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Rocket attack Danang 67

pocket rocketpocket rocket Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
edited February 2010 in US Military Veteran Forum
I was on my way to Bangkok for R&R Feb. 67 when lots of rockets came into Danang early in the morning. It was a first (according to Stars and Stripes). Anyone else there?
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  • excavmanexcavman Member Posts: 39 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was there in Oct 68 building the first concrete sky, rockets quite often, not every day but too often for my liking, noisy, too.
    554th Red Horse 67-68
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  • kimikimi Member Posts: 44,719 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yes, I was there then. I had just came down from Dong Ha since I was rotating back in March. 120MM rockets. I don't recall how many there was that night, but the whistling woke me up, and then I woke up the rest of the Marines in my hardback. We were in our skivies in the bunker with our helmets and M-14s when they started exploding. The next day it was learned that a tank had put a quick end to the assault. They walked the rockets across the airfield. I don't recall that there were any casualties.

    What all do you remember?
    What's next?
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  • KansasGuyKansasGuy Member Posts: 13 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yes - I got there a few days before. Was assigned to VMCJ-1 / MAG-11 / 1stMAW. I believe it came in at 12:30 Am and lasted around 35 minutes. They hit the Air Force bomb dump which at the time was down around the flight lines for "convenience"? We got pieces of 250 lb bombs etc that blew off and landed near our huts on the Marine side. We got a lot of shrapnel pieces in general.VMCJ-1 was nearest the flight line and motor pool in the Mag-11 Hut compund. I wear two hearing aids now. We don;t know if it was started by that or the jets. But the VA gave them to me anyway.

    They also got quite a few of our planes F-4's and Air Force side too. We did not lose any of our squadrons planes (RF-4b's / EF-10B's) during this attack as far as I know The bomb dump was moved after that.

    I was told it was a surprise since they had never been able to launch them into the base accurately. They used the newer 122mm rockets for this attack. The 140mm were not real accurate and they had ended up blowing up parts of Dog Patch where their buddies all were.

    Although they hit our fuel tanks in Tet '68, it was until I think summer 69 before they hit a bomp dump again. It was a big hit. I've seen some of the photos on "Together We Served". It was several millions of dollars of ordnance.

    There are some photos of the Air Force side two story barracks being hit in this one in July '67 (Please - in a War Zone?). An Air Force guy on Flickr has them and the photos of 122mm rockets. If anyone has an interest I could try to find it again and post a link here.

    Semper Fi
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  • KansasGuyKansasGuy Member Posts: 13 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Here is an interesting link. The July 1967 attack is in the middle of it.

    http://mofak.com/rocket_city.htm
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  • kimikimi Member Posts: 44,719 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by KansasGuy
    Yes - I got there a few days before. Was assigned to VMCJ-1 / MAG-11 / 1stMAW. I believe it came in at 12:30 Am and lasted around 35 minutes. They hit the Air Force bomb dump which at the time was down around the flight lines for "convenience"? We got pieces of 250 lb bombs etc that blew off and landed near our huts on the Marine side. We got a lot of shrapnel pieces in general.VMCJ-1 was nearest the flight line and motor pool in the Mag-11 Hut compund. I wear two hearing aids now. We don;t know if it was started by that or the jets. But the VA gave them to me anyway.

    They also got quite a few of our planes F-4's and Air Force side too. We did not lose any of our squadrons planes (RF-4b's / EF-10B's) during this attack as far as I know The bomb dump was moved after that.

    I was told it was a surprise since they had never been able to launch them into the base accurately. They used the newer 122mm rockets for this attack. The 140mm were not real accurate and they had ended up blowing up parts of Dog Patch where their buddies all were.

    Although they hit our fuel tanks in Tet '68, it was until I think summer 69 before they hit a bomp dump again. It was a big hit. I've seen some of the photos on "Together We Served". It was several millions of dollars of ordnance.

    There are some photos of the Air Force side two story barracks being hit in this one in July '67 (Please - in a War Zone?). An Air Force guy on Flickr has them and the photos of 122mm rockets. If anyone has an interest I could try to find it again and post a link here.

    Semper Fi


    Could of been the 122MM. It's been so long since then that details are foggy, but once I was awakened with the first one coming in I could also hear them leaving the tube. The launchng of the rockets was short lived, but it did take about as long as you say before the alert was called off. Again, a Marine tank picked up on one of their launch sites and put a quick end to the attack.
    What's next?
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  • KansasGuyKansasGuy Member Posts: 13 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Dang _ re read the first post. I thought he was talking about the July 67 attack. That was the one where they blew the bomb dump all to hell. I think they gave out about 100 plus purple hearts. Most injuries (myself included) were minor. I had heard that two or three were killed in the two story barracks on the Air force side. But others I've talked to deny that.

    So sorry I got the time wrong. I got in country about July 11-13 just in time for the rocket surprise. Scared the hell out of me anyway. Never saw anything that bright during the night.I got a little of the shrapnel myself.
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  • kimikimi Member Posts: 44,719 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by KansasGuy
    Dang _ re read the first post. I thought he was talking about the July 67 attack. That was the one where they blew the bomb dump all to hell. I think they gave out about 100 plus purple hearts. Most injuries (myself included) were minor. I had heard that two or three were killed in the two story barracks on the Air force side. But others I've talked to deny that.

    So sorry I got the time wrong. I got in country about July 11-13 just in time for the rocket surprise. Scared the hell out of me anyway. Never saw anything that bright during the night.I got a little of the shrapnel myself.


    To tell you the truth I thought my memory was really going on me! [:D] I think the February 67 attack consisted of far fewer rockets. I remember when the ammo dump in Dong Ha went up in late '66, but I did not remember the Da Nang dump lighting up! [:D]

    Have a good evening, KansasGuy.

    EDIT:

    After reading the info at the link you provided I do remember that there were casualties from the February attack, mostly from those rockets that went over the airbase into DaNang city killing around 300 civilians.
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  • blackpowdermaxblackpowdermax Member Posts: 130 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    1972....same story, different year. This was a daylight attack and this 122mm landed between two barracks in the Navy area close to the runway. They are loud!!!!

    383264550.jpg

    383264570.jpg

    Have a piece of shrapnel from this one, after 38 years it's still razor sharp.

    max
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  • 1USMC11USMC1 Member Posts: 11 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Was at Danang in Sept '67 at the end of my tour waiting for a ship to come in (MSTS Walker) to take us back to the world. No helmet, no flak jacket, no weapon....the ship was two days late and we were rocketed both nights. I really didn't think I'd get out of there.....lol

    SF
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