Two Years an Army MP {1966-1968}

I met Garfield the Goose in the spring of
1968. This goose became a fixture in the
MACV Compound after the 26-day TET
battle in Hue and was regarded as a mascot
by MACV Team 3.

Garfield's "turf" was the paved parking
area between the hotel and the compound
gate on Tran Coa Van Street, which was
walking distance to our 504th MP Battalion
Compound.

Unfortunately, in the summer of 1968,
Garfield became foie gras as he was killed by
a truck that was returning to the compound at
night.

We lived in a two-story French style villa in a one-acre compound near the MACV compound.

Hue French style villa compound the 2nd Platoon,
Company A, 504th MP Battalion resided in 1968.

MPs Karl Tripp and Richard McDermitt moved into the villa after I left in September of 1968. Karl was
146th MP Platoon, 504th MP Battalion and then A co. In 1969 the Villa was used for dignitaries’ visits. MP
Tony Sills was personal security for Ambassador Elsworth Bunker and his wife. They would fly into Phu

Bai for meetings and Tony would escort them to the Villa and guard them inside with State dept security
doing outside security at the villa.

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Well for washing clothes and bath Ray on MP Villa Guard Duty

We built this bar into the atrium in the villa with drinks supplied by the Navy that had an LCU
ramp on the Perfume River.

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Seeing the danger of Allied U.S.-ARVN The NVA took the Bach Ho Railroad Bridge,
forces coming from the right-hand side of blasting a span of the bridge to prevent
the Perfume River, the NVA blew up one
reinforcements from crossing the river 1968
span of the Truong Tien Bridge.

The pontoon bridges replace the Trang Tien 7 February 1968 the Americans threw a
and Bach Ho bridges that were blown up. floating bridge across the Perfume River.

Photo by E. Plunkett

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The Nguyen Hoang Bridge, built to transport vehicles and pedestrians
using RT 1, spanned the Perfume River near the eastern corner of the
Citadel. It also provided access to the Perfume River (Vietnamese: Sông
Hương or Hương Giang) at the point the river ran through Huế, dividing
the city into northern and southern areas. Fifteen hundred meters to its
southwest was the Bach Ho Railroad Bridge. The other bridge of military
importance in southern Hue was the An Cuu Bridge, a modest arch on RT 1
that conveyed traffic across the Phu Cam Canal. A number of these bridges
were destroyed by the NVA during the TET Offensive.

A bridge called The Truoi River Bridge was an old railroad bridge
and a major “Choke Point” usually guarded by the indigenous South
Vietnamese. On Feb.1, 1968 the Marine second platoon of Alpha Company
held its ground and only through the desperate efforts of the suicide
“Sappers” of NVA, the bridge was blown and partially destroyed.

One of Phu Cam Canal Bridges destroyed An Cuu Bridge on the Phu Cam Canal destroyed by
NVA Feb.1968, replaced with wooden bridge.
Photo by N. Clark

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As our MP unit arrived after the TET Offensive, the city had lost its French colonial charm with most
buildings damaged by gun fire and the Citadel's magnificent walls and structures receiving major damage.
The following photos show some of the damage.

House destroyed during TET Ray Evans at government building in
1968

Life goes on after TET Hue destruction

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We did most security patrols by Jeep in the city of Hue, as well as the countryside around Hue.
This allowed me to see some of the historical sites in and around Hue. Of course, the Citadel was
the main attraction. Even though the outer walls were badly damaged during TET, some of the
interior buildings were spared. We also took a patrol to the Theravada pagodas.

The first was the Thien Mu
Pagoda built in 1601 atop Ha
Khe Hill, in the village of
Huong Long about three miles
from Hue city center. The
pagoda overlooks the northern
bank of the Perfume River. The
compound is spread out over
two hundred acres of land, with
other structures around and
behind the tower. In fact, the
Phuoc Duyen tower is far
younger than the pagoda
complex itself; the tower was
constructed in 1844.

Phước Duyên tower and Thien Mu Pagoda 1968

Phước Duyên tower and Thien Mu Pagoda 2015

Sitting Guardian Budda 1968

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The second was the Tang Quang Tu Pagoda, which is the largest of the three Theravada pagodas
in Hue. A mass grave of 67 people killed by the Viet Cong was found after TET at this site.

