I introduced mtpyselfcas former Company Commander of US Army unit stationed at Bearcat July 69 to Jan 1970. I was just surfing the web when I saw your info about Bearcat. In The News It was a long tour and many of those girls were very beautiful. There's more than a half million veterans participating there. How Many Vietnam Veterans are Alive Today? 9th Infantry Division, Old Reliables, Vietnam War. Long Binh is now a small Vietnamese army installation and a large Industrial Park, including a High Tech Park. The memories and images that had been buried for decades became the opposite of hidden, motivating Gaynor to reorganize his life around a new mission. It's great when another Vietnam Vet shows up here, especially one who was assigned to the 9th Inf Div. Capt. Every one of those If you got that patrol, you were out all day. The 9th Infantry Division ("Old Reliables") is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army.It was created as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas.In later years, it would become an important unit of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Vietnam War.It was also activated as a peacetime readiness unit from 1947 to 1962 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort . Does anyone have info regarding Agent Orange exposure to us at Bearcat/Long Thanh location? 19 August 1LT William A. DAndrea of A Company was assigned as the Provost Marshal at Bearcat. and choppers - very tricky landing when you can't see the ground, 35) I often wondered if they were really asking: "Are you my daddy?" AAORLL's 1971. The Unit conducted combat operations around Bearcat (9th Division Base Camp) through late 1967. When it was in full fire mode the ground litterally trembled. I was with 1st Aviation Brigade at LTN which was more or less next door to Bearcat. I was a medic with the 133rd Medical Detachment at Bearcat in 1969 and 1970. The 3/60th was one of the three battalions (2/60, 3/60 . Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Paul Tilzey. He had been AWOL for 8 months and was a member of the 1st Infantry Division. Also, check out the 9th Inf Div website as well as the 9th Inf Div group on LinkedIn, Hi Phil He reached out to younger veterans who had been in Iraq and Afghanistan. Message is: Mike, If you get this drop me a line or an email. 2023 CherriesWriter - Vietnam War website, When Christopher Gaynor returned home from the Vietnam War, on Feb. 6, 1968, he didnt leave with memories alone. Bear Cat was the home of the 9th Infantry Division and its many supporting elements. This is the supply platoon area, Hq & A Co. Hello John, I was assigned to the 36th Signal in June 69. contact team sites in bad guy country, 38) These are examples of battle-damaged vehicles, 57) was spread out, but most of the multi square mile base was evacuated to about 2 miles long and a mile wide, we cleared an area out from the perimeter of On one night we had a red alert that was later called off. Podcast: What was it like to hump the boonies in Vietnam? This is a continuing project to attempt to identify and honor those members of the United States Army who sacrificed their lives while serving with the 2nd Battalion 60th Infantry 9th US Infantry Division. We would wait till about 2:00 AM to make our raids. 4) Inactivated 13 October 1970 at Fort Lewis, Washington. Spent a relatively short time at Bearcat then went to Dong Tam. 9th Medical Battalion (Divisional, 9th Infantry Division) 4 January 1967 - 18 August 1969 15th Medical Battalion (Airmobile Division, 1st Cavalry Division) 28 July 1965 - 15 April 1971 27 Nov 43 Brig. seconds. Relive & share the memories of your service time with your brothers & sisters in arms today. camp, 62) He reached out to younger veterans who had been in Iraq and Afghanistan. I truly enjoyed working with you guys for my entire year. (having health issues on my end) thanks! Sign our 2-47th Infantry Guestbook View our 2-47th Infantry Guestbook. We rode slowly entering the shade of the tall rubber trees. Other bunkers at each corner and evenly spaced along each side of the base camp were manned by junior enlisted personnel among the REMF (Rear Echelon Mother F***rs). Company A was responsible for operating provost marshal offices at Phu Loi, Bearcat and Vung Tau, and for convoy escort from Long Binh to Cu Chi-Tay Ninh, Vung Tau, Quan Loi and Phuoc Vinh. A picture of my office is on your web page. compound, 11) Scenes The first was at