In August, 1966, when the 7th RRU’s name was changed to the 101st RRC, the four platoons dispersed from Saigon to the four Corps areas of Vietnam. While the 2nd Platoon was setting up tents in the red mud of Pleiku and fighting off rats, the 1st Platoon was moving into their rooms at the Danang Hotel. They probably even had indoor plumbing. They must have had trouble with the room service or something, because in a few months they moved from the hotel to a villa. As it turns out, life in the villa was not as grand as it might seem. Danang was off limits to military personnel, and the platoon members were not allowed to step outside the gate. Their security consisted of a wire mesh screen to repel grenades and two Vietnamese guards who shared a shotgun. I must remember to ask one of them if the chicken wire between them and the sidewalk was the inspiration for their nickname, ‘the Rabbit Hutch.’
Danang sits on the main highway in Vietnam, QL 1, and during the war it was home to one of the busiest airports in the world. Despite these readily available conveyances, on at least one mission to Dong Ha, the platoon members traveled by water. They boarded an LST on the river, which took them to their rendezvous with a barge that took them on to their mission site.
Danang’s origins date back to the Kingdom of Champa. The Chams abandoned the area around the year 1000 due to increasing military pressure by the Dai Viet from the north, who had assassinated the Cham King, Parameshvaravarman I. (This information is testable, and spelling will count.)
Danang has been an important port city since the 16th century, and its significance increased in 1835 when the Emperor Minh Mang forbade European vessels from making landfall or conducting trade anywhere else in the region. The port facilities at Danang had an additional stroke of luck in the late 19th century when the port at neighboring Hoi An had to close because the Thu Bon River silted up, eliminating Hoi An’s access to the sea. As mentioned already, Danang sits on QL 1. It is further situated on the main North-South railway in Vietnam and is home to Danang International Airport (formerly USAF Danang Airbase, and previously a French air base.) With all of the available transportation options, the city has become the commercial and educational center in the mid-part of the country.
Danang, which is no longer a part of Quang Nam Province, is the fastest growing city in Vietnam. The population, which has a growth rate of twice that of any other area of the country, years ago exceeded one million, and no fewer than seven universities and eight hospitals are located here. Danang is also the leading industrial center in Vietnam with a per capita GDP among the highest in the country. Industry in the city includes machinery, electrics, chemicals, shipbuilding and textiles. Products made here include bricks, fertilizer, clothing, soap, paper and medicine tablets. The growth of industry is attributed in part to a well-trained workforce, the city’s infrastructure and transportation options.
Danang has not been without problems since the reunification of the country. Danang Airbase was used during the war for storage (and spillage) of Agent Orange, and the resultant dioxins in the soil remain at dangerous levels. Many Vietnamese have been sorely affected by these chemicals. The local hospitals treat a lot of citizens for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, also called “Danang Lung.” This ailment has been common in the area since the war. Danang has also been susceptible to extensive damage from typhoons. Typhoons Xangsane in 2006 and Ketsana in 2009 caused many deaths and many millions of dollars in damage. The Vietnamese people, though, are resourceful and resilient. Following the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, they approved and installed ten early warning stations which will provide at least a 30-minute warning of an impending tsunami.
Vietnam has its own answer to Bigfoot, called by the Vietnamese ‘Batutut’ or ‘Jungle People.’ It is also known as the Rock Ape. Sightings of this creature by Vietnamese, tribal peoples and combatants on both sides of the Vietnam War are many. The Rock Ape is said to walk upright, to stand between five and eight feet tall, and to be covered with brown to black hair except for face, knees, palms and the soles of its feet. They are nocturnal, and sightings have typically been in dense foliage.
