) DEPLOYMENT COMPLETION REPORT

) DEPLOYMENT COMPLETION REPORT

DANANG,RVN OCT. 67 - JUN. 68

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U.S. NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION

BATTALION NINE

.U. S . NAVAL MOBILE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION NINE Fleet Post Office

San Franc isco, California 96601

03:la 5213 Ser 1350 29 Augus t 1968

From : Command ing Off icer, U. S . Nava l Mobile Construction Bat tal ion NINE To : Command er, U. S. Naval Construc tion Batta l i ons, Pacific

Subj : NMCB NINE Dep l oyment Completion Re port

Ref : (a ) COMCBPACINST 5213.lE (b) COMCBPAC OPORD 19-67

Encl: (1) Admini strative Summary ( 2) Equipment Summary , (3) Training Summary (4) Labor Dis tribution Summary (5) Construc tion Operation s Summary (6) Construction Item Summary ( 7) Fi sca l Su'mmary ( 8) Recapit.ulat i on a nd Sununary of Lessons Learned During. Deployme nt

1. Thi s report , covering U. S ?. Naval .Mobile Construct ion Battali on NINE' s 1967- 1968 deployment to the Republic of Vietnam, is submitted in accordance wi th r eference (a) ? .

2. EMPLOYMENT STATUS . In accqrdance with referenc e ( b) , U. S. Naval Mob ile Construct ion Battalion NINE wa s deployed t o Camp Hoover, DaNang, Republic of Vietnam , f~om Octo~er 19~ 7 t hrough May 1968 . The primary mission of the Uf\ i t was construct ion i n support of U. S . Mil i tary and other Free World Forces, under the operati onal control of the THIRTIETH Naval Construction Regiment . Units we re empl oyed at other locations as follows:

a. Seabee Team 0910: Employed at Ban Khok Mamua ng , Thailand ?(Map serie s AMS 1708, SH5554 II ; cpord . TA425955), in accordance with COMCBPAC speed letter CB31B-046 of 1 April 1967 , from May 1967 to November 1967 to perform con st ru.ct~

ion in support of U. s . Mi litary Civic Action Programs.

b. Seabee Team 0911: Employed at Chiang Kham, Changwat Chiang Rai, Thailand (Map ser ies AMS L7Q8 , SH5069 I II ; . coord. MA960720), in accordance with CBPACDET THAI OPORD 7-67, from November 1967 to May 1968 to perform construction i n s upport of U. S. Military Civic Acti on Programs.

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c . Seabee Tea m 0912: In training at the THIRTY-FIRST Naval Const~uction RegimenL ?rom December 196 7 t o March 1968 . Deployed t o Xa Xuan Loe, Republic of Vietnam (Map series AMS L70l 4 , SH6430 IV ; coord . YT463083), in accordance with CBPACDET RVN OPORD 6-68, i n April 1968 to pe rform construction in support of U. S. Military Civic Action Progr ams .

d , Detail at Hill 10 (Map ser ie s 17014, SH6640 IV> coord. AT92 2695): 12 men employed at 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, nine miles south of DaNang, Republic of Vietnam , from 4 October 1967 to 9 Deeember 196 7 to const ruct a 500-man messhall and shower facilit ies.

e . Detail at 2nd Battal ion , 11th Mari nes (Map seri es 1701 4 , SH6640 IV; coord. AT987673 -987675) : 12 men employed at 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, seven mil es ?south of DaNang, Republic of Vi e tnam, to upgrade and const r uc t additions to a 250-man messhall and to bui ld 175mm gun platforms f or B Battery,

8th l}atta lion, 4th U. s. Army Art iHery Regiment from 4 Oc tober 1967 to 11

December 1967 .

f. Detail at Hi ll 65 (Map series 170 14 , SH6640 IV ; coord. AT880578) : 17 men employed at 5th Batta lion, 11th Mari nes , s ixte en mil e s southwest of DaNang, Republic of Vietnam, f rom 7 October 1967 to 8 November 1967 to con struc t a 250-man messhall and living quart ers .

