From Glen Olsen 12/1/2009
Hi Ernie,
My name is Glenn Olsen, I went on Google and plugged in Dak To 1967 and your site popped up. I arrived in RVN on 7-4-67 at Cam Rahn Bay AB. I thought I was staying there but I was told I was going up the coast to Nha Trang. We flew up to Nha Trang (NT) in a C-5 Caribu, accommodations at NT were a lot better than I expected ( you know us Air Force Guy's are pampered). My main job was installing the Mini Guns on the ac-47's.
I was in country for about a month when my boss, MSgt Sullivan, said he was going to send me up North with SSgt Mackay to replace a fuel cell on a UH1F (port side) that was down at Dak To. Well we borrowed a fuel panel off a UH1 from NT, loaded it and a air compressor along with our tools on another larger UH1 and started our journey to PleiKu. Once arriving there, we got settled for the night then next morning headed west to Kon Tum for a bite to eat (good food) then to Dak To.
For a spoiled Air Force Guy the rude awakenning of true Viet Nam hit me...........My GOD is this how I'm going to have to live for who knows how long. Thanks to a Sgt 1st Class who informed the 2 of us " You Boy's aren't trained to stay here overnight". So for I forget how long they flew us back and forth till we were done on the UH1. Did I tell you they gave us our M-16 and 10 rounds and said if you need more get it from the Army.......
My question to you is , if I remember correctly the runway was made up of PSP linked steel, we worked on the south side of the runway(about 100 yards) and right next to our downed UH1 was a ledge of dirt and there was a young girl dug into the side of the ledge nursing a baby (every day). If you were there at that time do you remember ever seeing her or did I somehow imagine this? I know I didn't but it would be great to hear that she was real and somehow made it out of that mess she was in.
I really enjoyed the pictures you took, some almost looked like Nha Trang on misc photos. We had a beautiful beach and a not to shabby town.
I'm glad you made it home ..........Welcome Home by the way.........
I'll go back to that site and others to remember what it was like and how lucky I was to have all you Soldiers and Marines doing what you did so my Dumb Ass and others like me were safe.
Take care of yourself and again "WELCOME HOME"
Glenn Olsen-SSgt-USAF
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Ernie Camacho:
Glenn:
Dak To did not have a PSP runway. Holloway, at Pleiku, did. I don't know of any others in the area that were PSP. Dak To was asphalt, built by the French.
I also do not remember anything like the ledge you mention. On the south side of the runway there is a bit of land before it drops off to the river below. I suspect you're thinking of another air strip.
Oh, there was a 2nd air strip at Dak To. Even though I was there for about 9 months, I didn’t know it was there. And I was air traffic control! At any rate, Dak To 1 was used in operations before ours, and may have been used afterwards. Since I didn't go there, I don't know if it was PSP. But again, there are no ledges at Dak To 1 either.
Welcome home!
Ernie
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Glenn Olsen:
Hi Ernie,
I know I saw this girl and her baby, not far away from where we worked (150 yards) was what I call Tent City. That is where we ate and as I said, in the late afternoon we would head back to Plieku. Maybe calling it a ledge was a poor choice of words, I think it was maybe 4-5 ft high.
Glenn
P.S. Could I be thinking of Kontum? That to me looked like a bomb crater leveled off with Huey's and tents.
Hi Ernie,
My name is Glenn Olsen, I went on Google and plugged in Dak To 1967 and your site popped up. I arrived in RVN on 7-4-67 at Cam Rahn Bay AB. I thought I was staying there but I was told I was going up the coast to Nha Trang. We flew up to Nha Trang (NT) in a C-5 Caribu, accommodations at NT were a lot better than I expected ( you know us Air Force Guy's are pampered). My main job was installing the Mini Guns on the ac-47's.
I was in country for about a month when my boss, MSgt Sullivan, said he was going to send me up North with SSgt Mackay to replace a fuel cell on a UH1F (port side) that was down at Dak To. Well we borrowed a fuel panel off a UH1 from NT, loaded it and a air compressor along with our tools on another larger UH1 and started our journey to PleiKu. Once arriving there, we got settled for the night then next morning headed west to Kon Tum for a bite to eat (good food) then to Dak To.
For a spoiled Air Force Guy the rude awakenning of true Viet Nam hit me...........My GOD is this how I'm going to have to live for who knows how long. Thanks to a Sgt 1st Class who informed the 2 of us " You Boy's aren't trained to stay here overnight". So for I forget how long they flew us back and forth till we were done on the UH1. Did I tell you they gave us our M-16 and 10 rounds and said if you need more get it from the Army.......
My question to you is , if I remember correctly the runway was made up of PSP linked steel, we worked on the south side of the runway(about 100 yards) and right next to our downed UH1 was a ledge of dirt and there was a young girl dug into the side of the ledge nursing a baby (every day). If you were there at that time do you remember ever seeing her or did I somehow imagine this? I know I didn't but it would be great to hear that she was real and somehow made it out of that mess she was in.
I really enjoyed the pictures you took, some almost looked like Nha Trang on misc photos. We had a beautiful beach and a not to shabby town.
I'm glad you made it home ..........Welcome Home by the way.........
I'll go back to that site and others to remember what it was like and how lucky I was to have all you Soldiers and Marines doing what you did so my Dumb Ass and others like me were safe.
Take care of yourself and again "WELCOME HOME"
Glenn Olsen-SSgt-USAF
------------------------------------------------------------
Ernie Camacho:
Glenn:
Dak To did not have a PSP runway. Holloway, at Pleiku, did. I don't know of any others in the area that were PSP. Dak To was asphalt, built by the French.
I also do not remember anything like the ledge you mention. On the south side of the runway there is a bit of land before it drops off to the river below. I suspect you're thinking of another air strip.
Oh, there was a 2nd air strip at Dak To. Even though I was there for about 9 months, I didn’t know it was there. And I was air traffic control! At any rate, Dak To 1 was used in operations before ours, and may have been used afterwards. Since I didn't go there, I don't know if it was PSP. But again, there are no ledges at Dak To 1 either.
Welcome home!
Ernie
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Olsen:
Hi Ernie,
I know I saw this girl and her baby, not far away from where we worked (150 yards) was what I call Tent City. That is where we ate and as I said, in the late afternoon we would head back to Plieku. Maybe calling it a ledge was a poor choice of words, I think it was maybe 4-5 ft high.
Glenn
P.S. Could I be thinking of Kontum? That to me looked like a bomb crater leveled off with Huey's and tents.