History Of DaNang & NSA/NSF DaNang

The following is provided to help readers understand the setting where the veterans of NSA/NSF DaNang served and how they came to be there. DaNang and the area around it was changed by our presence, and those who served there were changed in many ways.

DaNang is a very old city and the third largest by urban population in Vietnam next to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and Hanoi. It is located along the west bank of the Han River near the shore of the South China Sea. The DaNang Harbor is located at the northern mouth of the river.

DaNang is an important port city that has been known by different names since its founding somewhere around A.D. 192. It was controlled by the ancient Champa Empire (also called Cham) which ruled over the southern coastal region of Indochina that was similar to the more recent South Vietnam. The northern territory was controlled by the Vietnamese Empire (called Dai Viet) from the 10th to the 19th century. These empires and other cultures were often at war throughout their histories. The Chams were conquered in 1832 and became part of the Vietnamese Empire. The combined territory of that empire was similar to modern Vietnam.

(The following text is from the 1970 Cruisebook for NSA/NSF DaNang – Public Domain)

“DaNang was known as Tourane during the French control of 1888 to 1950. Until the middle of the 19th century, Tourane was an unimportant fishing and farming village. Ships first called at the Song Han Harbor (now the Bridge Ramp) in 1535, and by 1847 foreign merchant vessels were making regular calls at the harbor.

In 1859, French troops attacked the protective fort overlooking the Song Han Harbor, and the battle resulted in a treaty concerning free trade between the French and Vietnamese. The treaty was broken, however, and a 30-year clash developed between the French and the Vietnamese. In August 1888, the fighting ended. The Vietnamese yielded control of the Port of Tourane to the French

Tourane remained under French control until the Japanese occupied the harbor in the early stages of World War II. In 1945, Vietnam was divided at the 16th parallel. The Chinese occupied the territory to the north and the British* accepted the surrender of the southern territory. In 1947, the French again assumed the control of Tourane. On January 3, 1950, Tourane was returned to the control of the Vietnamese government under international agreement.”

* Historical Note: When the war in the Pacific ended in 1945, there were many Japanese personnel in Vietnam. The Chinese were assigned to receive the Japanese surrender in the region north of the 16th parallel. The British were assigned to receive the surrender in the area south of the 16th parallel. Responsibilities included disarming troops, enforcing the surrender, keeping order, providing humanitarian aid, and transporting Japanese forces back home. The assignment was complicated and it was not a peaceful task. Casualties were suffered on all sides including the British, Japanese, French, and Viet Minh.

AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT BEGAN IN DANANG:

Many people are uncertain about how America became involved with the war in Vietnam. DaNang was where the first combat troops landed in Vietnam on March 8, 1965. This is significant to our organization because the landing was followed by other events that would soon establish the U.S. Naval Support Activity (NSA) at DaNang.

The 1950s was a time of war between the North and South. On July 21, 1954, the Geneva Conference created a demilitarized zone (DMZ) near the 17th parallel that separated North and South Vietnam. DaNang was located about 112 miles south of the DMZ. NSA’s northern most Detachment at Cua Viet was about five miles from the DMZ.

At least four presidents contributed to our involvement in Vietnam with statements, policies, and actions during their administrations.

President Harry S. Truman became president on April 12, 1945. He addressed a joint session of congress on March 12, 1947 saying, “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” He believed America should assist free people to work out their own destinies. This policy became known as the “Truman Doctrine” and was further supported in 1948 when Congress provided financial support to assist Greece and Turkey in their efforts to resist communist aggression. The Truman Doctrine was the beginning of a policy for the United States to provide support to other countries where freedom was under threat. The Truman Doctrine led to the formation of a military alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

President Truman sent the Military Assistance Advisory Group to Vietnam to assist the French in September 1950, but he was clear that they were not combat troops. They were sent to supervise the equipment and support we sent to help the French.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower became president on January 20, 1953. He sent the Military Assistance Advisory Group to Vietnam on November 1, 1955 to train the Army of South Vietnam. He was determined not to involve America in fighting the war, but he sent advisers and invested large amounts of money to support the South Vietnamese. President Eisenhower’s action is considered by many to be the start of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. It was during his administration when the last of the French troops left Vietnam in April 1956.

President John F. Kennedy became president on January 20, 1961. President Kennedy sent more military advisers to South Vietnam in May 1961. In addition, some forces were needed for assistance and security, but they were not sent as a combat force. The situation with Vietnam was very complicated, but he stated that he could not give up on this territory to the communists. Historians still debate the issue of whether President Kennedy would have escalated America’s involvement in the war if he had not been assassinated.

President Lyndon B. Johnson became president on November 22, 1963. The U.S. Navy began its presence in DaNang when they established Mobile Support Team-1 (MST-1) in February 1964. Their mission was to train Vietnamese crews to maintain and operate patrol boats against invading North Vietnamese forces. By the end of 1964, plans were being made to improve the Navy’s base, port facilities, and other assets. On August 7, 1964, the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizing President Johnson to send military forces to Vietnam. However, combat troops were not sent immediately after the resolution was passed.

Attacks against bases in South Vietnam increased during the winter of 1964-1965. There were approximately 50,000 U.S. advisors in-country that were being threatened by these attacks. In February 1965, a Viet Cong attack against American barracks at Pleiku killed eight and wounded 126. This event caused President Johnson to take action. America’s first combat troops arrived in Vietnam when 3,200 U.S. Marines landed on Red Beach at DaNang on March 8, 1965. Protection for the air base in DaNang was a primary purpose for sending the troops. A month later, American military leaders asked for an additional 90,000 combat troops. Over the next three years, American troops increased to nearly 600,000.

