Working at FLC continued

What We Photographed

As photographers we really had no say in the photo assignments. They came from the ISO office. But since FLC was a support and service organization we didn't see much combat. Another factor in the lack of combat assignments was the lack of any fighting in our area. Everyone who had been there a while kept saying we would get it any day now. Just you see. It didn't happen. In 5 months we only had one rocket attack on FLC.

The ISO office had decided to concentrate its news releases, photos and stories, to Marines working with and helping the local Vietnamese. So that's what we did. We also had the Children's Hospital. It was changing management, Navy/Marines to a private organization, and they provided plenty of stories.

So my first photo story was of young Vietnamese learning to sew. I rarely went on assignments that didn't involve both the Marines and Vietnamese.

All this concentration on stories of Marines and Vietnamese working together had an interesting side effect. Of all the Marine ISO offices in Vietnam we were apparently the only one doing this kind of story. After a short time FLC started to have more stories and photos in the weekly Marine newsletter than any other ISO office. Even the big kuhuna of all Marine ISO offices in Vietnam, CIB, didn't fare as well as we did. The one time I got to see the famous CIB in Da Nang the Marine photographers let me know how pissed they were about this. We were getting more stories and photos in the newsletter than the CIB crew and they put the newsletter together every week. That made everyone at FLC ISO feel pretty good.

We were also seeing our work in civilian newspapers. I think that we were successful in getting our work in civilian papers because it was positive news and Americans were desperate for this kind of reporting from Vietnam.

Teaming Up With Steve Addington

Sgt Steve Addington was my savior. We teamed up almost from the first week I was in Vietnam. We were both misfits. I never had a problem going against the grain. Neither did Steve. So whenever possible we were a team. This turned out to be most of the time. My 5 months in Vietnam would not have been near as good without him. I always believed, and still do, that I was a good photographer. And I know Steve was a good writer. And so we made a good team. Always came back at the end of the day with good photos and good stories.

Our good captain decided to have a quota system. Every reporter and photographer had to produce so many stories and photos a month. I don't remember the number but it was really low. The idea was that once you met your quota you were on your own. When the captain announced this at a group meeting Steve and I look at each other and just smiled. It was just too easy. We met our quota for the month in just a couple of days. Our mistake was turning everything in at one time. Really pissed off the gunny. I went off to Dong Ha and Quang Tri to see some friends for 4 days.

Because this was Steve's second tour in Vietnam he knew his way around Da Nang and he knew how to use the system. I think his first tour was at the CIB in Da Nang. Our strangest non-story came about because Steve knew the right people.

FLC was right off Highway One and the railroad line. I would sometimes see real trains on the line. Not often. So I kept bugging Steve about taking the train north to Quang Tri. He kept telling me it was impossible and I kept telling him to try anyway. Well he finally went to CIB and put in a request. And it was granted!

We got official looking papers that would let us board the train. Remember this was a Vietnamese train and the American military had no say about who could board it. I don't know how we got permission but Steve tells me one evening that we're going to Quang Tri via the Vietnamese rail line the next day.

The French built the railroad in the early part of the 20th century. It took them 35 years to complete the line between Hanoi and Saigon. It was in use for less than 6 years prior to WWII.

The next day around noon we go to the train platform in the village of Ap Xuan Duong and wait for the train. We waited and we waited. No train. By late afternoon Steve and I both decided we should just forget it and go back to FLC. We didn't want to be in this village after sundown. We walked back to FLC.

By the time we got back to the ISO it was early evening and when someone from the office see us they start yelling "They're back! They're not dead!"

Turns out the ISO office had a report that the train we were suppose to be on was ambushed north of us and everyone on the train was killed. Well, we weren't on the train!

Steve and I never figured out why we missed the train. I think the train that was ambushed was from the previous day. That there was no train on the day we were scheduled to take it. Either that or the train went through earlier in the morning and we missed it. War is hell.

From here the train goes north along a very rugged coastline not unlike highway 1 south of Big Sur in California. Very remote and dangerous. For an example of the area traveled by the railroad take a look at this map page. This is just north of FLC.

With a knowledgeable reporter in Steve Addington I was able to see and photograph all around the Da Nang area. We never went south of China Beach or even visited this now famous retreat. I grew up in Southern California and going to another beach, now matter how great a place it was, wasn't high on my agenda. If Steve and I had no specific job we were usually visiting several of the villages in the Da Nang area.

In '69 downtown Da Nang was off limits to the military. So unlike Saigon, Da Nang still had that feel of a Vietnamese/French provincial city. In order to get into town for a night I convinced the gunny to let Steve and I spend the day and night there to get a bunch of Hometown News Releases of the 1st MPs that patrolled the town. So we did several Hometown News Releases, walked around town and visited the famous CIB. We stayed the night in an old hotel that the MPs used as their headquarters. After dinner instead of a beer we had champagne. There was no beer to be had at the hotel, just champagne.

I don't know how the other ISO offices in Vietnam handled travel but all members of the FLC ISO office had travel orders that allowed us to travel anywhere in I Corps. It was these orders, which I kept in my photo-bag at all times, allowed me to get on an Air-Force C-123 transport to Dong Ha. It also got Steve and I down to Chi Lai on Army transport helicopters. These orders also got us into Da Nang proper that was off limits to ordinary military personal. War is hell.

Everyday A Workday

With such a short tour in Vietnam, 5 months, the days went by very quickly. I was still doing photo assignments until the day before I left FLC. It was 5 months that I will never forget. And I don't regret one day of it.

What's Here

During the 5 months and two days I was in Vietnam I covered everything from re-supply convoys to Navy Corpman giving medical checks at villages around Da Nang. Most of the work relating to Marines was for the Marines but the rest I kept. So most of what you will see is of Vietnamese life in the villages in the Da Nang area.

What you will not see here is the blood and guts of combat. This Marine didn't see any real, or even almost, real combat. I spent most of my time in and around Da Nang. For some unexplained reason we saw only one rocket attack at FLC in the 5 months I was in Vietnam. There was action taking place all around I Corps but nothing near FLC.

I also went south to Chu Lai, north to Dong Ha and Quang Tri. My last week in Vietnam I went southwest of Da Nang on a re-supply convoy. Nothing happened.

There are over 90 pages of photographs here. Most of those pages have multiple photographs. So there's plenty to see. Take your time and visit often.

[ The View From Above ]

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