17 September, 2010
Paul D. Cyr died on 27 November 2008, surrounded by family. As a veteran of the US Navy Seabees, he was very proud of his contribution of serving two tours in Viet Nam. His home port was the Davisville (RI) Naval Construction Battalion Center, which was near the Naval Air Station at Quonset Point. Additionally he received demolition training at Camp
Lejeune, NC (Marines).
Paul's first tour from April to December 1966, was Camp Campbell at Phu Bai in northern South Viet Nam. It is near the provincial capital city of Hue. His unit, the famous Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7, was attached to Marines. As a heavy equipment operator, he helped construct temporary troop quarters, an airstrip, and facilities at the Dong Ha Combat Base. The attached photo shows Paul in his "home away from home." By the end of 1966, there were 385 thousand military personnel in Viet Nam.
Three months later, during the time of rapid troop build-up, Paul returned to Viet Nam at Camp Adenir in East Da Nang. Construction included infrastructure facilities and roads, a station hospital, a firebase on Monkey Mountain, and gun pads for the 175 mm weapons at Camp JJ Carroll near
the DMZ.
Just after Paul's tours in 1968, the famous Tet Offensive occurred.
History tells us it was a military victory, but a political turning point which began a reduction in USA involvement in Viet Nam.
We are proud of Paul Cyr's willingness to put himself in harm's way so we can enjoy our vast freedoms.
by Hank Allessio
