What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

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Dakoda
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Post by Dakoda » November 29, 2006, 8:20 pm

Guess we should start one on NKP ! Ok, here's a start

There was a old women with a large place, if I remember correctly, and she made this outrages "american chop-suwee" (sp ?).

Then there was this other old women who would take a carton of Pall-Mall's and open them from the bottom and replace all the tobacco with the good-stuff. They shipped well :!:

and Lee why do I have to keep login :?:



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Post by thrilled » July 2, 2008, 2:01 am

I was in the 432nd supply squadron,in 71+72 and 74.It was A wild place.A baht was 5 cents.A short time was 60 baht $3.00 and all night was 100 baht $5.00 it was great.A really nice place was about $60.00 A month 4 bedroom.The girls all had vd cards.For A carton of Marlboro,$1.70 A carton you could do anything to or with the girls.It was fantastic.

Don C.

What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by Don C. » October 1, 2015, 1:39 am

was at Udorn in 68 and 69....432nd. CSG (AGE).

lived off base the whole time....co-workers called me a local...LOL!

i loved it! hung around Jumpin 1 and 2, moms place, the bar across from the thai gate (played the baht slot machine in the thai guard break room), kon tiki bar under the big red light on the radio tower, wolverine bar and grill, several more....

40+ years later i still remember names, places and faces...

just before payday the girls would steal me cigarettes, booze and spend the night for free...spend my R&R in a small village at a girl friends sisters home...

war was hell....LOL!

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by fdimike » October 2, 2015, 6:39 pm

In 70' & 71' it was 24 hours of non-stop craziness. Lots of bars, clubs & massage parlors. I also used tohang out at the Jumpin club & Wolverine which is still open in UT. 3 of us rented a new concrete block house on Soi Katoey. The soi is still there but the house is apparently gone.
Rajhabhat University was the Udorn Teachers College at that time.
The only road pavement in the city was around the circles as the rest had been washed away by the floods.
I believe an individual came to visit in I believe '71. The locals sprayed oil on the roads he was traveling on to control the red dust. Everyone turned out to pay their respects to His Majesty to include a number of people on elephants.
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pf-flyer
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by pf-flyer » October 3, 2015, 10:50 am

In 1971 was stationed at Korat for about 6 months and then I was transferred to Udorn RTAFB. I rented a small two bedroom house at ( Chock Boon Ma ) on Soi Ruamjit during 1971 -1973 which is behind the Paradise Hotel. The exchange rate was 20-25 Baht per U.S. Dollar. Tahan Road which is the road the goes from the Statue Traffic Circle to the Military Hospital was a two lane road. The University was a small teachers collage. The entrance where currently the Two Planes are parked was at that time referred to as the back gate. The main entrance at that time is a left turn at the current stop light that is down the road from where the two aircraft are displayed going toward the Statue Traffic circle. My wife and I drove back that road several month ago and the Gate is still there with the Original Letters UDORN RTAFB on top . I was in the 432 Avionics squadron and I worked grave yard shift. A lot of GIs that were living down town road a 10 speed bike to camp. The aircraft revetments are still there. The majority of the flight line was F4Ds and F4Es. Captain Richey was stationed here and he flew an F4D and he was the first Air Force Ace. I worked on his aircraft several times and I got the chance to talk with him several times out on the flight line and in the debriefing building concerning maintenance issues. There was a period of time when we worked 14 hour shifts. We were flying missions to Hyphong ( Spelling ? ) Harbor in North Vietnam. Some aircraft were loaded 5 hundred pound bombs some were loaded air to air missiles and air to ground missiles. The flight line was a very busy place. It was a common sight when I got off duty in the morning to see a convoy of trucks with a load of 5 hundred pound bombs lined up on the shoulder of the road right outside of camp waiting to get on camp. It was that time that I met and later married my current Thai wife 42 years ago. I went to my wifes home a couple times. The trip took several hours. The last part of the trip was just a path to my wifes village and her family lived in a house with a grass roof. They used a Tin can filled with kerosene that had a screw on cap with a wick for light. Today we can make that same trip in 20 minutes.
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by ronan01 » October 3, 2015, 11:26 am

Great stories!

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by RLTrader » October 3, 2015, 6:09 pm

Was in Udon early 67 left early 68. The only thing I can remember (for drink & drugs were cheap) was the road into town was paved 2 lanes and the 3 circles. Strange thing I remember was going into town you went left out of gate, to go to Nong Khai we would go right, which now makes no sense, unless the ring road was there in some form.

Rented a place with someone I worked with, top floor of shop house, 2 bedroom, big room, and large balcony for cooking with bath off it. Don’t remember cost, but remember both being so poor for a month, we lived off eggs. My friend having a wife in the states, lived with the same girl for the whole year, me went thru many.

