188th

Cat Lai This South Vietnamese town, at the intersection of the the Dong Nai and Nha Be Rivers, east of Saigon, was developed into the U.S. Naval Intermediate Support Base, a naval logistic installation during the Vietnam War.

1966 Designated an intermediate support base, Cat Lai supplied American and Vietnamese river force operating bases in the Capital Region with maintenance, financial, repair, material, and administration support.

After Training Vietnamese Navy personnel to carry out these logistic responsibilities, the base U.S. Navy withdrew its advisors and disestablished the base in September 1971.

WANTED: Interviews, information, stories, photographs from the members of the 188th MP Company that worked the Cat Lai Detachment. Use the Email Link at the top of this page to contact the History Project Manager.

1967

The 11th Transportation Battalion had two terminal service companies, a tug boat and transport detachments located at Cat Lai. Total strength at the base camp was approximately 400 personnel.At this point the Dong Nai River was about a half mile wide with a rapid current. There were villages on each side of the river with a ferryboat service that transported Vietnamese back and forth.

11th

The ammunition ships that used the Cat Lai terminal were WWII Liberty ships, each loaded with more than 10,000 tons of high explosives. The ships would drop anchor in the middle of the river. Their cargo was then off loaded on to barges. The barges would remain anchored in the river awaiting transport orders. They would then be towed up river by the Army tug boats to the Cogido Docks near Long Binh Post.

The 188th MP Company Detachment was responsible for the security of the ammunition ships and barges anchored in the river.

3 December, Sunday CPL George Franklin Antonitis, of Salisbury, NC, and his patrol partner were assigned to inspect a barge that had been tampered with the night before. While jumping from one barge to another CPL Antonitis lost his footing and fell into the swift running river. His partner attempted a rescue in the tidal water but was unsuccessful. It took several days to locate and recover his body.

CPL Antonitus

1968