g . Detail south of DaNang : 7 men employed at Hill 55 (Map series L7014, SH6640IV; c oord. AT928538) to constr uct two sniper towers, a water t ower a nd t ank ; at Liberty Bridge (Map series L7014, SH6640 . IV; coord . AT9 27531 ) to construct a sniper tower; and at B Battery, 8th Batta lion , 4th U. S. Army Artillery Regiment (Map series 17014, SH6640 IV ; coord . AT987676) to relocate a sniper tower, a l l during the period 10 October 1967 to 17 November 1967.

h. Detail at Liberty Br idge ( Map series L701 4 , SH6640 IV; coord . AT927531), one offic er a nd 50 men employed a t Liberty Bridge, 16 mi les south of DaNang, Re public of Vietnam , from 14 October 1967 to 27 April 1968 t o repair a 2040foot bridge across the Thu Bon River and an adjacent 378-foot a pproach structure damaged by monso on floods on 8 October 1967 .

i. Detai l ?a t Hill 55 ' (Map series 17014, SH66 40 IV; coord . AT971621): 12 men employed at 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, e leven mi l es south of DaNang, Republic of Vietnam , on an intermittent basis from l December 1967 to 17 February 1968 t o build shower facilities, a water tower, and tank.

j . Detail at . Quang Tri: 6 men employed at U. S. Naval Mobile Construc tion Bat ta l ion TEN f r om 13 December 1967 to 21 January 1968 to provi de earth hauling assistance in a ccordance wi th COM30NCR OPORD 9- 67 .

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k. Detai l at Hill 494 (Map series L7014, SH6541 I; coord . ZD0202): Two officers and 300 men employed at Hill 494, thirty-five miles north of DaNang, Republic of Vietnam, from 28 January 1968 to 29 May 1968 to cons t~uct , develop,and operate a quarry, rock crushing facilities, and a 250-man cantonment.

l . Detail at Hue-Phu Bai: 45 men employed at U. S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion EIGHT from 26 March 1968 to 24 May 1968 to support roadbuilding and other horizontal construction efforts by NMCB 8 in the HuePhu Bai area .

m. Detail at An Hoa : (Map series L701 4, SH6641 I II; coord. AT873474): 5 men employed at Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, to construct a sentry tower f .rom 4 May 1968 to 16 May 1968.

n. Detail at Dai Loe Bridge (Map series 17014, SH6641 III; coord. AT922577): 8 men berthed with Delta Company~ 7th Marine Engin eer Battalion, at Hill 37, to make repairs to Dai Loe Bridge from 14 May 1968 to 28 May 1968.

3. UN IT MOVEMENTS

a. 6 SEP - 7 SEP 1967 -- NMCB 9 ' s Advance Party, consisting of 7 officers and ? 104 men, deployed to DaNang, Repub lic of Vietnam, on two C-118 passenger aircraft and one C-130 cargo/passenger aircraft from Oxnard Air Force Base, Oxnard, California.

b . 28 SEP - 3 OCT 1967 -- NMCB 9 1 s main body, consisting of 18 officers and 652 men, deployed to DaNang, Republic of Vietnam, on seven C-141 aircraft from NAS Point Mugu; California .

c. 1 NOV 1967 -- Seabee Team 0911 completed training at the 31st Naval Construction Reg iment and deployed to. Thailand via C-118 aircraft .

d. 19 NOV 1967 -- Seabee Team 0912 departed the main body at DaNang, Republic of Vietnam, via C-118 aircraft for the 31st Naval Construction Regiment to commence military and technical training.

e. 29 DEC 1967 -- Seabee Team 0910 returned to the main body at DaNang, Republic of Vietnam, via Boeing 707 aircraft, from leave in the United States after completing a six-month deployment to Thai land in November 1967.

f . 31 MAR 1968 -- Seabee Team 0912 completed training at the 31st Naval Construction Regiment and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam via C-118 aircraft.

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g. 24 APR 1968 -- NMCB 9's Advance Party, consisting of one officer and 35 men, return~d to NAS Point Mugu, California, on. C-118 aircraft from DaNang, Republic of Vietnam.

h. 29 MAY - 3 JUN 1968 -- NMCB 9's Main Body, consisting of 22 officers and 648 men, returned to CONUS via three Super DC-8 passenger aircraft and two C-141 cargo/passenger aircraft. All flights terminated at NAS Point Mugu, California, except for one Super DC-8 aircraft which landed at Los Angeles International Airport.

i. 18 June 1968 -- Seabee Team 0911 returned to CONUS via C-118 aircraft

upon . the completion of a six-month deployment to northern Thailand .in support of U. s. Military Civic Action Programs.

4. SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

l OCT 1967 3 OCT 1967

The battalion relieved NMGB 4 and commenced its third consecutive deployment t o the Republic of Vietnam, near DaNang.

The battalion began construction of a cantonment at Big Look for the Naval Support Activity and Fleet Aircraft Suppo!-"t Unit ONE, consisting of thirteen two-story barracks, two BOQ 1.s, ci.n .administration building, EM Club, PX, showers, utility distribution systems, and other support facilities.

14 OCT 1967 -- A 15~man Delta Company detail began .repairs to Liberty Bridge, .a 2040' timber structure over the Thu Bon ?River, sixteen miles south of DaNang. The bridge had been damaged and a 720' section carried away by flood. waters on 8 October.

19 OCT 1967 ~- Firefighters from NMCB 9 and other neighboring units waged a successful day-long battle to contain a major fire at

the Freedom .Hil1Recreati6n Center,. Hill 327, near DaNang.

8 NOV 1967 --

Two battalion 5-ton cargo trucks were destroyed by road mines in . separate incidents on Route 14 and on Route 5

South.? Seven. NMCB 9 personnel and three accompanying Marines were injured.

8 NOV 1967

A 17-rnan detail, led by BUL2 D. B. OKESON, USN, returned to Camp Hoover .after completing a 250-rnan galley and berthing facilities for the 4th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment at Hill 65, 15 miles southwest of DaNang.

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26 NOV 1967

The last of 15 BOQ/BEQ concrete decks i n the Fleet Aircraft Support Unit ONE/NSA cantonment at the DaNang Air Base complex were poured prior to the onset of expected ~onsoon rains, thereby providing a good backlog of vertical rainy season work for NMCB 9.

30 NOV 1967 - - The battalion crushed the ?first rock with a new 200-ton per ?hour rock crusher installed adj acent to the Freedom Hill quarry at Hill 327, only forty-five days after commencing work on the installation.

9 DEC 1967

A 12- man detail, led by BUl C. T . LEDGER, USN, returned? to Camp Hoover after .completing a 500-man galley and ofher messing facilities for the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment at Hill 10, 8 mites southwest of DaNang.

11 DEC 1967 -- An eight-man detail, led qy . BUL2 G. A. FISCHER, USN, returned to Camp Hoover after completing four 175mm gun plat-

forms in support of B?Battery, 8th Battalion , 4th u. s .

Army Artillery Regiment based in the lowland sands six miles southwest of DaNang.

28 DEC 1967 - ~ NMCB 9is Charlie Company completed addit i ons to a POW compound, consisting of barracks, messing and sanitary facilities, guard towers, and fencing for the III Marine Amphibious Force, 4 miles southwest of DaNang.

3 JAN 1968

A truck convoy returning from Liberty Bridge received &pproximately 100 rounds of small arms fire in the after. noon, near the Hill 55 bridge on Route lD . No personnel or equipment casualities were sustained.

5 JAN 1968

A detail of Delta and Alfa Company personnel began the

installation of culverts and of M8Al airfield mat~ing for a helicopter repair facility ?in support of NMCB 74. The three million square. foot facility, located at Red Beach, DaNang, was comp~eted and dedicated on 14 January.

12 JAN 1968 -- SWF3 J. R?. COUCH, USN, drowned while? swimming near Red Beach, DaNang Bay. His body was recovered on 16 January

by a U. s. Marine Combined Action Platoon near Nam o.

14 JAN 1968 ~- EONCN H. G. HODGES, USN, was killed and EON3 J . G. STOTKO, USN , was wounded as the resu.lt of an enemy grenade detonation at approximately 0140 while ?manning a defensive position at the "Project Beaver" helicopter repair facility

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project at Red Beach; DaNang, STOTKO was flown by MEDEVAC to the lst Marine Medical Battalion where he was listed .in good condition. ?Preliminary investigations indicated that HODGES shielded the force of the blast from STOTKO while attempting t 'O hurl the enemy grenade from the bunker. Subsequently, the Silver Star Medal with Combat "V" was posthumously awarded to HODGES for his heroic actions. These men were part of a 16-man security detail from NMCB 9 charged with manning the perimeter of the project site from 25 December 1967 to 14 January 1968.

