442nd Signal Company
207th Signal
Company Detachment F "F" Troop
*The
207th was a detachment from the 442nd Signal Company. About 45 personnel manned the facility, 25 of those were Thai guards.
It consisited of Microwave and Tropo sites and a generator. One person from a Tactical Communications Company also worked
there. He had his equipment tucked away in the corner of the TWCS building and his own generator for remote starts. This information
was submitted by William H. Dawson 1968-69.
The photos below were submitted by Bill Ostrom, Hill 272, 1967
and Ron Sharp, Hill 272, 1971-72.
Story By Bill Ostrom
Hill 272 was a microwave communications site during the Vietnam
War relaying info North to Si Racha.
1967- Approximately 12 G.I's from USASTRATCOM
LL Bn. Construction Engineers Camp Friendship, Korat went to Hill 272 Sattahip and began construction on the
main barracks. We lived in two large tents with a third tent as a group area. These arrangements were for the better
part of a year. We lived on the economy eating most meals down the hill at a local restaurant. Bathing facilities
where open air on the side of the hill overlooking the valley toward Sattahip. The latrine was a 2 seater for friendship
and convenience. Water for showers was extracted from a klong down the hill and transported to a tank above the living area.
The majority of building materials were brought down from Bangkok on the backs of the Hill's two deuce & 1/2's .It made for a nice trip pushing a large deuce along that two lane highway to Bangkok with the one lane bridges.
Upon return with a load and because of the grade we had to back up the hill to mantain steering ability. One thing nice
about Hill 272 in 1967 was when we went shopping at Utapao Air Base we didn't need ration cards. We just purchased as
much as we wanted and could afford.
While still working on the barracks we built
a mess hall and for a short period of time we had a cook. This didn't last long because of our small numbers it wasn't
cost effective so we returned to the economy. The mess hall became our open club. Sometime after December 1967
this building was enlarged and turned into a full fledged club with movies etc.
Getting back to the main barracks.
We mixed and poured over 100 cubic yds of cement using a 1/4 yd mixer. Talk about a lot of work. Again after 1967
the Hill grew in personnel and buildings. I was gone but someone built another mess hall, Thai barracks, Thai mess hall and
other assorted outbuildings.
Somewhere along the way command changed
our unit to 1st Signal Brigade 442. I left the hill in Nov 1967 and never slept in the barracks as I was transferred
to Camp Vayama.
Hill 272 was turned over to the Thai's
in 1972 and sometime after that it was completely dismantled and returned to its natural condition except for 2 empty towers.
