On January 5, 1965, I arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon aboard a commercial jet and immediately boarded a military bus which carried myself and others to the Air Base at Bien Hoa. Bien Hoa is located about 20 miles northeast of Saigon and was then designated War Zone D by military authorities. As the bus traveled north on Highway 1, I was surprised at the tranquility and beauty of the surrounding countryside. The driver told us that the road was pretty well patrolled during the day but was unsafe at night. Although we carried no weapons on the bus, Air Force personnel had been given additional weapons training at Clark Air Base in the Philippines before arriving in country.
I was assigned to the Food Service Squadron orderly room as a clerk. It was my job to prepare the menus for each dining hall and to requisition the food that we needed from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon. Once each week a refrigerated tractor and trailer would transport the food from Saigon to Bien Hoa utilizing an armed escort. I made that trip a couple of times and I knew that the vehicle often came under hostile fire. Probably because it was a big target. We also had the responsibility of obtaining food for Pleiku Air Base which was located in the Central Highlands. Those supplies had to be flown to Pleiku from Bien Hoa. I sometimes traveled there by air to make sure everything was going smoothly and make sure they were getting what they needed.
For several months enemy activity near Bien Hoa had been on the increase. During March the United States Embassy in Saigon as well as a popular floating restaurant had been bombed resulting in numerous casualties. I had been a frequent guest at that restaurant. Although there were rules about how many personnel could be away from the base at any given time, it was usually not a problem to obtain a weekend pass to Saigon. The town of Bien Hoa offered little in the area of entertainment or decent restaurants and was off limits after daylight hours. The road to Saigon was also off limits after dark so one had to plan their travel accordingly. Other than Saigon, the only other in-country place for Rest and Relaxation (R&R) was the coastal city of Vung Tau. One could only obtain a one week pass for Vung Tau each six month period spent in-country. In other words, one could obtain a week long pass for Vung Tau twice during a one year tour. Vung Tau was a beautiful little town and had beaches comparable to Destin or Panama City, Florida. The only thing about Vung Tau was that the Viet Cong often used the city for R&R as well. For that reason, it was not advisable to be out late at night. Later in the war, military personnel could go to other cities in Asia for needed R&R.
Bien Hoa Air Base supported a variety of aircraft that flew missions daily in support of U. S. military forces all over South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Bien Hoa was also a training base for Vietnamese pilots. The next few months, I would become acclimated to the country and somehow became accustomed to hearing the almost nightly exchange of mortars directed at or away from the base. One learned very quickly the sounds associated with "incoming" and "outgoing" mortars or rockets. In February the South Vietnamese government became very unstable and for a day it appeared that the entire country would descend into chaos. Order was restored temporarily by Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and Lt. General Nguyen Khanh, Commander of the Armed Forces. Ky would later become Premier of South Vietnam for the remainder of the war. General Ky now resides in California. He was well respected by the American military. After a meeting of 15 senior military officers at Bien Hoa Air Base, Khanh was removed from his military position and was assigned as an ambassador at large to the United Nations.
May 16, 1965 began as a quiet Sunday morning. A "skeleton" crew was busy preparing a few aircraft for weekend missions while remaining aircraft parked on the ramp had been serviced with fuel and ordnance in preparation for missions on Monday. As a B-57 Canberra jet bomber taxied out of the aircraft parking area, a 500 pound bomb on the plane exploded. There has been much speculation about what caused this initial explosion but I will leave that to the experts who have yet to release documents showing what actually happened that day. No doubt about it, an admission that the devastation had been caused by enemy action would have fueled positive propaganda for the enemy. Of course they claimed responsibility for the incident anyway. They had to take a propaganda victory wherever they could get it. A similar incident occurred aboard the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in the Gulf of Tonkin on July 29, 1967 which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries to Naval personnel. The cause of that explosion was believed to have been the exhaust from ground equipment which overheated a bomb mounted on one of the planes. The bomb exploded and set off a chain reaction of explosions on the carrier.
