Central Funding in RVN in the 60s

We have received this email exchange and accompanying photos requesting info on the 35th (possibly 34th) Central Fiunding Office in RVN.  From the discussion, it appears that the time-frame was in the latter part of the 1960s.  The CPT Johns referred to may have been Sidney M. Johns, who has gone lost and found in our membership roster (and may very likely have passed a few years back).

Bob Caetano provided this on the latter years of RVN Central Funding:

I was the F&AO Central Finance & Acct Off Vietnam Locate in Long Bien USARV Hqs. CFO was part of our org.  It was located in Saigon in the MACV compound if my memory serves me right.  CFO was manned by an Off & 1 or 2 EM.  It was responsible for Dollars &Mpc's in & out of Vietnam  Dick Rankin Who is a ret Fin Off was in charge & eventually replaced by one whose name I don't remember.  Once a month They would do a money run supplying FO's with MPC's & collecting dollars that all arrivals had to turn in.  The main office supplied personnel to help with these money runs. This was a reward because they got to spend one night before & one night after in Saigon.  I believed the dollars were shipped to Okinawa.  One other thing that I remember is they had to burn the outdated MPC's which was done in a local winery or brewery.  Again the main off supplied the manpower & the burning was supervised by Dick.. One other incident that I remember was the Airforce on the way back diverted the plane because of an emergency  & the crew was left on the tarmac & had to find a way home.  I think they borrowed some trucks but they said it was kind of scary because they had all the dollars.  My predecessorat CF&AO V was Chuck Landis.  Hope this helps out.

Bob Halverson provided this:

Hunt Banister replied with:

As I recall the Central Funding Office at Ton Son Nhut aiurport was the 10th FDS ..  We used to catch a ride in their pick-up truck into Saigon (where we stayed in Cholon) past the race track where active fighting was taking place to the Caravelle Hotel in Cholon. That was during TET.

Anyone with any info please let us know at webmaster@rafino.org

1) Do these photos look like the Funding Office you went to in Saigon to get your monthly funds?
I know it says the 34th Funding Office,
but this name changes a number of times over the course of the Vietnam War years.
So, don’t let the 34th fool you.
2) ALSO, does LT. Grahams e-mail below sound right?
Sincerely;
Craig Gockel

 

Craig,
       I have asked around to family members and none can remember the unit ID.  When I arrived at the unit, I was the second officer.  Capt. Johns was our CO and we had one senior NCO – a Sgt. Major I think.  We also had 5 or 6 enlisted, but no locals.  As best as I can remember, our building was solid concrete and measured about 60 feet by 60 feet.  It was divided into three sections.  Each section  was 20 X 60.  I will call the north side of the building our admin. Section.  We had a front door that faced to the east and the golf course.  This section contained a row of desks for Capt. Johns, myself and the Sgt. Major.  The back door faced the airport and we had several windows on the north side.  There were no windows for the other two sections.  There was a wall that separated the admin section from the middle section that was used for counting.  There were two doors from the admin section into the counting section which could be locked to prevent access.  We had several tables placed together with chairs around it.  The main job of the enlisted guys was to verify the count of all money that we received from various operational finance units.  Most, if not all, of this money was military script and which we eventually burned as it was too old to use or covered in blood.  The final section consisted of three vaults.  One contained the next series of military currency.  I was told that the old version would have been traded in for the new in early February, 1968.  However, the Tet Offensive dictated that the conversion date had to be postponed.  The actual conversion date took place in late summer and I had already been transferred to the Central Finance and Accounting Office located in Long Bien. The middle vault contained local currency – piastras.  The final vault was for US currency and old military currency that was to be burned.  The only part of Okinawa that I remember was the airport.  Sorry to hear that some finance people were killed.  Hopefully this is helpful.
Jerry Graham