Con Son is about 150 miles off the Vietnam coast southeast of Saigon* and was mainly a prison Island for the RVN; home of the so-called Tiger Cages which did make the news on ocasion.
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Subject? Con Son
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Two Army landing craft visited the island in 1969. We were delivering useless bags of hardened cement. The stuff had been stored in open marshalling yards, during monsoon, and the bags had ruptured. It was useless when it was loaded. The other captain and I had the temerity to point out that fact, and it was almost like being back in "basic." Shut up, soldier, and haul cargo. Anyway, we delivered the stuff and spent a few days on the island. Beautiful place, for a visit. I don't recall seeing any fence lines, of any importance. Political prisoners and criminal offenders were wandering around the island, with impunity, ala Devil's Island, performing odd jobs (of a "houseboy" nature) for the Army and Coast Guard personnel.
The Army guys were living in thrown together huts and the Coasties were in neat air-conditioned modular type buildings. They had wall to wall carpets, so to speak, and the Army didn't even have wall to wall floors. Highly placed Saigon muckety mucks used the place as a quiet little getway spot. I guess there were unscheduled flights into the pretty basic little airstrip. If they ever get their act together that place would be more beautiful than Hawaii.
*I use mostly in era terms and place names - Such as Saigon, RVN etc.
The Army, Republic of Vietnam operated a AN/TRD-4A Radio Direction Finding site which was part of the overall DF Net and sub-nets in Southeast Asia. This was one of several sites operated by the ARVN. All, to the best of my knowledge, had American (read ASA) advisors attached -- normally Staff Sergeants. This photo below is circa 1968 March/April. th
The DF site was located just above the beach area at the left end of the beach as we look at it here in the area of those white blobs which are supposed to be buildings. The site advisor lived in the house just above the sand line of the beach on the right portion of the beach. The RED X in the line drawing to the left in the margin is more or less near the site area and advisor beach house seen in the photo above.
I have come across some mention on the Internet that the 175th RRC installed a detachment on the Island, if that is true then it had to have been after May 1968. I have not been able to confirm the information. -- Th
The whitish strip of blob color in the center below the hillside is the run way, fuel storage and other bits and pieces. The main American activities consisted of a Coast Guard Loran station which was the main unit and all the various Americans assigned used its facilities such as mess hall, club, etc. The Navy operated some sort of small site up on the top of the hill to the left in the above photo and the Army and Contractors operated a Decca site in several trailers in the area just above the DF Site Advisors house.
Coast Guard 130 Supply flight on Con Son Island airfield. The CG considered their station "at sea" and they rationed beer as 2 per person daily and only opened the club on Saturday night, if my memory is not faulty.
Wayne Rupp was on Con Son in the 1960s as an advisor to the ARVN DF site.. Captions provided by Wayne
"I bunked in one of the buildings at the LORAN site and ate meals in their "mess hall", signal reception at the site was spotty at best since the LORAN antennas and a large hill they sat on were between the mainland and the DF site that was on the beach."