I really hope some other people can find this service and get in touch with people like I did. During peacetime deployments in the Pacific areas the battalions had feported directly to Commander Naval Construction Battalions, U. S. Pacific Fleet, (ComCBPac) in Hawaii, and he in turn, reported to Commander Service Force, U. S. Pacific Fleet (ComServPac), also located in Hawaii. Though the bulk of their work was in the Saigon area, public works forces operated country wide. only four deep draft berths from June 9, 1971 until the facility was turned over In the meantime, other Seabees in small units, orignally known as Seabee Technical Assistance Teams (STATS), later shortened to "Seabee Teams," became a part of the Vietnamese scene, commencing in January 1963 when the first two organized teams, 0501 and 0502, under Lieutenant (j.g.) A major portion of that engineering war was waged by the U. S. Navy. History and documents on bases at DaNang - Warboats.org Like the war itself, Navy involvement was piecemeal and gradual, planned almost on the spur of the moment. Over 29,600 passengers passed through the port in 2008, a significant increase over previous years. The availability of spare parts tends to be a perennial problem, but the Seabee forces after a period of shakedown did not find it an insurmountable one. In mid-1965 the break was completed when OICC Republic of Vietnam was formally established as a separate entity with 135 people, including 20 officers. These Marines were the vanguard of an American force which was to expand steadily beyond half a million troops. [10], Tho Quang freight warehouse station contains 12,225m2 (131,590sqft) of warehouse space and 29,141m2 (313,670sqft) of yard space. Later, the unit sent details to many different sites to maintain them or to repair battle damage. China Beach Coordinates 16 7' 34'' N, 108 14' 19'' E. Decimal 16.1263874, 108.2386362. The next significant change, the placing of all Seabee battalions under a Civil Engineer Corps Flag Officer in Vietnam, came with the formation of the 3rd Naval Construction Brigade under Rear Admiral R. R. Wooding, CEC, United States Navy, on June 1, 1966, at Saigon. Witness the failure to even plan for the Public Works Department at Da Nang which became the largest in the Navy within two years. In these areas the Army had this responsibility for the U. S. Armed Forces, relying heavily on its contractor, P.A. They, and the Army and the Air Force units soon to follow, would need ports and roads and airfields to get a foothold in this undeveloped land. As the conflict escalated and command relationships evolved, the battalions themselves also underwent transition. Certainly, round-the-clock operations accelerated the breakdown of equipment, particularly where time out for adequate maintenance was hard to come by. (White Elephant) and much more. Clearance Diving Team 3 8th Contingent Thus, after two years of experimentation and growth, the Seabee Command in Vietnam had developed into a 9,000 man, 12 battalion force of two regiments under one brigade. Individual projects under $25,000 financed by "Maintenance" rather than "Construction" funds and tactical support construction projects were not subject to this process but were handled by the separate Services who used troops, in house civilians, or contractors, as convenient. Much of the early public works effort was directed toward leasing living and working facilities for NSA in the city of Da Nang (est. I had a great time and intend to go again next year. In this instance the CBMU played a much more dominant role than its counterpart in I Corps, supplying some two-thirds of the manpower involved in public works functions under the cognizance of NSA Saigon. their belongings. my first 6 months in country and a LTC Hickey took over Command until we These components were invaluable in getting the Seabee construction effort underway even though some obsolescent equipment was in the system. This was the first appreciable number of Seabees in one unit committed to Vietnam on a continuing basis. find my friend." The most significant action occurred on June 9-11, 1965, at Dong Xoai, 55 miles northeast of Saigon, where 2,000 Viet Cong troops overran a Special Forces camp containing 400 South Vietnamese and allied Asian troops, 11 Green Berets, and nine Seabees of Seabee Team 1104. Viet Nam As late as 28 May 1965, Chief of Naval Operations sent "do not concur to establishing NSA Da Nang to CinCPacFlt. Fax 84 511 822 565. actually I was the night Operations Officer and worked from 1900hrs. To get young men into the Seabees simply to build up to the required numbers was not particularly difficult. In general it may be stated that the contractor took the larger, more complicated jobs in relatively secure areas while the troops concentrated on lighter jobs in the more forward areas. Few military units saw more duty in Vietnam than the Seabees. This international mixed military and civilian force, organized along Public Works Center lines, had grown with roughly equal proportions of Seabees, Vietnamese, and Koreans. U.S. Navy ship Comet docked at a deep water pier. received a call from the Navy Pacific Command, to enter our harbor at daybreak Also significant were a few large U. S. contractors who did not belong to the RMK-BRJ combine. Navy Lt. and I both went out to the LST, which was now tying up. 9. According to the plan to 2020, in addition to 4 areas of Cai Mep - Sao Mai Ben Dinh, Phu My - My Xuan, Dinh River and Dam - Con Dao wharf area, Vung Tau port will expand 2 more berth areas in Long Son. This transfer of expertise to the Vietnamese in the building tradesalso accomplished under the RMK-BRJ contractorsgives promise of being in the long run the greatest legacy the U. S. will leave in Vietnam. Central Vietnam. A few miles away, Panama Ports Co., a member of Hutchison Port Holdings, has converted a, With plenty of flat land for construction and. support beam to his hootch fell on him, crushing him. Two battalions were shifted from the Atlantic to the Pacific Fleet in 1965 and went immediately to Vietnam In the fall of 1965, four new battalions were authorized and they were commissioned in February, March, July, and August of 1966. [12] In the first two months of 2010, 12 cruise ships were reported to have docked at Nng Port, carrying 6,477 tourists, mainly from Europe, the U.S., Canada and Australia. returning home. Apparently roles and missions of the various forces had not been clarified to cover this contingency. [10], Media related to Da Nang Port at Wikimedia Commons, Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}160400N 1081400E / 16.0667N 108.2333E / 16.0667; 108.2333. Get the most cost-effective rates for shipping your cargo, Preparing Your Business for an Upcoming GRI: What Shippers Need to Know About the General Rate Increase in 2023, Supply Chain Tracking Solutions: How They Can Optimize Your Business Processes.