213th History 02 JAN 67

213th History 02 JAN 67

On 2 January 1967, Major Charles W. Miller Departed Savannah, Georgia aboard the USS Defender with general cargo of the 213^th ASHC as the first contingent. The USNS Kula Gulf, with Major James EZ. Starkey, Commanding Officer, 329^th TC Detachment, as Troop Commander and 3 Officers, 1 Warrant Officer, 25 Enlisted and 18 helicopters aboard, departed Alameda Naval Air Station on 7 January 1967.

On 11 January 1967 the advanced party, consisting of five (5) officers, including LTC Henry G. Moseley Commanding Officer, 213^th ASHC, and six (6) enlisted men, left Ft. Benning George by air enroute to RVN. They arrived at Phu Loi, South Vietnam on 14 January 1967 and laison with the 11^th Combat Aviation Battalion, Battalion designate of the 213^th ASHC. The company was assigned a 9-½ acre area, on which there were seven (7) permanent structures. They immediately began planning the layout of the area.

The first two (2) cargo aircraft, an Air Force C-141 and a C-130, departed Lawson Airfield on 22 January 1967. On board were 63,000 pounds of the unit’s "Red Tat" cargo, one (1) Chief Warrant Officer and nine (9) enlisted men.

On 23 January the last cargo aircraft, a C-130 carrying 25,000 pounds of "Red Tat" cargo and two (2) enlisted men, and the first troop aircraft, carrying eight (8) officers, two (2) Chief Warrant Officers and 88 enlisted men, lifted off Lawson Army Airfield. The last troop aircraft, carrying nine (9) officers, three (3) Chief Warrant Officers and 85 enlisted men, left Lawson Army Airfield on 24 January 1967. Major George W. Adamson, Acting Commander of the 213^th ASHC since the departure of the LTC Moseley, left on the last troop aircraft.

On 25 January the first cargo aircraft arrived in Vietnam, being followed on the 26^th by the second cargo aircraft and the first troop aircraft. The last lift of the main body, the second troop aircraft, arrived in the Republic of Vietnam on 27 January 1967.

The USNS Kula Gulf arrived at Vung Tau, Vietnam, with the unit’s 18 aircraft on 29 January 1967. The general cargo arrived Phu Loi by truck convoy and was followed by the CH47’s, the last one arriving 4 February 1967. The rear detachment, consisting of one (1) officer and two (2) enlisted men, arrived in Phu Loi on 9 February 1967. As of 9 February 1967, the 213^th ASHC completed its move to the Republic of Vietnam.