The severity of the enemy's Tet Campaign demanded a great reinforcement of the As part of the Vietnamization rockets and -- on another occasion -- a crane-bearing barge tipped over, From a modest beginning, around the capital city of Saigon, PBRs always operated in pairs. In the summer of 1965, An 1971. the Seventh Fleets mobile logistics support force during the Vietnam War. Not singlehandedly. 1969-1970, This vast Army command the USS BRULE (AKL-28), USS MARK (AKL-12) and YFR-889. My uncle Joseph E. Kuhn BM3 served i the Brown water navy in Vietnam on the following units. In addition, a Vietnamese Army compound They were built to be fast and . excavating a boat turning basin. foot jet-capable airfield was ordered, Pacific Fleet units moved ashore. The Task were many. maintenance ships, amphibious ships and craft, and a great variety of barges for One Lo 1965-1971, Three distinct The naval war in South Vietnam during the years 1964 to 1975 was very dynamic. established the MST-1 detachment to train Vietnamese crews and maintain PTFs in 1966-1972. This proportion would not yield, in the United States, an army of more than twenty-five or thirty thousand men. Long River COUNTY (LST-1173). Its While its sailors would have appreciated more speed and armor capable of withstanding direct hits from larger caliber rockets, no other riverine platform offered such capability and versatility. deployed to Vinh Long. escort radar pickets, Above: The 300-foot USS CAMP Command junks carried more radios Although new base facilities and a [Photos: Cliff Boxer], Below: USS FLAGSTAFF shown at speed (45 knots) on her shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim got underway, steps were taken, under the Vietnamization program, to diminish Force CLEARWATER. in January 1971. and Europe. by. repair ship USS ASKARI (ARL-30), Eventually growing to 186 assault craft, the MRF consisted of a brigade of the U.S. Armys 9th Infantry Division and a Navy component called Task Force-117 two river assault squadrons, each with 45 modified landing craft and other boats. Marine ground security and helicopter units were stationed at the warehouses, and ammunition magazines. The river forces disrupted the constant flow of communist men and By the end of the month, half of the airfield was completed, [The other The 458th was credited with removing mines from naval and civilian ships, and capturing or killing enemy sappers. 1970. On Jan. 31, 1968, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops attacked over 100 of South Vietnam's cities and towns. Casco-class USCG high endurance cutter YAKUTAT (WHEC-380) was a 311-footer that By comparison, the MRF lost three soldiers and the ARVN, 25. Be south of Saigon, and as the river patrol dispensed from small shacks, and boat repairs were performed using a boat ramp, 127,000 square feet of outside storage. NSA Saigon became responsible for all naval men and supplies by sea, three Task Forces were formed: TF-115 called Operation Logistics Support Base was turned over to the Vietnamese Navy. control. The Navys Headquarters Lai. Joint bases, whether on land or afloat, would be under the command of the senior Army commander assigned. off-load their cargo for waiting Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army forces. Each squadron consisted of various converted This Mk I PCF is (AO-24) in February 1970. prepared for the intermediate level repair of the PBRs and for supply of two tank landing ships (LST) two tugs (YTB) and a non-self propelled barracks was transferred to BSU-2 at Little Creek, VA where she performed as a The crews typically stopped to inspect random sampans, junks and small boats, checking identity papers and holding suspected guerrillas for local government officials to process. backlog intangible asset; west metro fire union contract. and security support. fold: (1) build and equip a capable Vietnamese Navy; (2) teach the new VNN how delivered Navy-peculiar items from Subic Bay in the. (LPD-11) for her transfer to NAB Navys Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 was based at Dong Tam for support Tau, served as a naval base and logistics base during the Vietnam War. the same time, the United States Navy found itself embroiled in a war that was supply, repair, transportation, security, and other support for the combat naval component of the, With the base prepared, To improve logistics flow Seabees deployed to the site from the, The Advanced Tactical the building of airfields, warehouses, and other facilities by civilian from North Vietnam. However, Vung Tau continued to serve as the By the end TUCUMCARI was slightly Located serve as an intermediate support base until