a bridge checkpoint and the second at the intersection of Highway QL-15 and the entrance road to the base. I am not positive the place you are getting your information, but good topic. An old warrant officer buddy got me The We flew the 02 Bird Dogs and usually put in strikes for the Thai's and the 9th. Spent the night getting rocketed, mortared, and shot at in Bien Hoa. 31 OctoberThe A Company Bearcat Detachment was still active. You will find that each site has a mix of Vietnam War photos, memorabilia, stories, etc. 101st. Good Reads streets were, improved with crushed laderite gravel and 12 August The third increment of the Royal Thai Volunteer Force Black Panther Regiment completed its deployment to Bearcat to replace the first increment, which returned to Thailand. Took the water right out of the river below and kept it up pretty much all day long. in for repair at the HQ & A Co shops at Bearcat. In 1966 the 15th Engineer Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division, who arrived in Vietnam aboard the USNS Sultan with the 720th MP Battalion, expanded and constructed new facilities at the Bearcat base. Sge also became a test platform for the new Phalanx CIWS hyperfast minigun in 1977, installed aft of the aft radar gun director. Not long after because of the rotational hump I was transferred to Long Binh. The famous F**k - you gecko lizard. We spent the first couple weeks digging trenches, filling them in and moving the tents to other areas and digging more trenches. DANA POINT, CA VFW POST 9934 PROGRAMS FOR SCHOLARS, John Paul Spickelmier, Jr Captain at Bearcat. We were all draftees and sore about being in Vietnam which others were surfing back home. Commanding General. There the 9th fought with distinction in 8 campaigns as part of the Riverine Force. This was my chopper nose art The Jayhawk on a map of Kansas People from Kansas have been An element of the 9th's rearguard, subordinate to Headquarters II Field Forces (Long Binh Post), remained at Bearcat with the Newly arrived Thai Army Black Panther Regiment that replaced the Queens Cobras who returned to Thailand. Election 2012 Writing. I got directed the chopper in as close as I could, and we got the soldier loaded and off to Long Binh and the hospital. Go to https://www.militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 70-minute video, or to see movie trailers of over 700 other military vid. WelcomeHome Brother! Have been thinking of that time and my experiences over there often these days. The series' objective approach permits viewers to form their own conclusions about the war. Korea On a visit to USA I promised his mother I would one day visit Vietnam and try to go to the place he served (he was in Vietnam for only 20 days) and to the place he was killed (Ben Cat). Other U.S. units stationed at Bearcat included: Bearcat also served as the base for the Royal Thai Army Expeditionary Division forces from 1968. The Division left Vietnam in the summer of 1969 and was inactive for 3 years. Hello Mr Heckman, We would leave post every morning and ride (north) to the defile at the temporary Baily Bridge over the Buong River first, then back up the highway (south) past the rubber plantation to the Long Than area and back again. Television I was told it was done so the guys did not go over to the Thai side of the Base looking for girls. Commanding General. They also initiated air-drops of 1,540,000 leaflets, and hand disseminated 15,347 miscellaneous pamphlets and magazines by the 246th PSYOP Company at Long Binh Post. Sunrise scenes in Bearcat. CriticalPast is an archive of historic footage. I was on the perimeter the night the Thais opened up with tracers. Somehow I was able to convince them I was an ally. Bearcat Base (also known as Bearcat, Camp Martin, Camp Cox or Long Thanh North) is a former U.S. Army base near the city of Bin Ha in ng Nai Province in southern Vietnam. GENERAL 1965-1980 A. ORANGE ON JOHNSON ATOLL . Anybody else have a similar experience? My buddy Jack Teeple is playing the guitar. Change). I was in a sapper attack while on guard duty and wrote an article for Vietnam Magazine: https://www.historynet.com/vietnam-sappers.htm Guard duty was quite dangerous, we just didn't realize how dangerous it was. This is the timeline of the 4/9 Infantry in Vietnam 1966-1970. . A total different experience. I looked at them and they all came alive again, he said. On the second night someone thought they say something and