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DaNang Ammo Dump, April 27, 1969
DaNang Ammo Dump - April 27, 1969
On April 27, 1969, I was the OIC of a small communications detachment assigned to 1st MAW in DaNang. That Sunday as I was working in the office, there was a huge boom. The initial explosion caused the fluorescent lights in our small working space to tumble down. One light hit the Gunny in the left shoulder - it was more of a surprise than an actual injury. A series of smaller, but just as dangerous, explosions soon followed. We stepped outside our work spaces (which was actually a small hut that was surrounded by a sandbag revetment) to see what was going on. We could see a billowing cloud of smoke in the direction of 11 o'clock. Some would say it looked like a nuke's mushroom cloud. Suddenly, we saw that a shock blast wave was heading toward our area - and they kept coming. After an hour of this, I finally had no choice but to shut down our comm link with III MAF across the DaNang River. In the meantime and in accordance with our standing procedures, the rest of the detachment all reported in for duty.
The explosions would continue for about 17 hours and the dump wouldn't completely "cook off" for several days. The white phosphorus bombs lit up the night sky. When it was over, millions and millions of dollars of ammo had been destroyed.
It must have been about 10 a.m. the next morning when the all-clear was sounded. "All present and accounted for, Sir!"
The story I heard at the time was that some local hires were burning some brush that got away from them and, as a result, caused the series of explosions in the DaNang ammo dump. It sure did a lot of structural damage!
After getting all affairs back in order and re-establishing comms with II MAF, I headed up to Freedom Hill in the detachment's jeep to check in with the detachment that was assigned to 1stMarDiv, of which Capt. Jim Bolson was OIC. The drive on the way was harrowing - it was like navigating an obstacle course. Bombs, including unexploded ordinances, were littered all over the ground and the damage was unreal. There was shrapnel everywhere and miles of berms were blackened.
When we arrived at Freedom Hill, we found that Jim Bolson's detachment was back up and running. They had suffered some minor damage, but nothing that couldn't be repaired easily. Dog Patch, the civilian makeshift residences outside the 1st MAW compound near the foot of Hill 327, was literally leveled.
Arthur Kidd
Capt Ret
1957-1977
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