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PAMPER Forward
Air Control Post (FACP
Detachment 3,
620th TCS
Quang Tri,
Republic of Vietnam
A Brief History
Contributed by Capt. Jack Onofrio
After the CRP at Dong Ha (Waterboy) blew away in
the typhoon of 1969, the Air Force decided not to rebuild the site. MACV
(General Abrams) had a favorite SLAR (Siee Looking Aerial Radar) mission off
the coast of North Vietnam (call sign Spud), and he insisted that the Air
Force put in something that could follow it on radar. An MPS-11 search
radar was flown in from 5th TCG in the Philippines, set it up in the old
Marine Corp motor pool in Quang Tri, and manned it with personnel from
various 620 TCS sites. The site (Pamper) became operational in December of
1969. By that time there were no Marines there; they had been replaced by a
reinforced an Army brigade of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). The
first Commander of Detachment 3 was Major Robert Tracy. The First Sergeant
was Senior Master Sergeant (SMS) Rush Hagy. The unit consisted of 48 men,
including controllers and techs, maintenance people, radio and
communications (including a crypto unit), and admin. The Army provided mess
facilities.
In June of 1970, Major Dorman Lott became
Commander, and in November of that year SMS Johnny Irvin was named First
Sergeant. Most operations were pretty routine until October of 1970, when
the Marines closed their control unit on Marble Mountain. With no notice or
coordination, the Navy sent all of its attack units to Pamper for control.
And they did not want just flight following, but also vectors around
weather, tanker hook-ups, and even count-downs to drop their bombs. This
was on top of the regular flights sent to Pamper for control by the Air
Force and the Army.
The operations center consisted of a M-1945
shelter equipped with two UPA-35 radar scopes. There were never more that 6
controllers assigned to the site, so everyone was always very busy. But
when Dewey Canyon II began in January 1971, things really went crazy.
Pamper controlled all the C-130 flights bringing in the ARVN soldiers for
the incursion into Laos, plus the additional flights brought in by the Army
and increased Air Force and Navy traffic. The AF Commendation medals
awarded to all Pamper controllers and crew chiefs for this period cited the
over 2400 airlift sorties plus over 18,000 tactical sorties in support of
the operation.
By June of 1971, the Army began to turn the area
of operations around Quang Tri over to the ARVN. The Air Force wanted to
close Pamper, but again MAC-V refused. (that Spud again.) It was decided
to move Pamper to Camp Evans, a base of the 101st Infantry Division
(Airmobile). Captain Jack Onofrio became the Commander, and SMS George
Holbowitz the First Sergeant. The 5th TCG flew in a TPS 44 search radar
from Clark AB, and set it up on the flight line at Camp Evans. Pamper used
that radar to control while the MPS-11 was moved from Quang Tri to Camp
Evans. The MPS-11 went operational in August, and the TPS 44 was returned
to the Philippines. In September, Major James Borel became the Commander.
Pamper was finally closed in February, 1972.
An Amusing Anecdote About Assignments (depending on your point of view)
Contributed by Ray Langham
While I was at Bergstrom waiting to
get my SEA date and assignment I used to call Langley once a week to get the latest. I got
to know the NCO in charge. On one call he told me that my number had come up and that I
was headed to Pamper. I really wanted to go to Thailand to the EC121s to get flight pay.
The Sgt was allowed to switch people among assignments that week, but could drop anyone or
assign a location that was not available that week. There were no Thailand assignments so
I asked what else was available. He said there was an assignment in Saigon and that he did
not know anything about Pamper or any of the other sites. I said Saigon sounds good to me.
I did not think any more about it, and got my orders to Paris. At Travis on the way out
there was another 2nd Lt with a wife that was just bawling that he was leaving and was
going to die and was never going to come back. On the way out the plane I noticed the
controller badge and asked where he was heading. He told me that some son-of-a-bitch had
gotten him changed from Saigon to the DMZ. I conveniently walked away. Years later I ran
into him at a meeting in Washington. He did not remember me, but I had remembered that
scene with his wife. I asked him where he had been stationed and when I confirmed it was
he, I told him that I was the son-of-a-bitch that had gone to Saigon in his place. His
lips tightened, and he walked away from me, and never said another word for the next two
days of the conference. One of my friends told me that if looks could kill, I would have
been dead.
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