Ive been to Lao about 20 times (visa run, Thailand) but mostly just the Vientiane area. Some of the most remote wilderness still left on the planet. My father was a mechanic in the USAF stationed in Taiwan. and HQ Co. 1st Marine Regt. The Thu Bon river southwest of Danang was crossed by Liberty Bridge. I was wounded May 16, 1969 at An Hoa combat base by the rocket attack and, unfortunately, your brother must have been the KIA I never knew. I have a picture of your gun with the round in the air In the early morning of March 19, 1969, a Marine combat base at Phu Loc 6 near An Hoa, He was one of 13 whose lives I had to take. The base was located approximately 28km west of Hi An and 4km west northwest of the M Sn temple complex, near to the Tnh Yn River (Thu Bn River) and the An Ha industrial complex. Only 25 kilometers west of Hoi An it is a half day trip for those who are interested in discovering a legendary US Marine Corps base. 1969, a Marine combat base at Phu Loc 6 near An Hoa, A Portrait of HM2 Bobby Ray, Heroic Doc of Liberty Bridge, Strategic This includes, but not limited to: The Arizona, The Phu Lacs, Liberty Bridge, Duc Duc, Antenna Valley, The Indian Country, Go Noi Island, Dodge City, Henderson Hill, Mau Chanh and the Que Son Mountains of South Vietnam. I came to visit the vendor shed sometimes and remembered there were a nice big ship docking near the liberty bridge. The Antenna Valley is located across the pass to the west from the Que Son Valley. I arrived at An Hoa on 25 January, 1967. I remember the constant rocket strikes and the base being overrun on May 7 and F 2/5 Dan Bullocks death that evening. Alligator lake was over the small ridge to the southeast near Go Noi island. In the act of saving this Marines life Ray ultimately sacrificed his own. Hue would be just East of the A Shau valley border with Lao). GENERAL ORDERS: CITATION: The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Hospital Corpsman Second Class David Robert Ray (NSN: B-308634), United States Navy . Getting to the base is very easy. Bill. A tour of Naval Hospital Long Beach followed. I had seven days left in my tour when it happened. Dr. Faust, I was with you and Dr. Donald Turner, DDS on the medcap that day. North of the river are also located Hill 65 and Hill 37 in Dai Loc, the remnants of the Victory Bridge are just a few kilometers north east of the base. Vietnam 1968. Say, trying to confirm the name of the CO for 2/5. Many children killed. That night the orphanage was mortared and VC tried to get through our lines at An Hoa. I went on that Medcap with you at the Buddhist Orphanage. Even if you try to access that area from N.E. I was there with you. I am sorry for his passing. I read subsequent to that that some made it, at least one died. He kept coming and kept coming, making like he was drinking from the can, and he wouldnt put it down. Ray performed his duties as his units life line with great pride earning their respect while on patrol and on each successive search and destroy operation. see less All the area operation data has been unclassified and easy to Google. But you were there fall of 69 so we didnt cross paths but its nice to see someone else who was at An Hoa and especially a radio relay man. He even fought off an attack of two NVA soldiers before he himself was wounded. Liberty Bridge was constructed and located at coordinates AT 923532, in Dai Loc District, Quang Nam Province. Semper Fi. Also, I could occasionally rotate out to the Command Post to serve with the Marines in the field. Images of VietNam I Corps - marzone.com Their goal was to first overrun, then annihilate the fledgling base. We came to a 1000 meter rice paddy near the village of Vinh Huy. Visions never leave my Ming. Not a nice place slept with flack jacket and helmet all the time ! Grim Reaper 14 was the ground unit call sign requesting the medevac. 2/5 left for Hue and we thought we would be overrun. We never slept even when not in the bush. An airfield in Dong Ha and Liberty Bridge south of Da Nang were on the Seabees' endless "to do" list. This web site brought back old memories. The second Vietnam deployment was to Da Nang in March 1967. By the way I was: 1st Bn 5th Mar Div H&S Co 81 Mor Plt. Amphibian tractors arrived and added the weight of their machine guns to the battle. What Was The Significance Of The American Victory At The Battle Of Saratoga In October 1777. Thanx. The mess tent was kind of toward the end of the runway if I remember correctly and had lots of dust blow through it 19-March-69, FSB Phu Loc 6 . The book is replete with battle maps, seldom-seen photos, an array of. