During the Vietnam Conflict , the United States used a variety of different river gunboats in their " Brown Water Navy" - So here they are, the vessels of the Brown Water Navy.
Interesting, I knew there were a variety of them but didn't know there were that many.... I'm most familiar with the PBR Apocalypse Now style because that's the one the movies have used the most.. Sound track is good to JD
I’m sure I told you before but one of my dear friends who was a river rat would go into a meltdown after drinking. I would have to hold him after he would go into a total meltdown and sometimes wrestling him to the ground. He would cry about being covered in his friend’s guts from a shore gun. After he would come back we would toast the boys that didn’t come back.
I had a cousin join the Navy when his number came up. He was hoping for a job on an aircraft carrier but landed on a river gunboat. He made it through without incident and after the war he joined the Air Guard as a supply Sgt. to get the retirement.
My father got out of the Marines in 65 and his little brother, my uncle, wanted to follow in his footsteps. Dad, trying to save his baby brother from Vietnam, convinced him to join the Navy instead.
Uncle Chuck ended up a gunner on a swift boat. Showed me pics of his boats all shot to hell, B40 rockets punching holes in the aluminum armored upper hulls. Had at least one shot out from under him - his photo album showed his snaps from the huey as it was flying away from the smoking pyre that was his boat.
Got blown completely out of it one time and told me the rescue pilot squeezed down below the treetops to get his unconscious body out of the river. Said anytime he met a helo pilot from the war - they never had to buy drinks.
Came home from there a mess. Took him about 15 years to get off the drugs and stay out of jail. Never could give up the booze though.
Dad passed earlier this year, Chuck doesn't look like he has much more in him.
Those guys were giants when I was a kid. Time gets everyone though.
I always thought it was funny how every single time you let a sailor drive one of the small boats in the navy they were mighty river warriors hunting the banks of the Mekong for VC. Every single one was convinced diesels love to go from 500rpm-5000 in an instant and back again and then up again and they think any turn worth doing is worth overturning and then cutting back across the wake and raking it hard over for effect and maybe shoving it into reverse at 3000rpm just to see what happens and it was impossible to convince even one of them that the boats were all 40 to 60 years old and the engines were as old or older and that spares didn't grow on trees and that those itty bitty steering cables would snap if you looked at 'em.
Them swabbies had big cojones. The downside was that my squad leader told me the first time I got on one of the Tangos that the first aid kits were always missing their morphine. One of the upsides was that the MRF guys at Dong Tam/Camp Bearcat got to see the round-eyed Donut Dollies. Rob J AlphaCo 4th/47th 9thInfDiv MRF RVN '68
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Interesting, I knew there were a variety of them but didn't know there were that many.... I'm most familiar with the PBR Apocalypse Now style because that's the one the movies have used the most..
ReplyDeleteSound track is good to
JD
I’m sure I told you before but one of my dear friends who was a river rat would go into a meltdown after drinking. I would have to hold him after he would go into a total meltdown and sometimes wrestling him to the ground. He would cry about being covered in his friend’s guts from a shore gun. After he would come back we would toast the boys that didn’t come back.
ReplyDeleteI had a cousin join the Navy when his number came up. He was hoping for a job on an aircraft carrier but landed on a river gunboat. He made it through without incident and after the war he joined the Air Guard as a supply Sgt. to get the retirement.
ReplyDeleteSorry, meant CPO Greg
ReplyDeleteMy father got out of the Marines in 65 and his little brother, my uncle, wanted to follow in his footsteps. Dad, trying to save his baby brother from Vietnam, convinced him to join the Navy instead.
ReplyDeleteUncle Chuck ended up a gunner on a swift boat. Showed me pics of his boats all shot to hell, B40 rockets punching holes in the aluminum armored upper hulls. Had at least one shot out from under him - his photo album showed his snaps from the huey as it was flying away from the smoking pyre that was his boat.
Got blown completely out of it one time and told me the rescue pilot squeezed down below the treetops to get his unconscious body out of the river. Said anytime he met a helo pilot from the war - they never had to buy drinks.
Came home from there a mess. Took him about 15 years to get off the drugs and stay out of jail. Never could give up the booze though.
Dad passed earlier this year, Chuck doesn't look like he has much more in him.
Those guys were giants when I was a kid. Time gets everyone though.
I always thought it was funny how every single time you let a sailor drive one of the small boats in the navy they were mighty river warriors hunting the banks of the Mekong for VC. Every single one was convinced diesels love to go from 500rpm-5000 in an instant and back again and then up again and they think any turn worth doing is worth overturning and then cutting back across the wake and raking it hard over for effect and maybe shoving it into reverse at 3000rpm just to see what happens and it was impossible to convince even one of them that the boats were all 40 to 60 years old and the engines were as old or older and that spares didn't grow on trees and that those itty bitty steering cables would snap if you looked at 'em.
ReplyDeleteI got a headache just reading that. There are such things as commas and periods, ya know.
DeleteBetter block Kim Dutoit from this post. He's a grammar nazi. Other than that he's ok for an African American.
DeleteThem swabbies had big cojones. The downside was that my squad leader told me the first time I got on one of the Tangos that the first aid kits were always missing their morphine. One of the upsides was that the MRF guys at Dong Tam/Camp Bearcat got to see the round-eyed Donut Dollies.
ReplyDeleteRob J AlphaCo 4th/47th 9thInfDiv MRF RVN '68