From John Brooks 5/26/2011
Ernie,
I ran across your Dak To site this evening while I was surfing around some of the places I had been in 1968. It was a surprise to see someone had found so much info and posted it up. Many thanks , man, I have been curious about Dak To for years and your webpage is a great resource.
I started in country in Camp Halloway also, that was September of '67. I had just finished training as an RTO [radio telephone operator] and was assigned to the 4th Inf Div, Co B, 4th Medical Batt. at Pleiku. I recall the fall of '67 being pretty quiet in that area, but after the New Year TET hit and I was shipped north to Dak To via Kontum. I worked right off the airstrip in an underground bunker that did double duty as Commo center and Triage station. I don't recall where exactly and if anyone can spot it on your excellent photo, I'd be grateful. I and 3 other operators handled the Dustoff traffic in and out of the valley, so if you were doing ATC during the same time, we probably exchanged traffic with each other....pretty strange. I can't recall many of the old callsigns, but I do remember our landline was always "forceps" I do recall some heavy firefights during that spring (Mar 68?) that involved the 173rd in the hills above the camp. Nasty stuff as I remember.
Dak To was an odd little half acre of Hell, I'm glad it is not being forgotten.
Thanks Bro,
John Brooks
Ernie,
I ran across your Dak To site this evening while I was surfing around some of the places I had been in 1968. It was a surprise to see someone had found so much info and posted it up. Many thanks , man, I have been curious about Dak To for years and your webpage is a great resource.
I started in country in Camp Halloway also, that was September of '67. I had just finished training as an RTO [radio telephone operator] and was assigned to the 4th Inf Div, Co B, 4th Medical Batt. at Pleiku. I recall the fall of '67 being pretty quiet in that area, but after the New Year TET hit and I was shipped north to Dak To via Kontum. I worked right off the airstrip in an underground bunker that did double duty as Commo center and Triage station. I don't recall where exactly and if anyone can spot it on your excellent photo, I'd be grateful. I and 3 other operators handled the Dustoff traffic in and out of the valley, so if you were doing ATC during the same time, we probably exchanged traffic with each other....pretty strange. I can't recall many of the old callsigns, but I do remember our landline was always "forceps" I do recall some heavy firefights during that spring (Mar 68?) that involved the 173rd in the hills above the camp. Nasty stuff as I remember.
Dak To was an odd little half acre of Hell, I'm glad it is not being forgotten.
Thanks Bro,
John Brooks