Along the Quay

By Robert Reynolds

ALONG THE QUAY presents five unique stories (fiction) that take place during the Vietnam War. A host of colorful characters, military and civilian, bring these stories to life along Da Nang's gritty waterfront. In these unforgettable tales you'll find love and heartbreak, poignancy and pathos, humor and hope. Ride along with Navy SPs as they encounter perilous wartime situations. Stroll the city's grimy streets with U.S. civilians and visit off limits establishments where military personnel are prohibited. Enter innocent villages where tragedy has unexpectedly come. Visit quaint cafes and shops where money illegally passes hands. Watch life on the wide, busy river slip by. Experience sweltering Southeast Asian streets. Reynolds served 27 months in Da Nang, receiving the Navy Achievement Medal. He returned there to work as a civilian, which led to a career in retail loss prevention. He has written several books. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Cameron University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365018213

Robert Reynolds

Based in Calgary, Robert is an emerging author who spends his days working in the oil and gas industry but has been a big fan of the spy thriller genre ever since his childhood when he read one of his grandfather's original James Bond paperbacks from the late 50's. He is married with a young daughter and when he's not day dreaming about dangerous adventures in exotic locales he enjoys running and other outdoor pursuits.

Book preview

Along the Quay

ALONG THE QUAY

ROBERT REYNOLDS

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, and events are totally the imagination of the author.  Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. 

Books by Robert Reynolds

Firing at Shadows 

A Perilous Place 

Settler: A Journey Into Michigan’s Heartland 

East of Nowhere 

Sentinels in the Sun 

Monkeys in the Sun 

Thunder Bay 

Sorrowful 

Trouble’s Garden 

Along the Quay: The Da Nang Stories

Gray Wolf Pass 

A Fine Gray Rain  (Coming Soon)

The Music of Bobby Vee (Coming Soon)

ALONG THE QUAY: The Da Nang Stories

TABLE of CONTENTS

Foreword

Incident at the OK Hotel

A Matter of Finances

The Gimpy Sentry

A Peaceful Sleep

Shower in the Rain

FOREWORD

On March 8, 1965, 2,000 U.S. Marines landed by sea in Da Nang, South Vietnam.  They were the first large troop contingent to arrive in the country and they were there to protect the U.S. Air base.  Troop strength for all major American military branches would increase dramatically in and around the city with Da Nang becoming home to major military commands. I Corps Headquarters for Naval Support Activity Da Nang, was housed in an imposing compound on the west bank of the Hàn River, in the very heart of the city.  The compound was known as the White Elephant. 

For a person to properly appreciate the following short stories, it’s important the reader understand what Da Nang was like between 1965 until 1973. These stories take place at various stages during this era. 

Da Nang, South Vietnam:

A broad, slow river flows past Da Nang—the Hàn River.  On the east side of the river were several small villages and various American military installations—U.S. Navy and Marines nearby and farther south the U.S. Army.

The river emptied into a natural harbor where an array of U.S. Navy and merchant marine vessels lay at anchor.  Deep-water piers, operated by Navy personnel sat at the base of what Americans called Monkey Mountain. The mountain was on the tip of a peninsula that jutted into the South China Sea.

Also at the southern base of the mountain was Camp Tien Sha, a converted French Army Post occupied by the U.S. Navy.   The post was comprised of neat rows of single-story concrete buildings, all painted stark white with dark green trim.   Quaint white picket fences separated the buildings from the pine-tree-lined streets.  Even the tree trunks were painted white to about the four-foot mark.  Newer wooden tropical and Quonset style buildings supplemented the base’s structures.  Initially, Navy security forces were housed at Camp Tien Sha, but about mid 1967, several security units were transferred to Camp Carter near the Navy Hospital southeast of the city.  The relocated forces provided security for Naval interests on both the east and west sides of the river. 

A barge operated almost continuously dredging the river’s channel so that shallow-draft Navy cargo vessels could maneuver their way upriver to an offloading ramp where two bridges, side by side, span the river.  When the American military first arrived, there was but one narrow single-span bridge that allowed for only one lane of traffic to pass at a time.  By early 1967, however, a new, second bridge had been constructed and opened to traffic. It was the only point in Da Nang where motor traffic could cross from one side of the river to the other.  Immediately south of the bridge(s) lay rice fields and slightly southeast were several limestone outcroppings known as the Marble Mountains. 

