Coastal Warfare against the Vietcong: Volume One 1964-1966

By James Steffes

This book documents and tells the history of the establishment and growth of the Coastal Surveillance Force, Task Force 71. This grew to Task Forces 115, 116 and 117. My research for this history came from veterans serving in this period and the documentation of the Commander Naval Forces Vietnam Monthly Summaries. These documents did not exist before January 1966, so the early period was dependent on veterans and the author's personal knowledge. This book is dedicated to those pioneers of the Small Boat Navy's very successful war against a stubborn enemy. It is important to point out that this is a book of fiction and all of the names of the characters are fictional. This was used to make the significant incidents more alive while retaining the accurate details of the action. Much of the COMNAVFORV summaries were also paraphrased for effect while retaining the factual accounts stated in the records. The photographs and map images are placed at the end of the chapters in the book to help former military and non-military folks identify with the many units and terms used in the texts. The images and photographs are either my personal items or from the COMNAVFORCESVIETNAM Monthly Summaries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669862253

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Copyright © 2023 by James Steffes.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 01/16/2023

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CONTENTS

Disclaimer

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Stable Door Statistics for the Month of December

Epilogue and Summary

Glossary of Terms

DISCLAIMER

All images included have been used with permission

of the Naval History and Heritage Command

Website and are part of the public domain.

Visit their website at

http://www.history.navy.mil/

M y previous book entitled Operation Market Time: The Early Years, 1965–66 was an attempt to tell this story as fiction based on fact. It had many things wrong with it, and when I saw the story had much of its original content more in line with historical fiction, I attempted to make corrections to improve the manuscript but was advised by my publisher to rework the manuscript to better reflect the historical fiction theme.The new books will be in three volumes: Volume One covers 19641966, Volume Two covers 1967, and Volume Three covers 1968. By the end of 1968, Operation Market Time had fulfilled its mission of denying the waters along the coastline to the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese.

January 1, 1969, began with Swift Boats and Coast Guard WPBs taking over the mission of patrolling the lower Co Chein, Ham Long, and Soi Rap Rivers, freeing up the Game Warden River Patrol Boats to move up the river in pursuit of the Viet Cong. These three and one half day patrols, in addition to boarding and searching the hundreds of water taxis, fishing boats, and other watercraft, both large and small, were augmented by raids into the many canals and small rivers off the main rivers. Also, search and destroy missions were performed with the other boats in the river using RF or Regional Forces, and PF or Popular Forces under the guidance of U.S. Army dvisers. Landing Ship Tank vessels were used as mother ships stationed further south along the coastline to support Swift Boats and Coast Guard WPBs as they moved up into the Bassac River and the smaller rivers and canals of the lower Mekong Delta. These were not patrols, but rather lightening raids using several Swifts and supported by air cover and gunnery support from out at sea. These raids sometimes resulted in ambushes and these crews took many casualties, both in men and material. These heroic boat crews took the fight to the Viet Cong in his backyard and opened up these areas to allow the civilian population to move freely and safely. The enemy had its infrastructure and supply links disrupted and destroyed.

This period, 19691971, has been well documented in books and publications by authors who were there and experienced this firsthand. This author served aboard these boats in Market Time, from June 1968 to January 1969, then he transferred to a base near the Mekong Delta called Cat Lo. There he was part of the Sea Lords Campaign, and he patrolled in the lower rivers. In a sense, he experienced both facets of the war fought in these small boats at sea against the enemy and the weather, and then in the rivers and close in combat of smaller canals and waterways.

This book documents and tells the history of the establishment and growth of the Coastal Surveillance Force, Task Force 71. This grew to Task Forces 115, 116, and 117. My research for this history came from veterans serving in this period, the experiences of this author, and the documentation of the Commander Naval Forces Vietnam (COMNAVFORV) Monthly Summaries. These documents did not exist before January 1966, so the early period was dependent on veterans and the author’s personal knowledge.

This book is dedicated to those pioneers of the Small Boat Navy’s very successful war against a stubborn enemy. It is important to point out that this is a book of fiction, and the names of the characters are fictional. This was used to make the significant incidents more alive while retaining the accurate details of the action. Much of the COMNAVFORV summaries were also paraphrased for effect while retaining the factual accounts stated in the records. The photographs and map images are placed around the book to help former military and nonmilitary folks identify with the many units and terms used in the text. The images and photographs are either my personal items or from the COMNAVFORV Monthly Summaries.

CHAPTER ONE

I t was late 1964 at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California, at the newly formed training school for sailors bound for in-country assignments. But this is a ground war, we were told, and the enemy has no navy or air force. It was a rag-tag guerilla army primarily engaged in sabotage and hit-and-run tactics against the forces of South Vietnam.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Sidney Watson was the Damage Control Assistant aboard USS Clementson (DD-765) homeported in Long Beach, California. The call to the Ship’s Office while operating off the California coastline came as a surprise. Mr. Watson entered the office with hat in hand, not knowing what to expect.

