Bassic River Ferry - Can Tho Detachment

        Can Tho had a ferry system to move vehicles and people across the Bassic River, there were no bridges providing access across the river. The ferries connected Highway QL4 on the north bank to QL4 on the south bank. Can Tho is located on the south bank. Highway QL4, the "Peoples Road," was the commercial and military logistical life line of the Mekong Delta.

        B Company manned two Traffic Controls Points (TCP), at the ferry, one on the south bank and one on the north bank. If we did not have sufficient personnel to man both TCP’s the south bank was manned and the MP on duty there would cross the river if there were any problems reported on the north bank. Normally there were one or two Quan Canh’s (Vietnamese Military Police), and Canh Sat’s (Vietnamese National Police), in the area. The MPs did not normally ride the ferry and provide security for it unless there was excess of MPs which only occurred after some assets were moved to Can Tho from Tan An in 1971.

        The ferry assignment was a necessary job but tended to be very dirty and boring. The MPs job was to control the flow of vehicles onto and if necessary off of the ferry.

        The loading priority was, all military vehicles first and, civilian vehicles last, if there was any room. The MP also helped provide some physical security to the vehicles waiting in line to load.

        However, that security was the primary responsibility of the vehicle drivers and passengers.

        As a rule the MP did not have radio contact with anyone due to a shortage of AN/PRC 25 radios at the detachment. The Quan Can’s and Canh Sat’s had a small duty shack a few blocks away with a radio that we could use.

        The one up side to ferry duty was the number of street vendors that set up shop there. It was one of the few places that a cold drink was only a few steps away.

        The air temperature at the ferry was also a little lower than in the city and some of the MPs liked the duty for that reason.

        In Can Tho common sense generally dictated what weapons you carried and most of the time no one questioned your choice. However, because of the conditions at the ferry assignment, all MPs assigned there were required to take their M-16 with them. This may not have always been done but it made good sense.

        Without the free movement of vehicular traffic over the Bassic River the war effort south of Can Tho would not have been possible. So while it was a dirty boring job, it had to be done and it was done by the MPs of the Can Tho Detachment.

SP/4 George F. Long, II, B Company, 7820th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, Can Tho Detachment, August 1970 to August 1971.