University of Virginia Library

Porta-Kamps

Ten Porta-Kamp air-conditioned
trailers were sent by barge to Con
Son on February 6 to provide living
quarters for nine Americans, one
French employee, eight Vietnamese
specialist and cooks and helpers.
Mr. Ray Simmons has been named
Project Superintendent.

A concerted effort has been made
by both RMK-BRJ and the U.S.
government to keep the project a
secret.

"Anyone who even takes a
camera to Con Son will be
terminated immediately," the
RMK-BRJ project manager is
reported to have said.

RMK-BRJ began work in Viet
Nam in 1962. Its projects have
included construction of roads,
airports, military compounds for
the South Vietnamese government,
radar sites, etc. "It is," said one of
its employees, "the largest
construction consortium in the
world." It is best known in Viet
Nam for thy construction at Cam
Ranh Bay. RMK-BRJ headquarters
are in San Bruno, California.

In October, Vietnam's largest
daily newspaper, Tin Sang (Morning
News) reported a riot involving 300
prisoners demanding better living
conditions. As a result of this
uprising, Tin Sang wrote, 6000
prisoners were put into a maximum
security area "no different from the
Tiger Cages."

—Ed.)