Mess Hall

Gary Bowman Feb 11 #72053

There was a place in QT, or near QT, where we would go and get breakfast once every other blue moon. Someone help my memory here. Several of us, maybe before a CA or something. There was a high cinderblock wall that separated the mess hall from part of a city - I want to say it was QT, but I can't be sure. Anyway, we were there one morning, and some kid scaled the wall and got into my chopper and stole the PP's (a captain whose name I can't remember) SOI book, all the mission maps, and the captain's .45. It's what happens when you leave one PFC DG guard behind to watch 6 or 7 helicopters. Anyone remember that?

Don Pipes10:08am #72057

Gary, I think it was MACV HQ's.

Gary Bowman10:42am #72058

That's probably right, Don. My remember is real fuzzy on that. Thanks. Getting your coins ready to mail.

Bill Walker 11:41am #72059

You are correct. The MAC Compound had the best food. And, stupid me, I left my camera in our bird when we went in for a meal. It made some thief happy, I’m sure.

Barry Beard 1:53pm #72072

Seems there was a Navy compound in DaNang that had what I thought was a 5-star restaurant. Seems I ate there twice.

Steve Crimm 2:55pm #72076

Wasn’t there a place for lunch in Quang Tri called the tiger pad or something that? Could only hold 4 or 5 aircraft Most of time had to park near there.

I remember they had great hot lunches

Don Pipes 3:56pm #72080

Steve... I believe it could have been MACV. They had really nice PSP landing pads to land on. In fact, on occasions an Air America huey would land there. I remember their aircraft were a very dark color with dark tinted window on the sides.

Steve Crimm 3:58pm #72081

Like this???

Vietnam Helicopter insignia and artifacts - Air America

Steve Crimm

Tim Pasquarelli 4:01pm #72082

And no markings or tail numbers. Pilots in Bermuda shorts and Hawaii shirts.

Saw one of those and the black ones with no markings. Talked to one of them at POL point once. Brief conversation. Interesting.

Steve Crimm4:04pm #72084

Used to see them and the turbine Beach 18 on the strip in the middle of the Citadel

Gary Bowman4:16pm #72085

The only one I remember seeing was red, white (primarily) and blue. An H model, with Air America stenciled below the cargo door windows.

Curtis Smith 4:31pm #72087

Yes Steve, it was Tiger pad near the mess hall at QT. Elevated rock helipads. Somewhere I have pics. Curt...40

Steve (RS16) 5:51pm #72089

I remember missions’ way past Khe Sanh and seeing them disappear in the distance heading West.

Don Pipes Feb 12 #72091

You got it!!

Bill Walker Feb 12 #72092

Yep.

Dana Lane Feb 12 #72099

Yes, it was MACV.

Food was a lot better than Camp Evans. One time I landed there I blew a tin roof off a nearby hut. The owner came over screaming at me. A MACV officer came out and gave him $20 and told him to get lost.

Steve (RS16) 9:48am #72100

5th Mech chow hall was even better than Evans.

Any chow hall was better than what we had. Always closed before we went flying in the morning and shut down when we finished the day

Gary Bowman 11:16am #72102

Yep. I ate there only one time, a few weeks after I got to the Lancers. Late pitch pull, so I tried breakfast. Last time I ate there. Probably like most of you, I ate one meal a day on average, usually a c-rat or lrrp. But often just junk from the PX (when I could get there), or sometimes just a few beers after shift (no food). I was skinny when I got there, at 165 lbs., but was only 155 when I left. Ate better at the 11th ACR but was still only 165 when I left VN.

A few of you were at Ft. Hood after VN. When I was there they opened the HOW Houses (Hell On Wheels Houses). A new type of mess hall where you could get several types of food: mexican, soul, seafood, western, Italian, etc. Anyone with a meal card could eat there, didn't need to be in the 2nd AD. That was lethal. The food wasn't great, but better than the mess hall at the company. Between that and easy access to fast food in Killeen I was at 190 lbs. when I ETS'd. It's been downhill ever since.

I lived in a 4-plex with Ginger. One of the others there was a warrant pilot (flew Kiowas). We became pretty good friends. He and his wife invited us to an officer's club for dinner once (didn't know you could do that). What a departure from anything enlisted. You officer types had it good!