opened up and the light show began. In 1966 the 15th Engineer Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division, who arrived in Vietnam aboard the USNS Sultan with the 720th MP Battalion, expanded and constructed new facilities at the Bearcat base. Bearcat berm from outside 709th's area.Note Click above to view photos trees growing on it. At time it was unbelievably loud.One night the side of our bunker just fell way! here. Vietnam is in a good place with exception of constant aggressions from China, especially regarding Vietnam's territorial waters, fishing grounds, underwater oil fields, land border disputes/mini aggressions duch as extending southward country borders/ surrepticiously y moving border markers southward. Attacks 1967-68 by Fire 4th Infantry Division . Advanced party departed Bearcat Mar 10, 1968, with the remainder of the company to follow, for Hue Phu Bi to support the just arrived in country 101st Airborne/Airmobile Division. 31) Well, God bless you and remember that life is for the living. You almost never hear of them. The Thai Black Panther Regiment also contained a Military Police Company of one-hundred and twenty men, thirty of them who are to be assigned to the combined MP patrol operations with A Company. There wasa strip for. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I basically was a one man aerial port supporting the 9th's airlift requirements of men and supplies at the Long Thanh airfield. I dont have a box of photos, but I too got back, got out, got a job, got married and didnt give the war a backwards glance for 40+ years. Then they racked a 60 and scared the S out of me. Brought back some memories. My dad arrived at Bearcat during the Tet Offensive. Due to the ferocity and boldness of the enemy attacks, the escorts remained at Bearcat until the roadway could be cleared in the morning. III CORP TRANG SUP LONG HAI. 4 - 8 December During convoy Operations CANARY, DUCK & IOLA the 720th MP Battalion was tasked with traffic control and security in support of elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 5th & 6th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment, in support of elements of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) and 9th Infantry Divisions move from debarkation at the Port of Vung Tau to their new base camps at Long Binh and Bearcat, respectively. The 104th was still operational right to the last days of the war and Australia's withdrawn. I was there Oct 66 to Oct 67. for the 9th Inf Division during 1967. 36) I was with the 9th Div 3/34th Arty in DEC 1966 via the General William Wiegel Troop Ship. I separated from the Thai military nurses and my current wife. Div. clouds -- the rain is coming, 19) Scenes I remember all that you posted. 11 July Five MP's from the 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion were assigned to transport via aircraft, 53 enemy POW's from the Bearcat detention facility to the POW Camp at Can Tho in Phong Dinh Province in the Mekong Delta Region of IV Corps Tactical Zone. The base camp was located three miles southeast of Long Binh Post in Long Than District of Bien Hoa Province and twenty miles northeast of Saigon on the eastern side of Highway QL-15 in Corps Tactical Zone-Military Region III was part of the Saigon defensive ring. 9th Infantry Division. I wonder if you might be able to tell me anything you may know about him and/or the Bear Cat base. The vintage footage in this video has been uploaded for research purposes, and is presented in unedited form.. of Army's issues. After a month of scattered contact, action exploded again during Operation CORONADO IX on Dec. 4. I was FDC worked in the TOC. 11 May CPT Rafael Cortes-Dapena was reassigned from his position of Deputy Provost Marshal at the Bearcat Detachment. Local kids Only the three of us for 12 long hours. The two story shop/apartment would sell that tell a specific units role in the overall picture. I got elected to go to the next bunker (south I think) to tell the Queen's Cobra Thai soldiers that the alert was off. Hey. From there we were of to Bear Cat. buildings to replace the tent billets. During the period of consolidation 9,600,000 square feet of jungle was cleared from around the base and 10,000 feet of roads, and 360,00 square feet of vertical [building] construction were completed in anticipation of the arrival of the Thai Regiment that would assume security operations bordering the area south of Long