Howard Ron White
CPL USMC
Vietnam 1969-1975
Howard, Ron to family and close friends “White,” received his draft notice in 1969. Not one to be forced into doing something not of his choosing, he entered the Recruiting Center in Willow Grove, PA over the lunch hour, and found ONE recruiter in his office, you got it, USMC! Ron enlisted on 22 July 1969. He went to Parris Island, SC for boot camp, Camp Geiger, NC for infantry training, NAS Jacksonville, FL for Aviation Electronics School, then assigned to H&MS17 at Cherry Point, NC in support of an A-6 squadron. He attended further training at Whidbey Island, WA, returning to Cherry Point, NC. In June 1972 he had orders to Iwakuni, Japan, then reported to Da Nang, Vietnam H&MS15 and subsequently the entire unit was moved to Nam Phong, Thailand. In July of 1971, there were less than 500 Marines in Vietnam. In the spring of 1972, the North Vietnamese launched a full-scale invasion into South Vietnam and that triggered the re-entry of Marines back into combat. A special organization labeled Task Force Delta had been formed in May 1972 and given the classified mission of constructing and operating a secret air combat base hidden deep in the Thailand jungle approximately 300 miles SW of Hanoi, North Vietnam. This was Ron’s destination. The location chosen was and old post WWII airstrip that was being used as an Army Special Forces training facility. There was nothing there but jungle, extreme heat, humidity and red clay. The base was desolate.
There was no fresh water and everyone survived on C-rations for the first 30 days until a primitive field mess could be set up. In the beginning, there was no power, no bathroom facilities, no barracks, no chapel, no comforts of any kind and these Marines along with members of the Navy’s SeeBee Battalion 5 worked 12-16 hours a day and slept in 6 man tents. Within the first 5 weeks, 17 June 1972, Task Force Delta had constructed a fully functional air base and combat operations commenced with Marine F-4 Phantoms of VMFA-232 and A-6A intruders from VMA (AW) 533 flying combat sorties into Laos and North Vietnam. After a few months, a chapel, mess hall, semi-permanent hard back tents, field showers and outhouses were constructed. The first team consisted of 39 Marines from Da Nang, South Vietnam and Iwakuni, Japan, 94 US Navy SeeBees and 3 civilians. The base would grow to a force over 3,000 personnel with a variety of military forces from many countries. The base borrowed its nickname, Rose Garden, from the popular song: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by country music artist Lynn Anderson. This was due to the base being deep in the remote jungle of Thailand, the extremely harsh conditions, and a recruiting ad used by the Marines in 1971-1984.
When the war ended, and the final colors were lowered at Nam Phong on 21 Sept. 1973, Task Force Delta had racked up in impressive combat sortie rate. VMFA-115, and VMFA-232, the F-4 Phantom fighter bombers, had the highest sortie rates of any land based F-4 units in Southeast Asia. The base in Nam Phong Thailand has the distinction of being the last combat outpost to close the Vietnam War. For his service he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal W/2nd Award, Rifle Expert Badge, Vietnam Campaign W/Device, Vietnam Service Medal W/1 star, National Defense Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, and the Presidential Unit Citation.
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