Comments on: Cessna Down http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/ Listen to stories on anything from honeymoons to WWII, from award-winning journalists to first-time writers alike, from anywhere in the world. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:30:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Vu Dinh http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-27408 Sat, 04 Aug 2007 05:54:42 +0000 http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-27408 Dear Sir, Would you like to send me a photo of hte TSN AB main entrance gate. Thanks in advance. Regards, Vu Dear Sir,

Would you like to send me a photo of hte TSN AB main entrance gate. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Vu

]]> by: Bob Powell http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9603 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 10:53:18 +0000 http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9603 Welcome home, Stephen! The mortuary was located at the far left end of the picture. BTW, the dispensary was an old French-built building (most of it). The walls were very thick, giving us some sense of protection against rocket attacks. I sure didn't envy you guys that worked in the mortuary. We could smell the odors of death in the dispensary as they came through the screened windows. You never forget that smell. The C-130 has been around since the early 50s, and is in its 3rd version I think. I saw the new one, the C-130J while stationed in Georgia in 1997. They were performing tests on it before Lockheed delivered it. Thanks for reading my story. Bob Welcome home, Stephen!

The mortuary was located at the far left end of the picture. BTW, the dispensary was an old French-built building (most of it). The walls were very thick, giving us some sense of protection against rocket attacks. I sure didn’t envy you guys that worked in the mortuary. We could smell the odors of death in the dispensary as they came through the screened windows. You never forget that smell.

The C-130 has been around since the early 50s, and is in its 3rd version I think. I saw the new one, the C-130J while stationed in Georgia in 1997. They were performing tests on it before Lockheed delivered it.

Thanks for reading my story.

Bob

]]> by: Stephen A http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9394 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:56:43 +0000 http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9394 Bob, I spent some time at TSN working at the mortuary in '66-'67. The photo w/this article looks like the USAF medical facality located across the street. I was a volunteer w/the US Army and on TDY orders to TSN. When I went back to my base camp in II Corps I watched Spooky flying missions nearly every evening-what a display of fire power. Thanks for you post. Bob,
I spent some time at TSN working at the mortuary in ‘66-’67. The photo w/this article looks like the USAF medical facality located across the street. I was a volunteer w/the US Army and on TDY orders to TSN. When I went back to my base camp in II Corps I watched Spooky flying missions nearly every evening-what a display of fire power. Thanks for you post.

]]> by: Bob Powell http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9381 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:28:29 +0000 http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9381 Norm, First off, welcome home, brother! And thanks for your service, especially way up in Eye Corps. Those unarmed guys in the Cessnas had a brass pair, that's for sure. Your comments brought back memories for me, too, about the Spookies at night. Without the Cessna spotting for them, they would turn on their powerful searchlight and beam the ground. The next thing you would see is tracers going up from the ground. That was followed by the Spooky turning off its searchlight and then a literal wall of fire from their tracer rounds. Very surrealistic and very deadly. Thanks for the kind words on the story. Norm,

First off, welcome home, brother! And thanks for your service, especially way up in Eye Corps.

Those unarmed guys in the Cessnas had a brass pair, that’s for sure. Your comments brought back memories for me, too, about the Spookies at night. Without the Cessna spotting for them, they would turn on their powerful searchlight and beam the ground. The next thing you would see is tracers going up from the ground. That was followed by the Spooky turning off its searchlight and then a literal wall of fire from their tracer rounds. Very surrealistic and very deadly.

Thanks for the kind words on the story.

]]> by: norm http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9374 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 15:51:08 +0000 http://www.commonties.com/blog/2007/04/04/cessna-down/#comment-9374 Man, Bob, your story brought a flood of memories of those little planes. I was a maching gunner with the Ninth Marines in I Corps, and we often saw and heard those Cessnas doing "PR Broadcasts" to the NVA. I remember them dropping surrender leaflets and even drawing ground fire to expose enemy positions as a set up for C-130 Spookies. A very compact, visceral story. Thanks for the memories. Man, Bob, your story brought a flood of memories of those little planes. I was a maching gunner with the Ninth Marines in I Corps, and we often saw and heard those Cessnas doing “PR Broadcasts” to the NVA. I remember them dropping surrender leaflets and even drawing ground fire to expose enemy positions as a set up for C-130 Spookies. A very compact, visceral story. Thanks for the memories.

]]>