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CRB Rocket Attacks


Spectre623
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Been thinking about the greatest adventure of my life lately (i.e. my time in Vietnam as a C-130 CC) and the question bubbled to the top....where did you guys go or hide when we had rocket attacks while you were on the flight line or your plane at Cam Rahn Bay? I don't remember ANY bunkers near the flight line. I know what I did when the rockets were coming in, which was to hug a piece of AGE equipment in the revetment and pray, but wondered about all the rest of the maint and flight crews who were caught on the flight line and what you did to try to protect yourselves. I know about the barracks, maint control and CC shack but what about on the open F/L. By the way that pic to the left of this post is me on my Herk 956 in the revetment at CRB sans bunkers ha ha. Bill

Edited by Spectre623
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The one and only time I was on the ground at CRB during a rocket attack we got airborne in record time. The loadmaster and I had just arrived when it started. I closed the gear doors, got the nose gear downlock. The O's showed and we started that beauty and took off. The tower told us the field was closed and they were leaving the tower. Any way we all lived to tell about it.

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Bill,

I went through one rocket attack at Tan Son Nhut. I don't remember any bunkers there, either. I remember I was doing some work on my B-model on Rebel Ramp when the rockets started coming in. A C-123 pilot grabbed me and put me in the right seat and said we were taxiing all the C-130's across the runway to the bomb dump. We moved 4 or 5 airplanes that night, including a couple of C-123's. Not the first time I silently questioned the logic of the command post weenies.

Don R.

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There was a bunker close to the maintenance hanger at CRB. However, that didn't mean you would make it. We had a TSgt Buck Miller in Radar that ran for the bunker during a rocket attack and didn't make it. He had serious head injuries and ended up in the hospital in Japan for about 6 months. They had to put a steel plate in his head and he had to wear a helmet every time he went on the flightline at Naha. He would have seizures and would just have to lay down in the floor until they passed. He left Naha and I never heard from him after that. Always wondered what happened to him.

Gary Robinson

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We were parked in the fuel depot at DaNang once when they rocketed. I ran to the bunker as we were the middle aircraft with no way out. The bunker entrance was on the back side and you had to come around to the front to actually get in. I made it over the top on the front side; which was probably 6 or 7 feet. Over the years that wall has grown to pole vaulting heights. The rockets landed to our left where they parked the psych birds.

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Bill,

Somehow I read this thread with intentions to reply to it but somehow I forgot to get back to it and my mind wandered some. I hear this is a common ailment amongst us older fellows.!! As far as bunkers on the flight line, I don't remember seeing any either. I do remember taking off running for the headquarters/control building when heard the sirens. Of course from my experiences the sirens always went off after the rockets had hit somewhere on the base!! I do remember jumping on the expediter truck and we headed for some sandbags near the far end of the revetments. I think it would be the end furthest away from the buildings. One time while I was there while stationed at CCK a number of rockets hit right down the taxiway between revetments. Right on the painted line. The patched holes (4 or 5) were there until I left over there! A Tsgt. from CCK was driving the radio truck that night and got hit in the ass (can't think of a better word) the shrapnel also made a big gash in the status board on the console! His name was Tyner. (he is on the blanket orders in my gallery).

One attack hit just as I was boarding the bus going to Herky Hill after I launched my plane. I about got flattened by the passengers on the bus scattering for the bunker under the MACV building!! I saw those rockets hit in the sand just short of the terminal and up at the chow hall on Herky Hill.

Now back to your question, I think the best place to keep from getting hit was to get behind on of the broken MD-3's sitting in the corner of the revetment!

Thanks for listening

Ken

As far as Tyner's posterior wounds, I don't think he ever reported them or went to the dispensary! He wasn't interested in a Purple Heart or any attention!!

Edited by Mt.crewchief
brain-fart
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Bill, being in the electric shop hence the sparkchaser nickname, CRB is where i cut my baby teeth learning to play double deck pinocle in our converted trailer "shop"on the flt line in the rear of the trailer were swinging doors used to jump down and dive into a bunker we had facing the bay area where a few times the VC would come down in their sampans and try and light us up. That and when we would take some 122's rockets fired at the flt line from the hills. I also remember a time at TSN when I went out to work on a herk and was rushed off because the CC found a booby trapped grenade during his post flight. Funny, the bird had just landed with some hog tied VC and the renowned south vietnamese QC guarding them always made me wonder how the damn thing got the hidden in the dual rails? Of course at TSN we had rebel ramp with some sand bags by the revetments. Bill you do have it right "The greatest adventure of my life" and met the greatest people I would ever know! Thanks for the memories Cap

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As far as Tyner's posterior wounds, I don't think he ever reported them or went to the dispensary! He wasn't interested in a Purple Heart or any attention!!

Ken,

During the rocket attack I mentioned at TSN, we had a crew chief named Pringle who was changing a MLG tire. He cut his hand during the attack and went to the dispensary. Got a Purplre Heart for it! I didn't think then ,nor do I think now that that was the intention of the Purple Heart.

Don R.