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Makes me cry! Overall we really recommend a visit to this old base. First vehicle over the new Liberty Bridge!! - YouTube Nice to see a post from you on An Hoa, Took a swim to cool off while on sand bag duty. Never saw a hospital. https://youtube.com/watch?v=PIm5nVFFcwU&feature=share, I was on the south end of the runway. Get on a rented motorbike if you have a drivers license or take a taxi out here. From April to September 1967 Seabees of Mobile Construction Battalion 4 built a 2,040 feet (620 m) "Liberty bridge" (T Do bridge, now the Giao Thy bridge) over the Thu Bn river. BUMED Archives. I was at An Hoa from 68-69. Good talking to you,take care and Semper Fi. Did we meet during the time between your arrival and my departure from An Hoi ? Countless of operations were launched to clear the areas and small firebases were established all across the place. They left 17 of us to guard what was left on 2/5 base We could hear orphans screaming but could not help. When I look back I cant but wonder how we as a countty could have allowed that war to continue. Liberty Bridge-Longest Timber Bridge in Vietnam at 2,040 Feet and 35ft Above the Thu Bon River. My dad worked in the SVN administration office below the french fort, hill 37. Yes, the German hospital was outside the gate on the way up to Liberty Bridge. The war was tragic, my thoughts don't need inspiration. Was with MAG (Marine Air Group) 16 at AnHoa April of 70 til we abandoned the place in August/September of 70 Nobody knows who he was. Over time the need also grew for more permanent presence in order to pacify these areas. In 1966, this small hill was the dominant terrain Done. This area was patrolled by my platoon during 1967 and 1968. Viet Nam, Summer-Fall 1969 Campaign 09June69 to 31Oct69 Liberty Bridge, Que Sons, An Hoa 1969 Vietnam Service Medal Criteria The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served at any time between July 4, 1965, and March 28, 1973, in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspa. Dr Donald Turner DDS and I. I have a pictures of that Medcap. One of the last Air Traffic Controllerswatched a CH53 hook up to our control tower (actually a box about 6x6x6 feet) I was in E Co. weapons platoon ( guns) I went to graves registry in DaNang to identify his body. . Harvey Watson was killed there. I was in An Hoa with CBMU 301 from Aug 69 to Aug 70, Hi Jim, I came down with Alpha Co when we first established our camp after being on the advance party at Dong Ha we set up at the North End of the runway.. The people on the ship had colorful magazines of naked ladies The Liberty Bridge is a pedestrian friendly bridge that would connect Jersey City to Manhattan. Ahhh the Memories!!! Going though some of his papers and found his Navy Achievement Medal with a V . Also included is a map from J.C. Bowers which shows Mike Company's base camp's location from October '67 to March of '68. SEMPER-FI. When he started coming in, he had a Coca-Cola in his hand and was making like he was drinking it. So proud of my Pop. I have a hard time accepting it. He Died a Marine. Leatherneck Magazine, October 1974. My aid gunner in my squad. Terry, Denny and I are standing right where the stage would have been. Plan. I was there when Dan Bullock was KIA. The battle raged for five hours, during which the Marines threw back four attack waves. We left An Hoa for Phu Bai on 16 January 1968. The day the doc released me from the hospital, I went on an ambush patrol that same night.. I was there March69 when Phu -loc 6 was over run. Combined Action Platoon (CAP) 2-9-1, positioned in the hamlet of Mau Chanh (2), about a kilometer east of the base, lay in the path of the attack. I was with the command group, Capt. Was an artillery battery beside us. Not sure how true it was, but do know that for the next three days/nights we lit up the valley with air strikes, 175mm Cannon and even the New Jersey firing from the Gulf. I remember you ,Webster , Star ,Gunny Flanagan and the Lee Marvin fellow but not his name ,he was a kick. September, 1985 | The Official Mike Barnicle Website Despite heavy loss of blood, Ray managed to crawl through the barrage of enemy fire to assist another fallen Marine, shielding him from a grenade blast. Can anyone tell me about the disposition of Hill 300. According to Garcia, "we were transitioning from Hill 37, An Hoa to Hill 51, on an operation to Liberty Bridge". There was a refugee camp at Duc-Duc near the river