Moc Hoa, Kien Tuong Province, Mekong Delta, South Vietnam
MACV Advisory Team 85 was housed in a rectangular compound when I arrived there in 1969. The compound consisted of two rows of barrack-type buildings, one along the airfield side and the other along the main road leading in and out of downtown. Internally there was a mess hall, a headquarters building, a building that was used as the “club”, a supply building, a communications hut and a maintenance area. I’m assuming that the buildings were built back in 1967 or 68 when MACV was replacing the Special Forces teams over at the B 41 camp.
Aerial Photo of Team 85 Compound (pre-1969)
Left to Right – Airfield side
Airfield: Originally a dirt/gravel strip built by the French. In 1969, when I arrived it was covered with PSP (Perforated Steel Platform) interlocking metal strips. Later it was covered with interlocking aluminum plates. Runway was approximately 3,000’ long IIRC.
Compound to the left in the photo was a storage and maintenance area used by the Vietnamese ARVN. The long building facing the runway was the billeting area for officers and senior noncommissioned officers. Each room generally housed one officer or two enlisted men (there were no women on the team). After this photo was taken a large latrine building was constructed to the far right in the open space shown on this photo.
CPT Joel Montgomery in front of the latrine/shower building
The compound was surrounded by an earthen berm approximately four feet high and topped with a B-40 fence (8’ high chain-link fence to stop B-40 rockets) as well as concertina wire. There were large protective bunkers at each corner as well as fighting positions built into the berm. At the far corner was the water plant and the 500kw (?) generators.
At the end of the berm along the runway turn right: You see the water and generator areas and a maintenance yard. The building with the hole in the roof was the mess hall. This photo was probably taken after the mortar attack that struck the mess hall prior to my arrival. You will notice the tall corner tower facing Cong Hòa Boulevard (?) the main street leading into Moc Hoa (to the left). Along the boulevard to the left you can see another large walled complex. This was the Province Senior Advisor’s hooch. He and senior officers/advisors lived there, and the area was set up to handle visiting senior officers and civilians.
Cong Hòa Boulevard (?) right along road: A gate allowed entry/exit to the main street. Another long row of individual barracks rooms were facing the road (note: all doors opened to the inside of the compound). To the far left of the photo and across the street you can see a building with a Red Cross on the roof. This was the Vietnamese hospital staffed with American medical advisors. This was the Military Provincial Health Assistance Program (MILPHAP).
Each building was protected by three feet of sandbags placed in the ceiling above each room. A sandbag wall surrounded each of these buildings to protect the residence, to some degree, from incoming hostile fire.
Internally, across from the mess hall was the administrative building. It served as the headquarters of the team and contained an admin area as well as offices for the Senior Advisor and a small briefing room. Across from the BOQ facing the runway was a building used for the “Club” and next to that a supply room, and a communications area (tower is visible along the left had wall).
Next week I’ll try to describe living conditions in the compound!
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- “The Advisor, Kien Bing, South Vietnam, 1969-1970. A Novel” (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L4X5NQ3)
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