COASTAL WARFARE AGAINST THE VIET CONG: Volume Three (1968)

By James Steffes

There is no available about the book information as of the moment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9798369415399

Book preview

Copyright © 2024 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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/25/2024

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

848595

CONTENTS

Prologue

Coastal Surveillance Force (Task Force 115)

First Coastal Zone

Second Coastal Zone

Third Coastal Zone

Fourth Coastal Zone

Naval Advisory Group

Coastal Forces

Second Naval Zone

Third Naval Zone

Fourth Naval Zone

February 1968

Operation Market Time

First Coastal Zone

Second Coastal Zone

Third Coastal Zone

Fourth Coastal Zone

Market Time Units

Naval Advisory Group

Coastal Force

Second Naval Zone

Third Naval Zone

Fourth Naval Zone

March 1968

Coastal Surveillance Force (Task Force 115)

First Coastal Zone

Second Coastal Zone

Third Coastal Zone

Fourth Coastal Zone

Market Time Units

Naval Advisory Group

Vietnamese Navy

Coastal Force

Second Naval Zone

Third Naval Zone

Fourth Naval Zone

Operation Stable Door

Trawler Incidents

Current Glossary of Terms

April 1968

Second Coastal Zone

Third Coastal Zone

Fourth Coastal Zone

Market Time Units

Naval Advisory Group

First Naval Zone

Second Naval Zone

Fourth Naval Zone

May 1968

First Coastal Zone

Second Coastal Zone

Third Coastal Zone

Fourth Coastal Zone

Market Time Units

Naval Advisory Group

First Naval Zone

Second Naval Zone

Third Naval Zone

Fourth Naval Zone

PROLOGUE

T his is Volume Three of the story of the Coastal Surveillance Forces War against the Viet Cong in 1968. Their mission was to prevent infiltration by sea by monitoring shipping and junk traffic inside the twelve-mile limit of the coastline. These inshore forces were augmented by Seventh Fleet Ships and Patrol Aircraft extending far out to sea, monitoring the large cargo ships and steel-hulled junks to make certain that they were not trying to smuggle arms and supplies to the Viet Cong fo rces.

In addition to these forces, large seagoing vessels of the Vietnamese Navy as well as minesweeping and minelaying vessels have been added to patrol the main shipping waterways and inner harbor areas used by the commercial shipping ships. Added to the harbor defenses are small patrol craft, some with minesweeping gear to patrol around anchored vessels.

Again this is a historical fiction book based on facts—that is, the incidents and activities are true with fictional characters added to make the incidents more real to the reader. In some cases, I quote from the COMNAVFORV Monthly Summaries and others that I paraphrase. This book intends to tell the experiences, battles, and historical events involving all Market Time Force.

COASTAL SURVEILLANCE FORCE (TASK FORCE 115)

D uring January, Coastal Surveillance Force activity increased as units of Operation Market Time and Operation Stable Door detected 93,376 craft along South Vietnam’s coastline and harbors; 25,086 of these craft were inspected and 14,997 were boarded. These boarding resulted in the detention of 53 craft and 438 per sons.

In response to the heavy fighting, which erupted throughout Vietnam during the last days of the month, Coastal Surveillance Forces continually aided Allied forces with gunfire support, and all units maintained alert and aggressive patrols.

Operation Market Time

During January, there was an increase in Operation Market Time activity, as the heavy seas and inclement weather associated with the northeast monsoon season abated in the northern coastal zone, thus allowing all Market Time stations to be manned throughout a high percentage of the month. Market Time units detected 48,856 junks and sampans during the month, an increase of 14,265 over December’s total. Over 40 percent of the detected craft were inspected and 20 percent were boarded. The boardings resulted in the detention of 43 craft and 338 persons. In addition, 1,500 steel-hulled craft were detected transiting through Market Time areas. Meanwhile, Market Time Units supported four ground operations, conducted one hundred fifty-two naval gunfire support missions and were engaged in eighteen hostile fire incidents during the month. The majority of the gunfire support missions were fired in the Third and Fourth Coastal where there’s a fair weather throughout the month.