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I wasn't at Tan Son Nhut long (month and a half or so) but it seems like there was a parking pad called "Hot Spot" Located close to an ammo dump? Maybe somebody can confirm or debunk my memory. I dont remember any bunkers or having been breifed about any either. The Electric Shop had lockers containing helmets aqnd flak jackets and I had a card issued giving permission to retreive an M16 from the weapons locker if I needed it. Fortunately, I didn't need to use the card because I was never told where the weapons locker was !

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  • 2 weeks later...

SW Asia instead of SE Asia

Sitting on the ramp at Dhahran, waiting for the prime mover to push an engine into the plane so the load and I can tie it down and all of a sudden the kid driving the prime mover gets off and runs away. Load and I look at each other and give the shrug shoulders thing and after a couple minutes the two of us finish loading. When were done, I give the old fifty foot off the nose to smoke three or four smokes and do told data and WHAM a bunch of scud junk lands about two hundred yards away.

Apparently they had some kind of alarm that the two of us didn't hear (pilots were off getting their happy meals).

I also got forgot at Tinker once, out the very end of the line and look out the cockpit winders and looks like the line is empty cause all the other 16 or so planes were dark, its starting to get windy so I need to close the bird up and when I am back closing the galley door I hear something that sounds a whole lot like a C5 taxiing by. Well I go back up to the flight deck and sit down, a couple minutes later I see the expediter truck zooming out to my bird.

It seems everybody was evac'd for a tornado warning, they forgot about me and the C5 I heard was that damn tornado going right by the tail of my bird

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Been thinking about the greatest adventure of my life lately (i.e. my time in Vietnam as a C-130 CC) and the question bubbled to the top....where did you guys go or hide when we had rocket attacks while you were on the flight line or your plane at Cam Rahn Bay? I don't remember ANY bunkers near the flight line. I know what I did when the rockets were coming in, which was to hug a piece of AGE equipment in the revetment and pray, but wondered about all the rest of the maint and flight crews who were caught on the flight line and what you did to try to protect yourselves. I know about the barracks, maint control and CC shack but what about on the open F/L. By the way that pic to the left of this post is me on my Herk 956 in the revetment at CRB sans bunkers ha ha. Bill

Here is a picture of a bunker just off the flight line at CRB. I took this picture in 1967.

Sonny

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Neat pic of the bunker Sonny, I sure didn't know about it in 69-70. What part of the F/L was it on? That was a big ramp at CRB. For some reason my bird was always parked on the far row near the taxiway fatherest from the crew chief shack. Bill

I never saw that one either Bill! Of course I never heard of a crew chief shack either!! The bunker near the ALCE building looked somewhat like that but I don't remember it having a top on it! Do any of you guys have a pic of the crew chief shack? Also, where did we report to work when we were stationed there on a 60 or 120 day TDY? Maybe that was the crew chief shack!

Ken

Edited by Mt.crewchief
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Well, I'm starting to feel like a dummy, but I have never heard of a Class 6! Maybe I knew what it was by a different name!! You know after going to CRB for part of every year (67, 68, 69, & 70) on TDY's or on inputs , I only knew several places that were always in the same place. The flight line, the ALCE building where we signed in when we got there on inputs, the terminal, and after 1967, Herky Hill! In 67, I stayed on the main base in a quonset hut. Herky Hill might have been there but I didn't know it!! Every time I went to CRB in those 4 years there was something new that wasn't there the last time I was there. I think that was especially true with the bunkers! They seemed to be everywhere you looked except the one I remember out towards the end of the taxi way was the only one I knew about on the flight-line. I also saw no revetments in 67 (Dec), and where we parked we just parked nose to nose with other A-models from Naha and Tachi. Possibly some B-models from the PI also!!

I think I was there, (???)

Ken

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Well, I'm starting to feel like a dummy, but I have never heard of a Class 6! Maybe I knew what it was by a different name!! You know after going to CRB for part of every year (67, 68, 69, & 70) on TDY's or on inputs , I only knew several places that were always in the same place. The flight line, the ALCE building where we signed in when we got there on inputs, the terminal, and after 1967, Herky Hill! In 67, I stayed on the main base in a quonset hut. Herky Hill might have been there but I didn't know it!! Every time I went to CRB in those 4 years there was something new that wasn't there the last time I was there. I think that was especially true with the bunkers! They seemed to be everywhere you looked except the one I remember out towards the end of the taxi way was the only one I knew about on the flight-line. I also saw no revetments in 67 (Dec), and where we parked we just parked nose to nose with other A-models from Naha and Tachi. Possibly some B-models from the PI also!!

I think I was there, (???)

Ken

I walk off the aircraft in CRB and there on base was three friends from New york i knew growing up...........small world..........thats y i knew about the store and a few other places..........

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Ken the crew chief shack was a 2 story building close to job control. Bottom floor was a lartine for the area and top floor was a flop house for crew chiefs waiting for their bird to land and the unassigned (55 day rotaters) APG's waiting to be snagged for rigging and other jobs. There may have been some spec. who hung out there too, don't remember. It had ac and a crappy TV that got Armed Forces TV shows and some ragged out chairs, sofas, etc. Not a fun place. Bill

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There must have been some sort of check-in procedure when you arrived. I don't remember any. It just seemed like work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, drink beer, etc...

I was there in 67 & 68 from Naha, 41st TAS. I have a photo of the movie theater, though. I will post it later. I crewed A models. Posted CRB Theater Photo.

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