During the Viet Nam War – approximately 1967, a surf shop and beach concession was started by a military surfer in Da Nang, at a place they called China Beach. The guy started it, but decided he didn’t want to run it, so Pensacola surfer Larry Martin volunteered to run it. He would hitch hike through the jungle (during the war!) to get to the beach. He caught rides with tanks, jeeps, and whoever would pull over.
This is a photo of Larry in front of the shop. He enjoyed the surf so much that he signed up for an additional 3 months! This was at a time when guys would do most anything to avoid the draft.