Southern Cross information
for 196 INF

For date 711126


196 INF was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Quang Nam Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Da Nang
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "Hester does her thing severely" by SGT Mark A. Schulz 196th Inf. Bde. IO. DA NANG - The 23d Infantry Division (Americal) quickly recovered from Typhoon Hester which had left one person dead and millions of dollars in damage to the $50 million Chu Lai Basecamp installation. The seven camp areas in the 196th Infantry also recorded heavy storm damage in the Da Nang area as 294 buildings were damaged and 217 destroyed. Restoration of electrical power, water supply, mess service and continuation of normal services in the Chu Lai area were given top priority as personnel from the division area continued operations for standdown. Typhoon Hester's 115 to 120 mile per hour winds had complete destroyed 30 per cent of the Chu Lai buildings and heavy damaged 40 per cent. Fifteen per cent of the remaining buildings were able to be repaired by office personnel, as only light damage was done. The other 15 per cent remained undamaged. No specific number was given, but heavy damage was listed to aircraft as many choppers were trapped in fallen metal structures. Approximately 30 persons received injuries at Chu Lai as a result of the storm. The breakdown of Typhoon Hester's destruction for the Da Nang area was as follows: Camp Crescenz, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry's home had eight buildings damaged and 11 destroyed; Camp Reasoner, 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry's home, had 72 buildings damaged and 43 destroyed; Charger South, 196th Headquarters, had 61 buildings damaged and 95 destroyed. Charger North, Administrative Company Headquarters, had 47 buildings damaged and 20 destroyed; Redhorse, 3d Battalion, 82d Artillery's home, had 31 buildings damaged and 13 destroyed; Camp Purdue, 2d Battalion, 1st Infantry's home, had 33 buildings damaged and 31 destroyed; and Camp Professional, Support Battalion Headquarters' area, had 42 buildings damaged and four destroyed. Company A, 26th Engineer Battalion was in charge of the rebuilding task for the 196th Inf. Bde. Saturday, Oct. 23 was the day Typhoon Hester began hitting the Chu Lai and Da Nang areas beginning about 4 a.m. The first part of the storm passed over Chu Lai and the calmness of the eye of the storm prevailed from 11:30 to 12:15 p.m. The storm then swirled winds in the opposite direction in the Chu Lai area. Heavy winds and rains continued throughout the evening. Winds calmed down early that evening but rains continued throughout Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Photo Captions - TOP LEFT - This is what the Officers' Club looked like after Typhoon Hester did her thing at Chu Lai. TOP RIGHT - These three soldiers begin replacing tin on one of the 30 per cent of the lightly damaged buildings in Chu Lai shortly after Hester passed by. LEFT - Roofing tin lies around the headquarters area here while a latrine walls lean against senior NCOs' hooches. The latrine was completely blown off its foundation. BOTTOM LEFT -- Vietnamese and GI workers begin replacing the tin roof of the Headquarters, 23d Infantry Division shortly after 120 mile per hour winds ended Saturday evening. BOTTOM RIGHT -- This mess of electrical wires shows why electrical power was placed on a high priority as the wake of Hester left Chu Lai with damage estimated into the millions of dollars. (U.S. ARMY PHOTOS BY SP4 RANDY BOMBARD)

The source for this information was 7111_445_scr supplied by Les Hines 01/05/2000


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Last updated 12/18/2000

Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023