Vietnam War River Patrol

Vietnam War River Patrol PDF Author: Richard H. Kirshen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476627428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
As a 20-year-old gunboat captain and certified U.S. Navy diver in the Mekong Delta, the author was responsible for both the vessel and the lives of its crew. Ambushes and firefights became the norm, along with numerous dives--almost 300 in 18 months. Forty years after the war, he returned as a tourist. This journal records his contrasting impressions of the Delta--alternately disturbing and enlightening--as seen first from a river patrol boat, then from a luxury cruise ship.

Vietnam War River Patrol

Vietnam War River Patrol PDF Author: Richard H. Kirshen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476627428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Get Book Here

Book Description
As a 20-year-old gunboat captain and certified U.S. Navy diver in the Mekong Delta, the author was responsible for both the vessel and the lives of its crew. Ambushes and firefights became the norm, along with numerous dives--almost 300 in 18 months. Forty years after the war, he returned as a tourist. This journal records his contrasting impressions of the Delta--alternately disturbing and enlightening--as seen first from a river patrol boat, then from a luxury cruise ship.

Combat at Close Quarters

Combat at Close Quarters PDF Author: Edward J. Marolda
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780945274735
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 86

Get Book Here

Book Description
This work describes riverine combat during the Vietnam War, emphasizing the operations of the U.S. Navy’s River Patrol Force, which conducted Operation Game Warden; the U.S. Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force, the formation that General William Westmoreland said “saved the Mekong Delta” during the Tet Offensive of 1968; and the Vietnam Navy. An important section details the SEALORDS combined campaign, a determined effort by U.S. Navy, South Vietnamese Navy, and allied ground forces to cut enemy supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt operations at base areas deep in the delta. The author also covers details on the combat vessels, helicopters, weapons, and equipment employed in the Mekong Delta as well as the Vietnamese combatants (on both sides) and American troops who fought to secure Vietnam’s waterways. Special features focus on the ubiquitous river patrol boats (PBRs) and the Swift boats (PCFs), river warfare training, Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the Black Ponies aircraft squadron, and Navy SEALs. This publication may be of interest to history scholars, veterans, students in advanced placement history classes, and military enthusiasts given the continuing impact of riverine warfare on U.S. naval and military operations in the 21st century. Special Publicity Tie-In: Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (Commemoration dates: 28 May 2012 - 11 November 2025). This is the fifth book in the series, "The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War." TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The First Indochina War The Vietnam Navy River Force and American Advisors The U.S. Navy and the Rivers of Vietnam SEALORDS The End of the Line for U.S. and Vietnamese River Forces Sidebars: The PBR Riverine Warfare Training Battle Fleet of the Mekong Delta High Drama in the Delta Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. Black Ponies The Swift Boat Warriors with Green Faces Suggested Reading

Brown Water, Black Berets

Brown Water, Black Berets PDF Author: Thomas J Cutler
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612511848
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 563

Get Book Here

Book Description
The men of the U.S. Navy's brown-water force played a vital but often overlooked role in the Vietnam War. Known for their black berets and limitless courage, they maneuvered their aging, makeshift craft along shallow coastal waters and twisting inland waterways to search out the enemy. In this moving tribute to their contributions and sacrifices, Tom Cutler records their dramatic story as only a participant could. His own Vietnam experience enables him to add a striking human dimension to the account. The terror of firefights along the jungle-lined rivers, the rigors of camp life, and the sudden perils of guerrilla warfare are conveyed with authenticity. At the same time, the author's training as a historian allows him to objectively describe the scope of the navy's operations and evaluate their effectiveness. Winner of the Navy League's Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement in 1988 when the book was first published, Cutler is credited with having written the definitive history of the brown-water sailors, an effort that has helped readers better understand the nature of U.S. involvement in the war.

Vietnam Riverine Craft 1962–75

Vietnam Riverine Craft 1962–75 PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781841769318
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The southernmost region of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) encompassed the vast Mekong River Delta, and area covering 10,190 square miles. Three major rivers run through the Delta, the Song Hou Giang (aka Bassac) and the Song Mekong, which broke into three large rivers (Song My Tho, Ham Luong, and Go Chien). The Nhon Trach delineated the Delta's eastern edge. In all there were some 1,500 miles of natural navigable waterways and 2,500 miles of man-made canals and channels. The canal system was begun in 800 AD and its expansion continued up to World War II. The nation's capital, Saigon, lies on the Delta's northern edge. Few roads and highways served the region with sampans and other small watercraft via the canals being the main means of transportation. At least 70,000 Viet Cong (VC) were scattered over the area controlling up to a quarter of the population. Three Army of the Republic Vietnam (ARVN) divisions as well as various paramilitary forces battled the VC in the marshes, forests, and paddies. In 1965 the military situation in the Delta had deteriorated and the decision was taken to shore things up by committing a joint Army and Navy Mobile Riverine Force. This force was unique in its composition, mission, and the special craft in which it operated. The Army component was the 2d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division; the Navy component was River Assault Flotilla One. The various watercraft assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force are the subject of this book. These included much-modified landing craft, purpose-built patrol boats including Swift Boats and Monitors, and a variety of auxiliary and support vessels. Task Force CLEARWATER, a much smaller operation in the extreme northern portion of South Vietnam, also used these craft.

