SOG Squids and CCN Artillery

    Yes, there were SOG Squids in DaNang.  I visited the "Naval Advisory Detachment" (NAD) at Monkey Mountain in September, 1969. Excerpts from Command Histories are at:http://www.ptfnasty.com/ptfmacv2.html OPLAN 34A is described at:http://www.mrfa.org/Operation34a.htm Also note "its navy assets (Maritime Studies Group) were based at DaNang..."http://www.macvsog.org/the_legacy.htm  Maps, and comments, are at:http://www.warboats.org/danang.htm

    According to: http://st2.wz.cz/historie/slovnikus.htm some SEAL's worked under NAD. For more information, do a Google search on: "Naval Advisory Detachment" DaNang CCN Artillery:  RE: "Nick's Tank Patrol" -- I don't know about Nick's Tank.  However, I was at CCN when we got some artillery.

One day in late 1968 or early 1969, I was sitting in the officer's latrine when the ground rumbled and, through the high screened window, I could see what looked like a telephone pole at a 45 degree angle moving down the road. Seems that the night before, LTC Warren was drinking down in the Recon Club and remarked that Charlie would not bother us again, if we only had some artillery to blast his ass on Chinstrap Mountain.   Two Recon Men, listening in, looked at each other, meaningfully. The next day, the same two Recon Men, dressed in REMF uniforms, bullshitted their way into an Ordinance repair company, up the highway from the CCN compound. There, they found a 175mm self-propelled artillery piece, just sitting there, with it's barrel pointed up at about a 45 degree angle. One of the Recon Men remarked that he figured he could drive it, since he drove tractors back on the farm. Shortly thereafter, the Ordinance Company Gate Guard dove out of the way, as the 175 roared out the gate of the Ordinance compound, hung a hard right, and sped off down the highway in the direction of CCN. Not too far behind was a jeep with the Ordinance Company Commander and his First Sergeant. The CCN gate slammed shut as soon as the 175 rumbled through it.  The 175 then sped through the compound, past the latrine where I was sitting, and came to a stop in the middle of the compound, with the canon pointed menacingly towards Chinstrap mountain. The Ordinance Company Jeep came to a halt at the CCN gate, as the QC (MP) Gate Guards locked and loaded on the Company Commander and his First Sergeant.   The QC pretended not to speak English as the Ordinance types demanded their cannon back.  After a while, an American showed up at the gate and pretended to have no knowledge of the 175.  However, his ruse failed, as the cannon barrel was clearly visible above our hooches, as it was still pointed up at Chinstrap Mountain. I understand that it took a case of LRRP rations to smooth things over with the Ordinance types, who let on that the 175 wouldn't have done us any good as it was broke and in their shop for repair. Nope, I still don't know anything about Nick's Tank.  However, I did hear that the guys down at CCC had an old French Armored Car.... painted pink.   But that's somebody else's story.

Regards

Randy Givens
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