The “OLD GUARD”
This
is a picture of Detachment 14 admin building at Tan Son Nhut
AB near Saigon. I was stationed
there Dec '71-Aug '72, just after the Bien Hoa Detachment (DET6) was merged with Det
14 and after 38th ARRSq became 3rd ARRGp. Some of the older heads told me a story of the
Det during Tet '68; when
the Viet Cong were overrunning the airfield portion of the base. Detachment
personnel ran to the adjacent bunker (left in the photo) with their weapons,
but forgot the ammo. Not being fired upon, the Viet Cong thought the area
was vacated, and bypassed the building without searching it. Thus, the
detachment personnel survived without casualties. Later, a diamond shaped
shallow pool with a “Mannequin piss” was installed between the building and the
ramp, and became a favorite tourist site for Base Commander-conducted
tours. Also, after we chased it into the pool from the klong behind the building, a quackless
duck took up residence there, until it disappeared one night, probably winding
up as an ARVN meal.
Not pictured is the hangar, probably constructed after this photo was made.
Jerry Yellin
DET14 41ARRW 1971-72
