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Young Vietnamese woman who was part of ground crew at Tan Son Nhut Airbase in Saigon – 1972. She is standing between the paratroop door and the small round observation window on left side of the C-130 cargo bay … probably staying out of hot sun waiting on a load of cargo. These workers generally wore camo jumpsuits and hats loaded with patches of many of the flying squadrons.
C-130 flight engineer on our crew in cockpit checking his eyelids out for holes as we wait on ground for departure - 1972. The flight engineer sat in an elevated seat aft and between the two pilots … the job included managing and monitoring major aircraft systems like electrical, fuel, hydraulics, etc … also closely watched pilots so they didn’t screw up, and was another set of eyes to watch out for other aircraft traffic in the friendly skies over Vietnam. Notice the old gray headsets we all wore … relatively crude in today’s world and part of the reason why my hearing is so bad today.
Aberdeen Harbor, Hong Kong 1972. Spent several days here with C-130 crew on a rare and special good deal assignment. Pictured is a mass of entangled junks on which many families spent most of their lives on the water. Watercraft of all shapes and sized clogged the harbor … I couldn’t discern any obvious traffic patterns beyond chaos … but than why should it be any different than the streets and roads there. The kids in right side of photo didn’t mind the camera while older women on left clearly did not like being photographed … family dog in lower left indifferent.
With Buddhism a dominant religion/philosophy in the region, Buddhas were to be seen everywhere rendered in all shapes, sizes, and materials. Here is a very large Laughing Buddha in the city of Taichung, Taiwan – 1972. Based on recent photos I’ve seen on the web, this Buddha has undergone some refurbishing and appears to be sporting a brighter smile as a result.
Although we spent most of our time in Vietnam, our official duty station in PACAF (Pacific Air Command) was CCK (Ching Chuag Kang) Airbase near Taichung, Taiwan. Generally we would take a week or more break in Taiwan in between two or three week tours to Vietnam where all the operational flying was done. I even had a rented house in downtown Taichung (a good sized city) that I shared with two other C-130 pilots … even maintained a small 1971 Mitsubishi Galant auto to drive around while on this periodic R & R. Attached photo is sample of beautiful landscapes that were typical of this mountainous island.
Marine C-130 on ramp at Nam Phong Airbase, Thailand 1972. Nicknamed “The Rose Garden” Nam Phong was a Marine airbase relocated from Danang and literally carved out of the jungle. Conditions were rough with many structures nothing more than tents. Everything was encrusted with the red clay dust that’s evident in the photo. Also a Marine Corp F4 Phantom squadron there. Base supported air ops in nearby Laos and Cambodia as well as Vietnam. Recently viewed YouTube video of 1972 Bob Hope USO visit at the base where he humorously capitalized on the Rose Garden aspects of life there.
In early 1973 our C-130 was one of the first USAF aircraft to fly into Hanoi following the ceasefire. Our mission was involved with transporting peace negotiation delegates. As we approached Gia Lam Airport, here is a photo of one of the many antiaircraft installations that made Hanoi the most heavily defended city in the world. Only weeks earlier this ring of defense had been highly active during the 1972 Linebacker II Christmas bombing campaign. We certainly would have been a sitting duck at that time. Don't know much about these facilities and whether it was SAM related and/or artillery.
Three proud tails of C-130-E aircraft in protective revetments at Tan Son Nhut Airbase Vietnam – 1972. The “C” and “E” around the “130” meant the plane had a “Cargo” configuration and was an “E-model” respectively … “A-models” were oldest and the model Letter was incremented to note improved/different versions of the plane. E models dominated this era. The large letters on the tails indicated airbase of origin … the planes were repurposed to Vietnam from US installations … in photo “LK” was Little Rock AFB, AK, and “DY” was Dyess AFB, TX. The smaller numbers on the tails (obscured in this photo) indicated year of manufacture; the larger numbers the last three digits of the serial number. C-130 flight crews generally always flew together but not on any particular C-130 aircraft, whereas crew chiefs were attached to specific airframes.
