By Bob " The Wop" Cascisa

I was stationed with the 73rd in Vung Tau and Long Thanh from May of 1969 to May of 1970. I was a 67H aircraft mechanic. While in Vung Tau, I met Susie at the Hawks Keller Club in the company area. To make a long story short, we were married in the US in 1970. This travelogue is from our trip home in June of 1998. We spent 9 days in Vietnam, seven in Vung Tau and two in Saigon. The main purpose of the trip was to visit family and give my two daughters a chance to meet their relatives in Vietnam. I had not been in Vietnam since the pullout in 1973. Susie has been back several times in the last five years. We had been planning this trip for a long time and finally did it. This is what I observed during my stay in Vung Tau. Please remember that my recollections of the 73rd are 25 years old and they may not be exact. Your comments and questions are invited. I had also intended to spend two days in Nha Trang. Due to illness we were unable to make the trip. My apologies to the guys in the 245th. For more information on Susie and me read our Bio.

 The Road To Vung Tau

Highway 1 between Saigon and Bien Hoa has changed quite a bit. It is now about 6 lanes wide with two automobile and one motorcycle lane in each direction. And, of course, the traffic is very heavy all of the time. I traveled the section from downtown Saigon to the Highway 51A intersection at Bien Hoa. The roadsides for the entire distance are lined with businesses and some factories including the Coca Cola bottling plant. There are a large number of sales lots and construction yards filled with heavy construction equipment sitting idle. I saw excavators, bulldozers, large cranes, pavers and other road building equipment by the hundreds. It is apparent that the building boom that took place in the mid to late '80's has gone bust due to the Asian recession.  

At the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 51A at Bien Hoa, there is a new shopping center under construction. The road to Vung Tau is under construction and being widened to four lanes between Highway 1 and Ba Ria. For all of the equipment laying idle along Highway 1, most of the road work is being done with manual labor. It will probably be at least another year before the project is done. This road passes by Bien Hoa, Long Bien, Long Thanh and Ba Ria and ends up in Vung Tau. There has been so much growth in the last 25 years that it is difficult to tell where one town stops and the next starts. There doesn't seem to be hardly any section of the road that is open rural land any more. I was able to recognize the cut-off to Long Thanh - Bear Cat. It is still a red clay dirt road. I had forgotten about the red clay in Long Thanh and how it used to get into and on everything. The rubber trees are still there and it looks like a new crop has been planted recently.  

There were only two landmarks along the road to Vung Tau that I could recognize. These are the narrow little bridge at Long Thanh and the bridge onto the Vung Tau Peninsula. The narrow little bridge at Long Thanh sticks out in my mind because this is where I almost bought the farm two weeks before I came home. See the side-bar for the 'war story' . The bridge is just as narrow as I remember it and still a traffic bottleneck. It is being replaced as part of the road widening project currently underway. The bridge onto the Vung Tau Peninsula stands out because the last time I crossed this bridge it had been blown up and a temporary bridge had been built next to it. It also brought out something that I had never realized before. The Vung Tau Peninsula is actually an island. It is surrounded on three sides by the South China Sea and the North end is bordered by the Song Dinh and the Song Co May waterways. The trip from the airport in Saigon to Vung Tau took about three hours. When the road construction is done it should take less then two hours.

Return to Contents

Contrary to my previous statements, the Airfield does still exist. It has completely changed however. There is now a road that goes completely around the airfield on the East side. About the only recognizable landmark is the old control tower This was taken from the East side of the main runway looking back to the West. As you can see the perimeter is now a 6 to 8 foot high stone wall.

All of the consantina wire and guard towers are gone. All of the Company area is gone. The hangars are gone, all the hooch's are gone, the mess hall is gone, and there are very few indications that the US (let alone the 73rd) was ever there.

I took a picture of some pavement at the North end of the airfield that I think is the old flight line and run-up area. The revetments are gone, the flight line is gone, all of the PSP has been removed. There is a gas station on the road to Saigon at the far North end of the airfield which is where this shot is taken from. Some of the old PSP is used for a fence at this gas station. This was taken looking South towards the control tower. The oil storage tanks may be the same ones that were there when we were.

