Post by Anonymous Vet on Dec 21, 2002 14:16:10 GMT -5
FEBRUARY 27, 1967
DIVISION AIRFIELD COMPLETED
BY 65TH ENGINEERS.
CU CHI
Thirty-eight men battled time, the
elements and Viet Cong snipers to build
a 2800 foot airfield at the division's Cu
Chi base camp in just a month and a
half.
Officially designated a lift, forward
area, division base airfield, the strip was
just one impossible difficulty after
another but, the 65th Engineers came
through in fine style.
Foreman for the job, PSgt. Victor K.
Bloomfield, 32, of Clarinda, Iowa,
proudly told of the way his men over
came the numerous problems they
encountered.
Perhaps the inauspicious
circumstances under which the project
began should have foretold the
problems.
The project began December 15 on a
windy, dark and rainy day. As the rains
kept falling, problem number one
popped up -there was no drainage on
the proposed site. The field had once
been a peanut field-necessarily flat-and
all the water just stood there in big
pools.
Solving problem one provoked
problem two. Laterite filler, greasy clay
like soil, had to be hauled in to build up
the area of the strip. However, the
Laterite pit is outside the perimeter and,
every time a dump truck went after a
load of Laterite, VC snipers began
firing, trying to kill the truck drivers.
Hauling the fill had to be delayed until
adequate security was available.
Meanwhile, problem three popped up
of its own accord. The original landing
strip, suitable for smaller planes such as
the "Bird Dog" spotter plane, was badly
deteriorating under the heavy rains.
The first portion of the airstrip was
completed on schedule on January 16,
and the two sections were joined as one
by January 26.
The installation of a culvert system
and the moving of certain landing and
take off obstructions signified the end
of the difficult project.
Along with the runway is an apron
capable of parking four aircraft. The
runway has 10 foot-wide shoulders on
either side of its 60-foot width and a
300-foot over-run space at each end,
for a grand total of 160,000 square feet.
The airstrip can handle C-130
aircraft in emergency situations, but is
designed for the slower, smaller C-123
"Provider," and can easily handle the
CV-2B "Caribou."
DIVISION AIRFIELD COMPLETED
BY 65TH ENGINEERS.
CU CHI
Thirty-eight men battled time, the
elements and Viet Cong snipers to build
a 2800 foot airfield at the division's Cu
Chi base camp in just a month and a
half.
Officially designated a lift, forward
area, division base airfield, the strip was
just one impossible difficulty after
another but, the 65th Engineers came
through in fine style.
Foreman for the job, PSgt. Victor K.
Bloomfield, 32, of Clarinda, Iowa,
proudly told of the way his men over
came the numerous problems they
encountered.
Perhaps the inauspicious
circumstances under which the project
began should have foretold the
problems.
The project began December 15 on a
windy, dark and rainy day. As the rains
kept falling, problem number one
popped up -there was no drainage on
the proposed site. The field had once
been a peanut field-necessarily flat-and
all the water just stood there in big
pools.
Solving problem one provoked
problem two. Laterite filler, greasy clay
like soil, had to be hauled in to build up
the area of the strip. However, the
Laterite pit is outside the perimeter and,
every time a dump truck went after a
load of Laterite, VC snipers began
firing, trying to kill the truck drivers.
Hauling the fill had to be delayed until
adequate security was available.
Meanwhile, problem three popped up
of its own accord. The original landing
strip, suitable for smaller planes such as
the "Bird Dog" spotter plane, was badly
deteriorating under the heavy rains.
The first portion of the airstrip was
completed on schedule on January 16,
and the two sections were joined as one
by January 26.
The installation of a culvert system
and the moving of certain landing and
take off obstructions signified the end
of the difficult project.
Along with the runway is an apron
capable of parking four aircraft. The
runway has 10 foot-wide shoulders on
either side of its 60-foot width and a
300-foot over-run space at each end,
for a grand total of 160,000 square feet.
The airstrip can handle C-130
aircraft in emergency situations, but is
designed for the slower, smaller C-123
"Provider," and can easily handle the
CV-2B "Caribou."