FSB Bien Hoa

Vietnam
15 Apr 71 30 Aug 71

Jim Garvin
www.jimgarvin.org

Tour of duty:
Aug. '70 - July '71
U.S. Army
1st Cav. 2nd/8th
Delta Co. Range 1

15 April 1971
The regiment
relocated our
company base
HQ back to Bien
Hoa.
Company
Guideon.

April 1971
The company area shower backed up against the perimeter defense. If the sun had been shining
and no one had used all the water there might be a warm shower in the evening.

The company area consisted of two buildings. The XO quarters, Supply Sgt. quarters,
company offices arms room and mail room were in one building. (Mule parked in Front)
My quarters and the open company barracks were next door to the left.

By the time I was scheduled to rotate back to the states, it was monsoon season again.
Some days it rained so fast that there was as much as 2 inches of water standing on this field.
Then five min after the rain stopped all that water would be absorbed into the ground.

April 1971
By the end of April we
had done some wiring
and fixing up.
My quarters were lavish
compared to how the
men in the field were
living.
The painting of my wife,
Ruthie, was made from 2
photographs. It was
interesting that the artist
rendered her with
oriental features.

April 1971
I had a writing table and
bookcase.
It was easier to work on
the USAFI course here
than in the field.
USAFI =
United States Armed
Forces Institute

April 1971
To me this was
just a mule.
I spent a lot of
time driving this
vehicle all over
the base picking
up mail supplies
weapons parts
and anything else
that needed
moving.
You can tell I
enjoyed myself.

It wasnt until 2016 that I looked up the official name of the

M274 Truck, Platform, Utility, Ton, 4x4

April-July 1971
Arms Room
When the Battalion
moved to Bien Hoa I
became Co. armor. The
arms room, is where I
spent much of my time
cleaning and repairing
weapons.
I went to the field on log
days to make repairs
when possible so the
men would not have to
swap weapons in midmission.

We only replaced a weapon in an emergency in the field. Rifle

replacement was done on the fire support base since there was,
a rifle range to sight them in properly.

April 1971
M-60, M-203,
M-16, 45
These were the
weapons I was
responsible for.
Top: the M-60
machine gun.
Second: the M203 combination
rifle grenade
launcher.
Third: the M-l6,
used by most GIs
in Vietnam.
Bottom: 45 cal.
pistol used by
officers and a few
gunners and
medics.

April - July 1971

M-60
field stripped.
Each squad had
one M-60 for fire
power. With three
platoons and
three squads per
platoon, we had
nine of them in
company. The
gun had a pouch
holding 100
rounds and all the
other men of the
squad carried an
ammo can with
200 rounds of
ammunition for
the gun.

April 1971
A disassembled
M-16 showing
the number and
size of pieces in
this weapon.
Sand was a major
enemy of the
M-16. I had been
advised and as
armor I advised
the men not to
use oil on their
rifles going to the
field because dust
from the chopper
stuck to the oil.

Arriving in the field they would take the weapon apart, remove any sand
and then apply oil liberally so the rifle would not rust in the high humidity.

April 1971
SKS
AK-47 AK-50
These were
captured enemy
weapons.
The SKS on the
top is a rifle
much the same
as the American
M-14, a large
heavy rifle with
a larger caliber
shell with better
penetration.

The AK 50 and the AK 47 below were the same basic weapon,

the difference being the folding stock of the AK 50.

April 1971
Although
Bien Hoa had
not received
incoming
rounds in more
than three years,
we were ready,
with this
bunker, for
overhead cover.

April 1971
As you can see
the daily hire
workers were
not too overworked. A
siesta was
often taken at
lunch time.

April 1971
Castle Pad
from the south.
Castle Pad was
where I had to
be with the
mail at 05:30
to begin a log
day.

April 1971
Check out the bank on this turn.
If a guy is sitting on the floor of the lower
side he might wonder if he might slide out
the door. I know I did a time or two.

April 1971
Castle Pad from
the west

1 July 1971
The last few days were frantic as I purchased a coffee table and packed a
few odds and ends around it. I didn't receive my orders until the last day so I sent it home
on Nick's orders. This Base Exchange in Bien Hoa is where I bought the table as well as a
400mm telephoto lens for our Pentax camera that we brought to Hawaii on R&R.

April 1971
This little fellow
made the final
days pass a little
faster as
preparations were
made, but there
was still time to
wait.
This picture was
taken outside the
medic station
across the parade
ground from
Delta Co. AO.

Sgt. Maurice Gay Bien Hoa Medic Aid Station