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Project Jenny KLIK - 1st Inf Di v Women in Vietnam RELATED-- To AFVN To Saigon To Vietnam Further Afield Index
From: Bob Nelson
Date: October 21, 2015
Subject: Move Across the Street
In 65 the then clinic was in the building right between the road split. Above it was a BEQ (forget the name) [Metropole BEQ?] that was bombed later that year, one of our guys was there and got rocked (Ron something [Heseth?]). The picture looks like it was taken from the Annex where I first bunked.
Bob
From: Les Howard Jacoby
Date: May 23, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Looks like it.
Both are good pictures but my memory of the Kyson Annex BEQ was that the entrance was to the corner and to the left a ways. Jim White
Joe Van Vooren, Bob Mays and Bob Lawrence (but possibly not in that order).
Bob Mays suggested that it was taken in the Enlisted Mess at MACV when the lower grades were living on Tan Son Nhut.
This same photo is elsewhere on this website, and I think I attributed it to being in the Ky Son Annex Mess Hall. Webmaster
AFVN Billets (Ky Son Annex, BEQ, Etc.) - Page 3
Instructions and Examples for using Google Maps
October 2015 & May2016
Note: Screen shots and/or attachments are in slide show further down.
From: Ken Kalish
Date: October 21, 2015
Subject: Move Across the Street
That little clinic is where I got patched up. Nothing can beat morphine anti-gravity potions.
Ken
From: Jim White
Date: October 19, 2015
Subject: Google Earth (sic. Map) Street View in Saigon
Mike,
I found Google Maps interesting but a little hard to control. I don't think you found the Plaza Hotel. The Plaza was much wider and only 9 or 10 stories tall, maybe even just 8 when we were living there. Please go to https://www.afvnvets.com/afvn-2015-16.html for a very recent photo of the Plaza Hotel taken by Harry Simons just about a month ago or to Rick Fredericksen's slide file at https://www.afvnvets.net/pho-sto---fredericksen.html (towards the end of the slides) for a somewhat older photo of the plaza. Your photo of a "12-story, only 5 windows wide building just ain't it."
Can't comment about anything else because I don't know the places/buildings all that well.
I am inclosing a PDF file showing what I think is the Ky Son Annex BEQ. Sorry, but I couldn't get my computer make a screen shot (so I used my 45 and shot the screen!). You can see the original Google Maps at: Click Here.
Jim W
From: Brian Wickham
Date: May 23, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
It's interesting to see that AFVN people wound up at the Walling BEQ. I arrived in-country in Aug 1968 and was assigned to the IO of the Capital Military Assistance Command (CMAC) and was a 71R. All the time I was there, until June 1969, I believe the Walling was exclusively for CMAC EMs and NCOs. I seem to recall that CMAC was deactivated in 1972 which then dovetails with the Walling being taken over by AFVN personnel. Here's the Walling in 1969 - photo by Ron Duran.
[The photo, which had been received previously, is on this page, above.]
From: Bob Mays
Date: May 23, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Hi Les! Wow, a blast from the past. Found a picture of you, me and Joe Van Vooren. Would this picture have been taken in the mess hall across the alley behind our barracks?
Some comments on the above Slide Show that wouldn't fit on the slides.
Although this topic had already been fairly well hashed over more questions were raised in May 2016. Webmaster
AFVN Group Conversations
From: Paul Bottoms
Date: May 22, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
I vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men being transferred to Tan Son Nhut airbase after the Bob Lawrence censorship comments. But since I left AFVN in June of 1970, I didn't realize that AFVN personnel were moved back downtown in October/November 1970 according to afvnvets.net.
Below is the gist of what they said about the moves. Can anybody shed any more light on this?
https://www.afvnvets.net/conv--afvnbillets.html
Following the censorship problem in late 1969 and early 1970, all of the enlisted E-5s and below were moved to a barracks on Tan Son Nhut (MACV Compound) and all of the E-6s and above (with the exception for of some of the higher ranking enlisted Marines and Navy?) were moved to the Iowa BEQ not too far from Tan Son Nhut. In October/November 1970 all of the enlisted men were moved to the Plaza Hotel, but then in May 1971 they were again all moved to the Ky Son Annex.
From: Les Howard Jacoby
Date: May 22, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Paul,
Sounds like the move happened shortly after my departure, maybe that's why I don't remember it. Sounds like your hotel adventure was not a very positive experience.
Les
From: Jim White
Date: May 22, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
I was the Admin NCO at AFVN during this period and therefore in charge of getting everyone moved. In other words, I would get a list of rooms available every few days and would then arrange for an AFVN vehicle to help get the guys moved. I honestly don't know what prompted the move from Tan Son Nhut / Iowa BEQ to the Plaza in late 1970 . Maybe the "powers that be" decided everyone had been "punished" enough. I remember the reluctance of many of the men to make the move--particularly when they had only another two or three weeks left on their tours. Sometimes it took a lot of convincing on my part and I had to tell them that "You have to move and you will move!" But, personally, I was certainly glad to go to the Plaza . At the iowa I was the Senior NCO and therefore had to run the duty roster for the nighttime CQ and guard, keep track of the ammo room key, etc. Everyday it was a "pain in the butt." I think that the move from the Plaza to the Ky Son Annex was the result of the Navy doing a "snow job" the other services by convincing them that the Plaza should be "Navy only." Again, I had to coordinate everyone's move with the MACV Billeting Office and again, get transportation, etc., so everyone could actually make the move. I was in the Iowa from Aug 6 to Oct 22, 1970 in the Plaza from Oct 23 to May 9, 19971 and then in the Kyson from May 10 to departure on June 8. Paul is right in that many of the Navy and Marine personnel, particularly the higher grades, lived elsewhere. PS: I wrote what you read on our website.