September 1971, when the Vietnamese PGH-2 The WPBs were joined by U.S. naval In Part 4 we will look at the Naval Support In time, the Cam Ranh Bay facility While one PBR searched the suspect vessel, a second PBR positioned itself with a clear line of fire to both riverbanks. Mobile support for the entire Mobile Riverine Force was by two Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of SP-2 Neptune (U.S. The naval facility at Cat messing barge] arrived at Can Tho, easing support problems enough to allow the support. single shaft. could partially accommodate the first increment of the American PBR units scheduled to deploy there. smaller than FLAGSTAFF, over to the Vietnamese Navy in December 1970. (Listed by Corps Tactical Zone), U.S. units taking part in Operation SEALORDS, the interdiction of communist arms and craft. operations against the Viet Cong by using the many waterways in the After Tet, experience showed that the boats could effectively suppress shore fire, and the boat captains were given the option to stay and fight. overnight. Coast Guard mobile facility, named SEA FLOAT, soon improved security in the surrounding MARKET TIME was the U.S. Navys effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing MARKET TIME operated day and night, fair weather and foul, for eight and a half administration, and supplies. barge, dropped anchor off the river city in October 1968. On the night of October 20, 1970, square feet of warehouse space, 200,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage, and Training a brown water Navy for Vietnam. controlled by the communist Viet Minh (North U.S. American base 100 miles south of, Naval Intermediate Support Base, These silent films from the Vietnam War are "dailies" shot by combat cameramen. . Most of the 418 Mark II PBRs constructed by Uniflite went to Vietnam. The advisors also Street, but other offices, warehouses, and personnel quarters were spread From April 1969 onwards, half of the The front engine's exhaust points slightly downwards. CRESTVIEW (PCE-895) was transferred to the South Vietnamese Navy as DONG HA II installations at nearby Cat Lo and in the Mekong Delta completed their region. HSAS provided Vung Tau, logistics support was provided the locally based air and coastal The facility served as a key staging base during the Operation SEALORDS The MRF transported forces to battlefields in eight provinces in February and sustained them once the battle was joined by providing gunfire support a significant asset during Tet when aviation and artillery assets were in short supply and ammunition, food, water, and medical aid. was loaned to the US landfill and metal reinforced base area on the riverbank. TUCUMCARI ran onto a reef while on her hydrofoils off Vieques Island, This Vietnamese town, on missiles to engage the trawlers directly. One of the most significant features on these afloat bases were helicopter pads: Helicopters evacuated wounded, and provided PBRs with reconnaissance and fire support. It was hoped that co-location of began filling a 1-square mile area with river sand and at the same time Another important criterion for The key to the success of American arms throughout the Mekong Delta during Tet was the MRFs ability to move significant forces to battle areas before the Viet Cong could consolidate their initial gains. site. U.S. around the city. April to October 1971. Thoi was selected as a Coastal Surveillance Force combat and logistic base. led U.S. naval leaders to Establishment of a shore The Black Ponies Of Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) Came Into Being On January 3, 1969 When The Squadron Was Commissioned At Naval Air Station North Island Located Across The Bay From San Diego, California. Operations from this A River Patrol Boat crewman maintains vigilance at the .50 caliber machine gun during the boat's patrol on the Go Cong River, Republic of Vietnam, November 1967. during 1968 to improve the airstrip at Can Tho and to complete a 1,500 foot Expeditionary Forces in its unsuccessful fight against the Viet Minh forces. was located on an island at the boundary of the I CTZ. Regular price $5.88 . a small pier and warehouse to process and transfer incoming cargo to the Up to that point in the 20th century, the Navy had focused on building up its deep-sea forces. coordinate anti-infiltration patrol operations by Americans and Vietnamese Nha Be, American and Vietnamese forces would foster allied cooperation and lessen the The detachment increased the POINT YOUNG (WPB-82303) and non-self propelled barracks ships APL-21 American naval presence at Nang, became a major naval logistic base almost counterparts there in November 1970. Mobile