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Photo's courtesy of John Burke. This building was home to the 6470th reconnaissance Technical Squadron, and the 460th RTS when the transition took place. I served with both squadrons. It was here that we developed the film and made the intelligence photographs taken by our photo recon plances. We worked long, hard hours and were proud of our work in 1967. Today, I am still proud of these squadrons and the work we did at Tan Son Nhut. |
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Here we see a RF-4C Phantom being serviced at Tan Son Nhut. Note the open camera access hatch beneath the nose. I printed literally thousands of aerial negatives brought back from long and dangerous missions by our photo birds. Sadly, everything I worked on in 1967 was classified, and I don't have a single aerial photograph as a souvenir keep sake to share with you. |
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Here we have photo evidence of Sgt Burke actually working and being serious. I'm searching a roll of nine-inch wide aerial negatives for an order of specific frames to be printed for the photo interpreters. Each negative frame was numbered and coded with a mission designation prefix. "RT" was the code prefix for the "Rolling Thunder" bombing campaign of 1965 to 1968. |
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This is one of the many TSN checkpoints manned by the 377th Security Police Squadron. I wonder how many times a SP searched our hooch maids bags, fumbled and found their luncj ... and spent the day with the aroma of "nuoc mam" on his hands? Sorry about that guys ... or should I say, "Sing Loi?" |
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Sunset at Tan Son Nhut was always tranquil and beautiful. It was also a quiet time of slowly tightening nerves. As we all knew, nighttime was Charlie time. If anything was going to happen, it was almost sure to fall upon us in the wee hours of a black Vietnam night. |
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When the sun went down, the 377th Security Police Squadron made it a lot easier for us all to sleep safe at night. I had to be lonely and spooky at those one-man posts, with notheing but the light of an occassional flare to ease their tense thoughts about the night shadows. I owe them for a year of being eaten alive by the mosquitoes and watching over me while I slept under a net. All I have to offer is my thanks, and I give it from the heart. Thanks guys. P.S. If one of our SPs recognized his younger likeness in this photo, drop me an email. It would by my pleasure to say hello again after thirty-five years and send you a copy of this photo ... jpburke@cox.net |