Alfred J. Iller (Construction of 7/17 Chapel and Sqdn buildings)
Here is how I remember the events surrounding the construction of the 7/17 Cav Chapel at CampEnari.
When I became the Sqdn XO in Dec '67 I also inherited the responsibility for our base camp development. The entire base development was under the direction of the 4th Inf Div base camp development officer who was the 4th Inf Div Engineer Officer (Commander of the 4th Engr Bn). A major was designated by the Cdr of the 4th Engrs as the primary project officer who was on the 4th Inf Div staff and maintained the base camp engineer office at Div. Hq. Each major tenant unit had a corresponding base camp development officer for their specific allotted area of Camp Enari. All proposed construction and building layouts had to be approved by the 4th Inf Div base camp development officer and in accordance with the base camp development plan. This whole structure came under the overall oversight and responsibility of the Assistant Div Commander. So much for the planning and development structure.
Some of our billets, mess halls, latrines, etc. had either been constructed or were under construction when I became XO; however, many were just in the planning stage (aircraft maint. area, Bn supply, O&EM clubs, PX, etc., etc.). As I recall, during the period shortly after becoming Sqdn XO I made daily trips to the Div Engr Office going over base plans, reviewing 7/17th Cav requirements and justifying our needs. We constituted a construction team composed of a small group of enlisted men contributed equally by each troop. A sergeant supervised the detail. It seems they were well employed for months as our base camp area grew. We drew building supplies from the area engineers (Pleiku) and 4th Engr Bn. The 4th Engr Bn even allowed us to use their large cement mixer to pour slabs. By the way, we were the only unit allowed to do so. I had done a little "back scratching" (use of helicopters when needed, surplus scrounged building supplies, cement, etc.) for the 4th Engr Bn and we developed a close working relationship which proved invaluable in getting most of our construction projects completed early on. At some point the Squadron Chaplain came to me and asked if there was a possibility that we could construct a Chapel. As I remember, I took this idea to a meeting with the base camp engineer and was informed it was not in the approved base camp development plan and that there were already a few Chapels on the base and the mess halls could be used for religious services. Further, a request for a Chapel in our area would have to be approved by the ADC (Asst Div Cdr). I more or less could see the writing on the wall, and since we had been allocated adequate space in our area, I elected to take matters into my own hands.
I requested our S4, Major John Smith to obtain some WABTOCs (When Authorized By The Theater of Operations Commander) construction kits from the area engineers. As an aside, these WABTOC kits were also used to construct some of the aircraft maint. offices and facilities as I remember (check this out with Bill WALTON). These were prepackaged kits of cut dimensional lumber, which were used to build frameworks and flooring for squad size tents and were readily available. John secured enough of these to provide sufficient construction materials to build our Chapel; however there was no roofing material available and corrugated metal for roofing was in critical short supply during that period. John had detailed a sergeant to the logistics marshalling yard in Pleiku for all transport vehicles carrying supplies, rations, etc. coming by road from the various ports on the coast and from Pleiku AFB where supplies were brought in by air. The sergeant's responsibilities were to insure that all supplies designated for the 7/17 did in fact arrive there. Of course, his responsibilities also included getting his hands on anything we might use. In other words, he had full authorization from John to "scrounge" anything and everything he could lay claim to, which would be useful in making living and working conditions more comfortable for the troopers. Supplied with a generous amount of alcoholic "bartering/bargaining material" the sergeant was able to "requisition" one or more transporters loaded with corrugated roofing. That solved our roofing problem for the Chapel. As construction of the Chapel progressed I asked the construction detail sergeant if perhaps he and his crew could fashion a steeple for the building, and thus a steeple put the finishing touch to the Chapel. Material for further finishing of the inside of the Chapel, ceiling, altar, altar rail, lights, etc. was obtained the same way. A number of O/WO/EM all had a hand in finishing the inside of the Chapel doing much of the work at night. What building material we had left, we shared with the 4th Engrs.
Shortly after completing the Chapel, our area was visited by the 4th Inf Div ADC. As per usual I greeted him at our headquarters area and we toured our area in his jeep. On seeing the Chapel he pulled out his copy of the base camp development plan and noted there had been no approval for a Chapel in our area. After venting his ire on me, I was able to somewhat justify our position in that I explained it had been constructed entirely from surplus materials from other "approved" building projects. This somewhat dampened his anger and being a Chapel intended for obvious good and spiritual purpose, his final comment to me was, "Major Iller I don't want this to happen again!!". He then departed the area.
There might be others that may have a somewhat different take to the Chapel construction and they are welcome to add to the story and/or provide their version. As most stories from memory go, there may be some variants. It would be interesting to locate some of the men who were on our construction detail and have them tell their stories of our base camp effort.
Hope this is what you were seeking and has not been too boring. There are many stories about our base camp development, like where did the hot water heaters come from, the florescent lights, etc. Each of these has it's own story of how they were obtained.
I must point out much that was done in the construction of our base camp facilities was not completely within the limits of how things should be done and work theoretically, and some may have bordered on acts that under different circumstances may have been considered offenses for appropriate action under the UCMJ. However, having said that, I think the limits for such action has long run out!