Mr. Watson, you have orders to Vietnam, said the personnel officer.

Me? he asked. How can this be?

Well, apparently, in Officer Candidate School, you volunteered for combat duty on your dream sheet. Here they are in black and white, he said, handing the papers over to the young lieutenant.

I never heard back on that, so I figured it was a mute issue, said Watson. After all, that is why they called it a dream sheet."

Sure enough, they read Transfer to Naval Amphibious Training Command, Coronado, California, for eight weeks of training and further transfer to Naval Advisory Group, Naval Support Activity, Sai Gon, in the Republic of Vietnam. The thoughts that ran through Mr. Watson’s head were of excitement and also dread. The war was in its infancy. Not many troops were there yet, but the word was out. The war was here, and it was the place to be for opportunities and advancement. After all, he was single and did not have many worries at all. The orders gave him until the end of the month to depart Clementson, and with two weeks leave, he would report aboard in November for school. What kind of assignment would this be? he wondered as he walked back to his stateroom, orders in hand. He remembered volunteering while at Officer Candidate School, but got USS Clementson instead. On his way back to his stateroom, he stopped at the executive officer’s cabin and knocked on the door.

Come in, Mr. Watson, and take a seat. The XO was a kind man, with many years at sea behind those eyes, and his door was always open. How can I help you? he asked as the young officer sat down.

It’s about these orders, Commander. What can you tell me about them?

The XO began to explain, I received a message a month or so ago asking for a motivated junior officer to take on a new assignment. I sent in your name with a good recommendation. You were selected from a large group to be in this class to be sent to be advisors to the South Vietnamese Navy.

What do I know about advising someone in a foreign navy? he asked.

"Well, the war is building up rapidly since the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy were attacked off the coast of North Vietnam. The government of South Vietnam formally asked for our help in repelling what is certainly an insurgency supplied and trained by the government in the North. Our military is supplying the South with arms and equipment, air support, and now advisors to work with the South Vietnamese Navy and our forces. It is more of an intermediary than an advisor, per se, but I believe you are the man for this job."

Back in the wardroom, news traveled fast, and his fellow officers expressed their congratulations on his new station. He went to his stateroom and pondered this new turn in his life.

LTJG Sidney Watson was a native of Waterloo, Iowa, and went to Iowa State University before entering the navy. After OCS, or Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as an Ensign. From there, he went to engineering school for officers en route to USS Clementson, where he served until this time as the Damage Control Assistant.

As he stared at the orders, he began to look forward to this assignment. It would be dangerous, of course, he thought, but life in the Navy aboard ship was dangerous as well. The thought of being alone while living and working in a strange country with a strange language was becoming very real in his mind. Of course, he would receive training, and he was certain he would receive the amount of training necessary to perform his duties. He had heard about the job that the Army Green Berets had been performing with the indigent people in the mountains. Would the men of the South Vietnamese Navy, with whom he would be working alongside, have the same motivation that he knew would be required? It would be a challenge, and this naval officer loved a challenge. His assignment aboard Clementson was a similar challenge because of all the personnel changes that took place during his assignment as Damage Control Assistant. He had learned much about how to train men to work as a team fighting fires and flooding when their lives were on the line, and he felt these skills would come in very handy. This teamwork building skill could only be learned by doing, and the results would become apparent right away. He thought about learning a new language and was concerned about his ability to give orders in another language when in the heat of combat.

The next morning became a busy one, as Clementson made preparations for entering port in Long Beach. Once tied up to the Moal Pier, Mr. Watson assembled his men to hook up shore power, fresh water, and a telephone. He spent the rest of the day catching up on paperwork, which was always there. In his stateroom, he relaxed and thought more about his new assignment. So he decided to go over to the Officers Club and have a good steak with a few beers to clear his head.

He returned to the ship with a full belly and a slight buzz from the beers, and as he walked back, his thoughts became clearer. He did not mention his orders to any of the officers at the club, feeling that he did not know that much about the assignment to talk about it. The anti-war feelings that would arise on college campuses in the coming years were not yet apparent in the country. He decided to put his hands in his God, trusting that this was all part of his plans. His faith had taken care of him before, and he did not think that this would be any different. In war, after all, God was always on the side of good versus evil, and he believed that helping the South Vietnamese fight their enemy was a noble cause. Besides, sailors were sailors, no matter where they served, and many times, the weather and the sea were enough to bring them together. As he readied himself for bed in his stateroom, he caught his reflection in the mirror on his locker. What he saw was a young man, full of life and eager for adventure. His mind wandered a bit, and he saw himself in the mirror, dressed in green fatigues and a beret perched on his head. He gave it a little slant and felt a swagger and sense of pride flow through his body.