A short distance northeast of the bridge(s) near a flat, marshy area was a floating fishing village known as Sampan Village. Large fishing nets strung on poles were stretched over the lagoon.  In early mornings and late evenings the fishing boats could be seen moving up or down the river.

Located immediately at the west approach to the bridge(s) was the Navy’s Bridge Cargo Ramp where LSTs, YFUs and various cargo craft could offload directly onto dry land. All-terrain forklifts created an almost continuous dust cloud over the ramp as the machines ran on and off the cargo vessels.

Because the bridge(s) were inconveniently located a few miles south of downtown Da Nang, the U.S. Navy installed a ferry operation to transport personnel across the river.  A covered Ferry Landing was built at the foot of Thong Nhat Street, which separated a large villa housing a French banque and the old, two-story French compound that housed the U.S. Naval Support Activity, I Corps Headquarters (NSA).  That compound was affectionately dubbed the White Elephant.  It was the single most significant structure on Da Nang’s meager skyline.

At the White Elephant, the river was slightly less than one-half mile wide adjacent to the Ferry Landing on the opposite bank.

Da Nang was a central location for American military forces, with large Air Force and Navy bases and Army and Marine posts surrounding the city. The Navy and Army leased various buildings throughout the city to use as offices and billeting units. 

Directly across the river from the White Elephant was III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF).  Along with Navy and Marine command units, Da Nang supported the Army’s MACV Command and one of the world’s busiest Air Force bases (all of these units were within a short distance of each other.) 

Along the west bank of the river was the city of Da Nang proper.  At the time, Da Nang was the second largest city in South Vietnam and although it was basically a rural municipality, its population grew by immense proportions as refugees fled the war raged countryside.  Unkempt peasant villages, dismal barrios and clusters of squatter’s shacks abounded near Da Nang.  A short distance out Highway One was a section of village constructed entirely of cardboard pallet sleeves.  It was only one of many depressing sights about the city. 

Within the city proper a person could find such Navy entities as the White Elephant, the Stone Elephant (Navy Officer’s Club), Admiral’s Quarters, Chief of Staff’s residence, Naval Intelligence, Foreign Claims, Public Works, Navy Motor Pool, Pass Office, Museum Pier and various other support units.  Navy Security forces stood watch at those locations and mobile jeep units patrolled Da Nang’s streets constantly. 

Doc Lap was the major street running north and south through a small downtown area of mostly single-story shops, small stores, and modest restaurants that offered basic local fare.  Shops selling a variety of mostly cheap necessities abounded, as did some narrow-width hotels that rose to three or four stories.   Those modest inns catered to Vietnamese citizenry, although occasionally a foreigner might check in. 

The local hotels were cheaply priced and the accommodations sparse, thus appealing to clientele with little money to spare—although it should be added there were no luxury hotels in the city, even if a person wished to splurge.  

The city was off-limits to military personnel unless they were on duty and a nightly curfew was enforced throughout the city.  The hours of curfew enforcement varied depending on the enemy threat level.

On the southwest corner of the intersection of Doc Lap and Thong Nhat Streets, a block up from the White Elephant, was a photography store operated by a Chinese family.  A stucco home was on the southeast corner. Across the street, on the corner with the French banque, several vendors displayed marble statuary carved of stone from the granite outcroppings south of the city.  On the northwest corner of the intersection were a pharmacy, the An Dao Hotel, and a tailor shop operated by East Indians. They were also primary black-market moneychangers.

In the middle of this small area of commerce, a large cathedral graced one side of Doc Lap Street and a central market was along the other.  Traffic flowed in one direction down the narrow thoroughfare and it was common to see American military police of both Army and Navy authority, patrolling the city.  The main commerce area was no more than four blocks long by a little more than two blocks wide—however, several other small commerce areas lay scattered about the city.

One block east of Doc Lap was tree-lined Bach Dang Street.  It paralleled the river and was considered the most beautiful street in the city. The Post Office, Grand Hotel and quaint, high-walled villas were situated along Bach Dang just north of downtown.  Travel on it, too, was one-way. Several small warehouses and grimy shops lined the downtown section of the street immediately south of the White Elephant. The tile-roofed buildings along that section were old and colorless, not having seen fresh paint in decades.  

