[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 3, number 2 (March–April 1971), pages 24–25. The text, including any biographical note, is reproduced as faithfully as possible to enable searchability. To view any images and charts in the article, refer to the issue itself, available on DVIDS and the bulletin’s archives at asu.army.mil/alog/.]
THE WAR in Vietnam is winding down.
Just how far the fighting has decelerated in recent months is clearly exemplified by the 379th Transportation Company’s resupply run from Long Binh to Cam Ranh Bay late in October.
Two years ago military experts would have called the 320-mile trip by a 40-truck-trailer convoy into the highlands, down the treacherous slopes to the east, across the lowlands to Phan Rang, and up the coast to the bay, “Mission Impossible.”
In the first place the sprawling military complex at Cam Ranh Bay is normally supplied by ship. This was no milk run to Vung Tau or quick turn to Phuoc Vinh. The two-day push from Long Binh to Cam Ranh was the first of such distance and magnitude by the 379th, and, for that matter, the first for any transportation company in Vietnam.
So, there had to be an overriding reason behind the unusual haul, such as showing the Vietnamese people that the roads have been adequately rebuilt by U.S. Army Engineers and the enemy is now controlled to the point where it is feasible to run supply convoys long distances in a combat zone.
Although the drivers and mechanics of the 379th are known in Vietnam as the “Reefer Kings” for their excellent handling of perishable shipments, their cargo was “dry” that trip.
The convoy consisted of twenty-five 5-ton tractors with trailers loaded with lumber, steel bands, and general cargo, eight bobtails (tractors without loads), a 2 1/2-ton truck full of spare parts, a wrecker, two 5-ton trucks with tires and C-rations, a gasoline truck, a 3/4-ton truck with single sideband radio, a 5,000-gallon diesel tanker, and military police escort vehicles and gun-jeeps.
Every vehicle made the rugged round trip to Cam Ranh Bay and back to Long Binh safely. There were no reports of hostile incidents, not a single shot was fired in anger.
Thus, the 379th, cited by the National Defense Transportation Association as the best Army Transportation company in Vietnam during 1969–70, chalked up yet another achievement.
The successful run opened new avenues for the Vietnamese people. It proved that the war there has in fact decelerated and that long resupply runs can be safely made by convoy.
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