The attack was over as quickly as it had begun. Clouds of sand, rocks and smoke flew up from the impact area, only 100 meters from us, and close to the base control tower. Off to my right, I saw white flashes and heard ‘Crack! Crack! Crack!’ like the sound of lightning strikes, in rapid succession. They yelled ‘Incoming!’ as I knelt by my vehicle. Two Army warrant officers of the ‘Crazy Cat’ squadron who had been pitching horseshoes stopped their game and dropped to the ground. Immediately, there were thunderous explosions nearby. Being new to Vietnam, I found the thought of being off base after dark highly unnerving.Īs I stepped out of my jeep in front of the officers’ barracks, I heard a strange whistling sound. I sighed with relief as I passed the air base’s heavily sandbagged guard posts, with their protruding. The sun was low on the horizon when I safely crossed the bridge leading to Cam Ranh Bay. A 20-foot-high chain-link fence surrounded the perimeter, in an effort to screen the base against shoulder-fired rockets. The bleached and faded jungle-green of the paint schemes was dusty with red dirt from their many trips to the Central Highlands near Dalat and Pleiku. Some were blackened by fire, their crumpled fuselages pushed into a central pile.
While there, I was amazed to see that so many helos had been shot up. Army’s base at Dong Ba Thin, where a contingent of Vertol CH-47 helicopters was located. I had just returned from a short trip to the U.S. I had been in Vietnam for only a few days when I experienced my first rocket attack. Lee Recalls a Sapper Attack at Cam Ranh Bay During the Vietnam War Close
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