The old main gate no longer exists. The road there is now a street that has an open market in the middle of. Further down the street there are some new unoccupied apartment complexes on the right. These are some very nice apartments that were built and then never rented because no one could afford the $1000 a month rent. They are now fenced off and vacant. At the end of this street I looked over the wall and I believe I was able to identify two open front hangars that were in the 308th/388th General Support area near the tower. They are now used to hangar Russian helicopters.

The new main gate is now along the road that goes to Saigon. There are some new buildings inside this gate. During the whole time I was in Vung Tau the only aircraft that flew in or out were the Russian built helicopters, no fixed wing aircraft. The runway may be in disrepair. The helicopters fly tourists and they shuttle crews to and from the offshore oil rigs.

 Vung Tau Airfield today, is just a heliport.

The compound that was across the road to the South of the airfield is completely gone. I don't recall exactly what was there, but I do remember we had to stay in a musty old hooch when we pulled guard duty downtown. It is now an open field and the future sight of a new business center.

The road to downtown Vung Tau looks about the same as it was. The road that ran East - West in front of the airfield, however, has changed a great deal. It is now a four lane divided boulevard. This is the intersection of highway 51A, and the road that ran East-West in front of the airfield. To the left is highway 51A to Saigon. Straight ahead about a quarter mile is the road to the left that was the old main gate. To the right is towards Vung Tau. Behind me is the road to the big Buddha Shrine. As you can see this whole road and all of the buildings are new. The second shot is from the intersection of the road to the old main gate looking the opposite direction down the same road towards the intersection with highway 51A.

One other landmark that is still recognizable are the two huge radar antennas on the hill to the West of the airfield. Why they are still there is a mystery.

Return to Contents

 Downtown

 The downtown area has also changed. Gone are the bars, brothels and 'barber shops' that were everywhere. The square in the center of town is now just parking for taxi's. The bars that lined the streets around the square are now filled with shops, restaurants and businesses of every kind. The Grand Hotel and The Rex Hotel are still there and have been renovated. The central market has been moved to a new location and the old market building and surroundings are now small retail shops. There are some new buildings in the downtown area such as the Vietnam Oil Company office building. Many of the narrow streets have been widened and some are now even divided boulevards with roundabouts at large intersections. In general, the whole downtown area was quite clean.

Contents Return to Contents

Vung Tau still has some of the best beaches in the world. Vung Tau is a popular destination for Vietnamese wanting to vacation at the beach. Nearly every inch of beach front property has been developed. The developed area extends far beyond Back Beach and the Aussie compound. We spent several days in what used to be the off limits area we called Windy Beach, where the old shipwreck used to be. The ship has long since been removed. This shot was taken looking to the South. The island is now a Buddhist Temple. Looking to the North, the beach extends far beyond the GI beach. I believe that the area near the first white tower is where Back Beach used to be. There is no sign of the club or the Aussie beach any more. We found the beaches to be uncrowded during the day. In the evening the locals would come out to beat the heat and play soccer in the sand. Food and trinket vendors still patrol the beaches trying to sell you just about anything.

TableReturn to Contents

 Money

The exchange rate at the time we were there was about $13,000 Dong to $1 US. This yields $1,300,000 VN to $100 US - quite a fist full of currency. This is a far cry from the $1.18 VN to $1.00 US that was in effect during the war. Inflation has gone wild in the last 25 years. They have issued $50,000 Dong notes now and coins are no longer used except to sell as souvenirs to the tourists. The most trivial of goods costs at least $2,000 Dong. Changing money is easy. Most merchants will change it or you can use a bank. The rate is about the same. You can even spend US dollars if you are making a major purchase, but your change will usually be in Dong. When changing or spending US Dollars, only clean (no pen or pencil marks) crisp $50 and $100 bills are accepted. Smaller bills might be accepted, but the rate will be lower.

Return to Contents

Traffic in Vietnam in general is about a thousand times more intense then when we were there. The basic rule of the road is "Honk the Horn and GO - and Honk the Horn, and Honk the Horn, and Honk the Horn ...". The noise can be deafening. There are more small Hondas and scooters on the road then anything, followed by a large number of trucks and finally automobiles.