As backup to the above, I have kept a daily dairy since 1967. Here are some of excepts related to the move:
September 10, 1970: AFVN had a visit from the Chief of the MACV Office of Information. We were told to move all of our E-7s and E-8s to the Plaza Hotel.
September 14, 1970: Had a OIC conference. Was told that the Senior NOC's will move to the Plaza on or about October 20th.
October 16,1970: MACV Housing began moving AFVN personnel to the Plaza Hotel.
October 23, 1970: I moved SFC Paul Van Dyke, SFC (SSG?) Biever and myself into the Plaza Hotel.
November 13, 1970: There were still a few AFVN enlisted men in the barracks at Tan Son Nhut.
November 18, 1970: LTC Price (OIC) talked to everyone in formation about moving all of the enlisted men into the Plaza Hotel.
December 22, 1970: Some of the enlisted men were assigned to the Metropole Hotel rather than to the Plaza.
January 21, 1971: Got most of the enlisted men who had been in the Capital BEQ moved to the Plaza Hotel.
From: Jerry Nelson
Date: May 23, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Think that may be the AFVN snackbar.
From: Les Howard Jacoby
Date: May 22, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Paul,
I left in late December 1970 and don't recall anything being said that would indicate that there was to be a planned relocation of AFVN personnel back downtown at that point.
Les
From: Bob Morecook
Date: May 23, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
In 72/73 we were at the Walling new. [sic.] Then at the very end they moved us to a bow (BOQ?).
From: Mike McNally
Date: October 19, 2015
Subject: Google Earth (sic. Map) Street View in Saigon
Please go to Google Maps and enter "Saigon" in the search box. A map of the Saigon area should open on the right, and an info box with some small photos may appear on the left. Zoom in the map a little until you see an area you recognize. Then grab the Pegman icon at the lower right and drag Pegman onto the map. You should see some blue dots or circles appear. Place Pegman over a blue dot or circle until you see a small photo appear at that location. Release Pegman and the map should transform into a Street View Spherical Photo. You can spin the photo around and look in various directions. You can also look up and down to some extent.
If the photo shows a white angled symbol pointing in a certain direction, you may be able to click on the symbol and move in that direction. If you don't see any direction symbols, just look at the little map window in the lower left. You can move that map around and look for other blue dots or circles. Just click on one of the blue dots and Street View should open at that location. After playing with this for a few minutes, you should be able to move around easily.
Some main drags offer almost continuous movement. For example, Hong Thap Tu, Cong Ly,and Hai Ba Trung permit a lot of travel. Though most of the blue dots are in the Saigon, Cholon, Tan Son Nhut areas, I dragged the map north towards Bien Hoa and Long Binh and found dots in various locations. As more Spherical Photos are added, the Vietnam Street View will expand.
I've attached five screenshots I took in the Saigon area. Four screenshots show what I think were buildings that housed Americans. These buildings are the Medford BEQ, Ambassador Hotel, Plaza Hotel, and Pittman Apartments at 22 Gia Long Street. The fifth screenshot shows construction at a now empty lot on the intersection of Vo Tanh and Thoai Ngoc Hau. That was the locatiion of the Newport BOQ, which stood alone for fifty years before being razed last year.
Most Spherical Photos are from 2014, but I have found some dated 2015. If you have ever been to the MACV Compound at TSN, go to the dot at what was the north entrance to the complex. You will be able to look inside. On second thought, I'll attach a screenshot looking thru the MACV north gate. The screenshot shows photo images which you can hide when searching. The photo images can be clicked on to directly move to that location.
Let us know if you find something of interest to you. Please include a screenshot to illustrate your find....
Thanks....
Mike McNally
Slide Show
9 Photos
From: Mike McNally
Date: October 21, 2015
Subject: Intersection of Tran Hung Dao and De Tham
The Street View URL I posted earlier appears to be at the intersection of Tran Hung Dao and De Tham. I've attached a screenshot showing a closer view of the street sign....
Mike
From: Mike McNally
Date: October 19, 2015
Subject: Google Earth (sic. Map) Street View in Saigon
Jim,
Here's a URL for the Street View image which appears when I click on the blue dot shown at the bottom left of the image. I've attached a screenshot which shows the location of the Pegman symbol. I've also attached a JPEG of the Saigon Facilities Map which lists the Plaza as Number 51, located on Tran Hung Dao Street: Click Here.
Mike
The Walling BEQ -- AFVN's last residence.
(Photo taken by Ron Duran in 1969 before AFVN began using it.)
From: Robert Lawrence
Date: May 22, 2016
Subject: Vividly remember AFVN Saigon enlisted men....
Hi Les, without looking at my notes, I’m thinking I was relocated from Plaza Hotel to the airbase about Jan. 10, 1970, or about 7 days after my censorship charges which happened on Jan. 3. Soon after that I was sent to the Central Highlands at Kontum facing court martial charges.
From: Ken Kalish
Date: October 21, 2015
Subject: Move Across the Street
And that bit of information is important, Dickie. Knowing that it was a triage center helps explain why the crew there in April didn’t think my little scratches rated much more than a small patch here and there. I’ll bet Jim will be jumping on this one like a chicken on a bug!
Ken