READERS’ PHOTOS

This was the home of the 376 Med. Det. of the 20th PMU in An Khe 1965-66. [Bloggers note: What always strikes me about these photos is that none of the tents are surrounded by sandbags. Every hootch and utility building at H.Q. in Bien Hoa was heavily sandbagged, and for good reason.]

 

Thanks to Phillip Elkins for this photo from An Khe

Picture by Capt. Ed Saugstad:  “Another picture of a light trap for mosquitoes, hanging on the headquarterss of the 926th Medical Detachment at Chu Lai.  The commanding officer, Captain Donald Corliss, is entering the building.  Off to the right, you can see the fiberglass tank that we would bolt into a slick (Huey), and then fill with malathion for large-scale mosquito control.”

Blast damage at MAG 12 or 13 31 Jan 1968:  Photo by Cpt. Ed Saugstad showing damage to a building at Chu Lai during Tet, 1968

Picture of a mobile “instant bridge”, taken by Ed Saugstad at Chu Lai.  These could roll up to a river or similar obstacle and extend the bi-fold bridge across it.  They could pretty much handle anything, including tanks.

Canal scene taken through a window of a restaurant/bar in Mỹ Tho by Ed Saugstad. He was there with a few 61st Med Det personnel, probably in September 1968.

SPC5 Gordish (facing camera) and SPC4 Johnston, 20th PMU troops detached to work with 1LT Terry McCarl, 1st Air Cavalry. They were taking some well samples at Phuoc Vinh. Thanks to Terry McCarl for the photo.

Insecticide Storage at An Khe. Thanks to Phillip Elkins for this photo.

This building was the HQ in ’66. Phillip Elkins helped move the unit into there in early May 1966 Just before he left on a Continental 707 to Travis AFB, CA. Special thanks to Phillip Elkins this photo.

Howitzer at the An Khe perimeter. If there were hills available, that’s where bases were always constructed.  Thanks for Phillip Elkins for this photo.

 

20th’s An Khe detachment: The structure to the right was built from ordinance boxes. Photo courtesy of Eugene Brady. Just a tent, but a fancy sign, right? In the Army, neatness counts. Some work went into the pathways, but they were functional during the muddy monsoon season. The standard saying was “If it moves, salute it.  If it doesn’t, pick it up.  If you can’t pick it up, paint it.”

 

Thanks to Eugene Brady: This is a closer look at the “headquarters” tent, which doubled as housing for the command staff.

 

Thanks to Eugene Brady:  This is the tent of the Lieutenant and First Shirt at An Khe, as well as the working tent. There was supposed to be only this tent.  Eugene said of the line troops, “We had to steal one from the First Air Cav for ourselves or it would have been pup tents.”

Thanks to Eugene Brady for this shot of the 20th’s headquarters’ back yard when it was in Saigon, taken late ’65 or early ’66.  I could have lived with this!

 

 