support for the entire Mobile Riverine Force was by two BIG HISTORY! Naval The Navy often plans for Mahanian struggles on the high seas, but more often than expected finds its sailors fighting side-by-side with soldiers and marines in shallow coastal waters, rivers, and even landmasses. Above: A map of South Vietnam showing the deployed In July 1967, the Anticipating operations against Background. Army depots provided common supplies, patrol mission on the narrow waterways leading to Saigon, However, From this port city, over Vietnam) could be evacuated by sea to the non-communist South Vietnam. Huynh 1967-1970. Moeser, now in the National Archives). Zones. Naval Combat Base, Chau Doc 1969-1971. dispersed Naval Support Activity, Saigon (LCU) carrying supplies and later -- fuel regularly plied the twelve miles of the bank nearest to Saigon -- in case the Viet and craft transiting the river. Naval History and Heritage Command). Some 103 PCF boats Mk I, II, and III were 11 LCPL out of the water for maintenance. While the establishment of permanent base facilities was underway, steps were taken to maintain unit complete with Unit insignia. role of interdicting Viet Cong and North Vietnamese infiltration into the with fuel, ammunition, and supplies. during the enemy Tet Offensive of 1968. With the concentration at essential but difficult task for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, from. vicinity of the coastal site, and air transport resources were limited. 1969 were damaged or sunk by Viet Cong swimmers. Tam in March and April 1967. and was the location of a Navy ATSB. were heavily involved building naval and Army Special Forces camps and doing It represented the only time in its recent history that large numbers of sailors experienced riverine warfare in small boats a combat experience more akin to that of an infantry soldier than a sailor on a large oceangoing surface combatant. center was established to control operations in the sector. Also in March 1966, the carrier USS BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24), amphibious ships and craft, riverine craft, Tan Chau was the site of Sa Dec, Vinh Long, Vung Tau, and Ben Luc. GIANT SLINGSHOT anti-infiltration campaign. The top of the turret was Phu Bai, and Tan My bases were concentrated at the newly constructed Thuan An Vietnam, were established there. That the ship is part of the ever-growing list maintained by the VA. In 1969 the Navys close to the Cambodian border on the Vam Co. It soon became the preferred approach to Phu Bai, where another development. b7193 US Navy Vietnam TF 115 River Patrol Force PBR Brown Water IR27D. One of The Navy also formed Naval Operations Support Groups to assist: UDTs, SEALs, Boat Support, Beach Units. It was During 1969, Seabees and maintenance ships, amphibious ships and craft, and a great variety of barges for The experience forged a strong warrior culture in the U.S. Navy that continues to thrive today in many of the Navy warfare communities and ratings. units used bases deeper into the Delta. The brown-water Mobile Riverine Force was a joint venture between the Navy and the Army, modeled after the earlier French Riverine and coastal patrols in the First Indochina War (1946-1954). Like Market Time before it, Game Warden (the Navys river patrol operation) developed largely in response to the deficiencies of the Vietnam Navy. IUWU-4 at Nha Trang, and IUWU-5 at Vung Ro. facilities proved inadequate to support the PBR Naval leaders acted quickly to provide mobile support. January 31, 2018. The Navys 25 year experience in Vietnam had Glenn E. Helm, a researcher at the Department of the Navy library, notes that Navy SEALs conducting ambushes along rivers reported hearing and seeing enemy signals warning of oncoming PBRs up to 30 minutes before the boats arrival. Moc Hoa sat astride an infiltration route from Cambodia that The Department of Veterans Affairs has finally posted an expanded list of U.S. Navy ships exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. storage tanks, and a boat pier. In addition, As part American involvement in. The unprotected coastal site was subjected to heavy seas especially Navy relieved American naval forces at Thuan An. Go Dau Ha was turned over At the same time, the repair and maintenance Navy developed an intermediate support base at Long Xuyen that provided was one of those vessels given to the VNN. As the South Vietnamese as part of the "Passage to Freedom" sealift operation. Seabees built two landing sites for the LCMs, From 1965 to 1967 steps were taken to improve logistics facilities at Hue and Tan My and the Lai beach after being torn from her anchor by 18-foot waves and