What's Next Rubber Bullets

DaNang, 1970

        I believe the remainder of us from B Company, 720th MP Battalion (now the 188th MP Company), the 1st., 2nd., and 3rd., Platoons were sent to the 504th MP Battalion. My platoon moved to DaNang and was attached to the Armed Forces Police Personnel at Freedom Hill, Camp David, to assist the Marines assigned to regular Military Police duties.

        188th MP Company was assigned to assorted duties in and around DaNang. Patrol to bunker-fixed post (defensive posture) for the outpost we were holding. It was kind of different, mainly fixed posts waiting for attacks by VC (M-60 bunkers).

        Incidentally, the Marines were not MP trained in those days so they were expecting us to train them. It was rather amusing as none of us were patrol oriented (strictly ambush and river patrol). I remember the Marines were wearing very pretty uniforms with spit shined boots and polished brass and here we were grunt looking. I know they paired most of us up with Marines in much the same manner as police departments train new personnel. We were like training officers.

        I do remember being assigned to the front gate of this outpost on day watch for several weeks with two Marine Lance Corporals assigned to me, and several weeks on nights assigned to bunker duty with several Marine PFC's I found it most strange....the Marines could not carry loaded weapons (Can you believe that?) but of course we did. The Marines could only load their M-16's with clip sized red colored wooden blocks.... and get this, they had to call in to get permission to load their weapons. Apparently several incidents involving Marines shooting each other caused this....and I thought the army was crazy. Of course we changed that-immediately. On bunker duty I ordered the Marines assigned to me to load their weapons and shoot anything (M-60's) that moved outside the wire first....then call in.

        Nothing ever happened on my watch except a couple of rocket attacks. It was a weird place....this Camp David. I would be curious to know what our guys ended up doing after I left. I spent my last 40 days and 40 nights in Vietnam there, so we were still snapping into this new environment when I left Vietnam in September 1970.

SP/5 Robert C. Bogison, B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group & 188th MP Company, 504th MP Battalion, 16th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, July 1969 to September 1970.