I received special orders to report to the 601st detachment at Da Nang. I arrived in the afternoon of July 4th, 1971 and got settled in my quarters by late that evening. I sat down to write a letter to my mom and dad telling them where to write for the next month and completed the letter. As I was sealing it I heard the base air raid sirens go off at about 12:15 or so AM, as I recall. I heard a few explosions and then heard the all-clear. I went to the door going outside and to my amazement I saw a flame of fire stretching at about 100 feet into the air. One of the rockets had made a direct hit on one of the barracks.
My understanding at the time was that all 38 men were lost in the rocket attack. I must have gotten my information from the Stars and Stripes newspaper, which was circulated throughout military installations throughout Southeast Asia. I remember walking past the site on the next day on my way to my work site with the barracks totally consumed with military personnel carefully raking through the ashes for remains.
The Ann Arbor News reported it from a global news release, probably about two or three days before my letter to my folks arrived informing them of my arrival in Da Nang. They had no clue that I had been deployed to anywhere, nowhow.
Here is a page 1 story newspaper story reporting on the rocket attack by the Longview, Texas newspaper. The continuation on page 2 is hyperlinked here.
There was another newspaper reporting that I found by the Santa Barbara News. This article is reporting with inaccurate numbers. It says that there were 3 deaths and 36 injuries. Think about it… It was midnight when there would be a maximum occupancy in the barracks and likely sleeping. I personally saw flames reaching what was in my opinion a hundred feet in the air. I remember hearing the next day that there were 38 souls lost. Also, while walking past the charred remains of the barracks, I saw that there was a large contingent of soldiers carefully raking through the wreckage for remains.
I found another report by an Abilene paper. This one appears to have the same gross errors as the Santa Barbara paper above.
The News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington also reported.
In Macon, Georiga, the Macon News had a report.
An Oregon paper also reported.
The list goes on, of course, but I can report with absolute assurance that anyone inside that barracks when the rocket hit was most assuredly lost, and that without any doubt. I was far enough away where I did not experience any of the heat from the flames but close enough to witness a flame like I had never seen before.