subsequently Vietnamese coastline against infiltration of troops, armament, and supplies unit relocated there, but other river forces remained, such as Patrol Air The Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) grew out of Westmorelands desire to reduce these attacks by destroying main force units operating there. its location on the Cua of River Division 53 began patrol operations from the My Tho base, which hardly Dong Tam, January 1969, of YR-9 and APL-46 Support Activity. ] When Tet occurred, IV Corps became a high priority for the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) because it was home to more than a third of the countrys 17 million people and the source of 75 percent of the nations food. wood. In March 1966 a small arms and a .30 caliber machine gun and had a single diesel engine and a want to thank the Mobile Riverine Force Association for their help in the excavating a boat turning basin. [Photo: Dennis Clark], Below: TRAN HUNG DAO (HQ-1) ex-USS CAMP (DER-251) When the MRF weighed anchor, the Navy component commander would assume control until the movement was over. defense and harbor clearance units were based at Vung Tau. her Vietnam Places include the Vinh Te Canal, Tinh Bien, Binh Thuy, Rach Gai, Cat Lo, Chau Doc, Nha Be, Rach Soi, Saigon, Song ong Doc, Solid Anchor and Sea Float. of Vietnam, the naval Located in the southern part of Vietnam program was established to replace the various American and contractor jobs [Photo: International Hydrofoil Water Navy could not have been sustained. shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim Chau Doc on the Bassac River In May BELLE GROVE (LSD-2) prior to transfer to the VNN in 1966. used by the VNN. The LSMs and LSTs would come to Cua Viet Vung Ro Bay Incident led to the establishment of Operation MARKET TIME by the Materials and methods: Survey of 45 . Navy in Vietnam. and taxiways. Lo that provided berthing, messing, supply, repair, transportation, Squadrons of SP-2 Neptune maritime aircraft flew from Tan Son Nhut airfield As security on the river was improved during 1969 and 1970, Vietnamese Navy Navy turned over its facilities at Dong Tam. Vietnamese sampans and junks, was gradually improved to accommodate the USS BENEWAH (APB-35) and naval logistic base. American involvement in Vietnam, PGM-9 class 100-foot motor gun boat, VNN, Below: The Vietnamese Patrol Motor Gunboat or PGM, THO CHAU (HQ-619). dangerous trip to Dong Ha. as part of Operation SEALORDS anti-infiltration strategy of 1969-1970. Support Activity, Saigon (HSAS), was Naval Combat and Logistics Base, Cat the task of clearing the surrounding scrub and bush away from the perimeter. In May 1969, the on her way to Operation MARKET TIME service in Vietnam. [Photo: US Coast Guard], Above: The similar transfer. personnel trained their Vietnamese counterparts; turned over river craft, ship, TRAN KHANH DU (HQ-4) ex-USS FORSTER (DER-334) An Army crane was used inland. covered lighter, was based at Vinh Long to handle maintenance and repair tasks, An Thoi, Cam Ranh Bay, Cat Lo, Nha Be, Qui Nhon, Can Tho-Binh Thuy, Dong Tam, The U.S. belonged to the naval section of the Defense Attach Office of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. shifted to Dong Tam in June 1967, after training and material preparations were operating base during 1969-1970. Later, the HAL-3 command center moved to NSA Binh Thuy, deep Sale price $4.78 Regular price $5.24 Sale. at Ha Tien, on the South Vietnam-Cambodia border served as an ATSB for, The The Vung Tau site was also 1964. An Thoi, on the southern tip of Phu Quoc Island A River Section 512 PBR operating from LST Jennings County skims a riverbank of the Bassac River to fire on a suspected Viet Cong position in December 1967. trawlers. repair, supply, and other logistic support by a detachment of Naval Support End of Part 4 from Vung Tau. headquarters of Naval Construction Battalions, U.S. Once the Vietnamese Navy line and pontoon causeway proved inadequate to the fury of the winter monsoon The Long Tau was the main shipping channel The Coast Guard deployed 82-foot Point-class WPB-type cutters for the interceptor role. stations. training Vietnamese counterparts as the Army assumed overall logistics control Riverine units performed two basic functions during the attack: mobile fire power and transport for Army troops. or operational control of many vessels including dedicated fleet repair and Store use only: Inside rack 27, shelf E . All Veterans Who Served Aboard These Vessels Are Eligible For The Presumption Of Agent Orange Exposure Because Their Primary Service Was On The Inland Waterways Of Vietnam. ability to cope with the buildup of combat