22-24 JAN 1968--Four utility landing craft (LCU's) departed from the DaNang East LCU Yard with 115 men, precut building materials, rolling stock, and other gear bound for NMCB 121 1 s camp at Phu Bai, in preparation for moving to a virgin quarry site to be developed by NMCB 9's Detail Echo at Hill 494, near Phu Loe, . thirty-five mile~ north of DaNang.

26 JAN 1968 - - Thirty officers and men from NMCB 9 attended a TET (New Year) program and feast at the Bo De grammar school and high school in the hamlet of Hoa Phat, near DaNang. The Battalion had been involved in supplying scrap .and excess building materials to Vietnamese carpenters who were constructing new classrooms and other i'rnprovements for the eight~hundred children of the school.

\. 28 JAN 1968 - - The first elements of Detail Echo arrived on the site of the new quarry to be developed at Hill 494, near Phu Loe ?

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28 JAN 1968 - - The battalion's detachment at Liberty Bridge completed repairs to the 378' timber approach bridge on the north shore of the Thu Bon River.

30 JAN 1968 - - Approximately 10 rounds of high explosive Viet Cong mortar fire. impacted 100 to 500 yards forward of NMCB 9 1 s Bunker 24 overlooking Happy Valley from 0227 to 0321. At 0322 rockets passed over Camp Hoover and impacted on the DaNang Air Base. This enemy action signalled the begining of a massive Viet Cong TET (New Year) offensive wh~ch involved attacks upon forty-four major towns and twenty-four airfields in the Republic of Vietnam. At 0330, 5 rounds of rocket fire impacted near Bunker 24. No personnel casualties were sustained. The battalion began a twelve-day period of manning camp defen$ive positions at night, while upgrading defenses and working on nearby construction projects during the day.

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31 JAN 1968 -- UTCM Melvin J . OLSON, USN, wa.s relieved as Battalion Chief Petty Officer by EQCM Robert . J . GORMLEY, in a formal field

ceremony held at Camp Hoover.

1 FEB 1968

Between 0300 and 0630, the NMCB 9 road Checkpoint 2 on Route 3 recei.ved small arms and automatic weapons fire from a village east of Camp Hoover and observed abnormal activity in the intervening rice paddies. In returning the fire, road Checkpoint 2 reported two secondary ex-

plosions. A nine-man patrol, sent to investigate the a;ea at dawn, came under automatic weapons fire . BUl

B. R. LEMASTER, USN, and BUL3 G. T. LAGRONE, USN, were

wounded and MEDEVAC'ed by two u. s. Huey gunships. Six

Vietnamese found in the area of engagement were detained after the rire fight and turned over to the Subsector Connnand for questioning.

3 FEB 1968

At 0318.Checkpoint 2 received several sniper rounds and two mortar rounds 50 yards forward of their position . No personnel casualities were sustained.

6 FEB 1968

The lead 5-ton tractor-trailer in a battalion convoy detonated an enemy mine enroute to NMCB 12l's camp at Phu Bai from the Hill 494 quarry Sit~. No personnel? casualties

were sustained.

11 FEB 1968

A mid-deployment celebration was observed at Camp Hoover which included inter-company athletic contests, an outdoor ste.~k cookout, and other events.

14 FEB 1968

CDR D. N. SHOCKEY, CEC, USN, was relieved as Conunanding

Officer of U. s. Na.val Mobile Construction Battalion NINE.?

by CDR J. A. WRIGHT, CEC, USN, at formal Change of Conunand ceremonies held at Camp .Hoover, DaNang, Republic of Vietnam,

23 FEB 1968

At approximately 0100 ; Viet Cong? command-detonated charges damaged the south timber abutment and first southern span of Liberty Bridge. A stockpile of 31,000 board feet of timber building materials was destroyed by Viet Cong arson,.. ists.

29 FEB 1968

NMCB 9's Hill 494 quarry opened with a 3000-lb dynamite charge. Detail Echo personnel began utilizing a temporary 15-ton per hour rock crusher to produce concrete aggregate in support of the quarry cantonment and rock crushing facility construction.

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