Recreating the “Daughter of Darkness”
The re-creation of the Daughter of Darkness began when I ran across an announcement for the 10th Annual Gathering of the gun trucks scheduled for Carlisle, Pa., in 2010. Apparently, I had somehow missed nearly a decade of prior “Gatherings” of Vietnam veterans who had served on these improvised rolling weapons platforms. Having restored a 1965 Pontiac GTO, I was familiar with Carlisle Fairgrounds. Immediately, I knew I was going to attend!
Taking a step back, my interest in Vietnam gun trucks was cultivated during my Army tour in Vietnam in 1971-72. My duty station in Phu Bai was immediately adjacent to QL-1. Being a bit of a motor head, I noticed the heavily armed and armored deuce-and-a-half and 5-ton trucks traveling by our base.
Fast forward to halfway through my tour. All but a few American combat troops had been sent home, but the intelligence gathering unit in which I served continued their mission in Phu Bai. Located in a compound inside the Phu Bai Combat Base, we had been pretty secure up to with all the top secret “stuff ” and specialists we had.
