Mobility Operations Vietnam, 1970 Bu Gia Map, RVN - Now a nature preserve 8thMob@NoDeadlines.com |
Bu Gia
Map, Djamap,
FSB Snuffy:
Bu Gia Map (aka Djamap) was an isolated airstrip along the Cambodian border. I first arrived there in April of 1970 and found what appeared at the time to be a pristine getaway from the war. Or, so I thought. By late spring, The First Cav had established a Firebase and transit point for troops and cargo crossing back and forth across the Cambodian border in May of 1970. The Cav name for Djamap was Fire Support Base (FSB) "Snuffy". Caribou Pilot Ken Fillmore has a great aerial photograph of the airstrip at http://www.c-7acaribou.com/album/kfphotos/kf_19.htm See Jim Hathcoat's site at http://www.c-7acaribou.com/album/jhphotos/jh_index.htm Here's something interesting... I was searching on "Bu Gia Map" - which was one of the "hot" firebases I spent time at on the Cambodian border in 1970... Now, The area has
been designated
a Nature Preserve...
Interesting note: Under "Other Documented Values" for the site: "Bu Gia Map is also a site of historical importance because it was a resistance base during the Second Indochina War..." I'll say. Vietcong were all over the place. We lost 3 choppers there in one day. We even "captured" some Montagnards at Bu Gia Map.... Probably the first time that an Air Force team came back with "prisoners". Actually, what happened was that one of our CCT (Combat Control Team) radio operators, out by himself on the edge of the runway, was approaced by a group of "jungle people" repeating "chieu hoi, chieu hoi", which literally means "open arms", but was the key phrase for "I'd like to come over to your side, guys..." Dave said it
scared the shit
out of him and he just held his gun on them and indicated that they
were
to stay put "dung lai, dung lai" while he radioed the local camp for
assistance.
He was later quoted as saying "I didn't know what to do. They just came
up out of the jungle saying "Chieu hoi, chieu hoi". It scared the shit
out of me...
And now, this place is a nature preserve..... well, perhaps
that's a better
use than jungle firebase, eh?
|