At any rate, armed planes were parked on the ramp wingtip to wingtip. Flaming debris, bombs and ordnance hurtled into the other aircraft causing a chain reaction of explosions, turning the area into a raging inferno. Air Force Captain John Islin was standing only five hundred yards from the initial explosion and described the incident as follows:
"I heard a tremendous crack and felt the concussion. Then a long shaft of smoke rose, with a fireball at its base. In a couple of seconds there was another crack, then a series of sharp explosions. I could see the shock waves. Flames from fuel and ordnance passed up and down the line of aircraft parked on the ramp. Large chunks of aircraft were flying all over. Where they hit, more fires and explosions were set off."
From the village of Bien Hoa, I could see, feel and hear the explosions. It appeared to me that the base was under heavy artillery bombardment. I ran to the main gate of the Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) compound (one had to pass through the VNAF compound in order to reach the American compound and airfield) where I met another Airman riding a bicycle. Together we rode the bicycle about a mile to the American gate. Explosions and what sounded like small arms fire continued as we approached the gate. I asked the Security Police at the American gate if we were under attack. He replied that he didn’t know but that I should obtain my weapon and report to my defensive position on the base perimeter.
As I stood there at the American gate, a helicopter landed in front of the headquarters building ferrying additional medical personnel from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. This unit had arrived in Vietnam from Okinawa on May 3, 1965 and was to assume the responsibility of protecting the Air Base. As the base dispensary had been destroyed along with the Control Tower and other buildings, a temporary field hospital was established in the main enlisted dining hall. Casualties had already started arriving at that facility. I briefly stopped there to see if I could be of assistance before retrieving my weapon and ammunition. I saw that a number of casualties had already arrived and a triage had been commenced.
Airmen stood in line at the armory in order to check out their weapons and ammo. Shrapnel and exploding ammunition continued to rain down on the housing area. Some Vietnamese employees from the Dining Halls began running toward the main gate because they had been ordered to leave the base. They undoubtably believed the base was under attack. A nervous group of Airmen drew down on them and ordered them to stop. I knew all of these employees by name so I was able to convince the airmen that they were okay even though things were a bit chaotic. The long line of personnel retrieving weapons made a good target. It reminded me of the Ordnance Sergeant in the movie "Zulu Dawn" who was so meticulous about dispensing ammunition that he got himself and many others killed. After this incident at Bien Hoa, weapons were removed from the armory and assigned to each housing unit or "hut" where they were readily available to personnel during an emergency.
Needless to say, Sunday was a very long day. We manned the perimeter until about midnight. We were released when security forces detected no unusual enemy activity in or around the base. For the next two days and nights ordnance continued to "cook off" on the flight line, a delayed action from the searing heat of burning fuel and exploding ordnance. By Monday evening, only ten 500-pound bombs remained on the ramp. These bombs, which had become unstable from the intense heat, were equipped with a delayed-fuse and an anti-disturbance device. On Tuesday, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams detonated the remaining bombs. Early Wednesday morning, the parking ramp was declared safe. The entire base turned out to clean up the flight line and parking ramp. I am in the bottom photo on this page on the far right of the frame looking to the right. Seeing the devastation up close was sobering. Huge craters twenty feet across and six feet deep pock marked the aircraft parking area. Unexploded ammunition was scattered everywhere. The wreckage was searched first by hand to insure that there were no body parts or personal items hidden within the carnage. Then the ammo was picked up and trucks began hauling away the debris. When the sun set on Wednesday, the base was fully operational again despite what "Hanoi Hannah" broadcast to the contrary.
For the first time, authorities were able to assess the damage and casualties. The following men lost their lives that day. If you know where any of these men are buried, I would appreciate it if you would let me know so that I can add it to the entry.
