Comments on: Long Binh Jail Riot During the Vietnam War

By: Ken Bentley

Ken Bentley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:26:37 +0000

My comment is for C.J. Maffei:
Why were you put in LBJ ?
And for Leon Bordelon, I was not in LBJ but I had almost the opposite experiance you had, the white men which I am one were doing all of the work while the Blacks were getting stoned and telling all that it was whities war and they didn’t have to do nothing! Remember the Detroit riots? Do they seem simalar to LBJ? Who started those?

By: John Trotogott

John Trotogott — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:25:32 +0000

I was stationed at Dak To. We were getting ready for a helicopter mission. All of a sudden there stood one of our guys that had been doing a short tour at LBJ. I questioned him on his “early” release. He told us of the riot. He had came to his favorite medic to get checked out. He looked like a racoon…his face had been pummelled…he was so dark around the eyes. I asked “what the hell”? He (white) was tied to a tent pole and was being questioned. One of the inmates (black) had repeatedly told my guy to call him “Black Beauty”. Every time he refused he was hit in the face. So after a few punches the GI that was hitting him said “why not”. The tied up inmate replied with “I can’t, Black Beauty was a horse”. That is when he really got worked over. My guy was kind of a comedian…obviously his attacker was not amused. That is my memory of the riot.

By: C.J. Maffei

C.J. Maffei — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:04:20 +0000

what appeared to be brutality was a lifesaving response of a guard or the physical restraint or movement of a belligerent inmate.

I was an inmate incarcerated in silver city. I did not participate in the riot. All inmates were locked up in solitary confinement. Those of us who were put into the silver painted connexs, were told that we would be returned to the barracks when they were rebuilt. I was from california and so was the Staff Sargent in charge of the connexs. My first night I was taken from my connex. The Ssgt said I was a diagrace to his great state. He hit me twice with his batton, cutting me under my left eye. Being a stupid person, I forced myself to laugh at him. Then, 3 mps beat me until I couldn’t walk. The next day the chaplin was walking the compound. He came and saw me, The Major said I needed a doctor. I never got to see a docotr, and because I was labeled beligerent. That was so they could explain my condition. My food rations were cut to 25% of a regular soldier. I weighed 165 lbs, after 6 months there I was 125Lbs. I ask only one question?
When will the real truth about Viet Nam be told??

By: Charles Church

Charles Church — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:40:42 +0000

If I recall correctly, the worst thing about being sent to LBJ was that your time served there was “bad time”, which is to say it did not count towards the year you had to spend in Vietnam. Upon leaving LBJ and rejoining his company, a former prisoner still had as much time left in country as he had before going to LBJ. The guy from my company who was sent to LBJ was sent for going AWOL. He had a girlfriend in An Khe he couldn’t stay away from.

By: Leon Bordelon III

Leon Bordelon III — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:46:03 +0000

In August 1968 I was assigned to the 11th Trans Battalion stationed at Cat Lai, VN. I was the first Black officer assigned to the unit since it was established in 1936 in Philadelphia. The SGM was from Philadelphia and gave me the history of the unit because he was there at its inception. The hatred I immediately experienced from many of the southern officers was shocking. Our subordinte units were overwhelmingly Black but regardless of MOS qualifications Blacks and Hispanics were not allowed to ser serve in any capacity except as cargo humpers on ships. We had our own race problems and riot alerts at about the same time as the Long Binh riot. I have often said some day I would tell the story of my year in Vietnam. My unit received a few of the Blacks following the riot and were told by intelligence that they were suspected of inciting the riot but there was insufficient evidence to cout martial them. As a Black officer in that remote location in 1968 I have often revisted in my mind the horrors I witnessed at Cat Lai. Thank God my Bn commander and XO ran a tight ship and by the regulations. There were also a few other decent fellow officers there. But soon after my assignment a few of the white unit commanders let it be known that if they caught any of them socializing with me after duty hours they would be give nastier assignments. And since some of units were LCM’s that sometimes mad insertions on the Cambodian border they did not want any unnecessary exposure to danger. They came to me and told me it was nothing personal but they could not take a chance alienating their southern commanders.

I spent ten months at Cat Lai under those circumstances. Most of my white contemporaries could not safely interact with me except during the duty day. I just happened upon this artice today and am pleasantly surprised to learn that it surfaced in 2004.

By: Nate Ford

Nate Ford — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:58:28 +0000

I was and inmate at LBJ during March and April 1967. There was a riot on Easter Sunday. It lasted several hours. It was very scary, those rioting used bunk adaptors to beat anyone who did not join in the riot. The gaurds then came in with bayonets in a flying wedge. Most of us were caught in the middle. We were tear gassed and the riot came to an end. The tear gass accumulated in the water tank and for a few days we got tear gas when we showered.

By: David Kerkhoff

David Kerkhoff — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:46:18 +0000

I was with the 615th MP Company. Some of us had just finished our shift on highway patrol and were escorted over to LBJ that night to serve as what I thought was reinforcements. We stood outside the main gate and were then ’selected’ by one of the officedrs you mentioned – not sure at this date, but we , the615th MP’s, were some of the first to enter the stockade in a ‘V” formation. We were on point. I did not know the casualty rates but the story seems correct in all that we witnessed and endured. I do not remember fixing bayonets and I do remember an NCO taking my ammo clips from me and we never locked and loaded our M-14s. In the point of the ‘V’ we used them in unison as clubs when the prisoners would rush us.

By: Daryl Achenbach

Daryl Achenbach — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:51:48 +0000

I was assigned to the 557th MP Co when the stockade was still at Pershing Field, Saigon. We had an uprising there in early 1966. In addition after the stockade was moved to Long Bihn there was a riot in the late 1966/1967 time period also as the guy from the 24th Field Evac hospital said. I remember one of the MP’s in our squad getting his arm broken. If I remember right a black Major from the 95th MP Bn in charge of the stockade helped put the rebelling blacks in their place with wording not tolerated today..

By: Cathie Solomonson

Cathie Solomonson — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:03:55 +0000

If you have an interest in learning more about the LBJ Riot, may I suggest Long Binh Jail : An Oral History of Vietnam’s Notorious U. S. Military Prison by Cecil Barr Currey . You’ll have a chance to read ” other side of the story” .. from the perspective of some of the prisioners .. as well as first hand accounts of some of the cadre .

As one of the many nurses who cared for the dozen or so patients brought to the 24th Evac Hosp who suffered severe head injuries from the LBJ riot .. I have always considered it the “darkest” , saddest days I spent in Vietnam ..

Cathie , former ANC 2Lt , 24th Evac Hosp

By: Bill O'Dell

Bill O'Dell — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:08:43 +0000

I worked at the 24th Evac. Hosp accross the street in 1966-67. I remember a riot happening in either late 1966- or early 1967.