One very obvious signature of previous American Military presence is the large number of Duce-And-A-Halves that are still in use today. All have been converted to commercial use. All of the military truck beds have been replaced with commercial dump boxes, water tanks and freight boxes. The engines still sound the same and the air horns are still the same. The entire time I was there I did not see one three quarter ton truck. I believe that the Vietnamese Military has them all to this day. Their small size, all wheel drive and toughness make then ideal for navigating narrow jungle roads. All of the jeeps are in use by various agencies of the government.

The Lambretta 550's that we used to take as taxi's are still going twenty-five years later. These have been in service since the French were there and are still going today. The earmark "Pop-Pop" of the two cycle engines is as loud as ever. Most are used to haul freight locally but some still provide local taxi service.

While we were there, we saw virtually every type of automobile there is. Hondas, Nissans, Toyotas, Cadillac, Mercedes, Lexus, Infinities and anything else you can imagine. All of the taxis are Nissan or Toyotas. Gone are the blue and yellow Renault taxis.  

Return to Contents

Vietnam today is very different than the Vietnam we remember. Vung Tau is different than the Vung Tau we were stationed at. It has grown tremendously. It has been developed by foreign investment to become "The Riviera of Asia". Many of the main streets are now wide divided boulevards. The beach front has been developed from beyond Back Beach, past Windy Beach, around to Front Beach. The road along the waterfront is four lanes wide. There have been a number of resort hotels built along the beaches. In the 1980's there was a rush to develop the tourist trade in Vung Tau. There were plenty of hotels but not many tourists. The recent recession in Asia has compounded the problem. As a result, there is a very high vacancy rate in the existing hotels. I saw at least a dozen half built multi story hotels fenced off and abandoned. The boom has gone bust for now. Prices for lodging and meals are very reasonable right now. Being there is like being among the first to visit a new vacation destination before the crowds arrive and raise the prices and ruin everything. I am sure the future will eventually bring the tourist trade to Vietnam.

Commerce abounds and Capitalism never left, nor has it been diminished. There is no shortage of general goods with possibly the exception of good medicine. There is even a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant near the airport in Saigon! There is a Western style mall that would make you think you were back in the states. There is a toy store there where I bought a model of an OV-1B. Trucks move goods day and night. The road from Vung Tau to Saigon had more truck traffic then cars and scooters combined. By US standards most goods are inexpensive. By Vietnamese standards the cost of living is high. With the increase of population in the last 25 years and the general movement of people from the country to the city, housing is at a premium. Rents are high for even a small one room apartment with no kitchen. Wages are very low and jobs are hard to get.

Oil is probably the foundation of the economy today. Offshore oil rigs are popping up off the Vung Tau coast. They are mostly staffed by Russian oil workers. Even there wages are only about $300 a month. They send most of that home to their families in Russia thus having little money to spend in Vietnam. The Vietnamese call them "Americans with no money".

Coke & Pepsi were having a price war while we were there. The price of a 300 ml. bottle of Coke or Pepsi dropped to $700 Dong. That's less then six cents. The sad part is that it is putting the local soft drink bottlers out of business.

An odd situation has taken place these days. Vietnam has always been known for it's outstanding rice. Today all of the best rice is exported and the only rice available is mediocre at best. Lobster is another prime export. It is now difficult to get and costs nearly as much as it does in the US.

Return to Contents

 Impressions of Vietnam - 25 Years later

Vietnam has certainly changed. It seems that there is more of everything. More people, more vehicles and more growth in general. The Vietnamese welcome visitors and tourists openly. Moving about is much like it was 25 years ago except that there are no curfews or 'off limits' areas in Vung Tau or Saigon. There are rural areas that are less safe to be in and of course the remaining military compounds are closed to visitors. As I walked around little kids would always say "Hello" and smile. It seems that most of the business people today are of the generation after the war. Most are too young to remember Americans directly. I did encounter several ARVN veterans and they were anxious to talk about 'The Old Days' of the war. I visited with a gift shop owner in Vung Tau who was in the South Vietnamese Army. He is about my age and has two daughters like me. In many ways we have led similar lives. After the fall of South Vietnam he spent three years in prison camps as did many who served in the South Vietnamese Military and Government. Some of my relatives suffered the same fate. Life in general was very difficult for the South Vietnamese people after the fall. Susie's sisters would sneak onto the Vung Tau airfield to steel consantina wire or any other scrap metal just to get money to survive. To this day, anyone that had anything to do with the old Government or Military can not get any type of job, housing or assistance from the Communist Government. Having family that married an American or family that escaped is also a preclusive black mark.