Along this section of waterfront, shirtless, sinewy men toted bags of rice and other goods on their backs across narrow gangplanks, bringing goods from Vietnamese cargo junks into the warehouses, while other men, burned black by the sun, sawed planks by hand from large creosote treated timbers.  Human labor was cheap.

Gray painted guard shacks manned by Navy security guards were placed at the front corners of the White Elephant and other guards, both American and Vietnamese, were strategically assigned nearby, including on the building’s rooftop and at the Ferry Landing.  Except when the nightly curfew was in effect, a Navy launch operated around the clock crossing the river between the two landings, ferrying personnel.   The deep roar of the launch’s engines was a common sound along the waterfront. 

A block or so north of the White Elephant and Ferry Landing was a quaint café that rested on concrete pilings and was suspended over the bank of the river. There were no other structures on the waterfront side of the street, thus presenting an unimpeded, picturesque view across the wide river.

At one time, a narrow gauge rail line ran alongside the river and traces of the old rails were still in evidence.  It was here where children came to play, orphans came to beg and lovers came to stroll. Life was both simple and complex along the quay... 

INCIDENT AT THE OK HOTEL

Shortly before sunset they had come upon a young ARVN soldier at a park near the old Cham Museum.  The man was clinging tightly atop a wooden children’s slide.  It was one of the few playground attractions in the tiny park. A quartet of local police officers, Canh Sat, was trying to coax the man down, but he wouldn’t budge.  Something was obviously wrong with the man and the police were leery about removing him from atop the plaything believing he was crazy.  Many Vietnamese were superstitious that way.

On security patrol, PO3 Robinson and PO2 Linderman had come upon him about the same time a Military Police unit arrived.

He claims he’s been in the field and saw some very bad things.  The best anyone can make out is he’s gone AWOL and says he ain’t going back, one of the MPs said. Neither intimidating threats nor pleading from the Canh Sat officers could dislodge the ARVN soldier from where he’d taken refuge. The young man was half-sobbing, half-muttering incoherently in the local language.

"Dien cai dao!" One of the Canh Sat officers said, tapping his forefinger to his skull. 

Yeah, this is a dinky dau place, alright, the MP said.  And we’re all crazy to be here.

Well, he can’t stay up there forever.  Curfew’s coming up and the White Mice want him down, the other MP said.  Most everyone knew the local police as White Mice because of their white shirts and timidity in times of peril.

Can we get him down? Linderman said.  No one in Security actually called petty officer that.  He was Teddy Bear to all who knew him.

We can, but he won’t do it on his own and these White Mice are too scared to get him, the first MP said.

A small crowd of curious onlookers had begun to gather.  They weren’t about to get too close either.

Somebody needs to do something, an MP said.

Let’s do it, Robinson said.

One MP climbed the slide’s steps and took hold of the man’s arms. The ARVN soldier didn’t want to let go, but the MP was bigger and stronger. Robinson climbed up the slide while Teddy Bear and the other MP grasped the man’s legs.  It took some doing, but the first MP and Robinson managed to free the man’s hands from his viselike grip and with the other two holding to the man’s flailing legs, the four of them worked him down the slide.  The police were pleased with the outcome until the four Americans carried the frightened man over and placed him in the back of the local police jeep.

He’s your problem now, the second MP said.  The Canh Sat officers gawked at the man in their jeep, not sure what to do next.

No can do! the lead officer said.  You take!

He’s not an American, the MP said.  He’s all yours.

The MPs climbed back into their jeep and Robinson and Teddy Bear climbed into theirs.  Off the two units went while the Canh Sat bickered over what they should do with the crazy guy.

It wasn’t the removal of the young man from the park that bothered Robinson, it was the fact the man was barely older than the children who played there.  Robinson regretted having been a part of physically removing the young man.  It was not their job, but he and Teddy Bear had helped do it.

***

The next day, they were on the road again as if nothing had happened.

Section One had come on duty a short time before and Robinson and the Bear were making their first rounds checking the guards.  Robinson had taken a jeep load of guards to the Admiral’s Quarters, dropped them off and brought back those of Section Three that were being relieved. The gray Navy