313RRBn1

First Field Force Viet Nam Patch ASA Patch Chet Swanson
509th Radio Research Group
(RRCUV)
313th Radio Research Bn
Republic of Vietnam
1967

All Gave Some

Assigned on TDY from the 177th USA Opns Company in Korea, I arrived at the 509th RR Group at Davis Station on the 1st of April 1967. I worked at RRCUV for about 30 days after which several of us flew up to the HHC, 313th RR Bn at Nha Trang to build the Battalion's Comm Center. In the next 30 days our crew of 5 guys took a bare, concrete building and made it into the fully operational Comm Center for the Battalion.

313th RR Tent Company Area
Summer 1967
This is the main company "barracks" area for the 313th at Nha Trang before we moved into our new, 2 story barracks. The tent in the middle (right behind the lady walking) was my sleeping tent.

After we got the Comm Center working, the others on TDY returned back to their home stations. I stayed at Nha Trang until a replacement Crypto Repairman could be brought in to take over maintenance duties. That was actually pretty good duty, since it was pre-Tet and I don't recall our unit's compound every actually coming under fire during the time I was there. So, every morning I went into the Comm Center, did my routine PM on the gear, told the NCOIC where I was going to be and then took off for the rest of the day. See some other photos taken at the 313th on my photo page.

313th RR Bn Barracks Area
Summer 1967
This is the main company barracks area for the 313th at Nha Trang just after we moved into our new, 2 story barracks. Thirty years later I can't even guess which one of these buildings was my billets, but the note on the back of the photo says these are our barracks.

During my time at Nha Trang I spent as much time downtown or on the beach as I possibly could. Since I was TDY I still wore my Eighth Army patch which meant I got along quite well with the ROK soldiers in the area. Spent a lot of time at the Korean Club on the beach and found that the patch got me a lot of free drinks as long as I was willing to try singing along with the Korean soldiers. Among my favorite places to go downtown was the Town House club right in the middle of downtown. As I recall this was one of the main hang outs for guys from the 313th.

Still, all good things much finally come to an end (thank God) and I left Vietnam, returning to my unit in Korea on September 1, 1997.