569th Transportation Corps Detachment
The following is not by any means to be construed as a history of the 569th T.C. Detachment. It is only my recollection of events as an original member of the unit.
On15 April 1968 at Fort Campbell Kentucky the 569th T.C. Aviation Detachment was formed. Men were transferred in from various places, mostly straight out of AIT. I had been at Fort Campbell since January with the 6th ARTY BN./ 6th INF DIV so I didn’t have far to go.
We spent the next two months training for duty in Vietnam, we were never told this officially but, we trained in mock jungle villages, trained for convoy ambushes, were given M 16 rifles and had to go through that damned gas chamber again. We also were inoculated for some weird stuff, had our teeth examined and fixed if necessary. We never saw a helicopter this whole time , I hadn't been close to one since leaving Ft. Eustis in Dec. On or about 1 June 1968 we were given a two week leave. We were told when we returned we would be deployed to a restricted area overseas and that we should take care of our personal business and make out a will. Now all this playing in the woods of southern Kentucky was starting to look serious.
On 24 June 1968 we boarded an Air Force C-160 Starliner at Fort Campbell airfield. We boarded with our duffle bags full of jungle fatigues, steel pots, flak jackets and our very own M-16's; we even had a "Jeep " on board. After getting airborne and leveling out SFC Ohman announced, " we are headed for South Vietnam". He told us we were to be assigned to the 1st AVN BDG and our new address would be, 569th T.C.DET, B troop, 7/17th Air Cavalry, APO SF 96262, and that we should write to our loved ones and give them our new address.
We flew from Fort Campbell to Alaska, where we refueled, on to Japan for another refueling. Then finally after 24 hours ….. Vietnam. This entire time we were in web seats, facing the rear of the plane. I suppose this was better than a two-week boat trip but it was uncomfortable. We were to land at Tonsonhut airbase in Saigon. After circling for an hour or so, we were told we could not land there but was given no reason. Speculation ran wild, mortor attacks, and base overran, the whole gambit. It turned out it was just fog. We were diverted north to a place called Camp Holloway, the pilot came back and warned us that when we landed it would be full reverse and full brakes and to be prepared. To this day, I don't know if they were ever able to get that huge airplane out of there on that short runway or if it is still there. What I wasn't prepared for was stepping through the doors of that plane into the intense heat.
We loaded on to a bus with wire mesh over the windows, the driver told us it was so the VC couldn't throw in grenades, this was very comforting to a 19 year old in a strange new land. Along the route to our new home we went through a lovely little town named Pleiku, finally arriving at Camp Enari. The red clay was dry the day we arrived, we would later find it to be slick and gooey when it rained. The first few weeks at Camp Enari, there wasn't much to do; they had us pull all kinds of duty, pouring cement for new hutches seemed to be a favorite. I volunteered to ride "shotgun" on convoys to Kontum to get the sand for this task. We were only at Camp Enari about three weeks, and then it was off to Phan Thiet. Now this was a real paradise, the sandy beaches of the South China Sea. Who would have believed then that it would be a golf resort thirty years later?
Once the tents were pitched, bunkers built and PSP laid we finally got to do what we were sent there for. Now I have to tell you, maintaining helicopters in the sandy conditions at Phan Thiet was not easy, and being away from a larger base camp it was not always easy to get the parts needed. Still, the 569th did their best to keep the availability up. Since we went over as a unit, most right out of AIT with no experience, and the fact that we would all DROS at the same time, we had an infusion. I believe most of the men came from maintenance units at Camp Holloway. These men had the experience to get the 569th up and running, and this is where our first team leaders came from. They passed on their experience to us and we passed it on to their replacements.
The 569th had the same CO, XO and 1SG as B Troop, our maintenance officer was a pilot from B troop and we had our own maintenance sergeant. We pulled the same duties as B Troop and shared all facilities. Some of our men also crewed and went on patrol with the Aero Rifle Platoon. When B Troop made the move to Ahn Khe and back to Phan Thiet 4 weeks later, we were right there with them. Some of us including myself made the return trip via an LST on the South China Sea, a very fun trip that was. I left country on 23 June 1969 leaving good friends there to carry on what we "original" members started. I have since learned that after I left, several more moves were made with the 569th right along side B Troop. I am sure the 569th gave their best in supporting B Troop right up to the time they disbanded. I am happy to see the 569th T.C. Detachment honored on the " World Wide Web " right there where they always were, with the "Ruthless Riders" of B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, (Air).
Raymond L. Unger