Binh Post. 47) My father, a veteran of USA undeclared anti Japan war in China (1932), World War 2, and Korea was not inclined to share his terrors in mortal combat, though his photos do tell the story sufficiently for my education and expectations. Bearcat was originally a French airfield, later used by the Japanese during World War II. I normally guarded the southern portion. Bearcat was originally a French airfield, later used by the Japanese during World War II. competing was beyond me. (He is the only openly gay officer of the American Legion of whom he knows, he said.) Working on my memoir-as-epic, Spenserian poem over at WordPress. All the guys in the detachment spent a bit of time on QL-15. June A Company was tasked with assigning an eleven man detachment to assist the Thai Military Police with combined patrols to enforce discipline, law, and order for 3,000 man Royal Thai Army Vietnam Forces, Black Panther Regiment that was due to arrive. You were there about a year after I left. Had to record whose time it was to sleep. Bearcat, our remembrences, We were in Bangkok abiut 8 years ago. 2nd TAB 26th Arty. 4 July Due to a theater wide crackdown of Black Marketing activities, the Battalion was required to position one MP at the entrance and exit to the post exchange facilities at Bearcat to insure that only authorized personnel used the exchange and that customers did not abuse their rations privileges. I remember when B52 would drop miles from us it still shook the hell out of the barracks. Their area of operations was the Mekong Delta, located south of Saigon. As we drew closer we could see that something was wrong. I'd love to post photos and commentary of someone like yourself to allow others to see what has happened since we fought there. Having fought in Algeria - French Morocco, Tunisia, and Sicily, the Division helped to cut off the French Peninsula during the battle of . Then, for the last week in January, the 2-47 was sent south of the 9th Division's base camp to patrol the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. Le Vietnam. among them. world, probably. Hope to hear from some folks via my e-mail: flbowers@hotmail.com Enjoy the day and hope for tomorrow as we would always say :-). I hope that you are enjoying your time in Vietnam. resting place of two brave mice who invaded someone's, hooch one night. An Army Officer training facility is all that is left of our Blessings to all. I hope that life is treating you well. After opening the box, Gaynor began to investigate his own memories, digging out the letters he had sent home. I was a sniper in 1967 with B Co. 5th of the 60th Infantry, 9th Div. Military Working Dogs . Gen. Donald A. Stroh [Assumed command of 8th Infantry Division on 12 July 1944] Assistant Division Commander. Left country in December of 67. The next is part of a huge rubber plantation. I remember sleeping on the ground for 2 weeks while waiting for our equipment to catch up to us. Scenes Shop area Bearcat -- smoke plume indistance is This Face Book Page is dedicated to the men who served and died with the 4th/47th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division. I have an old picture taken from some 15 miles away, but one night, VC Wow, I can tell you, you never had my section. 572nd Trans Co. After opening the box, Gaynor began to investigate his own memories, digging out the letters he had sent home. I was at Bearcat from Nov.68 through Nov. 69 with the 1st CAV - Co. B, 228th (Chinook outfit). stocked here. The Water Point was overrun the night before what was to be my fourth night there. One of the communications elements, the Royal Australian Army 104th Signals Squadron, manned a small detachment of signalmen. You can see a pic of that transfer order with your name. The Saigon waterfront on the Mekong river. Bearcat was a favorite target for enemy harassment and it occurred on almost a daily routine. Dry dirt to standing water in 30 Calling artillery, Dust-offs, Locsats (location status), Sit-reps (Situation Reports) and in many cases operating in a Liaison situation between the ARVN, U.S. Military, Thai's, Kiwis (New Zealand) and Australian's in the battlefield. English: Bear Cat cantonment of the 9th Infantry Division. 61) Bearcat from the air. Co. Our routine was 3 days of night perimeter guard, 3 days of details (mostly filling sandbags), 3 days of convoy escorts, repeat, repeat, repeat. 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