Gallery 16 - Blankenship's Pictures

Supporting the 2/7th was the 2nd Platoon, Co. A, 14th Engineer Battalion (CMB) at Phan Thiet. Glenn Blankenship was in the unit and submitted some of the pictures he took at LZ Betty and Phan Thiet while he was there from 1966 to 1967. The pictures portray the type of work his Combat Engineering unit did in Vietnam.

The 14th Engineer Battalion deployed to Vietnam on October 19, 1966, and participated in twelve campaigns throughout a five-year period. The Battalion earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its role in Operations Gatling and Summerall, and was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation. 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation while supporting 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry during operations in Binh Thuan Province. The Battalion served with such units as the 1st Cavalry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. Volunteers from the Battalion also hauled ammunition to the surrounded Marines in the Khe Sahn Operation Pegasus.

2nd Platoon, Co. A, 14th Eng Bn
area at LZ Betty

This is a "before" picture of
a truck that was mortared by the VC

This is the "after" picture of
the same truck

The business card for
Johnny's Bar did not mention
that they served good hamburgers

Johnny's Bar in downtown
Phan Thiet was one of the bars/
eating places that was Army-approved

Apparently in April 1967,
a new bar competing with
Johnny's opened

This was a Vietnamese girl
that sold merchandise at the
beach stands

One of the Vietnamese
kids that would hang out
at the beach stands in Phan Thiet

Blankenship posing on one
of the roads in the Central
Highlands

In early 1967, 14th Eng Bn had
to airlift a new latrine to LZ Virginia
after this one collapsed enroute

This observation tower at
LZ Betty was constructed
by the 14th Eng. Bn (CBT)

Punjii stakes could be found
wherever they might cause
injuries to our troops

A tunnel dug at the beach
at Phan Thiet was cleared

The explosion from the
charges detonated was formidable

Engineers building a
causeway at Phan Thiet
beach

Project was necessary
so that supplies could be
brought in by sea

Heavy machinery was
needed to move the tons
of sand and dirt

When it was completed,
LSTs began arriving from
the South China Sea

The Viet Cong had blown
up this bridge

Engineers were sent to
rebuild the bridge

Dan Fadeley's bulldozer
got stuck in the mud

One of the tasks engineers
performed was clearing land mines.
Here, the area is being swept to find
and remove the mines

This "road to nowhere" was
started by 39th Engineers and
finished by 14th Engineers. It ended
in a rice paddy for no apparent reason

Funerals were every day
events during the War and
encountered on the roads, as
well as in the cities and towns

This one was apparently
well-attended. Women are
wearing traditional Ao Dai dresses

Family and friends arrive
from the countryside to
meet the courtage on the road

The funeral was very elaborate
and probably for the family
patriarch or other dignitary

The garbage dump at
Phan Thiet

The Vietnamese salvaged
everything usable from the dump

All troopers were given
this Code of Conduct upon arrival

These were the six codes
to be adhered to by all soldiers

Military Army Command-Vietnam
(MACV) issued this phrase list

Military script or Military Payment
Certificates (MPC) were used in
lieu of U.S. currency

Another Army issue was
"Standing Orders, Roger's Rangers"
reproduced from 1759

This is the rest of the
"Standing Orders, Roger's Rangers"

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