The rest of the time went rather quickly, and soon it was the end of the month. He was all checked out on the ship, packed, and said his goodbyes, walking down the gangway with his head held high. He took a shuttle to the airport and waited for his flight to be called.

Boarding a United Airlines jet aircraft, he flew home to Waterloo, Iowa, and welcomed the embrace of his family. His father looked on him very proud, but his mother had that worried look that all mothers have when their children appear to be facing danger. His father served aboard a troop transport during the Korean War, but it was not like World War II where ships at sea faced danger every day and night from enemy planes. The North Koreans had an air force, but it did not threaten the ships at sea. His ship participated in the landings at Inchon, so as Sidney grew up, his father would talk about his time at sea. For him, the good times had outweighed the bad, and except for the loneliness he felt at night when he stood watch during darken ship conditions, his father loved the sea and the slow rolling ship. Sidney had had some long talks with his father alone on the patio, where he shared his thoughts and fears with his father. Sidney had always had great respect for his father and always looked up to him. They had a bond that permitted sharing times like this, and he cherished what he and his father had together. Sidney felt that he was a better man for having this relationship with his father.

He called an old classmate that he dated in high school and found that she was free and would love to go to dinner with him. As he got ready for his date, he looked around his room at the sports awards he had earned in high school and college, and the warm memories made him feel hot and confined. He went outside for some fresh air and to clear his head. He had not talked much about his new assignment, except with his father, because he knew it bothered his mother to hear that talk.

In 1964, South Vietnam was a far-off place that most people had never heard of. He walked out to the backyard fence and looked over the cornfields of the neighboring farmer. He loved the smell of ripening corn and walked down the rows, pulling the silk tops off the corn stalks. A glance at his watch told him he would have to get in gear or he would be late. Just then, his mother called to him from the back porch. She looked so happy standing there in a summer dress, shading her eyes from the sun. He was glad that he didn’t have to get into the issues of what was going on in that far off land with his mother. She was content just to have him home. He had been off to college, but this was different somehow. Once, in his old room, he picked out slacks and a sport coat with a matching blue tie. Man, did he look sharp. As he came down the stairs, his mom whistled her approval.

Sidney picked up Sharon, his date, and she chose a mom and pop restaurant downtown that she liked. They had dinner and wine and made small talk, clearly avoiding the discussion that was to come is orders to Vietnam. Sharon was still in college, and she shared the feelings that were around the campus about this newly emerging military commitment to the conflict. She asked what he would be doing over there, and he told her as much as he knew and that he was excited about it. She wanted to know about the danger involved, and he said he didn’t know for sure, but felt he would be well trained for his job. Sidney took Sharon home and she kissed him good night. Driving home, he felt an urgency to head back to the Navy before he got drawn into the drama in Iowa. He had left home to get away from the small-town mentality.

His leave went quickly. He packed his gear, and when the day for departure arrived, his father drove him to the airport. After saying goodbye to his father, he boarded an American Airlines flight from Des Moines to San Diego, California. During the flight, the pilot came on the intercom as the stewardess stood in the aisle next to his seat. He announced to the passengers that a young naval officer was returning to his base and was sitting in seat 11C. When Sidney stood up, the passengers began to applaud in his direction. He felt a sense of pride at being honored in this way, and yet it was very humbling. He did not know it at the time, but this honor for servicemen would be short-lived as the country turned against this war. Protests would erupt on college campuses and on city streets across the country.

Finally, after a long flight, he arrived in San Diego. He boarded a shuttle going to the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, home to anti-insurgency training and schools. He got a room at the Bachelor Officers Quarters. He unpacked his gear and went to the Officers Club for a drink.

There he met several other young officers reporting for the same duty. He found out that they would be serving aboard Vietnamese junks, an armed wooden boat, and he would have to learn to speak and read Vietnamese.

School started the next morning at the base auditorium, with a week of orientation on the culture and the war situation to date. In this week, he learned how the war was going so far, not like the news media said, although there were several correspondents in-country already.

The South Vietnamese were holding their own with help from our air power and limited helicopter support for moving troops around and medical evacuation of wounded. The enemy was elusive, using hit-and-run tactics and terror to try to bring the government down. Where do I come in? he thought, and soon, he learned what his part would be. They were called advisors that consisted of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps in positions with the South Vietnamese, helping train them and coordinating the air power and helicopter assets already there. Communication was a real problem incountry at this time, and as America was being drawn closer into this conflict, something had to be done. The enemy was using the coastline and waterways to move its men and supplies to the battlefield and had to be stopped somehow.

