Jerry: Night Attack

While in Vietnam, I was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay, a huge, secure, Air Force Base that had all the amenities for comfort, and while there, it felt very safe.

But on August 7th of 1969, at approximately midnight, while most on base were sound asleep, myself included, a team of Viet Cong sappers (military demolition experts), infiltrated the north side of this high security base, with the help of some North Vietnamese sympathizers that were employed (locals were trucked in everyday,the first thing that they did each morning was check the garbage cans) within the perimeter of Cam Ranh Bay.

When the alarms went off, everyone knew that something was going on.  The sky was lit with flares, which would light up the entire base, and you could hear explosions. . .tracers could be seen in the air.  The base had been attacked before, but by mortars that hadn’t hit their mark, but it was nothing like this.

While inside the base, the VC tossed explosives into the base hospital, opened fire with machine guns, and were able to destroy several other buildings, and after accomplishing their mission, left the way they came without a single casualty.

We had 3 squadrons of F-4 on our base and other aircraft as well.  These planes were involved in numerous missions over North & South Vietnam with heavy damage tolls.  This certainly was a thorn in the enemies side and whatever damage that they could accomplish in that attack would be a score for the North Vietnamese. 

We later found out that 2 Americans G.I.’s were killed, 98 wounded, and severe damage was done to 19 buildings. The enemy seemed to be telling the United States that as secure as you may think you are, we can and will infiltrate. This attack was an eye opener for the United States, and for all of us who were stationed there who had became lax in our security thoughts.

Back home, Carole had heard about the attack on the news and tried in vain to call the base, but she only got as far as Saigon, how she did that, I have no idea.  I don’t think that she remembers either.