Acosta, Jesse Rodriguez (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 3511th Field Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (06 Aug 1934 TX-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, TX, Section X, Site 3082) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 115)
Aragon, Jose Ruben (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 4600th Consolidated Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (22 Nov 1939 CO-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Fairview Cemetery, Fountain, El Paso County, CO, Block 003, Lot 029, Plot 002) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 115)
Baldonado, Secundino (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (01 Jul 1927 NM-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, NM, Section 11, Site 54) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 117)
Bell, Robert Graham (Major, U. S. Air Force, Exchange Pilot, VF-162, F8U Crusader, USS Oriskany, Aircraft Carrier, U. S. Navy, Gulf of Tonkin) (23 May 1930 TX-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 116)
Brown, Brian Dale (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405 Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (18 Mar 1935 TX-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Bluebonnet Hills Cemetery, Colleyville, Tarrant County, TX) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 116)
Bunch, Claude Marvin (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 34th Air Base Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (26 Feb 1920 AL-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 116)
Cale, James Martin (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 3750th Material Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (02 Sep 1936 DC-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Mount Zion Road Cemetery, Masontown, Preston County, WV) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 116)
Clark, Robert Lewis (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (26 Sep 1931 IN-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 117)
Crawford, William Thomas (Airman First Class, U. S. Air Force, 34th Air Base Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (11 May 1932 MO-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Laurel Oak Cemetery, Windsor, Henry County, MO, Lot 0864-GR:E) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 117)
Donaghy, Edgar Stoms (Staff Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 34th Air Base Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (09 Jun 1930 PA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 116)
Engel, Terence Dean (Airman First Class, U. S. Air Force, 34th Consolidated Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (25 May 1943 MN-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 117)
Fidiam, Aaron Gregory (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 34th Air Base Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (31 Jul 1934 NY-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, Section 43, Site 3094) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 117)
Fox, Charles Nathan (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (24 May 1933 IN-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 118)
Haynes, Vernon Lee (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 17th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (21 Nov 1926 IA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR, Section F, Site 6351) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 118)
Hicks, William Donald (Senior Master Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (29 Nov 1929 PA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 118) Smock, Pennsylvania,
Jepson, Arthur C. Jr. (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (26 Apr 1932 IL-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, Section 35, Site 595) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 118)
Kea, Andrew Millard (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (28 Jul 1929 OH-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, Section 35, Site 597) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 119)
McFeron, Ernest (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 33rd Tactical Group) (06 Jun 1934 TX-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Memory Gardens, Edna, Jackson County, TX, Old Section, Block 137, Lot E, Space 3) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 119)
Rachal, Charles William (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405 Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (07 Jun 1923 LA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Rachal’s Cemetery, Natchitoches Parish, LA) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 119)
Raulerson, Clifford H. Jr. "Hal" (Airman First Class, U. S. Air Force, 34th Consolidated Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (26 Jun 1938 GA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Winter Park Cemetery, Winter Park, FL) Bronze Star Medal
Seaman, Donald Joseph (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 34th Consolidated Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (08 Jul 1930 PA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 119)
Shannon, Billy Eugene (Captain, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (28 Sep 1927 MO-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, burial place unknown) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 120)
Snyder, Gerald Allison (Technical Sergeant, U. S. Air Force, 405th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (14 May 1926 PA-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Flohr’s Church Cemetery, McKnightstown, Adams County, PA) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 120)
Underwood, James Edward (Major, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (13 Jun 1925 MT-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, Section 37, Site 4724) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 120)
Wagner, Lee Celin Jr. (First Lieutenant, U. S. Air Force, 13th Bomb Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (16 Mar 1939 OH-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Keokuk National Cemetery, Keokuk, IA, Section F, Site 45) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 01E-Line 120)
Weaver, Hayden Edward (Airman First Class, U. S. Air Force, 405th Organizational Maintenance Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (17 Jun 1941 WI-16 May 1965 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, IL, Section B, Site 608) (Vietnam Memorial 01E-Line 120)
These were men I saw just about every day. I don’t know if this incident was a result of an accident or hostile fire but I do know that these men gave their lives for their country. A few days after the incident, the Air Base Chaplain conducted a memorial service for the men in the base theater. It was a very somber occasion. These men were not rookies, all were senior airman and officers and they were there because they wanted to be. In addition to those killed, seventy-seven U.S. and seven Vietnamese had been injured. Equipment destroyed included eleven B-57’s, two A-2H’s, one each A-1E and F-8U, thirty pieces of ground equipment, ten vehicles and a JP4 fuel dump. Many airmen braved the explosions and flames to pull aircraft out of harms way. There were many acts of bravery that went unseen and unheralded.