The second week started at North Island Naval Air Station with classes on survival in case he would have to evade and escape near the ocean or one of the outlying islands. Lessons in the local plants and animals as well as sea life were explained and discussed. There were many plants in South Vietnam that were poisonous or could make you sick and very weak. He learned how to trap rainwater for drinking and washing. Being a tropical jungle type of environment, rainwater would be plentiful, but must be safely collected. The jungle was also a breeding ground for bacteria, and a simple cut or wood splinter can become infected virtually overnight. Of course, being wounded and trying to escape capture presents many challenges. It was a lot of information to absorb in a short time, but Sidney had good instructors and learning was easy. Some of the instructors were former pilots and knew from experience the many ways to avoid some of the pitfalls in dealing with a hostile jungle environment.

The last day was spent preparing the students for land survival and ways to camouflage yourself and your surroundings when resting between movements toward friendly forces. He learned about what to do in the event he was captured and the difference between being captured by the Viet Cong Insurgents and the soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army known as the NVA. There were reports of uniformed NVA soldiers operating as cadres with the Viet Cong as well as regular armed forces in the south. The Viet Cong were known to keep their captors in bamboo cages and tortured until they talked or died. The NVA, on the other hand, valued American prisoners and tried to transport them into North Vietnam. Sidney would learn that although he was trained and expected to try to escape, most line troops would shoot you on sight if you tried to escape. If he were closely guarded, the best thing would be to wait until the cadre arrived to take you into their control.

There was an instructor who was a former army master sergeant that served in Korea. He had been captured by the North Koreans and was held for nearly two years. He was very animated in his teaching methods and kept the men captivated as he explained how to survive while using every method to think of to confuse and bewilder the guards and, of course, try to escape, if he could. Americans held in Ha Noi faced a brutal and determined enemy with many ways to torture the Americans. Some of these methods would be tried on the students in a very realistic prisoner of war (POW) camp. It was a dangerous game, and even if escape was possible, it was a long way from Ha Noi to the friendly forces in the south. A man would not only have to deal with the environment but also a hostile civilian population that had been exposed to air strikes on a regular basis.

The next day, the class was trucked to the beach area of the base that faced the Pacific Ocean. There they simulated being a large group trapped behind in the jungle, and they had to find and catch food from the sea. Shelters were built using whatever could be found on the shore, such as driftwood and palm branches. Everything that was caught was thrown into a pot of water that became soup. There were crabs, some fish, and even several lobsters. It was watery, but it tasted good after working hard to find the sea life. When they bedded down for the night, it was so quiet, just the sound of the waves on the shore. Looking back toward San Diego and seeing the skyline and the lights and hearing the clang of the channel buoys was very strange. Sidney fell asleep quickly and dreamed of lovely maidens on a tropical seashore. It would be the last sleep he would have for several days.

The week finished up with a bus ride up to Warner Springs Survival School. There, Watson’s class set up camp on the first night and located food from the desert area. This is getting serious, he thought as he ate a lizard mixed with greens from the ground. The desert was much colder and drier than the seashore, and food was much harder to find and catch. The class made snares and traps with vines and ivy and were able to catch a few rabbits. The class numbered about fifty men, both officers and enlisted. The instructors arrived late afternoon and looked at our meager food supply. They left and returned with ten rabbits and five doves, still alive. The class went to work and, in short order, had a pot of stew brewing. The lizard that Sidney caught was eaten raw and shared with a buddy. His buddy said, It tasted like chicken.

About 2100 hours, the class was marched to an open area for a night problem during which the students tried to evade enemy forces by hiding and moving toward a light mounted on a pole. There was not much cover and the instructors walked around yelling and shooting in the air. Sidney found a rock in the dark and crouched behind it, trying to appear a small as possible. With all the yelling and shooting going on, no one made it to the pole. When the whistle was blown, the class was gathered up and sent back to their camp. By this time, the lack of sleep and food was telling on everyone.

At the camp, we were given several parachutes, and with the knives we had, they were cut into panels. Each man received one, and after tying a large knot at the small end, it became a sleeping bag. Parachutes were made of silk and were very warm once you got inside. Unfortunately, it rained during the night, and wet silk was no longer very warm. During the night, the more senior officers and enlisted gathered outside the camp and took the roster, dividing the men into platoons and squads with officers and or petty officers in charge of each group. This was to prepare for the day evasion course the next day that would culminate in the prisoner of war camp, and that exercise would begin.

Early in the morning, the class began the day evasion course, and in the daylight, there were even less places to hide than the night before. It seemed like every rock and bush that Sidney went to already had someone hiding in it. The camp instructors were dressed in green uniforms, carrying weapons and had helmets with a red star on the front. They were not friendly and stormed around the area, shouting and shooting in the air; and when they found someone, he was snatched up, and the