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mobile construction battalion 71 deployment completion report april - october 1967

NAVAL M OBJLE CONSTRUCTION BATTALION SEVENTY-ONE FLEET POST OFFICE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 09501

MCB7l:S3A:eec 5213 Ser 13 1 January 1968

From: Commanding Officer, U. S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion SEVENTY-ONE

To: Commander, Naval Construction Battalions, Pacific

Subj: Completion Report for Deployment April 1967 through October 1967, submission of

Ref' : (a) COMCBPAC OPORD 2-67 of 16 Feb 1967 (b) COMCBPACINST 5213.lC

Encl: (1) Deployment Completion Report

1. In accordance vit h reference (a), MCB S~V~NTY-ON~ was deployed to Camp Shields, Chu Lai, RVN , during the period 8 April 1967 through 28 October 1967 to provide engineering 31d construction support for Allied Forces.

2. Subject report is forvar ded in accordance with reference (b).

IL Distribution: CINCPACFLT COl-lSERVPAC CDiGU NTFIX COHS.C.:RVLAN T COM3RDNCB COH20NCR COM21NCR CO.MJONCR C M31NCR COMNAVFACENGCOM (Code 061) (2) COMCBLANT (2) COMNAVFORV CBCEN DIVILI.£ (2) CBCEN GULFPORT CBC~N PORHU.i!. (2) CO NAVSCOI.CONST D1VILI.E CO N.' VSCOLCONST PORHUE OIC NAVSCOL c~c OFF CO NCEL PORHUE DIR OF NAVAL HISTORY CG FMFPAC CG III NAF ALL NMCB1 e i

FORHARD

Fir st commissioned on 28 April 1943, MCB 71 made a conspicuously outstanding war recor d duri ng WWII, culminating in the Navy Uni t Commendation Award f or i ts part in the Okinawan invasion and subse­quent operations in 1945. St affed by an enlisted complement r ecruited f rom t he ranks of civilian craftsmen, the original SBVENTY-ON~ played no small r ol e i n creating the Seabee "CAN 00 11 legacy.

Decommissioned in December 1945, MCB 71 exis t ed only i n t he memories of t hose who served wit h her and of t hose she served until her n'..llllber was announced late in the summer of 1966 as one of t he Battalions which would be recommissioned t o meet the chall enges of increas ed hosi tle act­ivi ties in Southeast Asia. Dre.wing l argely from the revived Direct Pro­curement Pett y Officer Progr am, designed to again attract enlist ed per­sonnel directly f rom t he civilian construction trades, the first of 800 enlis t ed men and 24 officers were arriving in Davisville , Rhode Island by August 1966.

MCB 71 was recommissioned on 4 Oct ober 1966 by VAIM I. J. GALI.ANTIN, Chief of Naval Material, with Conunander R. D. COUGHLI , CEC, USN receiv­ing command of the new battalion.

A:rter a period of intensive t echnical and mil itary t raining at Davis­vill e an d Camp Lejeune , N. c., MCB 71 deployed on 8 April 1967 to Camp Shields, Chu Iai, RVN, to r elieve MCB 40. The f ollowing pages recount t he activities ad accomplishments of Su'VENTY-OUE in i ts firs t exposure to hostile acti on since WWII. Based in a relat ively secure enclave, and not having been ass i gned a t ruly maj or const ruction project t hroughout its deployment, t he full capabilities of the Battalion in its f irst year after r ecommissioni ng may well never be realized. However, i t is sub­mitted t hat the followi ng account ref lects a performance by SEVBNTY-ONE fUll.1 W"Orth;r of the precepts est ablished by i ts WWII ancestor.

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4-6 MAR 67 MCB 71 Advance Party consisting of seven officers arid 102 enlisted was airlifted on two C-141 aircraft from Davisville to Chu Lai, RVN.

8-12 APR 67 MCB 71 Main Body consisting of sixteen officers and 684 enlisted was airlifted on nine C-141 aircraft from Davis­ville to Chu Lai, RVN.

10 APR 67. MCB 71 assumed command of Camp Shields and commenced work ori assigned projects.

12 APR 67 During a Condition One alert EOl H. J . ANABLE suffered a cerebral hemmorage from natural causes . He was evacuated to Naval Hospital DaNang where. he expired at OJOO, 19 April 1967.

14 APR 67 Major General R. E. CUSHMAN, USMC, Deputy C. G. III MAF visited Camp Shields.

15 APR 67 A detail of one officer and 27 enlisted deployed to Quang

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Ngai City, RVN to construct cantonments for the ARVN as part of the Force Structure Increase (FSI) Prog;ram.

APR 67 Major General ROSSON, USA, CG Task Force Oregon visited Camp Shields.

MAY 67

JUN 67

JUN 67

Twenty- six enlisted men, who were TAD when the Main Body deployed, arrived in Chu Lai. · ·

A detail of one office~ and 19 enlisted deployed to Vung Tau, RVN to provide construction support to USN HA(L)J.

Major General ·D· J. ROBBRTSON, CG. lst MARDIV and Brigadier . General F. C. LAHUE, · CLIC visited Camp Shields .

13-17 JUN 67 I.CDR L. E. VANN and LTJG T. J. WII.SON from JlNCR conducted the Quarterly Supply and Disbursing Inspection.

19· JUN 67

19 JUN 67

20 JUN 67

EADJ W. J. SIPPEL succumbed to natural causes .

One CPO and seven other enlisted were deployed from Vung Tau to Saigon to work on Project Searchlight for N~VFORV.

RADM W • . M. HEAM.AN, COMCBPAC and CAPT A. R. MARSCHALL, COH3NCB visited Camp Shields .

