April 14, 2025
Synopsis
This paper contains a photo narrative of my tour while in the U.S. Air Force at Phan Rang Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam, 1971 through 1972.
Background
As I mentioned in my previous Photog Approach and Portfolio page, I used Kodak Instamatic and Konica C35 film cameras during my time in-country. I did purchase a Yashica SLR camera while overseas, but I had the camera shipped to my address in the States instead of in-country.
The images presented here were scanned from color slides using an Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner. Despite everyone else’s recommendations on YouTube, I use the Epson Scan Utility which works just fine for me.
Unlike the photos in my travel gallery, the photos in this Phan Rang collection are not presenting in date taken chronological order. Many of the photos were taken at various times during my deployment while others were taken at the end of my tour during my walk around the Base. Nevertheless, there is an organization as follows:
PhanRang00001 thru PhanRang00007 — Barracks Area
PhanRang00008 thru PhanRang00018 — Base Interior
PhanRang00019 thru PhanRang00022 — Flight Line
PhanRang00023 thru PhanRang00030 — Aerial Views
PhanRang00031 thru PhanRang00041 — Security Police
PhanRang00042 thru PhanRang00048 — Fence Line
PhanRang00049 thru PhanRang00052 — Airmen’s Club
PhanRang00053 thru PhanRang00057 — Phan Rang City
Photo Gallery
Notes
During editing, in order to sharpen and restore color vibrancy to the images, a significant amount of grain was introduced where clouds and blue sky are prominent in the photo. I decided to accept this condition in order to improve the subject’s appearance.
So, which images were taken with the Instamatic, and which were taken with the C35? I can’t honestly say for sure, but my best guess would be that the Flight Line and Aerial Views were taken with the Instamatic.
Most of the Fence Line shots were taken from my regularly assigned D4 tower in Delta Sector. In PhanRang00046, the lighting unit can be seen facing the fence line which provided illumination at night. It was not unusual to see herds of cows walking off-base parallel to the fence line.
PhanRang00048 is a decent shot showing the Security Police guard towers along the Base perimeter. Yes, it does look like you would be a sitting duck in one of those towers, but the tower guards’ primary job was not to repel a sapper attack but to sound the alarm.
PhanRang00013 and PhanRang00014 were taken of me by a friend while looking comfortable during our Base walkaround after getting orders and being relieved of duty.
PhanRang00053 is a photo of a Cham temple in Phan Rang. Based on my web search, it should be the Po Klong Garai Temple.
PhanRang00054 thru PhanRang00057 were taken at “The Wells” a Security Police guard post bunker off-base in Phan Rang City. PhanRang00057 is a photo of me taken during one of our guard changes.
2013-2026 Gerard Sczepura. All rights reserved.