Marble Mountain

Any Marine helicopter crew member will recognize this place. It's the primary airfield used by Marine helicopter pilots for operations in the Northern I Corps, Marble Mountain.

All in-country Marine helicopter squadrons were located here except those temporarily aboard a ship. H-46's, Hueys, H-53's and the workhorse H-34.

This is where I checked in and was assigned to HMM 164, a squadron of H-46 Sea knight helicopters built by Boing Vertol. The field was located just east and south of the City of Danang. Just to the north of the field was a series of low mountains that had several distinct peaks jutting into the Pacific. This ridge was called Monkey Mountain and so, sometimes the airfield was called Monkey Mountain. Some of the guys claimed the reason they called it that was because that's what the locals called it. Some said the ridge looked like a monkey, but I could never see any resemblance.

H-46 Sea Knight

I met Pat Connelly while at my last assignment with HMM-264 in Jacksonville New River, North Carolina. He and his wife were really nice and we had become close friends. So when I was asked if I had a squadron preference, I requested his squadron, HMM-164. I even spent my last night in CONUS at their house. Pat was already in Country so Terry had her brother stay there that night with us. Having me there was a very, very thoughtful thing for them to do.