Tang Quang Tu Pagoda

Buddhist Temple in Hue

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Flag Tower (Cot Co) Hue Citadel

Flying the North Vietnamese flag 2015
Flying the South Vietnamese flag April

1968

Thai Hoa Palace in Citadel 1968
Palace of Supreme Harmony>

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Citadel walls damaged during TET 1968

Warrior statue at Khai Dinh Emperor’s Mausoleum

Two warrior MPs to protect
the Citadel

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Gate and Bridge in the Forbidden City of Hue, Vietnam

Hue Cathedral or Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church 1968 also referred to as the Hue
Dòng Chúa Cứu Thế Church

Note: The U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom in Vietnam denounces the serious health condition
of Fr. Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly. The 63-year-old Catholic priest, one of the most important political
prisoners in the country, has spent 15 years in prison for his fight in defense of human rights. Vietnam
has a communist government and is one of the world's four remaining one-party socialist states in
2015. We fought for the freedom of the peoples of Vietnam and hope they will attain their own
freedom in the future.

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Interior of church and two Vietnamese Catholic Nuns

Theater Ciné Tinh Chau Chi Lang District II Road in the city of Hue after TET

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Just after we settled into our quarters in Hue there was a ceremony with our 18th Brigade officers
and the RVNP (Cảnh lực Quốc gia Việt Nam Cộng hòa) officers implementing a combined police
patrol in late April 1968. There was much photo taking. (I'm the MP with sunglasses) and briefings,
and we did do security patrols in Jeeps and river patrols in Vietnamese boats on the local rivers.

504th MP Battalion squad with RVNP at their Headquarters in Hue

Briefing by RVNP officer (MPs Kraft and Evans far Right)

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Cảnh sát Quốc gia and 504thMPs. L to R (Humphreys, Williams,Ray Evans, Kraft)

Combined Patrol of Cảnh sát Quốc gia and 504th MP- Hue 1968

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I took R&R for a week to Hawaii to meet my
longtime friend Anne Baehr on May 3, 1968,
On the flight to Hawaii on military transport
were sixteen passengers. Eight of us on R&R
in the forward seats and eight soldiers on the
rear deck of the plane in body bags. Nobody
had much to say on that flight, as the sadness
and reality of war was in our thoughts.

During May 5-9, 1968, the Vietnam the Spring, or second "Tet," Offensive begins. Attacks
are launched against 122 military installations, airfields, and towns. Hard to believe that I was out
of country on my R&R.

I did not tell Anne about my flight experience to Hawaii. We had a great time visiting on the
Island of Hawaii, and then spent some of the trip on the Island of Kona, where we were engaged at
the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. On the flight, back to Vietnam I thought about the
fallen soldiers on the flight to Hawaii. Later in the year I had an opportunity for another R&R to
Australia to visit relatives, but just as I was going to leave, it was canceled by the captain of our
group. I have talked with a Vietnam Vet who was in communications at Cam Rahn Bay, and he had
three R&Rs in 1968.

Camp Evans Destroyed – On 19 May 1968, the VC attacked the main base of the 1st Cav with
five 122mm rockets. This set off a chain reaction that blew up the main ammo dump with about
10,800,000 pounds of ammunition, which was poorly located next to the airfield. This destroyed
40 helicopters and left most of the base in shambles. Again, I was fortunate as I was stationed to
Hue in early April after the fight for Hue and prior to the to the destruction of Camp Evans in May.

Upon my return to Hue, I started boat patrols on the Perfume River. The Perfume River is a calm
brown river about a quarter mile across. The water isn’t pretty, at least in broad daylight. It’s a
soupy brown, in part because of the dredging that some locals do to sell the sand to cement
manufacturers. Behind the market, families living on boats bathe in the river, which is their kitchen
and bathroom. Fishermen try their luck with nets and long, thin, wooden boats known as sampans.

I did security patrols on the Perfume River in 16-foot motorboats with the Vietnam National
Police (RVNP) Cảnh Sát sergeant on the river patrols. When doing patrols with a Cảnh Sát sergeant,
he always carried an empty soda bottle. When thirsty he would dip the bottle into the river for a
drink. When he saw my look of disgust, he would laugh and take another drink.

Sanitary conditions did not improve when he introduced me to his family on their Sampan
(thuyền ba ván) on the river. On one side of the Sampan, his wife was dipping a cooking pan in the
river to prepare for dinner, while the grandmother was holding a small boy over the other side of
the Sampan, while he pooped in the river.