The Communist Government is very much in control of all movement within the country. When you enter Vietnam you are given a visa like paper. You must, upon entry, state where you will be going and where you will be staying. When you arrive at your destination you must check in with the local police station and check out when you leave. Usually this is handled by the hotel you are staying in. Crime seems to be very low. It is probably because the penalty for even a trivial crime is years in jail or retraining camp and sometimes death on the spot.

I know that I will return to Vietnam again. The beauty of the country and the friendliness of the people are great attractions. I did not encounter any Vietnamese that held a grudge because of the war. Next time I will spend less time visiting family and more time visiting places like Nha Trang, Dalat, Hue and even Hanoi. There is much to see in Vietnam now that there isn't a conflict going on.

Return to Contents

The reason the narrow little bridge in Long Thanh stands out in my mind is because this is where I almost bought the farm. After the 73rd had moved to Long Thanh, the company would send a five ton and a flatbed to Vung Tau about once a month to pick up beer and soda for the club in Long Thanh. I volunteered to ride shotgun on one of these trips, more to go and see Susie then anything else. As we approached the bridge, traffic slowed to a crawl. There was a Thai duce-and-a-half behind us and they didn't see the traffic slow down. They slammed into the back of the flatbed. We weren't hurt, but a couple of the Thai troops got some cuts and bruises. We got out to check things out and looked in the back of the duce-and-a-half. It was loaded to the hilt with 2.75" rockets, 40mm rounds and just about every other kind of ammunition you can imagine. At the time I only had two weeks left in country.

Return to Contents

 Bob and Susie's Bio

I was drafted in April of 1968. I went to Basic at Ft. Lewis, WA and Mohawk School at Ft. Rucker, AL (class 69-5). I was then stationed at Ft. Lee, VA where they had no Mohawks. I was tagged to go to Ft. Hood, TX but decided I would rather go to Vietnam then Texas. So, I went to the Pentagon and got my orders changed from Texas to Vietnam. I arrived in Vung Tau in May of 1969. I worked mostly on the night shift on PE crews and unscheduled maintenance (battle damage) teams. Because I knew a little about electricity, I ended up running the electric shop, something I would do again in later years.  

To kill time I worked as a bartender in the club in Vung Tau. That's where I met Susie. When I left Vietnam in May of 1970 we were engaged. I didn't know how or when I would see her again. After about six months of paperwork, bureaucracy and bribes she arrived in the US in October of 1970 and we were married in November.

We set up house and worked hard at making a living until I responded to an ad for civilian aircraft mechanics in Vietnam. We went back to Vietnam in July of 1972. When I arrived at my work station (the 388th at Hotel 3 on Than Son Nhut) I passed by the last of the Mohawks being disassembled and sent home. We worked and lived in Saigon until the US pullout in March of 1973. During this time we made many trips to Vung Tau on weekends and I got the chance to meet Susie's family.

When I came back to the US I joined the Oregon Army National Guard as they were just beginning to acquire Mohawks. I was soon hired as a full time aircraft electrician at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Salem, OR. The unit was the 1042nd MI Co, AS. We started with B and C models and later converted to D's. I worked for the Guard until 1983. Our most notable missions were IR mapping of forest fires and SLAR and IR missions over Mt. St. Helens before, during and after the eruption in 1980. I noted many logbook entries in the aircraft historical records from the 73^rd and other Vietnam units. One of my co-workers was Brian Bunge, a former T.O. in the 73^rd and 131^st. During this time Susie and I had two daughters. Susie worked as a waitress and I went to night school and got an A.S. degree in electronics.

In 1983 we moved to Bremerton, WA where I went to work for the Navy at Keyport, WA as a ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) operator picking up torpedoes off the bottom of test ranges. Susie went to work at JC Penney and I went back to school and finished my degree in electronics. Once I had my degree, I became an Electrical Engineer for the Government.

