CAN THO ARMY AIRFIELD

6/77 Artillery (Attached to 9th Infantry Division)

Can Tho - Phong Dinh Province - IV CTZ

Can Tho supported a substantial military complex including Can Tho Army Airfield, Eakin Compound, Stateside Lounge, and Dempsey Compound. Although the airfield hosted many specialized Army support and administrative units, there were no 9th ID troops garrisoned at Can Tho - other than the administratively attached 6/77 Artillery (105mm towed howitzers). Eakin Compound featured a superb swimming pool and outdoor lounge unlike any similar facility in the 9th ID AO (LTC James Pyle photograph).					he 6/77 Artillery Battalion had the distinction of being the first US Army unit to turnover its assets and mission to the ARVNs. Named Big Switch, this had been the beginning of the Vietnamization of the war, which ultimately paved the way for US troop withdrawals. The operation was completed in two phases, initially by turning over one firing battery to the 213th ARVN Artillery Battalion on March 10, 1969, and then the remainder of the 6/77 Artillery Battalion's assets on the following April 26, 1969.
On June 5, 1969, after performing at a Change of Command ceremony - the 9th ID band was invited to lunch at the VIP Lounge by the CO of the 51st Maintenance Company (Light Equipment Direct Support). Later that day the Navy sent a bus to transport the band to the US Naval Support Activity Detachment Binh Thuy - a few klicks northwest along Interprovincial Route LTL-27.		In addition to being the capital of Phong Dinh Province, Can Tho and its surrounding area hosted the largest population cluster in the Mekong Delta. IV CTZ headquarters, as well as logistical and tactical support facilities for corps operations were centered in or near the city. The Army airfield was a little over a mile northwest of the city and reflected little of Can Tho's metropolitan atmosphere.			The 9th ID Band performed at Big Switch (Phase I) on March 10, 1969. The band had flown into Can Tho on a CH-47 Chinook and landed on the Army airfield. The 6/77 Artillery trucked us to the ceremony. On the way we passed the airfield's bone yard. The wrecked Chinook in the view at right displays a large base down triangle designator on its rear pylon housing, which could have been the 13th Combat Aviation Group that once operated out of Can Tho Army Airfield.
			The remains of a partially submerged helicopter rested were it crashed at Can Tho Army Airfield. There were always plenty of grim reminders of war in IV CTZ, even in the "secure" locations. Because individual tours of duty lasted only one year, there was no continuum of unit memory or experience. Most of us did not know that much of the ground we trod had been hallowed by the blood of those who came before us.

The band spent a lot of time waiting for transportation and only received prime consideration when we had to play a gig at the general's mess or at one of his evening parties. This time we relaxed in the shade of the Company D, 5th US Special Forces Group, C-4 Operations Detachment, air operations/waiting room at the somewhat desolate east end of Can Tho Army Airfield. The special forces building later became a pizza stand.

The band's wait was over when its ride appeared on the horizon beyond the end of the runway. On this day we traveled by US Air Force C-7A, Caribou, fixed-wing transport. The yellow stripe on the aircraft's upper tail fin indicated that it was from the 536th Tactical Airlift Squadron operating out of Vung Tau. The runway control tower was erected on top of an old French World War II vintage concrete bunker. The tower displayed a Pathfinder winged torch emblem on it south elevation. Pathfinders located and recovered downed aircraft amongst their other duties. The strange fat tires at the end of the runway are 500-gallon, collapsible, rubber, fuel bladders known as Forward Area Refueling Equipment (FARE).

Left - Across the runway from the US Special Forces waiting room, engineers are erecting a third hangar. Six Huey UH-1s sit out in the open on the flight line, which indicates that the facility must be fairly recent or else there would have been revetments to protect the aircraft. The main terminal area of the airfield was on the west side of the runway, out of view to the right. Right - The Central Intelligence Agency owned and operated a fleet of civilian aircraft under the name Air America. They didn't fool anyone - if that had been their intent. I'm not certain what they were doing with Air America but they seemed to be doing it everywhere.

Background Sound: "The Thunderer" - John Phillip Sousa 1889                       RETURN TO VIETNAM TOUR 365