Barry Beard 12:22pm #72104

Hey, I always get a little defensive about the mess hall! We got Best Mess for several months in a row, beginning no doubt during Lt Ruck’s tenure as MO and continuing through mine, right up to the end. Of course I can say that because neither Ruck nor I had much of anything to do with that, it was the NCO’s that made that happen. When I was told that I would be the new mess officer, I met with all of the mess personnel and told them, I don’t know “here from sic em” about mess operations, so as long as I don’t get any complaints, I will stay out of your way. So if you do your job well, the only time you will have to deal with me is if you need some help! My recollection was the mess hall was always pretty full during regular hours, and someone would go down and make sandwiches for crews coming in late. They may have been “Phu Bai steak”, but we would always be available to feed crews coming in late.

There was a time, probably late Nov early Dec 71, the 101st CG made a tour of the mess hall to recognize it for the number of times it was voted best mess. I was late, so I kept trying to get his attention to take credit, but he rightly ignored me and continued the tour with the NCOs!

I have no memory of eating in QT other than LRRPs. The food at the Marble Mountain CCN compound was good, but if we could slip over to the Navy compound in DaNang, that was heaven.

There was a hamburger joint I Killeen called the Phantom Burger; their double meat burger was at least 5 napkins. I still drool when I think about how delicious those burgers were!

In the officers’ club, we got into a little dust up with some 2nd AD captains that had the temerity to say the 1st Cav sucked! We were of course turned in and called to the 1st Cav CG the next day. He asked what happened, we told him, he asked did we win, we said yes sir, he said “dismissed”, and that was the end of it. We didn’t even have to pay for the damages.

Gary Bowman 12:44pm #72106

I have no recollection of any food being offered late at the mess hall. If it was, I don't remember being told. But, Barry, the one time I ate there it left a taste in my mouth that lasted hours. Wasn't good.

Whoppers at Burger King were my weakness.

Here in Loveland, there was a place called Scotty's, kind of like a Sonic is now. Had the most amazing pizza burgers. And when you got a large fries, it was a lunch bag-sized bag full of hot, greasy fries. Could feed a carload of teenagers.

Bill Griffith 1:33pm #72108

In '69 we had some REAL issues with the early departures and mess hall not being up and running.

I recall eating at the mess hall only a few times. But there was the time I made a comment about the "Damn cumbers!" being in salad mix all the time. Estep (1st Sgt) had a table just off the serving line, so this was within earshot. At dressing out at about 275+lbs, I guess he didn’t want to get too far from the serving line. "I like cumbers! Everybody likes cumbers!"

Also, I recall - mid morning flight to Hue and landing not too far from the river. AC and PP went in, and myself and the DC waited out in a foyer area. To paraphrase AC: "We'll have lunch here before heading back."

The dining room - Table cloths, cloth napkins, real plates, and flatware. And we didn't have to buss our table when finished.

Bill G.

Walter White 2:26pm #72110

In one of my tapes home I mentioned I had KP and that all the staff kept laughing at me. Turns out with my shaved head the were calling me Buda.

Barry Beard 2:57pm #72111

It might have been your AC that didn’t alert the DO to send someone to get the “on call” cook. This was an area I did stick my nose in, requiring someone to be on call.

My Dad told me a story about being on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Okinawa, getting ready for the invasion of Japan. Somehow he found one of his 5 brothers, who was on the island as a grunt also waiting to be called on for the invasion. Dad flew out and picked him up, flew him back to the aircraft carrier and took him to the officer’s mess. It was about midnight and there was a cook getting ready for the next day. My Dad asked his brother what he would like, to which he replied ice cream. Dad told the cook “get this man some ice cream!”. The cook was not inclined to do it because the kitchen was closed. Dad said again “damn it I said get this man some ice cream!”. That made an impact on me, because I am sure they were thinking they might not survive the invasion! Fortunately, certainly for them, the invasion was averted, but my lesson from that was, everyone should have the option of a meal after a hard day of flying regardless of the time. Malingerers on the other hand, were on their own.

That said I understand complaining about the mess hall is a part of Army life, so I won’t comment further.

Bill Walker 3:25pm #72112

Great story, Barry

Did anyone other than Glen Easterday (Chicken Man) try to rid the mess hall of rats? I think Lanny told that story about Glen using his side arm to shoot at a rat crossing overhead on a rafter.