At Turen, hundreds of Quonsets stood in rows on the sandy plain, shining brightly in the sun. Supply trucks from far-flung regions were constantly entering and exiting through the three gates. From antibiotics to analgesics, from razor blades to tanks, from typewriters to computers, everything Made in America could be found there. The easiest way for Yong Kyu to tap the reservoir at the Turen supply warehouse would be to siphon from the channel running through the supply logistics corps to brigade headquarters. But opening his own direct channel would be safer.
Without his own line of supply, there would always be a risk of other forces blocking him, and he would be open to accusations that his dealings were inappropriate for his special mission. But tapping into the Korea forces’ existing supply lines would later create problems and cause serious difficulties. If the Americans or the Vietnamese were to challenge him, they probably would let him off with a stern warning. But the Koreans would face difficulties as the others tightened their grip on them. Yong Kyu and Pointer could always resign, but it would still weaken their successors’ position in this mission.
Yong Kyu already had it in mind to set up a warehouse stocked with B-rations. Almost every commodity they packed and processed was on hand on Turen. Almost everything a man would ever need was there. About half of the stocks were military equipment and supplies like weapons, ammunition, and vehicles. The other half was made up of daily necessities and food, including luxury goods, which were the easiest commodities to sell on the black market.
There was a wide assortment of things that made the camp life of American soldiers more comfortable but which did nothing for combat readiness. For instance, the war would go on without raisins, but upon returning from a firefight, the Americans given a hot meal would hope to find raisins in their freshly baked muffins. And those were the kinds of items coveted by the residents of Da Nang. Of course, the consumers were not the peasants on the outskirts of the city who survived on a bit of fish and a handful of rice each day. It was the government bureaucrats, merchants, and families of military officers who were the loyal consumers of all the bountiful wonders liberated from the Turen supply warehouse. The links between these consumers and the dealers made up a complex ecosystem, not so different from a food chain of predators and prey found in the natural world.
Yong Kyu decided to concentrate on B-rations because these were goods that enjoyed a broad-based and stable demand in the local population. Food provisions were classified into three categories: unprocessed A-rations; B-rations that are semi-processed or partly cooked but still need to be cooked in combination with other ingredients; and C-rations that, for use in combat situations, are made for ready consumption.
The A-rations were handled at the MAC terminal across the smokestack bridge. They included vegetables — potatoes, onions, cabbage, celery, asparagus, lettuce, and peppers — and various kinds of frozen and processed meats — beef, pork, chicken, turkey, sardines, sausages — as well as fruits such as oranges, apples, bananas, dates, grapes, cherries, melons, and so on. The produce was mostly flown in from the US, in crates bearing the black stamps of farms in California, Florida, and Washington. The vegetables were even fresher than those picked near Hoi An and trucked into the Da Nang markets.
All the grains and flours — corn, barley, wheat, and rice — were kept at the MAC 36 cargo terminal and delivered directly from there, but all B and C-rations were warehoused at the Turen supply warehouse. B-rations included all the canned and packaged foodstuffs, ranging from spices like black pepper to salad dressing, sauces, raisins, almonds, walnuts, coffee, tea, butter, cheeses, pasta, etc. Yong Kyu was confident he could keep a firm grip on the marketing channels of Da Nang with B-rations alone. These commodities could be considered the cleanest of those that flowed through the black market. Though “clean,” after all, was only a relative expression. Once he had locked up a major chunk of the food trade, he could fumble his way into other daily necessities and luxury food items, one by one. Pham Quyen did not yet seem to think much of Yong Kyu’s involvement in the business. He had lived up to his promises and issued them a vehicle pass, which would expire after one month.
The Logistics Battalion truck convoy had emerged from brigade headquarters after loading supplies and was just past the Dong Dao crossroads, approaching the Y-junction. The Americans had given this intersection the nickname “Crap Crossing.” Human excrement collected in downtown Da Nang had been poured as fertilizer onto the vast, cactus-studded fields around the junction. Much of the stinking garbage from the city also found its way to the same site for dumping. The right fork of the junction led downtown, the left to the supply warehouse, and the stem of the “Y” was Route 1. In the center of the junction there was a platform that served as a traffic control box as well as a checkpoint for the Vietnamese Quartermaster Corps to conduct their inspections of the traffic passing by.
Yong Kyu had contacted Master Sergeant Yun and made arrangements for the use of a recreation center vehicle. He was supposed to give the driver twenty or thirty dollars as pocket money in the name of temporary duty allowance. It was a good opportunity for the rec center to do a little favor for CID. Yong Kyu watched the lead Jeep in the convoy make a left turn at the junction, followed by an armed escort vehicle. A cloud of red dust soon enveloped them. About twenty empty trucks rattled by, another armored personnel carrier trailing behind them.
“Get in line with them!”
The driver gunned the engine and pulled in behind the last vehicle. Maintaining constant speed and spacing, the convoy rumbled along Route 1, past the campside villages and small infantry units marching along the road. They entered the east gate of the Turen supply warehouse. Used oil had been poured over the dust, making the surface of the road look like asphalt. The sentries guarding the gate were busy controlling the heavy traffic. A lone vehicle entering the gate would be rigorously inspected, but by tagging along behind a scheduled convoy it could usually pass right in without being checked at all.
At Turen, the Allied Forces’ supply transports had priority over all other vehicles. The east gate was off-limits to Vietnamese vehicles, which had to go through tougher inspection procedures for access at the south gate near the ammunition dump. Once inside the warehouse, the transport trucks were sent to docks according to the supplies being loaded. Yong Kyu knew the number of the food warehouse dock and gave it to the driver.
The procedure for delivering supplies was simple enough: the officer in command submits a requisition form issued by the supply division of brigade headquarters to the warehouse supply office, which issues a delivery order. Upon receiving this document, the administrative officer at the loading dock loads the indicated quantity of goods and both parties sign off on the requisition receipt. Combat supplies such as ammunition could be requisitioned almost without limit, but other items had been allocated in advance according to ration standards and estimates of normal daily consumption for relevant units. Even so, supplies were always abundant and the warehouses always overflowing.
Some days earlier, Yong Kyu had visited Turen in his Jeep. He had fostered an acquaintance with a certain corporal on the administrative staff at the B-ration warehouse. Yong Kyu knew from the corporal’s clipboard that he was a section chief. His clipboard held a requisition receipt ledger — once any given number of pallets had been loaded, the corporal would do a count and then sign the receipt along with the driver of the truck, then he would tear off the top copy and hand it over, keeping the carbon copy beneath to submit to his superior for inventory control.