After 25 years working for the Government, I took an early retirement in 1996 and went to work as an Electrical Engineer for a Prosthetic Limb Manufacturer where I am now. Susie is now a Manager at Penneys. One daughter is through college and on her own and the other will be starting her junior year in the fall of 1998. We now live in Poulsbo, WA. It seems like only yesterday when I was working the night shift in Vung Tau.

My hobbies are antique cars and antique radios. Susie's hobbies are shopping and jewelry. We would love to hear from anyone that remembers Vung Tau.

Return to Contents

As I dug out my pictures and slides from my tour with the 73^rd, it brought back many memories. People, places, and events brought out fragments of a fuzzy recollection of days gone by. So here, in fragmented form, are my memories of the 73^rd.

Just before the time I arrived, the 1^st Cav and the 1^st Infantry Division Mohawks were merged into the 73^rd making it the largest Mohawk company in the world with 33 Mohawks. With over 460 enlisted men, more then 60 officers and a LTC for a commanding officer, we were also the largest company in the world.

Not to long after I arrived in Vung Tau there was a fire behind the flight line. Two JP-4 Tankers were transferring fuel and caught fire. It took the Fire Department most of the day to put it out. There was quite a scramble to move the Hawks out of danger. When it was over, one Duce-And-A-Half tanker and one five ton tanker were toast.

I was there when Lt. White was shot down. Just a couple weeks before he went down, I was sent to Ple Khu to fix one of our Hawks that landed there with a hydraulic leak. I flew back in that airplane - the pilot was Lt. White. About all I recall was that the flight back to Vung Tau was a great ride and all too short. I remember the huge effort we launched to try and find him and the Navy Lt. Commander after they went down.

It seemed like it took forever to move. The hooch's in Long Than were condemned. The showers were awful and red clay was everywhere. We went on many scrounging missions to get building materials to make the place decent.

After we moved to Long Than, every Sunday all of the girlfriends from Vung Tau would come to Long Than to visit. They were not allowed on base, so we met them outside the gate. They would bring lunch and it would be like a picnic in the park outside the gate. On any Sunday there would be 20 - 30 couples outside the gate. We were always trying to figure out how to get the girls on base.

Hamburgers and pizza that reminded you that you were not in the real world. Live Filipino bands and an occasional Round Eyed band. The bands always ended with "We Gota Get Outa This Place".

I bartended in Vung Tau and Long Than. The beer was cold and the music was loud. We couldn't sell Miller's for a nickel on the last day before payday!

Starched Fatigues and spit shined boots. The 'Super' got the night off, the next best three got the 12 hour shift, the rest got the 24 hour shift downtown. It came around too often.

Several of the guys spent a lot of time and effort fixing up a small hooch for the CO just outside the Orderly Room in Vung Tau. Within one week after the CO moved into it, a bus drove through it.

Edited for our benefit.

There was a small chapel next to the company area. Went to a few memorial services there.

Anytime someone from our hooch would go downtown, they would bring back a sack full of submarine sandwiches. We weren't exactly sure what was in them, but they were good.

Warm water, beer, Company parties, beer, BBQ steaks and beer. Does anyone remember the Aussie 'Dune Buggy'?

I remember this day because it was my 21^st birthday. At about 0630 Charlie sent in three 122mm rockets to commemorate the occasion. Only one made it to the airfield down at the North end. Happy Birthday to me !!!

Names that come to mind - Spelling is marginal at best

*Hooch Mates in Vung Tau

# He became an advisor to the Oregon Anmy National guard while they had Mohawks. He in now retired and lives in Salem, Oregon.

Return to Contents

Return to:
73rd Surveillance Airplane Company (SAC) - Home Page

Disclaimer

No restricted and/or classified information is contained herein. This home page and web site have been constructed and will be maintained entirely by the author, and the author is responsible for the contents and accuracy of this site. The contents of this page have not been reviewed, approved, or monitored by the United States Army, nor is this page and/or it's contents a representation of such. All comments, questions, and concerns should be directed to the author - John E. Akers

Credits

The proceeding story was written, in its entirety, by Bob "The Wop" Cascisa, 73rd Surveillance Airplane Company (SAC), 1969-1970

Copyright © 1998-2002, John E. Akers, All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 1998-2002, Bob "The Wop" Cascisa, All Rights Reserved.

Maintained by:

John E. Akers

...Send Comments and/or Feedback

Last update: January 27, 2002