Of the many reported encounters between US troops and Rock Apes, one such meeting in 1966 is particularly pertinent to this page. A Marine patrol was operating on Hill 868 on the Son Tra peninsula between the South China Sea and Danang Bay, when they reported movement in the brush, believing it to be a large contingent of Viet Cong approaching them. They were advised to hold their fire, lest they compromise their position. The patrol soon reported back that the movement was not VC but large, upright humanoids, and they were all around them. The marines were instructed again not to fire, but to throw rocks at the creatures in order to scare them away. They complied with the order, but it turned out to be a poor idea. Instead of retreating, the Rock Apes began to throw rocks of their own, while continuing to approach the marines. Reportedly, they “threw like girls” but far more forcefully. (Anyone who still says ‘throw like a girl’ has never watched a fast-pitch softball game.) The patrol was instructed to use bayonets rather than disclose their location by shooting. Soon, however, the hand-to-hand combat erupted into gunfire and screams, both human and not so human. When an investigating unit was sent in the following morning, they reportedly found numerous injured marines and the bodies of several Rock Apes. Following this infamous Battle of Dong Den, Hill 868 became known as “Monkey Mountain.” Later encounters with Rock Apes on Monkey Mountain were also reported.
Monkey Mountain was home to an Army signal unit and an Air Force Signals Intelligence unit during the war. Today, the mountain is a nature preserve, home to many endangered species, including more than 60% of the world’s population of the Red-shanked douc langur. Although the site was designated as legally protected forest in 1977, it is undergoing major and often illegal development, primarily for hotels and other venues. The Linh Ung Pagoda, the largest in central Vietnam, is on Monkey Mountain. Inside its courtyard is the Lady Buddha Da Nang statue, standing 220 feet tall and visible from every corner of Danang. On Ban Co peak, the highest on the Son Tra peninsula, is a Sitting Buddha studying a chess board.
Just south of Danang are the Marble Mountains, consisting of five marble and limestone outcroppings. All of these peaks are replete with caves and tunnels, originally housing the Cham people. Early occupants of the area constructed pagodas inside the caves. The first pagodas here were Hindu, but Buddhists have since prevailed. One of the caves was used in the war by the Viet Cong as a hospital. The Marble Mountains pagodas include many statues and relief depictions of religious scenes. Sunlight coming through openings in the roofs of some of these caverns casts an ethereal glow on this artwork and the carved stairways from one cavern to another.
One more set of mountains in the Danang area is worthy of mention – the Ba Na Hills. The peak of Ba Na hill is 1487 meters above sea level and is reached by a 5-kilometers long cable car. At the top is a resort operated by the Sunworld Amusement Park Group. The buildings in the resort are European in design, and many appear to be castles straight out of a Disney movie. It includes one of the largest roller coasters in the world and the Golden Bridge, which opened in 2018. The Golden Bridge is a pedestrian bridge which reaches out from the mountain peak over the jungles below and appears to be supported by two giant fiberglass and wire mesh hands. The view from this bridge is spectacular, but it is not for the squeamish.
The Dragon Bridge over the River Han was opened in 2013, having been four years in construction. The bridge is so called because of the golden dragon which snakes its way above and below the bridge from one end to the other. The dragon is lit up at night, and on Saturday and Sunday nights at 9 o’clock, traffic is stopped while the dragon spews water and fire.
It should come as no surprise that, like the rest of coastal Vietnam, Danang has access to miles of beautiful beaches. Here, one can find expensive resort hotels, surfing and nightlife. From Non Nuoc Beach, one can view the Son Tra Peninsula to the north and the Marble Mountains to the west. Newly added to the beach since we were there are lifeguards, showers and restrooms (no more excuses). Veterans who traveled by road between Danang and Hue will well remember the Hai Van Pass. The scenery was beautiful, but the twisting mountain road was treacherous and the site of many automobile accidents. The pass was also the site of a Marine Corps CH-46 crash in 1969. They were flying at night by instrument, and all aboard were killed. The railway also used this pass, which was the site of derailments in 1953 and 2005. The first derailment is suspected to have been caused by an explosive charge set by Viet Minh. Two locomotives and 18 passenger cars plunged 50 feet, killing about 100. The second was clearly an accident and took 11 lives, while injuring another hundred or so. Although the Hai Van Pass is still open to vehicular traffic, trains now hug the coastline, and automobiles generally use the newly opened Hai Van Tunnel which, at nearly 4 miles, is the longest in Southeast Asia.