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A week later the Cahn Sat sergeant had arranged to have his officers coordinate with our
lieutenant to have a Vietnamese luncheon at our MP villa. Sure enough, one Saturday afternoon
while on duty, I was called to attend a fellowship luncheon with the Cảnh Sát officers. I arrived to
find a luncheon laid out with delicious looking Vietnamese food. I love Vietnamese food, but I
could not eat a bite. Seems, when the Cảnh Sát sergeant saw me, he came over with a proud look
on his face and communicated to me that his wife made all the food on the Sampan. I smiled,
offered him a beer, and he never noticed I did not eat, as I unfortunately saw how food had been
cooked on his Sampan. As I recall, nobody got sick.

Family life on Sampan, Hue 1968
Cảnh Sát sergeant's family on Sampan. >

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Ray Evans with Cảnh Sát sergeant on River Patrol Patrol of Citadel with Cảnh Sát

Sampans, Hue 1968 Makeshift Ferry Service due to destroyed bridges in
Hue 1968

As I mentioned, Hue was off-limits to military personnel not assigned to duty within the city
limits. Unfortunately, the city was a magnet to troops in the surrounding area, due to the availability
of wine, women, and drugs which were inexpensive by our standards at the time. A coffee can of
marijuana, a bottle of cheap whiskey, and a young lady were all about $5.00 each depending on the
quality and location in Vietnam. Personally, I found enforcing the off-limits difficult, as I did not
begrudge a soldier stationed in the boonies, and who was engaged in combat daily, a day off in
town. However, there was a good reason for MPs to patrol the town not only for security, but when
the soldiers had too much of a "good" thing we were flagged down by civilians for "GI causing
trouble".

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Two incidents come to mind where I almost got shot from friendly fire:

The first incident occurred at the Sampan red light district, although there was no electricity in
the area to see a red light. At approximately 0100, it was pitch black and very quiet. As we drove
through this area on our security patrol, a civilian waved us down and once again it was “GI causing
problem.” I guess because I was senior MP again, I told my partner to call the PMO, and I then
walked over to the Sampan. Once again it was very quiet, so I called out that we were military
police and coming on the Sampan. Not a sound, so I entered the covered area of the Sampan and
proceeded to the next room. I then heard a click, froze, and felt a pistol put to my head. I quickly
but calmly said I was an Army MP. Finally, the soldier unlocked his weapon and his buddy with
him acknowledged himself. Seems they had too much of wine and women, got drunk, dropped their
rifles overboard and tried to dive for them. I made a full report on these two hoping their
commanding officer kept them out of Hue.

The second incident was at a Vietnamese government building turned into a "Cat House". The
proprietor asked for help with some soldiers. Another MP and I entered the building and all was
quiet. The owner pointed at a room with a closed door, so I told the soldier in the room that I was
an MP and to come out. Slowly the door opened slightly, and a Vietnamese girl came out with a
scared look on her face. I told the soldier again who I was, and then pushed the door open slowly.
Inside was a young Marine with bandages on his arm and hands holding a shotgun and 45 pistol
pointed at me, and he said, "You are not going to take me!" I calmly told him we are on the same
side, and I would get him back to his unit. After a few long moments, he gave me his weapons, and
we escorted him and his buddies back to the PMO.

The next day, I had the incredible experience, of seeing my next-door neighbor, Harry
Huckstein, from back home, coming past the same Vietnamese government building, on a deuce
and a half truck. We had a short conversation, and it seems he was with a transportation unit
stationed just outside Hue. I met Harry once a few years later, and he had suffered from PTSD.

Another reason Hue was off limits was the prevalence of STD among the young soldiers who were
not given or just refused to use prophylactics. Our lieutenant made this clear one afternoon when
he gathered us together for a rare meeting to let us know we were not doing our duty. He read the
following statistics from a medical report his commanding officer had given to him. Infantry
company near Hue 5% STD, Commo group station in Hue 10% STD, Navy group in Hue 15%
STD, our MP company 30% STD. Don't ask, but as I was engaged at the time, I remained celibate.