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson had ordered two squadrons of B-57’s consisting of eighteen planes each to deploy from Okinawa to Bien Hoa Air Base. Five planes were destroyed in the attack on Bien Hoa Air Base in November of 1964. One plane had been shot down in March of 1965. At the time of this incident only one squadron of 18 planes remained in Vietnam. Four planes were on missions and three were on the opposite end of the runway when the explosions took place. This incident pretty well decimated the B-57 fleet.
As a result of this incident, the Air Force directed an emergency program for revetment construction. Three 28-man "Prime Beef" teams were deployed to Vietnam to commence construction at major Air Force bases. Hardened structures were also built to provide added protection for personnel and resources not directly involved in the base defense mission. A number of the men lost their lives when the bunker in which they sought refuge collapsed from the tremendous shock waves created by the exploding ordnance. The bunkers were only built to withstand small arms fire or mortars. This incident had cost the Air Base dearly in human lives and property. It had closed a major USAF installation for three days and provided helpful propaganda for the enemy. Training and teamwork, coupled with an improvement in facilities, set the stage for one of the finest cooperative efforts between air and ground forces in the war.
A few months later, an enemy force penetrated the base and shelled the airfield for fifteen minutes lobbing some 300 shells into the base. A combined force of Vietnamese and U. S. Air Force ground personnel, aided by close air support, kept the forces at bay until reinforcements arrived from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the Vietnamese Army (ARVN). Eleven U.S. planes were damaged and there were twenty-nine casualties, none serious. The Vietnam News Agency (North Vietnam) reported that they inflicted 293 casualties on the base and destroyed 68 aircraft as well as 8 missile launchers and 22 petrol tanks.
The photographs attached to this article were taken by Airman Gordon Winters during those dark days. I asked him for a copy of some of the photos and he gave them to me just for the cost of the materials. I am sure he did the same for others so there probably are other copies out there. He told me that the photos were made from positives so they would appear backwards when viewed . Keep that in mind when you view them. The following briefs are of Gordon and the pilot he was with on the day they both met their fates over the jungles of South Vietnam in 1966.
Bottesch, John Richard (Captain, U. S. Air Force, Pilot, F-100F, 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing, 34th Tactical Group) (24 Sep 1934 PA-19 Jul 1966 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, buried Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, Section 35, Site 4265) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 09E-Line 36) Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal
Winters, Darryl Gordon (Airman First Class, U. S. Air Force, Combat Photographer, Detachment 2, 600th Photo Squadron, 34th Tactical Group) (06 Mar 1939 CA-19 Jul 1966 Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, body not recovered) (Vietnam Memorial Panel 09E-Line 44) Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Air Medal
Copyrighted 2008 by Carl W. Dykes
The following sources have been utilized in preparing this document:
Daily News Briefs, Volume 1, No. 276 & 277, Office of Information, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, May, 1965.
Gene Gurney, Colonel, USAF, Retired. , "Vietnam-The War in the Air", (Crown Publishers, New York, 1985)
"Airbase defense in the Republic of Vietnam.", (Office of Air Force History, Washington, DC, 1979)
"Facts on File/World Digest with Index.", Volume XXV, Number 1295, 1965
Vietnam Memorial Website
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