Best as I can remember when I was here, the base had F-104’s RF4’s B29’s or maybe B26’s not sure, and Air America had some prop jobs, might have had some choppers, for in 68 took one between NKP and Udon. NKP main soi was dirt, but there was a nice bar which hung over the river bank, that had the coldest beer (turned to slush when poured) and rice chips with a hotish spread, and we could watch & listen to them bomb on the other side of river.

Used to be a Day Bar I went to a lot in Udon, but can’t remember its name, or where, off one of the circles I guess. Maybe open around noon and closed around 8 PM. Knew the girl that bartended very well. Then there was 10 baht alley, kinda of an after hours place, spent many a night sitting with the girls and practicing my thai waiting for sunrise, and start all over again. :D

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Aardvark
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by Aardvark » October 4, 2015, 6:42 am

ronan01 wrote:Great stories!
I like reading them too, 10 baht Alley, classic :D

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by farlong68 » October 4, 2015, 11:04 am

1971-72 udorn 72-72 takli udorn was one great party town the gi was number one on payday but number 10 when broke... we were young hansom man and the girls where young and ready to party...lived at vfw bungalows for a while between the gates later in pepsi bungalows off soi katoey the bars lidos/ cerros /jumpen and the band was the vips they could cover carlos santa to a tee... sinbads pizza three sisters rest.. little Chinese bakery near the zoo where nong prajak is now....pardise pool after the curfew doors said it best strange days indeed....rock on

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by fdimike » October 4, 2015, 12:04 pm

What remains of Irma's Massage & Bathouse circa 1970 can still be seen in UT on the road that runs between Posri Rd and Prajak Rd. This is the same road that the Samsung Service Center is located on. Barbed wire blocks the entrance these days.
An ex-pat in the Land of Smile

RLTrader
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by RLTrader » October 4, 2015, 3:19 pm

Aardvark wrote:
ronan01 wrote:Great stories!
I like reading them too, 10 baht Alley, classic :D
If there were any places off limits 10 baht alley was one. Strange how where the nicest people are, its off-limits. Go figure.

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FrazeeDK
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by FrazeeDK » October 4, 2015, 6:48 pm

I was in Udon 73-75 and don't recall anything ever being "off-limits"...
Dave

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by Unc-Bud » October 4, 2015, 9:27 pm

wokkawombat wrote:Did the American servicemen who served in Udon during that time and who were not aircrew receive veteran status and the entitlements that go with being a veteran of a war?

John
Yes

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FrazeeDK
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by FrazeeDK » October 5, 2015, 7:43 am

depends on when you were assigned...
Dave

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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by RLTrader » October 5, 2015, 8:51 am

FrazeeDK wrote:I was in Udon 73-75 and don't recall anything ever being "off-limits"...
You must have closed the air base.

While back in 68 NKP had a curfew. Can't remember exact time, but it must have been 10, 11 or 12 PM.

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FrazeeDK
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by FrazeeDK » October 5, 2015, 11:27 am

I was out at Ramasun.. The bars had a closing time with Paradise Pool being the "late" bar where people flocked.. If you wanted to hang out or dance all night the Champagne Room was the place.. I don't recall any police curfew from 73-75 and I was out late and did work rotating shifts so was catching the 0500 bus out from Udon to Ramasun. I do recall several occasions due to student unrest that we were restricted to base for a day or two and when released warned to stay away from the Teacher's College, Soi Katoey and any other concentration of college kids...
Dave

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Stantheman
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by Stantheman » October 6, 2015, 6:03 am

Unc-Bud wrote:
wokkawombat wrote:Did the American servicemen who served in Udon during that time and who were not aircrew receive veteran status and the entitlements that go with being a veteran of a war?

John
Yes
A veteran is a veteran no matter if flying a plane or cooking you dinner. All receive the same veteran entitlements. Only difference may be combat pay that was given to those in the war zone or flying into it.

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DRILLER
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by DRILLER » October 7, 2015, 4:46 pm

ive met a few war vets in udon over the years. one particular vet who will remain nameless told me some great stories but always lamented that 100% of the working girls had std's.
temptation is a .....

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FrazeeDK
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by FrazeeDK » October 8, 2015, 9:24 am

perhaps a high STD rate but at least back then it was all pretty much curable... During out in processing we got the mandatory Medical VD brief with a slide show of every imaginable nastiness from pharyngeal gonorrhea to untreated chancres.. Each slide built on the previous one eliciting groans of grossness! The briefing ended with the Doc holding up a 10mm in diameter stainless steel rod that had a slightly curved and blunt tip.. With a smile, he told us that was what he used to clear urethral blockages for those GI's who ignored venereal infections...
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What was Udon like during the Vietnam War?

Post by clark_kent911 » January 26, 2016, 4:09 pm

All in this topic, I am quite interested in Udonthani story in the period of Vietnam war or many Thai people call "GI time in Udon" . I was born in 1969, yeah almost in the same period. I have read your conversations here. By the way, does anyone have pics of Udon during GI time?
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