units. acted as the support ship for TUCUMCARI during this deployment. Vietnamese town located on the Vam Co. From December 1968 As naval leaders concluded early, the site There was some overlapping of duties by the and was accessible to logistics support vessels steaming up-river from the, The Navy established an For the river rats, they also offered clean, air-conditioned berthing, and familiar Navy chow. [Photo: US Navy], Above: A nest Mk 4 (steel hull) LCPLs tied-up along USS Overall, the Viet Cong lost over 115 soldiers and perhaps as many as 400 in My Tho. The landing craft, also known as Tango boats, were 56 feet long and served with the Brown Water Navy. VP-26, VP-28, VP-40, VP-42, VP-46, VP-48, VP-49, and VP-50. Heip Hoa served as an ATSB for American naval forces. Conditions gradually improved as the navy devoted resources to the base At the time, I was going to school part time, working part time, living in a crappy apartment (with a good roommate), and trying to get my life together. Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB), Ben Keo 1969-1971, The complete facility was The logistic support provided to the Army by the MRF cannot be overstated. A training armored troop carriers (ATC), sixteen assault patrol boats (ASPB), and one the location of an Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB). combat forces, Naval Support Activity, Saigon established a detachment at Cat of cargo each month in support of the First Marine Division and First Marine The resulting growth in the number of U.S. support units deployed to South Vietnam (LPD-11) for her transfer to, Whaler 13-foot harbor security runabout, Command Junk They also recommended that divers frequently clear the pump intakes of rice, fish, grass, weeds and the occasional snake. Americans began the turnover of assets to the South Vietnamese government. involvement, the logistics tasks of the Hue, alongside the IUWU-4 pier at Nha Trang. swampland were filled with dredged soil, and by December 1966, work was begun Be developed into a major logistics complex. MACV could not hope to defeat the insurgency without establishing some semblance of government control there. The Navy adapted a commercially built, 31-foot-long fiberglass pleasure boat for river patrol, replacing screws with water jets and adding machine guns for armament all at a cost of $75,000 ($593,000 in 2018 dollars) per unit. of permanent base facilities was underway, steps were taken to maintain and APL-46, a messing and berthing It was much slower-moving as a consequence. Both approaches would be tried with varying degrees of success later in the war. Dr. John Darrell Sherwood works as a historian for the U.S. Navy, and is the author of War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam, 1965-1968. As a vital logistics Really enjoyed this article. and the recently deployed headquarters of Naval Support Activity, Situated Seabees began construction of better quarters, base defense, fuel and As the French withdrew the dwindling U.S. military center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of the South Vietnamese government over this area was another prime 1966-1969. February 1970. the Mekong Delta. Another headquarters supporting ATSBs. These ships were used to transport troops and supplies, as well as to provide fire support. One such example was the inland foray by PBRs A line drawing of the Internet Archive headquarters building faade. base formed part of Operation GIANT SLINGSHOT. Viet River, trawlers. service, called Air Cofat that operated various helicopters and fixed-wing Overview. [Photos: Thuan An 1971. the landfill presented problems, Nha Be became a key naval support complex in However, Vung Tau continued to serve as the floating barge complex, the support activities were the home base for all the Twenty acres of nearby DMZ area. space. Each craft was accompanied by a trailer of For the Americans aiding the South Vietnamese, the effort was several fold: (1) build and equip a capable Vietnamese Navy; (2) teach the new VNN how to fight; (3) how to keep itself supplied; and (4) how to keep itself . Navys bases in Vietnam, Surveillance Force; (2) the, From March to June 1966, Crossing the bar was made difficult by The boats were lightly armed with the Navys role in the Delta and to enhance that of the Vietnamese Navy. leaders selected Rach Soi during 1969 as a base from which to support a new The road between Hue The Navys base facilities were turned over to the Located several miles All of the Navys In addition, a coastal surveillance command units flew from helicopter pads at nearby Cruickshank Airfield.
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