231st Headquarters, Vung Tau, Vietnam
After a short flight from Bien Hoa we arrived at the Vung Tau Airfield. I'm not sure how we knew that. They certainly weren't telling us much. I suppose there were signs proudly announcing that this was the home of this or that aviation outfit.
We were transported a couple of miles to our new home which was actually not far from the end of the runway on which we had just landed. On the way, we passed a lot of open, dusty fields. A few plywood shacks dotted the area. If asked to describe the area, I would have to say, "wartime third world poverty".
Soon we came to a flimsy gate guarded by a South Vietnamese soldier. This was apparently the entrance to the post. There was no pavement except for the concrete sidewalks between the buildings. The living area consisted of rows of fairly new barracks that were pretty nice by Vietnam standards. Each building had two stories. We occupied three or four buildings in one row.
The barracks across the sidewalk from us belonged to another company. Inside, in typical army fashion, double bunks were placed perpendicular to the long central aisle. There was an entry/exit door at each end. The nice thing about these accommodations was that the bunks were partitioned into small two-man rooms with an entrance doorway on the aisle. There were no doors but there was still the illusion of some privacy. The outside walls were covered with screen material along the top providing good ventilation. There were a couple of lockers and a bookshelf for personal items. The bottom and top floors were the same. I figure each building housed about forty men. The showers were on the other side of the neighboring company and were large and adequate.
The outdoor latrine was located at the far end of the walkway. The walls were screen material from the waist up. Long benches provided multiple seating locations along each side. I believe it was a four hole facility. Below, fifty-five gallon drums were accessible via hinged doors from the outside.
Each morning, kerosene was added to the contents of the drums and set on fire. The resulting aroma permeated the area. We referred to the process as "burning the honey pots", as it sometimes emitted a sweet smell, but not always. It was a good time to be away from the area. Fortunately, the job was reserved for Vietnamese civilian employees. The outdoor laundry facilities were located nearby and also used fifty-five gallon drums. We hoped they were not interchangeable with the latrine drums.
The headquarters offices were in a barracks-type building at the other end of the walkway near the parking area. It was similar in size and construction to the barracks. It was filled with desks for the admin staff. It held the post office and was connected to other installations with a military telephone switchboard. The captain had a private office. The mess hall was a five minute walk through the dust. The NCO club was also nearby.
Most of our "work" was conducted at the port area which was about a mile away. I know it was a long walk in the hot sun, so transportation was normally provided. Our first few weeks were spent preparing the boats for operation, so there were initially no sleeping quarters at the port. After a few weeks, crews began to transition from the barracks to the boats and most remained there for the duration. This was a good arrangement for the troops as it gave them actual work to do and provided a less supervised environment. The biggest undertaking was constructing "hooches" on boats to serve as living quarters.