![]() The company ended up being the 372nd Trans. Lewis got a civilian citation from the 372TC while we were still the 561TC. ![]() We ran a rail road called Honai Rail Head which we loaded with supplies. We were sent to Long Binh where we originally started. Told our new company would be the 561st Trans. First we were sent to Ben Tre, then CanTho and finally to Vung Tau for 2 weeks. So a little time went on then a few of us from our original company headed south. We had three lines of Perimeter Defense and the Navy covered our 6’s. Since I already had a duty station at this time I moved to a different perimeter almostĮvery day. While we were waiting soldiers from my company were being sent to different units. So ourĬompany disbanded and we were waiting for orders. Company and we were told that our Company Colors would come home. So I know I written a lot but now it’s time to get to my Companies I was in. Supply roads were repaired by the Seabees and the 14th Combat Engineer Battalion. A desolate sandy beach at Thon My Thuy with an old French-built road was found with a sand dune 1-1/2 miles LTC Charles Sunder, commander of the 159th, needed a workable beach with a road connecting to Highway 1. ![]() Theġ59th Trans Bn (Terminal) was tasked to set up LOTS (Logistics-Over-The-Shore) operations near Thon My Thuy on the beach. Westmoreland deployed the 1st Cavalry Division and the 101st Airborne Division to the area, increasing the supply requirements to 2,600 tons per day. Significant US military campaign of the conflict. The US counter-offensive ranked as the most POL storage tanks were destroyed at Tan My as was the 8-inch pipeline that ran up the coastline. Of communication around Hue, destroying bridges and ambushing trucks. The Most Significant LOTS Operation of Vietnam In January 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched their TET Offensive to overthrow the government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Knew if they could take our compound that it might change the war. We had off and on enemy engagements my whole six months. I also rotated with the 1st Calvary and 101 Air Borne if they needed front line support. I shared duty with soldiers from my unit. So I took option two got my weapon then qualified and went to perimeter guard. If I took option two, I would be there permanently. IĬould keep my boots on the ground while having a weapon for protection. I figured this would be the best place for me. I had to hold on keep my head down and hope for the best on several occasions. This wasn’t my first engagement while being in country without a weapon. He said I had two options one was stay there or pull first line defense perimeter guard. I decided this wasn’t for me, so I asked my captain if there might be a different option for me. I almost drowned twice so I had a really bad feeling about this job task. Then you had to comeĭown and drive on the platform with the fork lift in reverse the whole distance back to land. Once you got to the LST you had to unload the top deck first which literally scared me to death, you had to drive up the top deck at a fairly steep angle. Platform plank and nothing below but ocean. Just getting to the LST was a scary time for me, driving on a The ships couldn’t get very close so we had to drive on a metal platform for a very long distance (800 FT Long) to get to the LST. Man oh man what a hell of a place to be in at nineteen. I looked 300 hundred yards north and there was JP4. Moving on I thought the best thing for me was to dismount my forklift and run for cover.Īfter the mortars stopped I looked up and there I was leaning against 175 MM howitzers. Hell I was scared to death and had no weapon either. Unbelievable the first night in the ammo dump we start getting hit with mortars. Infantry Division for their maneuvers while stationed in Germany. How ironic for Iĭrove tractor trailers, hauling equipment and ammo for the 3rd. I ended up in the ammo dump loading tractors and trailers. Their classifications were 1 to 7, could be food, beer, equipment, ammo dump, on and on. Stevedore which put us working in 7 different depots. We would be under MACV 1ST Logistical Command Headquarters. After our completion of training we were told we would be sent to a beach front compound near Quang Tri.įinally we were told that our company was the 372 Trans. They trained us for 2 days on what they called a rough terrain fork lift which could do special maneuvers as well as lift in awkward Because of our heavy equipment MOS, they wanted us to train for special fork lift drivers.
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