Ban Me Thout was B-23 in 1966...I was originally assigned there as a commo man. Col. Gillespie the Commander picked me to fly with him to Duk Lap in late Aug 66...we landed on the top of the highest hill - Cambodia was 3 clicks to the west...I was the first American to put foot there (Aug 1968 was the famous Duo Lap battle where the Nha Trang Mike Force really made its name). I was transferred to A-233, Ban Don just after a long mission we pulled with 6 Montagnard CIDG companies just north of III Corps near Noun Co over Thanksgiving 1966. I was at A-233 until I checked out to 10th Special Forces in Germany in early Aug 67. I returned in April 1968 and was assigned to MACV SOG FOB-2 Kontum. It was still CCN then - charged to CCC in November 1968
It is difficult to describe the MACV SOG chain of command. Hqs was in Ton Son Nhut. There was OP-35, 36,37,38,39. The cross border ops into Laos began in late 1965 Hqs at CCN at Marble Mountain with 3 other FOB's. Kontum was included.. Operations into Laos were code name SHINING BRASS. About 1968 because this was published in a newspaper it was changed to PRAIRIE FIRE.
Ban Me Thout became CCS and was opened in April 1967. It's operations into Cambodia were code named DANIEL BOON (later SALEM HOUSE).
I was 1-0 of RT Delaware at FOB-2 Kontum 11 Apr - 31 Oct 1968. I actually wrote the history of the team up about 35 years ago and it went pretty viral on the net about 2000. It can be read here.
http://www.macvsog.cc/spike_team_delaware.htmHard to believe it was 50 years ago...it seems like yesterday. I traveled for another 25 years abroad over the 50 years since I left Vietnam and have been in a lot of conflicts and not so nice places...but I can still smell VN.
