In this series of videos, we visit the past and present MACV (Military Assistance Command-Vietnam) Headquarters and the surrounding area, including: Dodge City BEQ, MACV swimming pool and golf course.
Frank Ford aka borntowander was producer narrator of this series. Frank was a gentle soul. He married popular S VN CBC band's singer Bich Loan to facilitate her and the band to get exit visas to leave Vietnam. Loan and band now live in Texas. He organized an escape for a group of people from Saigon to Thailand via Laos by foot! He lived in Bangkok until his passing in Aug 2015. RIP brother. I am - cliffatcliffworksdotnet
Sad to hear Frank passed away. I am a later Vietnamese American generation and learned about VN thru his videos series that also motivated me to go back there for the first time a few years ago. Thanks for the info. I did not know he was married to Bich Loan. He was so attached to VN, like a lot of Americans who went there still do.
I was in the area from Oct67 to Nov68. I lived in an area very near to the golf course. The unit I was with was called 10th Finance Section. Other units in the same place were a MP unit, Signal Group and a medical dental office. I heard several people refer to the compound as tent city B. I don’t think that was what it really was. There was a Library, above ground pool, craft building, gym, and outdoor movie. Went to Macv once or twice. Helped a general with a pay problem. He was something else! Would love to hear from anyone who was in that area back then. My memories are fading. Ray Maccioni
Nice job, I like your technique of merging your old photos with the and google earth stuff. I spent 11 months working at MACV Headquarters in the Inspector General's Office (actually a Full- Colonel Cook) from 9/72 until 8/73. Dodge City had no mess hall at the time I was there and the mess hall was located a few blocks north of the swimming pool. It looks like the red roofed building from the air.
In 1969 I moved from J2-TASE to the Dodge City as the Detachment First Sergeant and was tasked with moving most of the troops out of the downtown hotels and into Dodge City, Richmond and all those 2 story barracks. I've often wondered about the old buildings and your pictures bring it all back. Many thanks.
I served at Parker Compound from late 1970 to mid 1971. We had some great basketball games there. Unfortunately I was always on the losing side. We also had a great cook. Despite my many loses, he always made sure the losing team had something good to eat late at night.
Boy, has Saigon changed. Now there's a department store where the MACV compound once stood. I live nearby, a 10 minute walk east where there's a park now. And there are at least 10 million people in the city, which makes driving in rush hour a struggle for maintaining sanity.
As for the swimming pool, the best time to use it was late at night when it was closed. Some of us used to sneak in there late at night to cool off, normally to be thrown out once we were discovered. When I first arrived in 9/72, I was living in two-story wooden barracks directly across the street from Dodge City. As I recall there were about a half dozen of those barracks. Eventually we were assigned to Dodge City with the NCO Club directly across the street from my window.
I lived in a barracks in the MACV Annex right next to the golf course in 1972. I worked for the entertainment Division of Special Services. I remember the swimming pool, but it seemed smaller, and there was an outdoor theater. We must have gone to Dodge City for midnight munchies before guard duty.
did I meet you? I met Gen Weyand at MACV HQ my last day of USO tour 1971-2. he gave me an award we became friends after he retired in HI. I attended his services. I am cliffworks.net
Just got back from a trip to Vietnam with some friends. We were with the 519th MI Btln and based in Parker compound a few miles from MACV. Ours years were 67-69. Had hoped more of MACV would have been identifiable but it wasn't. This video was specatacular. Wish I had seen it before we went there. It would have helped navigate. Saigon, which had about 2 million when we were there now has 8 million and every one of them is on a motorbike carrying an apartments worth of furniture on the bac
If there's any of you guys from the IG's office out there, you may remember me. I was the resident "commercial artist" who supplied the officers and nco's with graphic devices such as maps and charts for their reports and investigations. I'm 64 now and wasn't drafted until I was 25 back then. Most of my peers were slightly younger than I was then. Any 60 year old guys remember this stuff...feel free to chip in. In addition, there was "craft center", library and photo lab there in Dodge City.
yeah my buddies there say it's grown like crazy, i just got back last night from a few weeks in pattaya thailand a major r&r spot during vietnam war, i don't remember parker we were in saigon, phu bai, hue, danang, phuc buy, quang tri, vung tau and a bunch of other places, we'd fly in do a show, sit on hospital beds, console wounded soldiers as best we could, hang with the guys, stay overnight then off to another base.
yes indeed it is still there. I would not want to eat there though! the plane is worse for wear these days, you can no longer eat inside- but underneath the wings. Great series of videos. It is am azing how fast this place changes. In just 2 years since you recorded these videos- there are lots of big changes. Particularly around the airport.
Just returned from Vietnam after 42 years and yes, the jet (a Pan AM) is still there and although it is called a restaurant it's really just a place to get out of the sun under the wings. Our guide said it was brought there after the overthrow in 72 as a monument but now it's just an old rotting passenger plane
The Boeing 707 seen in Google Earth was placed there post-1975 and re-configured as a restaurant. I didn't look for it on my last trip, so I don't know if it's still there.
regarding the old gate to the airport- up until maybe 4 or 5 years ago- there was a very old fashioned toll booth style building spanning the main road. I assume this was the guard area for the airport?
@dneuman100 I was all over VN doing musical shows for the USO in hospitals, on bases , last day in VN Sept 25, 1972 met Gen. Weyand at MACV HQ. He said, Cliff I know you've seen a lot don't believe everything you saw, I replied, General I will only believe what you tell me I saw, and we cracked up. I reconnected with the great man in 2006 in Hawaii, he was a fine musician played sax and lap steel guitar. I attended his funeral services in 2010. RIP my wonderful friend.
I've really enjoyed this series. I have a photo with an unknown pool in the background. Wondered if anyone could help me out with it? I'm also wanting to know more about any Aussie's given an MACV number please.
hello everyone can anyone tell me about hotel metropole (saigon) tran hung dao street 148. it was demolished in 2010 but during the war a residence of navy men.