As American troop strength increased, the need for an adequate supply base and other facilities became apparent. Small U.S. Navy Seabee Teams had been working in parts of South Vietnam since 1963. The first full Seabee Battalion arrived in Vietnam on May 7, 1965 to build a Marine airfield at Chu Lai. More construction battalions were deployed in that year for much needed building projects in Chu Lai, DaNang, and Phu Bai. Seabee activity increased greatly between 1965 and 1969 with a heavy concentration in I Corps.

The U.S. Naval Support Activity DaNang was commissioned on October 15, 1965. It began with 1,412 officers and men. The specific mission was to support the Third Marine Amphibious Force. By February 1966 the number of personnel had increased to 2,825 and operations expanded to serve other branches of the military in I Corps. The number of assigned personnel continued to increase.

President Richard M. Nixon became president on January 20, 1969. The war continued, and NSA DaNang reached its greatest strength in 1969. It became the Navy’s largest overseas shore command with the largest public works department in the world, the third largest Navy Supply Depot next to Norfolk and Oakland Supply Depots, and the largest combat casualty hospital in Vietnam. It had a fleet of 225 lighterage and service craft, a small craft repair facility with two floating drydocks capable of handling vessels up to the size of a destroyer escort, and a full-scale communications and electronics department with repair facilities. NSA DaNang was providing 98% of the munitions, food, and other military supplies for troops in South Vietnam’s five northernmost provinces; the area we knew as I Corps. NSA’s mission was reflected in its motto, “They Shall Not Want.”

1970 brought major changes for the U.S. Naval Support Activity (NSA). On March 14th, the hospital ship USS Repose left Vietnam. The Station Hospital was disestablished on May 15th and its patients were transferred to the USS Sanctuary. NSA was disestablished on June 30th when the Supply Depot and the support mission in I Corps was turned over to the U.S. Army. The U.S. Naval Support Facility (NSF) was established the next day on July 1st. Many of the U.S. Navy’s logistics craft were turned over to the Vietnamese Navy and many more boats were being prepared for transfer to them. The Deep-Water Piers were turned over to the U.S. Army on July 30th, and the U.S. Navy no longer provided logistical support in I Corps. The primary mission of NSF was to train the Vietnamese Navy to take over after U.S. Naval forces left Vietnam.

By the end of 1970, many NSF functions had been transferred to the U.S. Army or the Vietnamese Navy, and some Detachment operations were closed. The number of American Naval personnel was declining, and the remaining responsibilities continued to be transferred to the Vietnamese Navy or were closed. Seabee Teams were also withdrawn from all parts of Vietnam in 1970, including DaNang, but some level of Seabee activity is documented in various locations of the country with some short-term redeployments occurring until at least 1972. It is believed that the last Seabee Team left Vietnam on April 18, 1972 from Ham Tan in Binh Tuy Province in the southern region of Vietnam.

On April 14, 1972, the US Naval Support Facility was disestablished. All remaining Naval advisors were consolidated under the Senior Advisor of the Naval Advisory Unit. The process of Vietnamization was shifting military operations to the South Vietnamese military throughout the country. The Naval Support Activity, Saigon was disestablished on June 30, 1972. On March 29, 1973, the remaining U.S. Naval responsibilities in the DaNang area were removed or disestablished. These included some Fleet Air Detachments and the Naval Communications Station. Any Naval functions remaining after this were serving in advisory roles.

On March 30, 1972, troops and tanks from the north launched an assault that became known as The Easter Offensive of 1972. They crossed into South Vietnam at the DMZ and two other locations with an attack that some historians estimate may have surpassed the TET Offensive of 1968. Although American troop strength was reduced in-country, the U.S. Seventh Fleet, the U.S. Air Force, and other assets were mobilized and ended the offensive on October 22, 1972.

A peace agreement was negotiated and signed on January 27, 1973. American withdrawal from military involvement in Vietnam followed soon after.

To make a long story short, notable hostilities continued to take place in Vietnam. The deterioration of the South Vietnamese government and army enabled the North Vietnamese to have some successes in the south. The government in Hanoi became convinced that they could successfully defeat the remaining forces in South Vietnam. They launched an offensive to take control of South Vietnam in March 1975. Communications with DaNang and Hue ceased on March 29th, and it was confirmed on March 30th that those cities had fallen to North Vietnamese forces. North Vietnamese tanks entered the gates of the Presidential Palace on April 30th. Many historians call this the event that ended the war.

President Nixon made promises to the president of South Vietnam in case the other side failed to honor the terms of the peace agreement. Historians debate whether his promises would have been kept since he resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974. However, the U.S. Congress passed the War Powers Resolution that was enacted on November 7, 1973. It limited the president’s powers for sending U.S. troops into armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. Public opinion at that time may have prevented the president from getting congressional approval for getting involved in Vietnam again.

MODERN DANANG

The city and skyline of modern DaNang has changed. It is difficult to find signs of the war our veterans remember. A visit to the city reveals a changed environment where industry and tourism have become essential to the economy. DaNang now appears as a very pleasant and well-maintained city. Great improvements have been made to DaNang area shops, roads, bridges, and landscaping. The beach is an attractive place with pleasant seashore amenities such as umbrellas, lounge chairs, surfboards, personal watercraft, and other recreational comforts. It is lined with hotels and businesses that have completely changed it. A drive in the area offers some very pleasant experiences.