During the final months of my Vietnam tour I was assigned to a support battalion at Camp Debeau on the Tan Son Nhut Airbase perimeter outside Saigon. Most officers lived in a Saigon hotel, but I was one of five who lived in two man “hooches”. Since American involvement in the war was winding down, the other occupant of my hooch was not replaced when he returned to the States. I had it all to myself.
A previous occupant added a sign identifying the hooch as the “Saigon Hilton”. Like the other two hooches it was a small structure surrounded by “blast barrels,” 55-gallon drums filled with sand to absorb shrapnel.
(Note blast barrels around each hooch.)
One of Camp DeBeau’s attractions was a pack of semi-wild dogs. These dogs knew that if they appeared outside the mess hall at the end of the day, they would receive any leftovers. You could set your watch by those dogs.
My favorite thing about the dogs was that they would bark at any Vietnamese who entered the camp. As the only Infantry officer in the battalion, I was responsible for defense of the camp and felt that the dogs added a bit of security.
So, it was with some concern when in the middle of the night I was awoken by barking. It seemed to be coming from the far side of the camp, near the generator – a likely *sapper objective. Soon, the barking got louder as the dogs charged in the direction of my hooch, clearly in hot pursuit. As was the case with everyone except the guard, I was unarmed. I took some comfort knowing that about 50 feet away the officer and non-commissioned officer of the day were in the headquarters building and were armed.
There wasn’t much time to wonder what to do as the intruder jumped on the blast barrels and leapt on my roof. The dogs surrounded my hooch and the barking reached a frenzy. Clearly panicked, I heard the intruder’s footsteps run across my roof as he tried to leap to safety. As he leapt, the dogs went wild – and were suddenly quiet. A few sniffs and huffs, and then they dispersed.
A quick look out the door, and I ran to headquarters. The officer was asleep in a cot, and the non-commissioned officer had his head down on a desk, also asleep. I woke him up, but obviously he had heard nothing.
The dilemma now was whether or not to sound the alarm. Had the dogs vanquished the intruder, or might he return with reinforcements? For reasons I can’t explain (or remember), I did not sound the alarm.
In the morning I walked around the hooch to look for signs of the enemy. I found his body behind the hooch, between the wall and the blast barrels. Clearly his leap had ended badly, as his neck was obviously broken. One less cat in Vietnam.
*Technically, a sapper is a military engineer. In Vietnam the term was used to indicate someone who could infiltrate through the defensive line, disarming booby traps and possibly placing explosives.
Hi Bernie,
I am always amazed at the loyalty of dogs. As someone who lives with four dogs I appreciated your story. I read a book not to long ago that I thought you might enjoy given your experience. It is a true story about a Marine who was adopted by a dog in Afghanistan while holding a compound. The title was “Craig and Fred” the sub title, ” A marine, a stray dog and how they rescued each other”, pretty much sums up the story. It was written by Craig Grossi.
Suzanne has been encouraging everyone to share good reads during these stay at home days. I hope this is one you might enjoy.
Cindy Maxson
Thanks Cindy! I just requested a copy from my library. I have plenty of time to read these days, so I appreciate the suggestion.
Bernie. This is the first time I have read anything about Camp Debeau. I was at Camp Debeau, Tan Son Nhut, Saigon 71-72. I left Vietnam at the end of February 1972. I got an early release because of the troop reductions. I was the Battalion CPO (Civilian Personnel Officer).
Some of the personnel I worked with (519th MI Battalion):
(Lieutenant Colonel Parker, CO) (Major Hart, XO) (Captain Segar, S-1) (1st Lt. George Pember)
(John Ramsey, Specialist) (Miss Nguyen Thi Mi, Administrative Assistant) (SGT Kien, ARVN Soldier, Interpreter/Translator)
Just before I left, I remember an infantry officer supervising the construction of a new bunker at the main gate. Was that you?
I was a sapper (Combat Engineer) (Engineer OCS, Fort Belvoir, Virginia)
William H. (Bill) Clark, 1st Lt., Corp of Engineers
Hi Bill:
I was initially assigned to the 101st Airborne in Phu Bai. They went home, and I was assigned to the 519th in Feb 72, so I must have just missed you. I think I remember LTC Parker, Miss Mi, and CPT Segar. Maybe the guy I replaced was the one supervising bunker construction, since we (S2/S3) were responsible for camp security. He may have worn Infantry insignia, because it was a not-very-well kept secret that the 519th was MI, and MI officers in the battalion wore combat arms brass. Pretty sure I was the only Infantry officer in HHC, if not the battalion. My tour ended 3 weeks early, in Sep 72.
Thanks for your comment. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from someone with the Camp DeBeau experience.
Bernie. Have you read “The Long Grey Line” (Atkinson tells the story of West Point Class of 1966) They lost, by far, the most classmates in Vietnam. It was a great read, but for some reason I was depressed for long time after I finished the book. Bill Clark.
Bill, sorry I didn’t see your follow up message until today. I own a copy of “The Long Gray Line” and have read it more than once. Class of ’66 were Firsties when I was a plebe, so we didn’t associate, but I was aware of some of the guys covered in the book.
I was stationed at Camp DeBeau in the Spring of 1972. 504th Signal Detachment. We were a small unit. I stayed there until they moved us into MACV on base in 1973 (not sure of the date) then we retired the unit after the peace treaty signing in Jan of 1973. I wish I could find more on Camp Debeau. I love this story!
Thank you.
Thanks, Randy. We must have been there at the same time. When I left (Sep 72), I thought they were getting ready to relocate to Cholon. Much better to move into a MACV compound.
I think the Signal Detachment CO was Dave McCatty (sp?). Like me, he lived w/his XO in one of the 3 hooches near the water tower. The XO (don’t remember his name) transferred to CID.
Glad you enjoyed the story!