1 JUL 67 One officer anCi 13 enlisted ·returned to Chu le.i from Vung Tau.

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10 JUL 67 Equipment Inspection conducted by LT N. T. THURMOND, 3lNCR~

1l JUL 67 CDR R.H. ~U~R, COMCBPAC Operations officer and LT J.C. HENLEY, COMCBPAC Administrative officer conducted the ADMIN inspections of MOB 71 Operations and Administrative depart­ments.

18-20 JUL 67 I.CDR D. IEONARD, MCB 40 S- 3, and LTJG C. YEATTS, MCB /JJ 11A" Company Commander visited Camp Shields on MCB 40 pre­deployment visi.. t .

24 JUL 67 Seabee Team 7101 departed Chu lai for Da.visville for Fo:nm.l Seabee Team Training.

ll- 12 AUG 67 I.CDR F. Nl!.V/COMB, COMCBPAC Planning officer conducted Admin­istrative Inspection of MCB ·71 Planning, Readiness, and

. Embarkation Departments .

14 AUG 67 A detail of one CPO and 29 other enli sted deployed to Binh Son, RVN to construct a Hospital for Republic of Korea Army Support Battalion.

AUG 67 A det ail of one CPO and 14 other enlisted men depl oyed to Due Pho, RVN to provide construction assistance to u. s. Army Units in t he area.

29 AUG 67 RADM J. V. BARTLETT, Prospective COM3NC~ and CAPT A.R. MARSCHALL, COM3NCB visited Camp Shields.

2 SEP 67 RA.IM W.M. ENGER, Vice Commander NAVFACENGCOM and RADM J . V. BARTIETT, COM3NCB visited Camp Shields.

6 SEP 67 SWE3 THIERRY and CN HILLER froni "D" Company MOB 71 were injured by bomb fragments when an A-4 Skyhawk aircraft lost a 500 pound bomb on takeoff.

2 OCT 67 Advance Party of two officers and 19 enlisted departed from Chu lai for Da.visVille on two C-141 aircraft. MOB 40 Advance Party arrived Camp Shields .

2 OCT 67 A detail of one CPO and nine other enlisted men returned to Chu le.i from Saigon.

3 OCT 67 RA.IJ.f J . V. BARTIETT, COM3NCB and Brigadier General Rollins, Commarider 18th Engineer Brigade, USA, Visited Camp Shields .

3-5 OCT 67 CAPT MILLER, COMCBPAC Chief of Staff, CAPT C. W. TURNER, Commander JONCR, CDR HACKENSON, ·coMCBPAC Logisti cs Officer, and LCDR YOUNG, JlNCR Equipment Officer visited Camp Shields.

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OCT 67 MCB 71 celebrated the 1st Anniversary of its reconunis­sioning on 4 October 1966. A Battalion Party was held 1 October.

OCT 67 CDR W. M. DAND~L, CO MCB 40 arrived Camp Shields.

OCT 67 RADM J. V. BAitl'IETT, COM3NCB attended MCB 71 Awards Cere­mony at Camp Shields.

OCT 67 A detail of one CPO and 14 other enlisted men returned to Chu lai from Due Pho (BS 810390) .

27 OCT 67 A detail of one CPO· and 29 other enlisted men returned to Chu lai from Binh Son (BS 615888).

24~28 OCT 67 MCB 71 Main body of 20 officers and 782 enlisted departed Chu lai for Davisvi l le, R. I . on nine C- 141 aircraft.

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a. b. c. d.

Dental patient~ treated Total dental procedures Preventive procedures Total patients in each

Class I 2()9/289 Class II 423/402

1714 4836

328 classification (Apr/Oct)

Class III 186/96 Class I.V 7 /9

J. Civic Action

At the Chu Lai Catholic Church, MCB 71 expended over JOO mandays in the development of a complete school complex. The complex incl uded a 400 pupil school, a convent for the Nuns, a 100 child orphanage, 1!ld 51~,ooo s._. ft. of road.

In addition to the mandays expended ana equipment used, the B"l.ttalion provided over 75% of the ceoent, 50% of the sheet metal, and all requisite f i ll to complete the project.

At the VC control.led village of Tan Hy, the Army and Marines had unsuc­cessfulJ.y tried to build a market place. Although the villagers bad requested help in opening their village to a market economy, logistic problems had constantly thwarted the Army's efforts. MCB 71 1s Civic Action Coor dinator asswned responsibility for the project and 'WOrk began. Using volunteer Vietnamese labor, 1,000 cubic yards of fill was hand placed and covered with a 75'X85' four inch concrete slab. The two story market building was then erected and equipped to provide a nlace for t he surrounding villages to market their goods. Although MCB 71 was unable to complete the entire market place , the Army will insure that the proj ect i s completed.

At An Ton KCB 71 began another s chool and orphanage complex. After the foundat~on was compl eted money ran out, so appeals were sent to the States and the Battali on began Bi ngo for Civic Acti on. Wit h this money, USAIT materials, and Civi c Action materials from 30NCR, work was resumed.

In t he seven months MCB 71 was in Vietnam, 23b,7l4 piasters were spent on Civic Action, 6,328 pounds of food distributed, 300 poi.mds of cl othing, 360 pounds of writ ing material, 650 bars of soap, J OO pounds of cand~t, and 50 pounds of bed linens were ,;iven to t he Vietnamese peopl e .

K. Awards and Promotions

a. Awards

Navy Commendation Medal w/Combat "V" LCDR R. G. MARTI LT P . .:>. . Oilll1\.S GYSGT E. HARP.ISON

Secretary of the Navy Commendation f or Achievement LT R.. W. Gi-i.AY

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Let ter s of Commendati on ~xpert Pistol Medals Good Conduct Awards Seabee of the ·.:onth Awurd_S_

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