Cam Ranh Bay: Beach Party

I was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay with the 500th Transportation Group, 124th Transportation Command, 08/1967 — 07/1968. I enjoyed snorkeling around that rocky island at the beginning of the video. A couple of buddies and me used to go out there to the beach because with the nurses and Red Cross ladies being out there amonst the troops, it was like a touch of home. It was for me a wonderful experience aside from the fact I missed my wife and two children and other relatives and just being at home.

in 1969 I worked for RMK at CamRanh Bay and I met a wonderful person ,I never forget. Yen

Great memories. Thanks for posting. I remember one day sitting on the rocks barefoot and looking down about five feet to the coral on the shore, a huge black lizard at least he looked five feet long to me, was staring up at me. He had a fish in his mouth and I thought if he drops it, he's coming after me. He dropped it and took off into the vegetation. I wasn't used to seeing
one foot long centipedes, cockroaches the size of a phone, unknown types of snakes,
big, big spiders. Culture shock.

Again, you may never see this comment, but thanks a million for the video of the beach. I spent many hours on the beach during the day after working a night shift on the flight line. This was my escape. I did have fun when there. The jelly fish did sting and the sea snakes did scare me at times, but all was well. I also had a chanch to go to south beach and swim there also. These were good memories to bring back this old man. Thanks a bunch. I took a lot of slides but no movies. Much thanks.

I was in an army fixed wing unit stationed at the naval air station. We flew long range recon over the fence in the RP2V that were marked as army aircraft and flown by army pilots. The initial part of my tour was with a ground unit in Pleiku where I spent about six months in the field before some friends arranged my transfer to the 1st Avn Co RR at the NAS across the runway from the Air Force base. Flew 16 hour missions every other day with a day off in between. When I arrived as a first lieutenant, transportation was a problem for us junior officers, so I contacted some of my special forces buddies across the bay and traded my XM177E1 (CAR15) for a M37 3/4 ton truck that they had obviously stolen and painted SF markings on it. It was then our transportation to the beach. We carried our two surfboards, which were brought back from Hawaii by an Air Force friend, on the canvas roof. I don’t know how that went over with the senior officers, but no comments were ever made. I was there from about June 68 to January 69 and would have stayed there until I was either shot down or the war was over. I loved Cam Ranh! Had I not been married, I would have kept extending. I don’t recall what happened with my M37 but I’m sure someone put it to good use.