I came into Cam Rahn Bay, March 1968 then on to Pleiku for a month (lot of dust at the microwave MAC V commo. site I was at) then to Da Nang for 2 months. I was in the 156th H.E.M. Co. located at the base of Marble Mountain. Most of my (our) time was spent working in the unbearable heat all day and standing guard duty at night. What little sleep we got was mostly in the day. Most of us drug our air mattresses out onto the sand at dusk, lay down for a while and watch the big jets (freedom birds) taking off from Da Nang air base, dreaming of the day we would be on one of the freedom birds. My tent got hit on May 5th 1968 at 3 a.m. The C.Q. came around and shook me on the foot to get up for my shift on guard in one of the M-60 machine gun bunkers adjacent to one of the back corner towers. For a maintenance unit, we were "HEAVILY" armed with 4 towers, about 6 armed bunkers and 3 or 4 underground bunkers. Sleeping was miserable due to the humidity in the GP medium tent surrounded with sand bags and plywood floor. We were on alert on the 4th of May therefore we were sleeping in full combat gear; steel pot and all. (by choice never liked the M-16, the 16 put out a lot of fire but, I "knew" I could drop someone with the M-14 the first shot at 500 meters, I could not do that with the 16. My favorite weapons were the M-14, M-79 grenade launcher and the 50 Cal.) I had my M-14 on my chest when the C.Q. woke me. as I sat up on the side of my cot, my 14 rolled onto the floor with a loud clatter. One guy adjacent to me yelled "&*%$#! Dunaway, can't you be quiet? I stooped, picked the 14 up and just as I stood up, all I know is that I "experienced" a brilliant whight flash, my ears went numb, I felt heat coming from behind me at the other end of the tent. I "felt" hot air and a swishing sound as I ran out the door and to the bunker dug into the side of the sand. I found out at daybreak that our tent had gotten hit. How could it be that I was standing up but didn't get a scratch but 3 men were listed as "MISSING IN ACTION" because the C.O. told us that if we could not find 60% of the body, they had to be listed as missing in action. For 40 years I have kept this inside; I have often wanted to find out who those 3 were and contact the families to tell them...."Don't wait on them any more, they are gone, they ARE NOT in some prision somewhere. For 2 days I was in a fog. I remember going across the road (Hwy 1) to the hospital on the beach and talked to a Doctor. I can't remember much else except the "detail" I was put on to comb through the sand to find body parts, and we did find hunks of meat, boots with feet still in them, hair, etc. the unit smelled of the rotten odor of dead flesh for a week. I still get sick at the stomach each time I think of that horrible time. We heard that a Marine AMTRAC unit next door to us (we were next to Marble mountain, the AMTRAC unit was next to us, the hospital and P.O.W. camp were across the road on the beach. we were on a river bank on one side and the beach on the other. We had guard towers at the front overlooking a P.O.W. camp, the hospital, the beach in the far distance and the Gulf. On the back side of the unit, the river side, the river ran just at the back side of our unit. There was nothing but sand everywhere. The back towers overlooked the river and miles of beautiful rice paddies on the other side of the river and further in the distance we could make out a mountain with the Air base over there somewhere. If one went out our front gate, turned left on the road there was an orphanage to the right on the beach side of the road) We heard the news that one of the loud blasts we heard on the early hours of May 5th 1968 was that of a group of brave brothers that just lost there lives as a result of a direct hit on the fully loaded AMTRAC. The same night we lost 3 men, the hospital across the road got hit, there were wounded there ready to catch the freedom bird home within a day or so....they too lost their lives. WE WERE ORDERED NOT TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS of the damage in our unit. So, I took super 8 mm movies instead. I never told anyone about it. It is almost like the Government wanted to keep it quiet, sweep it under the rug but I will never forget that night on May 5th 1968 at 