Also, we were never sure if the Viet Cong would ambush us on Hue patrols, but that was part of
our security patrols in reporting any activity. About 0300 one morning as we were pulling up to the
MP compound, somebody began shooting nearby. We turned off the Jeep lights, and we dove into
a ditch across the street. Unfortunately, the MPs in the compound turned on the search lights and
manned the walls. Now we could easily be seen, and I could see MPs with M16s at the compound
wall and manning the M60 machine gun in the sandbagged tower, pointing their weapons in our
direction. I did a of yelling from the ditch to insure they knew our location. The weapons fire died
down after a while, and we finished our patrol.

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Cam Rahn Bay
Sep. 1968

I received orders that I was to leave Vietnam on 24 September 1968 as my term of enlistment
was to expire. I left my unit in Hue and and spent a day waiting for a flight out of Cam Rahn Bay.
During lunch, I unexpectedly met my college roommate, Art Eichen, whom I had not seen in years.
We discussed our experiences in Vietnam, as he was in the Army infantry during 1968.

I flew out of Cam Rahn Bay to Fort Lewis, Washington. I was given a five-minute medical
exam, and then I was sent for a one hour debriefing in another building. When I returned to pick
up our luggage for the flight home, I found most of the suitcases had been opened and items stolen.
I forget what was taken, but at that moment felt I was fortunate to be returning home, looking
forward to seeing my fiancé Anne, and left to catch my flight back to Santa Ana, California.

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Back Home September

(1968-2022)

I was then put on U.S. Army Reserve standby, and my effective date of Honorable discharge
was 27 September 1972.

I was 24 when I returned home and I initially stayed with my mother at her home in Santa Ana,
CA. Most of my friends were either in college or working, so there was not much opportunity to
visit or socialize during the day. As I had proposed to my girlfriend Anne, while on R&R in Hawaii,
I decided to find a job and get married.

I found a job in October 1968 at the Union 76 (UNOCAL) Science and Technology Center in
Brea, CA, where I remained for 31 years. I married Anne in December 1968, and we remain
happily married after 54 years. We started a family in 1969, and have three great daughters with 3
grandchildren who live close to us in Yorba Linda, CA.

I could easily adjust to civilian life since I had not experienced combat situations where I was
constantly being shot at personally and having to return fire. I was exposed to the war going all
around me as I was mostly in a Jeep doing security patrols around the country side, taking convoys
on RT 1 near the DMZ, or doing river patrols.

I now wear my Vietnam Vet ball cap with my unit name whenever I participate in Memorial
Day, Veteran’s Day, or other military associated events to start up conversations with other
Vietnam Vets about our experiences. I am also a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post
3173. My hope is to meet some of the guys I served with in the Army. Finally, Anne and I have not
contracted the Covid flu, although our daughters, grandchildren, and many friends have, even
though vaccinated.

Ramon (Ray) Evans 2017

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Post Script

In January 1971, my sister Connie Evans joined the United States Air Force, entering as an
officer in the medical Corps. Connie was sent to Hanoi, North Vietnam, in 1972 as part of the
prisoner of war exchange program. She participated in Operation Homecoming as a flight nurse on
the plane that picked up the POWs at the “Hanoi Hilton” in North Vietnam that included John
McCain.

During the Vietnam Conflict, many U.S. Servicemen served in the Provisional Corps Vietnam
(PCV) or were in units that made up the PCV in 1968. After the conflict, when these soldiers sought
copies of their individual records and unit operational histories, they would often be told there was
no record of their units or of where they had served in Vietnam.

On August 15, 1968, PCV consolidated and became XXIV Corps Vietnam until inactivated on
June 30, 1972. The legacy for soldiers who served in PCV was the untimely delay in obtaining
historical documents because of the classification surrounding the records of the corps and its
operations, and the fact that they were carried on the morning reports of the 108th Artillery Group
and 204th MI Detachment.

Today these records are becoming declassified, and I have started to find some information on
the Military Police units I served in during Vietnam.

I hope to visit Vietnam as many former Vietnam veterans have done, that could accomplish more
than my prior visit, and will foster reconciliation between the two countries. My closure to the
Vietnam War is that the Vietnamese people will eventually have the all the freedoms we have here
in the United States.

Anne and I have continued to
support the military since
2008, by volunteering for
duty to assist the US Coast
Guard through the US Coast
Guard Auxiliary. During the
last 14 years we have assisted
the United States Coast
Guard doing MDA patrols,
Recreation Boating Safety
programs, and commercial
vessel exams

Anne and Ray on duty in our ODU uniforms at Torrance
Armed Forces Day 2010

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