Supplies Via Air

This small group of photos was taken outside of Chu-Lai. By '69 the Marines only had a small detachment here to coordinate shipments of supplies. Steve and I were sent down there because the Marines were going to make a classic beach landing on an island just off the Vietnam coast near Chu-Lai.

We arrived a day-and-half after the supposed landing. We went to the Americal Division headquarters to get information on where the operation was taking place and to get a helio lift to the area. They had no idea what we were taking about and weren't going to tell us anything.

We requested an audience with the Information Officier. He didn't want to talk to us. We insisted. He finially did.

Turns out everyone at Americal headquarters thought we were civilians. Please!

They finally gave us a ride to the Marine Supply detachment's office and we got the real story from them.

When the Marines landed on the island they thought they were going to surprise a large group of VC that were using the island as a training center. What the Marines encountered on the beach was not the VC but the Press Corps! The press knew all about this secret mission. No VC. No operation.

The Marines still did a sweep of the island to see what they could find. They were done by the time Steve and I found out what was going on.

We went home.

While waiting for our chopper ride back to Da Nang I photographed Marines loading a chopper. We used the second picture on this page for a Press Release.

The last picture on this page was a big mistake on my part. I should have known better. I had already spent three years at Marine air bases jumping on and off choppers.

The mistake was getting under the chopper with no eye or head protection. When the chopper did lift away after hooking the cargo net the down draft from the chopper blades threw up so much debris and small rocks I though I was done for. I was also worried about the cameras. Steve got a good laugh at my misfortune.

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