between An- Hoa and Liberty Bridge that was later over run . Hill 300 (Razorback Ridge) was in Northern I Corps West of Camp Carrol and from what I gather, it is nearly flattened due to the Vietnamese mining of the rock for roads and other construction. What marine units were on Hill 55 in Vietnam? It was in 1968 while at Long Beach that Ray learned of the Tet Offensive and the growing challenges in Vietnam. Golden Bridge, also known as the Giant Hand Bridge is located on the top of Nui Chua Mountain, Ba Na Hills, Da Nang. Liberty Bridge is long gone There in 2000. I was at An Hoa with India Co. 3/5,from 8/68 to 10/68,I transferred to CAP. Operation Taylor Common was a search and destroy operation conducted by Task Force Yankee, a task force of the 1st Marine Division supported by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), southwest of Hi An from 6 December 1968 to 8 March 1969. http://www.marzone.com/7thMarines/Vn5500.htmhttps://www.seabee-rvn.com/Bridges/Liberty-Bridge/http://dennislathamfiction.blogspot.com/2006/08/vietnam-liberty-bridge.html?m=1http://1-5vietnamveterans.org/15-combat-ops/https://books.google.com.vn/books?id=YN1RDwAAQBAJ\u0026pg=PA178\u0026lpg=PA178\u0026dq=liberty+bridge+Vietnam\u0026source=bl\u0026ots=rdUdHu273U\u0026sig=ACfU3U03Qy55U0spK0AjFgbZvRuMbTzAmA\u0026hl=vi\u0026sa=X\u0026ved=2ahUKEwjdpfygzb_lAhWFd94KHZnMA8o4ChDoATAHegQIAxAB#v=onepage\u0026q=liberty%20bridge%20Vietnam\u0026f=falsehttps://books.google.com.vn/books?id=NxAiZsLSrhoC\u0026pg=PA139\u0026lpg=PA139\u0026dq=liberty+bridge+Vietnam\u0026source=bl\u0026ots=YxuAb4JnDy\u0026sig=ACfU3U1VelKurAzqrOtpeY2JEJGVukMsFg\u0026hl=vi\u0026sa=X\u0026ved=2ahUKEwjdpfygzb_lAhWFd94KHZnMA8o4ChDoATAJegQIARAB#v=onepage\u0026q=liberty%20bridge%20Vietnam\u0026f=false I ended up in Hue City, where I got hit for the third time during my tour of duty. When I got the Purple Heart, I was jumping out of a helicopter during Operation Forsythe Grove. Then the entire hedgerow came alive with NVA fire. Beautiful country Laos. Hard to believe Liberty Bridge, An Hoa look so different, not much left. Im doing some research on his time in-country. I also worked in 5th Marines COC I was with Echo also 67-68 Oct to March when evaced out of country. I dont have any of the information you seek but, I would like the same info, if you come across it I hope we can share it. 2nd Marine Brigade. I was at An Hoa for much of 1967. An Hoa Combat Base - Wikipedia Ha! The runway is in decent condition and is possible to drive on. Hi all. Lenny from Brooklyn (L) and David Tabaka (R) on patrol in An Hoa Valley, Qung Nam Province. We were young, dumb and lived on borrowed time. As his tour in Vietnam came to a close Ray requested an extension which was granted on March 4, 1969. After that our nights were spent in a bunker on the runway until I left for home in February. First impressions are forged early in Marine units and those who served alongside Ray took note of his dedication and great humility. The hill is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northeast of the confluence of the Yen, Ai Nghia, and La Tho Rivers and was a United States Marine Corps base during the Vietnam War. Simper Fi Leo, I was with F 2/11 1st Mar in the first quater of 69 stationed in An Hoa on the 105s then we went from hill to hill to support the grunts. Hi Marine, I was a radio relay tech at An Hoa from About August or September 1968 to June 1969. Liberty Bridge 1 was built by the US SeaBees in the 1960's it was the longest wooden bridge in southeast asia. I think of An Hoa every day of my life want to say SEMPER FI to all who served there. 5 faves. Any chance you knew or remember him? An Hoa Valley, Qung Nam Province. A piece of hot metal went right through my kneecap and left a big hole, which is still there today. There was all so 9 Marines hit by the rocket. Iv talked with some of the Marines I was with but most have Passed on. It was built to enable the Marines to move men and material across the Song Thu Bon south to An Hoa or to a jump off point for Operations to be conducted on Go Noi Island. Principal Address at USS David Ray Christening, 13 October 1975. BUMED Archives. Her bomb shelter, her livestock, her food stock was destroyed. Ray was awarded a scholarship to the University of Tennessee in 1963, but this same sense of service weighed heavily on him. Good for you! 704 791 2768. I thought maybe I would escape the rest of the War, but that was wishful thinking. 3/1 comm. Yep, 3/26 led the attack into the Northern Bunker Complex at the end of Meade River.