Terry McCarl
I was the 1st Cavalry Division Sanitarian from Nov 68 through Nov 69, stationed at Phuoc Vinh. The Sanitarian position was brand new to the 1st Cav and other divisions in Vietnam. I was a staff officer to the Division Surgeon, and my immediate supervisor was the Division Preventive Medicine Officer (PMO). I was a 1LT, Medical Service Corps, with a degree in Civil Engineering (Sanitary Engineering Specialty).
The PMO and I dealt throughout the year with several problem areas including water supply safety, waste disposal, and food service sanitation. One of the major areas was malaria control. This story is about testing the troops to determine who was and was not taking the malaria prophylaxes.
The main source of assistance that we had was the 20th Preventive Medicine Unit, as described in this story.
MALARIA PILL TESTING IN VIETNAM
In the summer of 1969, commanders of all nine Cavalry (Airmobile Infantry) Battalions of the 1st Cavalry Division were at the end of their rope! Malaria was running rampant and their manpower was reduced to the point where many of their companies were non-functional as the result of personnel taken out of the field by malaria.
There were less than 100 U. S. military personnel who died of malaria during the Vietnam War, but over 40,000 were hospitalized with the disease, and therefore temporarily unavailable for service.
Two malaria prophylaxis pills were nearly 100% effective in preventing it. The problem was that many of their troops were not taking them! There were two good reasons for that. The first reason was that the “weekly” pill, the big orange CP (Chloroquine-Primoquine) tablet for the prevention of the less deadly Vivax strain caused nasty diarrhea for most people. The “daily” white pill, Dapsone, was for prevention of the more deadly malaria strain, Falciparum. To the best of my knowledge, there was no diarrhea or other side effects of Dapsone,.
The second reason was that someone came to a logical conclusion that if they did not take the pills, they would probably contract malaria, and would get out of the field to a hospital bed for an average time of a month, but would probably survive the disease. Whereas, if they spent that month in combat, there was a far greater chance that they would not survive. In other words, the goal of many was to get malaria, so many did not take the pills!
The word spread among the troops like wildfire! Quit taking the pills and get malaria and maybe get out of the field for a month! The smarter thing to have done would have been to not take the CP pill, thus avoiding the diarrhea problem while risking only the generally non-fatal Vivax malaria, but taking the Dapsone which would have protected them from the deadly Falciparum malaria, but having no bad side-effects. Lacking that scientific knowledge, a lot of people just quit taking both prophylaxes.
Confronted with a large non-effective rate, commanders were crying out for, at the very least, some means of determining who was and was not taking the prophylaxes so they could put a stop to the practice of not taking them.
One day in early June of 1969, a package arrived from USARV with two reagent bottles, one hydrochloric acid (HCL) and the other Mayer Tanrets (MT) solution. Only brief instructions were included which said “Adjust urine sample volume to 25 ml, acidify with one drop of HCL, then add one drop of MT solution. A milky precipitate indicates that the sample is positive for quinine, indicating a positive result. A clear sample indicates no quinine in the sample, a negative result.
To the best of my knowledge, there was no test available for Dapsone at that time.
The Division Preventive Medicine Officer, CPT Hoyt H. Ayres, and I pondered how we could perform this testing that everyone seemed so excited about.
We paid a visit to the Division Medical Supply Office next door to do some shopping. We determined there was an abundance of pill vials in stock that would readily hold a 25 ml sample, and stick-on labels, so we decided they would work for sample containers.
Collecting and testing these urine samples was the closest to VIP status that I experienced in VN! When they got word of this test being available, the Cavalry BN CO’s were beating on the Division Surgeon’s door demanding that their units be tested immediately. We set some ground rules. Initially one company from each infantry battalion would be tested at a fire support base. The CO of the battalion to be tested would send an aircraft to pick up our 2-3-man testing team at Phuoc Vinh, transport the team to the FSB, provide the testing team with a roster of all personnel in the company, and return the team to Phuoc Vinh upon completion of the testing. The commanders treated us like visiting commanding generals!
So here is how it was done, as best I remember. The first test team consisted of CPT Ayres and me. When we arrived at the FSB, the 1SGT had the company fall in. The CO informed the troops that we were there to collect urine samples to determine who had and had not taken their malaria pills. I remember the look of shear terror in the faces of many who had not taken the pills. They had been caught!
Each squad leader had his squad line up at the “Field Urinal.”. We handed each man a pill vial on which we had written his name, and told him to fill the vial to near full and discharge the rest of his urine to the urinal The most common complaint was, “I just peed-I can’t do it!” To those, we said. “Stand over there, drink some water, and try later. We won’t leave until we get your sample.” They were guarded closely to insure that they could not slip away and take the pills. Nobody in the company was exempt from the testing.
We had to witness the filling of the vials to insure that nobody was filling someone else’s vial. The samples were put in a cardboard tray made from a beer or soda box. When all samples were collected, we poured the excess sample out to approximate a 25 ml sample. We added one drop of the acid followed by one drop of the M-T (Mayer-Tanrets) Reagent, and if a milky precipitate developed indicating the presence of quinine in the sample, we marked a + by the name. If the sample remained clear after the addition of the drop of MT, we marked a – by the name.
The first company that was tested in early June 1969 recorded a dismal 90% negative! As the BN CO looked over the list, we thought that he would come unglued!
As we departed, we handed the BN CO the roster to do with whatever he wanted. Commanders were advised that, because the test was only about 95% reliable, punishment under Article 15 or court martial was not advised. However, they could use the test results to threaten and intimidate the troopers into taking the prophylaxes, which I’m certain that they did, and apparently quite effectively. Of course, the threat was always there that this testing team might swoop in unannounced again.
After the first test, we felt confident that the procedure would work, and we were scheduling tests of additional units. We continued to get the VIP treatment from the commanders, who were overjoyed that now they had a solution to the malaria pill problem.
Pill-taking procedures were tightened up usually to include an NCO observing each person in his unit taking the pills, in some cases, even checking his mouth with a tongue depressor to insure that the soldier was not hiding the pill under his tongue with the intent to spit it out later!
We continued the testing from June through September, noting a fairly steady decrease in negatives until the last test in September when a unit recorded only 10% negative.
After that, we began distributing the reagents and providing training in the testing to BN Surgeons so that they could do their own testing whenever desired. The commanders were apparently pleased with the results of our program.
Attached is a photo of me (at left, wearing sunglasses) and SP5 Gordish of the 20th Preventive Medicine Unit at a Fire Support Base adjusting the sample volumes for analysis. CPT Ayres and I did not have any Preventive Medicine Specialists assigned to us, but fortunately, the 20th Preventive Medicine Unit generously made two outstanding PM Specialists available to assist us, just like they were our own assigned personnel.
Several 20th PMU personnel were of major help to me during my Vietnam Tour, but the two that stand out in my memory are: SP5 “Gordie” Gordish and SP4 Ernest Johnston. They were assigned to the Phu Loi Detachment in 1969. I would really like to find them so I could convey my gratitude for their fine work! If anyone remembers them, or is in contact with them, please let me know. Thanks!
Terry A. McCarl
Plattsmouth, NE
terryamccarl@gmail.com
402-457-9807

Shot by Phillip Elkins from the detachment at An Khe.  Beyond here there be dragons.  It was desirable, and common, for outlying posts, fire bases and the like to be built on high ground as it gave the advantage of being able to fire from an elevated position, and the enemy the disadvantage of fighting uphill should they attack.