Company C, located at Da Nang, was the parent unit for all I Corp A-Teams.  Officially, it was known as Company C, Det C-1, 5th Special Forces Group.  It also had another 'official' name...   what other name it was known by?

(Hint: C...... M............. )      Pssssst!     You can find a link to the answer at the bottom of this page.

cochq1.jpg  (5484 bytes) Almost heaven...

To the A-Team members, it represented a chance to get away from camp life... it meant real food, hot water, and an opportunity to relax.  It meant cold beer, playing cards, and forgetting that tomorrow you may die.  To the men assigned here it was 'work'. 

Click image to enlarge. Allow time to load.

Being a larger military facilitary Da Nang was home to numerous units of several branches of the US Armed Forces.  Da Nang air base, which served as our 'supermarket' at times, was only a few miles away from Headquarters.  It was the busiest airport in the world.  [More about Da Nang airbase on another web page]  I believe there was a PX (Post Exchange) at Da Nang while Nha Trang had a BX (Base Exchange, the Air Force equivalent).  Compared to the A-Teams Da Nang Headquarters represented an unparalleled level of comfort.

cocbarracks1.jpg (5142 bytes) Civilization...

These were the barracks at Da Nang.  They were clean, dry, and above ground.  Sidewalks and other features brought a touch of the States to this far off place.  The wind and the dust were frequent companions at HQs...  but nobody complained.

danang11a1.jpg (7467 bytes) Local Vietnamese women provided limited cleaning and laundry service.  In retrospect we must have seemed a strange group to them. danang10a1.jpg (7962 bytes)

Only my close friends know that I have a fear of falling.  Not a fear of heights, mind you... a fear of falling.  So climbing the water tower to take some pictures was, for me, a daring thing to do.   How then do I explain being 'Airborne-qualified' - a prerequisite for Special Forces??  Sheer will power!  After all, if you can't make yourself do that which scares you to death, how can you expect yourself to do what you must at times do?!?  How could your team members count on you??  I have twenty-one jumps.  Each one of them represents a triumph of will power over common sense!   ;)

Views from the water tower...          Pssssst!  Images with a blue border can be 'clicked' to load a larger image. Allow time to load.

cocantennas1.jpg  (5917 bytes)

Northwest View

(Don't view large image until you read the Beach Page.)

High wire act...

These pictures show part of the antenna system at Da Nang.  Our sophisticated system provided HF communications half-way around the world. 

The black part of the building (lower level) in the picture at right was the actual commo operations area.  The South China Sea is also clearly visible. 

cocseaside1.jpg (5838 bytes)

Southwest View

 

More views from the water tower....

danang2a1.jpg  (5670 bytes) <<  Southern view:    Marble Mountain (and the Marine outpost on it) dominates the landscape and guards the southern approach to Da Nang.

Western view:  South China Sea >>

danang3a1.jpg  (4348 bytes)
danang5a1.jpg  (4497 bytes) << Northern view: To the north lay Da Nang city and the massive US military facilities.

And now...  the answer to today's trivia question!

danang13a1.jpg  (8.67 Kbytes) Company C's alias...

The other name for Co C is shown on the monument.  Click the image to load a large copy of this photo.  (Allow time to load...  54.5 Kb)