Experienced
radio operators
not the guys who just arrived in country -- used
PENS, not pencils.
Do you know why??
Because
there is more friction when using a pencil!!
A pen required less effort to write.
Although not significant for a short period
of time, this became a fatigue factor over
several/many hours of copying code!!
Thanks
Gary
Gia Vuc Commo Bunker
1966/67
Gia
Vuc Commo bunker was a vital part of the camps defences and was situated in the
inner perimeter close to the US team house. The bunker was restricted to
US personnel only and double up as a Tactical Operation Centre (if/when required).
This was built under ground with a set of steps and doorway leading to a single
room crammed with radios. This allowed the team to contact USSF headquarters in
Nha Trang, their C team in Da Nang, other A-camps in the I Corps together with approaching aircraft and
nearby patrols. One of the US camp Radio operators would sleep there when not on duty or patrol. Main antenna
was mounted on the bunker with secondary antenna in the adjacent areas.
Aerial photo of the inner perimeter showing the team house (long building towards the top of the photo) and the Commo bunker (in the
centre covered in grass).
It is interesting to notice that the Dodge M37B1 3/4 ton truck and the water trailer are position in the same location as photo below, photos come from two different sources
View of the team house from the top of the Commo Bunker
Top of the Commo Bunker looking west towards
Top of the Commo bunker looking South
Entrance of Commo bunker
From outside Commo bunker looking North
Inside, as the radio console stood when Gary Bowes was at Gia Vuc
Compilation of some
of Sgt
Gary Bowes
A-103, Oct
66 to Jan 67
e-mails
send to me
during my research
on GV Commo Bunker.
Okay...
here is my
input.
Remember
Bill and I
were at
A-103 at
different
times.
So the
layout/configuration
may not
have been
the same
-- and it
appears it
was not!
I
do not
remember
any
sleeping
quarters
in the
bunker
during my
time.
When you
walked
down the
steps into
the
bunker,
you opened
the door.
As you
went
inside,
the
shotgun
was
directly
over your
head.
You could
not see it
as you
entered.
The wall
on the
left was
solid and
extended
to the
back wall
-- my
*GUESS* is
about 2.5
- 4m.
There was
no
covering
on any
kind on
the
wall...
bare
concrete. The
room
expanded
to the
right...
about 7
or 9
feet (2 - 3m).
After
entering,
you make a
90 degree
right turn
and you
are facing
the radio
'console'.
There was
one
operators
chair --
approximately
centred in
the
console.
To the
operator's
left is
storage
for crypto
materials,
WP grenades,
etc.
We had no
fan...
ventilation
was poor.
There was
provisions
for
ventilation
as I
recall,
but --
because of
security/safety
-- they
did not
simply run
a pipe
straight
up to air.
[VC drop
grenade
down pipe
= no more
SF radio]
Signs were
generally
NOT used
because of
the
humidity.
EVERYTHING
like that
-- paper,
cloth,
straw --
would
retain
moisture
and
mildew!!!
We used no
fan, but
that might
be because
of the
timeframe
I was
there.
(Winter??) The
personnel
trench
system
allowed
below-ground-surface
travel
throughout
the
camp...
but there
was NO
trench
directly
into the
commo
bunker.
That means
you had to
be above
ground to
get to the
commo
bunker.
That
caused
more than
a little
nervousness
a couple
times!
Antenna
mast was
mounted on
top of the
commo
bunker,
with
dipole
antenna
end
supports
in
adjacent
areas.
We did
not have a
'routine',
as I recall.
I monitored
the radio
periodically
during the
day.
Sent and
received
radio
traffic as
needed.
We had
scheduled
radio
check-ins
with Da Nang
and Nha
Trang.
Our duty day
was
sometimes
drastically
extended
when the
camp was hit
or we were
needed to
relay to
another A
Team.
(This is
what
happened
when Bato
came under
attack.)
All team
members
pulled
combat
patrol duty
on a
rotating
basis.
Patrols were
normally 3
to 6 days in
length. All
team members
pulled a
two-hour
"guard"
shift on a
rotating
basis.
This
meant that
there was
always an
American
awake.
There
was not a
team member
in commo all
day.
As Bill
said, there
were many
times when
there was
only one
radio ops in
camp.
The other
was on food
scrounging
run at Da
Nang or on
patrol.
Of course,
we did not
have a lot
to do when
in camp so I
spent time
in the commo
bunker
voluntarily.
Remember
also that
the
non-Radio
Ops
personnel
could not
copy Morse
code... so,
even if they
heard the
radio, a CW
message
could be
directed to
Gia Vuc and
they would
never know
it.
Sgt
Gary Bowes
A-103, Oct 66 to
Jan 67
Radio console slightly later on when Bill Howe was the radio
operator, some of the signs have been moved, the two men from left are Jr Rto C Woodson and Cpt V Carter.
Bellow is a compilation of some of
SSG Bill Howe A-103, March 67 to Mai 67 e-mails send to me
during my
research on GV Commo Bunker.
I was Sgt. Paul Lowe's replacement at Gia Vuc. I believe that
was in 1967. When I jumped off the CV-2 "Caribou" with my gear, I had forgotten
my M-16. Top Sergeant Slover never let me forget that! I wired up the camp for 3-phase power as one of my 1st duties
and installed an intercom from the Commo Bunker to the Team Hut so we had faster
message capabilities. My MOS was initially 05B2S (Radio Operator), but after flying
to several A-Camps just before expected attacks, to make sure the radios and
antennas were set up and tuned, the Army saw fit to change it to 05B4S (Radio
Supervisor).