3 a.m.. That was the night that changed my 20 year old life forever. My first marriage of 27 years ended in divorce. I never talked about the war and I tried not to think about "THE FORGOTTEN NIGHT AT MARBLE MOUNTAIN" because it physically made me sick every time I thought about it. I have thrown-up many times and gave the excuse that it "must be a virus or something" I never talked about it until now. My first wife, nor my children ever knew. What can a Viet Nam vet tell anyone that would understand; "NO-BODY" because ONLY A VIET NAM VET WOULD UNDERSTAND! I left the 156th H.E.M. Co. in April of 1968 and went TDY to Phu-Bai for 9 months. There I was assigned to the 578th L.E.M. (light equipment maintenance co.). My unit was across the road from the end of the runway across from the Phu Bai air base. I operated the only Direct Support Field Artillery Computer Repair shop on the FADAC computer in I Corp South Viet Nam. My favorite buddy there was Leland F. Hess III from Penn Furnace Pa. "Larry" and I ended up on just about all the night guard duty together. I could trust him not to go to sleep and he could trust me not to go to sleep in the listening post fox hole behind our unit. We had action there but nothing ever came as close to killing me as did the rocket and mortor attach at Marble Mountain that night on the 5th of May 1968. I left my first wife pregnant with our daughter "Dawn". The night our Lt. crawled out in the rain (monsoon season "mud season) to give me a faded note from the red cross that stated "your wife has given birth to Donna Maria", I told the Lt. the red cross was wrong, my daughter was PRE-Named "Dawn Marie". That had to be the happiest night of my life. I bought beer for the entire unit and had everyone to sign their name on a sheet of paper. We realized the next day that even the guards got drunk that night! Dangerous business!
I am sorry for this being long but I just wanted to vent. I have never done this before. I am like many other Viet Nam vets. We each have our Nam story but the ones of us that are still living are still dying from that war. If the wounds are not reminders, then the Agent Orange and other related illnesses are. I have not had luck with V.A. about Agent Orange although I know many men that are getting compensated for it. I have had skin cancer for over 20 years now. I have seen several doctors about the sores on my face and arms. All they know to do is "burn" them off. I have had 3 "malignant" cancers cut off my face and ear. The one time I did contact the V.A. about 15 years ago, the Rep told me that "unless you are on your death bed from Agent Orange, forget about it!" So, I suffer with the memories and the cancers of the war. They also claim that I am a category "7" status although they ignore the fact that I was "In-Country" in Viet Nam! I began having respitory problems at Ft. Sill after coming back from Nam in 1969. I also try to forget how we were treated at Seattle Airport (SEATAC) the night we returned to the U.S. all the protest signs, the curses, the name calling. I am proud of our Military and I am extremely proud of my brothers that I served with in Nam. May God Bless You All and May God Have Mercy On this country because it is going where we have already been "to Hell" on earth.
Tom Dunaway
Specialists 5th class
U.S. Army "Volunteer" (3 years)
Squad Leader 1 Platoon, Delta Co. 1st Bn, 1st Bde, Ft. Benning Ga. 1967
Class Leader, Electronics Training, Redstone Arsenal-Huntsville Ala. 1967
Class Leader, Computer school "FADAC" "FALT and "TIIF" equipment Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD.?
MAC V Signal Bn, Pleiku South Viet Nam.
156th H.E.M. Co. Da Nang South Viet Nam
578th L.E.M. Co. Phu Bai South Viet Nam
4th Arty Bn. Ft. Sill Oklahoma 69-70
F.M. Radio School, Ft. Sill Ok. 69-70
F.M. Radio Instructor Ft. Sill Ok.1970
After the war, I volunteered for the Army National Guard in Pascagoula, Ms. and later, the Mississippi Air National Guard in Gulfport Ms. Tropo Scatter, MicroWave Radio Relay Tech.
and, 22 years with the U.S. Navy as a Civil Servant with the SUPERVISOR OF SHIPBUILDING in Pascagoula, Ms. I retired 4 years ago as a GS-12 Planner/Estimator Supervisor. Can't say I am not Patriotic.....that is why I will vote on the new "Constitution Party" this November.