vietnam for a second
“vacation”. At Vung Tau, where I paid a brief visit in 1963, we
went on top of Jesus Mountain which had a large statue of Christ, and an
excellent view of the surrounding area. I don’t know how much
water I lost after climbing 0ver 900 steps to get to the top.
The next day we were off to Bien Hoa. We
passed through Long Thanh and Long Binh, the latter of which I never heard
of in my time at Bien Hoa. A part of Long Binh is now an
industrial park while the other part is manned by the Vietnamese Army.
Finally, we arrived at Bien Hoa. I really didn’t remember
the town, and the hooches that I remember couldn’t be found. We
got to the main gate of Bien Hoa, but we couldn’t get in because the base
was now manned by the Vietnamese Air Force. The old water and
radar tower were still visible. After coming so far, I was
disappointed that we couldn’t get onto the base. Maybe another time.
The last day was spent in Saigon. We
visited the old Presidential Palace (now called Reunification Hall), the
Saigon Cathedral, the old Congress building (now an arts center), and the
site of the old US Embassy. It is now torn down and will be
replaced by a new US Consulate. We also drove around Cholon where
I had spent many fine evenings. Then the time came to leave.
It was at this time that I took some pictures of Tan Son Nhut.
As we took off for Bangkok, I knew that I would like to return to
Vietnam again. As noted, my wife didn’t share this view.
She stated that next time, I would have to go alone or with some
friends. Any takers?
In spite of not getting onto Bien Hoa, the trip
was fantastic. I would highly recommend a trip back to anyone who
is so inclined. Everyone treated us great. But I swear
they are more capitalists than communists. Uncle Ho is definitely
spinning in his grave. Watch your wallet because they still do
love the dollar.
PART IV (EPILOGUE)
As noted, Vietnam has become a part of me and
will never go away. It has helped my career which led me to
becoming a Pennsylvania State Policeman (now retired), a security
administrator at a nuclear research and development facility (current), and
concurrently still being in the US Army Reserves as a Military Police
Officer. (I can’t believe that I’m still in, now approaching 30
years after having been out for 9 years). The Reserve has also
provided me with some nice additional “vacations” to Holland, Honduras, and
Korea.
I’d like to conclude this article with two
small stories related to my time in Vietnam. The stories really
show how Vietnam, which happened so long ago, sometimes meets up with the
future. The first story relates to meeting a Vietnam acquaintance
years after leaving Vietnam. As noted, I left Vietnam in April
1965. In 1968, I was hired by the Pennsylvania State Police and
was sent for my first assignment to a small town named Mercer. As
I was sitting in a training class, I noticed another one of the Troopers who
looked familiar, but I couldn’t recognize him. I then asked him
if I knew him. It then hit both of us. His name was
Kenny Will from Erie, Pennsylvania, and we were the best of drinking buddies
at Bien Hoa. Our drinking togetherness continued for a long time
after that initial encounter. Ken left the State Police a few
years later and I haven’t heard from him since. It would be good
to see him again.
The second story relates to how something that
happened to me in Vietnam in 1965 “almost” happened again in 1996.
In 1996, I was on a small US Army 2 engine, propeller driven aircraft flying
from Pittsburgh to Fort Pickett, Virginia. I was invited to take
the trip by our 2 star Commanding General who was also on the aircraft.
On our way back to Pittsburgh, I was day dreaming and looking our of
the window. The General asked me what I was thinking about.
I related that the last time that I had flown on a 2 engine propeller
aircraft was in Vietnam. It was a C-123 returning from Da Nang to
Tan Son Nhut. He asked me why I remembered that. I
stated that as I was looking out of the window of the C-123, and I could
tell that something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Then it hit me. One of the 2 propellers was not turning.
However, we did land safely. The US Army aircraft
also returned safely. However, a month later, the General was
flying again in the same aircraft. I wasn’t on the aircraft this
time. Guess what happened? Yes, one of the engines
quit turning, but luckily it too landed safely. I wonder why I
haven’t been invited back for another ride since.
Best of Luck to Everyone.
Author: Bob Anisko