I recognize some of the things in the A-103
Commo Bunker. I installed an intercom between that bunker and the Team Hut.
One of the speakers above the built-in radio wall was dedicated to that.
One of the
signs was a list of all the A-Camps,
B-Camp at Ha Thanh and C-Camp at Da Nang...plus "callsigns". We also had a sign with a tune-up
procedure for
the Collins KWM-2A radio and a VHF frequency chart for Aircraft, including
"Casper" (our friendly Huey Gunship). The sign behind my Dokorder Tape Recorder was
the remnant of a boxtop from Nha Trang, I believe. My stereo receiver/amplifier
(on top of the radio wall) was a Sansui that I used to power the
intercom. Off to the left (not in the picture) was a small
safe, about 24" x 24" which held our Code Books. On top of that was a
WP grenade. The sleeping quarters were through an opening to
the left of the picture and was just big enough for two cots. That's where the Radio Operators slept (including me)
when not on-duty...which was almost never. The steps going up and out of the bunker were to
the right of the picture.
On top of the bunker were giant logs and dirt.
To the right of the exit was our drinking water well. Just below the surface
was an emergency escape tunnel which took us to beyond the outer
perimeter.
As far as being used as a TOC, I can only remember a
few occasions when Top Sergeant Slover was in the bunker with me when one of our
Patrols got into trouble and we had maps sprawled all over the floor. By the
time we got an Air Strike organized, we had 4 or 5 Team Members in there on various radios and working coordinates.
SSG Bill Howe A-103, March 67 to Mai 67
Team
Sgt
Slover
I
am saddened
to report
that John
Slover (Team
Sgt) passed
away
recently.
John was a
paradox...
a very quiet
man but a
superb soldier.
Rest in
peace,
John...
Gary
Team
Sgt.
John
Slover
was
in
his
3rd
tour in
'Nam when
I
was
at
Gia
Vuc.
Unbelievable.
Bill
Gia
Vuc Call
signs:
Single
Squab was
(I
believe)
the call sign
for Da
Nang C-1.
I believe
the camps
were
Single
Squab 13,
Single
Squab 19,
and so on.
Furthermore,
I think
the call
signs were
changed in
early 1967
to
separate
call signs
-- no
numbers:
Stanley
Looker,
Spunky
Hanson,
etc. (thanks
to Gary)
We
have
established
the
following
CAMPS
CALL
SIGN
FREQUENCY
HQNHA
TRANG
?
?
C-1DA
NANG
SINGLE
SQUAB
(1967)
?
B-11QUANG
NGAI
CITY
?
?
A-101KHE
SANH/LANG-VEI
SPUNKY
HANSON(1967)
?
A-102TIEN
PHUC
?
?
A-103GIA
VUC
MACON
WEAPON(1967)
?
A-104HA
THANH
?
?
A-106BATO
?
?
A-107TRA
BONG
?
?
A-108MING
LONG
?
?
A-109THUONG
DUC
STANLEY
LOOKER(1967)
?
A-110
CON
THIEN
?
?
Can
anybody else
help on the
call signs?
The sleeping quarters weren't much. Just a
small room sectioned off from the main radio area. When I was there we used an
Army Blanket over the opening and there were two cots available. Mine was to
the right as you walked in.
One night, during a light sleep (following a
very long patrol and pulling off several leeches before hitting the rack) I felt
something on my foot. I awoke to find a big rat walking across the blood-soaked
sheet (from pulling off the leeches) and I wasn't thinking clearly. I pulled
out my .45 from under my pillow and shot the thing off my foot, plastering him
all over the cement wall. Needless to say, I heard ringing in my ears for about
a week! It was truly one of the dumbest things I did in the camp.
SSG Bill
Howe, Radio Operator , A-103, March 67 to Mai 67
Being the radio man on the team wasn’t really a critical position except when
communications were needed or if the camp generator went down. So, I sometimes
had a lot of time on my hands and was pretty well left to my own devices. I
spent a lot of time in the commo bunker for whatever reasons, and one annoying
fact that I contended with was that there seemed to be a lot of activity over
head. A scratching, scurrying, squeaking kind of activity. A rat kind of
activity. It sounded like there were hundreds of them. One night while I
was trying to sleep, listening to the scurrying around sounds from over head, I
devised in my mind the perfect way to rid myself of this distraction. It was a
simple plan. There were rat holes all over the top so I figured I could block
off all means of escape, except for one where they would have to exit, insert a
smoke grenade in one, and stand by the exit hole with a long handled shovel to
give them the what for when they exited. The next day I went about
executing my plan. Armed with purple smoke and the shovel, I carefully walked
the dome; closing each hole I could find with the heel of my boot, save for one
at the rear for the smoke grenade and one in the front for the exit. Satisfied
that all was in order, shaking with anticipation, I pulled the pin, jammed the
grenade inverted into the hole, grabbed my shovel and ran to the exit hole.
Nothing happened. All of a sudden, there were purple rats all over the place and
I was running around trying to swat them with the shovel with little or no
success. I finally had to abandon the mission and get the hell away from it.
Unnoticed by me, my activities had attracted a few curious onlookers from the
CIDG contingent who were having the time of their life laughing at me. Feeling
somewhat like an idiot, I figured it was a good time to retreat in defeat.
Something I had failed to consider in my planning was the fact that when it
rained, water would find a way to seep into the bunker. Had I considered this, I
would not have been so shocked when I entered the purple smoke filled
bunker. I don’t remember my exact thoughts at that time, but I probably
considered the reason why I was the Radio Operator and not the Intelligence
NCO. Regards,
Sgt Paul A. Lowe, Radio Operator, March? 66 to March 67