War in the Shallows

War in the Shallows PDF Author: John Darrell Sherwood
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780945274766
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Get Book Here

Book Description
War in the Shallows, published in 2015 by the Naval History and Heritage Command, is the authoritative account of the U.S. Navy's hard-fought battle along Vietnam's rivers and coastline from 1965-1968. At the height of the U.S. Navy's involvement in the Vietnam War, the Navy's coastal and riverine forces included more than 30,000 Sailors and over 350 patrol vessels ranging in size from riverboats to destroyers. These forces developed the most extensive maritime blockade in modern naval history and fought pitched battles against Viet Cong units in the Mekong Delta and elsewhere. War in the Shallows explores the operations of the Navy's three inshore task forces from 1965 to 1968. It also delves into other themes such as basing, technology, tactics, and command and control. Finally, using oral history interviews, it reconstructs deckplate life in South Vietnam, focusing in particular on combat waged by ordinary Sailors. Vietnam was the bloodiest war in recent naval history and War in the Shallows strives above all else to provide insight into the men who fought it and honor their service and sacrifice. Illustrated throughout with photographs and maps. Author John Darrell Sherwood has served as a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) since 1997. -- Provided by publisher.

The U.S. Naval Institute on Vietnam: Coastal and Riverine Warfare

The U.S. Naval Institute on Vietnam: Coastal and Riverine Warfare PDF Author: Thomas J Cutler
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1682470490
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book Here

Book Description
The U.S. Naval Institute Chronicles series focuses on the relevance of history by exploring topics like significant battles, personalities, and service components. Tapping into the U.S. Naval Institute's robust archives, these carefully selected volumes help readers understand nuanced subjects by providing unique perspectives and some of the best contributions that have helped shape naval thinking over the many decades since the Institute’s founding in 1873. Among the various aspects of the U.S. Navy’s “in-country” experiences in Vietnam, small-craft operations are among the most significant. Revealed in this collection from the Naval Institute’s archives are Operations Market Time, Game Warden, and SEALORDS, as well some lesser-known aspects of the Navy’s iconoclastic venture into the green and brown waters of Southeast Asia.

River Rats

River Rats PDF Author: Ralph Christopher
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 146348853X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
The United States Navys fight for control of the waters of Southeast Asia. By far the greatest contribution of the narrative is the insight it provides into the hows and whys of United States involvement in Vietnam, and the attempt of that involvement to bring freedom to those who were unable to achieve it by their own efforts. We see the United States more as a caretaker and less as a policeman in terms of motivation for its involvement half a world away. Andwe see the tremendous price paid by those who served to ensure that freedom ordinary men who, by fate, were thrown together in a strange land, and who fulfilled a part of their destiny, and their Nations, on the brown water. Weldon Bleiler

Riverine Craft of the Vietnam Wars

Riverine Craft of the Vietnam Wars PDF Author: Roger Branfill-Cook
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526749076
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Provides clear and succinct descriptions of the various craft used not only by American forces but those of the French and South Vietnamese Navy.” —Army Rumour Service (ARRSE) The ShipCraft series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeler through a brief history of the subject, highlighting differences between ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring color profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modeling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the subjects, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references—books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. This volume is something of a departure for the series in covering a wide variety of the types, at first improvised and then purpose-built for the Brown Water conflict. Besides the well-known American involvement, the book also covers some of the craft used by the French in their earlier struggle with Vietnamese guerrillas. With its unparalleled level of visual information—paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs—this book is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these unusual craft. “Very well written . . . The author’s interest, knowledge and enthusiasm come through the content and make the title so appealing to the reader.” —Armorama

Fourth Arm of Defense

Fourth Arm of Defense PDF Author: Salvatore R. Mercogliano
Publisher: Government Printing Office
ISBN: 9780945274964
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 88

Get Book Here

Book Description
This publication is the eighth in the series The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War. The publication focuses on the sealift and logistic operations during the war and includes a number of photographs as well as sidebars detailing specific people and ships involved in the logistic operations. This historical pictorial reference would be of interest to students, historians, members of the military, specifically the Navy, and military leaders, veterans, Vietnam War veterans, and the U.S. merchant marines.

Brown Water Navy

Brown Water Navy PDF Author: Ronald L. McAbee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781885354105
Category : Indochinese War, 1946-1954
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
BROWN WATER NAVY is the thrilling day-to-day life of a young seaman fighting for survival on the war torn, deadly canals and rivers of Vietnam as a "River Rat" with the U.S. Navy's Mobile Riverine Force. Seaman Ron McAbee, a Monitor 20mm gunner with the 92nd River Assault Division, tells his story in a down to earth memoir of what it was like to be on a moving target going eye-to-eye with VC Forces doing their level best to destroy his Monitor as VC Forces attempted to deny the Delta and IV Corps to US and South Vietnam Forces. BROWN WATER NAVY may very well become one of the epic stories of U.S. Naval Operations during the Vietnam War. 208 pages, 49 photos and illustrations.