John Knowles RAMC

In mid 1965 I was sent as a L/Cpl, on an unaccompanied detachment to OP Crown, an airfield under construction for the SEATO Organisation in north east Thailand. It was we were told, being built to improve the infastructure in that part of Thailand. Was it a coincidence that the Vietnam War was in its infancy? We were within a stones throw of the Lao border and the Americans had a radar station only a few miles away from us at Phu Mu. The big advantage of being so close to the ‘Yanks’ was that they had fresh milk parachuted in to them two or three times a week. As they always had a surplus, those of us in the Medical Centre managed to get a fairly frequent supply of it. As a bonus, they gave us the choice of Strawberry or Chocolate flavour!

An aerial shot of the American Phu Mu communications site
Crown soldiers on an unofficial trip to Vietnam
This detachment was probably the most memorable of my career, as it was with many others who served there. There are several web sites with stories of Op Crown, Ban Kok Talat and Loeng Nok Tha the villages next to camp. As Medics, we treated literally hundreds of locals, many of who walked for days to get to us. We were told that the average local family would have 10 children in the hope that 3 would mature. TB was everywhere, diarrhoea was commonplace and there were virtually no antibiotics available to the locals except from us. The nearest local hospital was some 90 miles away in Ubon.
The Medical Officer would go around the villages giving treatment
to those that were too ill or otherwise unable to get to the Medical Centre The picture right shows the MO Major TK Maguire (circa mid 1965) examining an old man at at his village home. The MO examined the patients periodically to check their progress. The amount of patients made it impossible for him to check more frequently, he did however insist on seeing the TB patients at the very least once a month.
The MO examines a local villager.
John Knowles administers an injection to an old man with TB.
After the MO had finished his examination The Medics would go out to give treatment regularly. John Knowles gives this patient an injection to counter his TB. it was rumoured that this old man was an ex Japanese Army officer who 'retired' to this village as the war in the Far East was coming to it's conclusion and the Japanese were exiting Thailand. The MO probably worked more hours than any one else on Crown, he never had a 'day off'. Even if he went out in the evening he
would have to leave his location with us ie The King Bar, so we could go and fetch him.
Possibly the most memorable patient was a middle aged gentleman who was bitten on the foot by a Cobra. His friend immediately took out a machete, and chopped his foot off! We treated him throughout my tour there, and eventually the REME Workshops made him a ‘peg leg’ (picture above). On another occasion I was honoured by a local family to help light the funeral pyre for their father who had passed away. I have many happy memories of this time. My wife and myself returned on the first group trip from the UK, in November 2010.