FIRST COASTAL ZONE

A lthough the weather in the northern areas of the First Coastal Zone was unpredictable during January, routine Market Time activity increased, as the zone’s patrol units detected 15,804 junks and sampans during the month, an increase of over 7,000 from December’s total. More than 6,700 of the detected craft were inspected and over 3,700 were boa rded.

On January 2, PCF-99 was on patrol in Enfield Cobra Delta, about nineteen miles north of Da Nang, with LTJG Ronald Elliott in command. He was from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was a graduate of the Naval Academy. He and his crew trained together in Coronado, California, and he assigned a quartermaster first class named Tim Crockett from San Diego, California. They had been in country since September 1967 and had worked and fought together well. PCF-99 was slowly moving along the beach when suddenly machine-gun fire erupted from the beach near a junk beached just one mile ahead of them. Machine gun bullets whined off the cabin and shattered a window in the starboard cabin door. The crew was already at action stations, so no one was wounded except the man on the helm who was hit by flying glass. The engineer on the stern grabbed the controls of the after station and headed for the safety of the open sea. The gunner on the aft machine gun opened up on the location behind the beach where the fire was coming from. It was unclear whether the enemy fire stopped because of the return fire or the distance between the beach and the Swift boat. Swift boats do not have any armor but must rely on speed and lots of gunfire. While the helmsman was being treated, Lieutenant Junior Grade Elliot radioed to the Command Center, call sign Article, requesting permission was granted and PCF-99 picked up speed and returned to the scene of the action. The gunners opened fire on the junk and set it ablaze. After making firing runs back and forth without receiving any fire, the crew was certain that the enemy had retreated or had been killed by the Swift’s guns. There were no friendly casualties except for the helmsman’s minor injuries. PCF-99 headed back out to sea and back to their patrol area.

On January 22, PCF-55, call sign Enfield Cobra Foxtrot received a call for immediate naval gunfire support from Coastal Group 14 located just inside the Cua Dai River. They were receiving heavy harassment fire from positions across the river from the base. Foxtrot moved quickly to the scene, entering the river at high speed with all guns firing on the gun positions, suppressing the enemy fire. With the Swift standing by, two VNN junks got underway to check out the enemy positions. They found four bodies and numerous blood trails leading south into the jungle. It just so happened the Navy advisors were cooking steaks when the fire erupted, and they invited the Swift boat sailors for dinner. After cleaning up spent gun shells, PCF-99 proceeded to the small pier on the river and went up to the base for steak dinners and thanks from the grateful VNN sailors on the junk base.

On January 31, two males in a sampan attempted to evade as PCF-19 approached to inspect the craft. As the occupants beached their craft they captured by US Marines’ Fifth Platoon, Bravo Company, Third Shore Party Battalion. The Swift Boat stood by 200 yards from the beach and contacted the Marines who later turned the detainees over to the Vietnamese Coastal Group for further investigation.

First Coastal Zone units participated in three SAR, Search and Rescue, operations during January. On January 17, PCF-27 was called upon to search for a helicopter, which had reportedly crashed eleven miles north-northeast of Da Nang. Slightly more than an hour after commencing the search the Swift boat sighted a light on the beach. A nearby Marine unit was directed to the scene and found two survivors out of a crew of four. PCF-27 continued to provide illumination for the search until relieved by PCF-16. PCF-16 was joined by USS Fortify (MSO-446) and the two units continued the search with negative results, although some debris and an oil slick were found.

On January 20, PCF-20 received a report of a downed helicopter six miles north of Chu Lai. The Swift boat, aided by helicopters, recovered three of the four crewmembers, and the PCF located the wreckage and then provided cover for divers who recovered the ammunition from the downed helicopter.

On January 27, the Coast Guard cutters Point Glover and Point Welcome aided in the search for a man overboard from the USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) approximately fifty-two miles northwest of Da Nang. The search was terminated with negative results.

Market Time units from the First Coastal Zone also supported three ground operations during the month. On January 3, PCF-15 and PCF-57 provided blocking services against possible enemy exfiltration in an area approximately six miles northwest of Cape Batangan in support of Operation Muscatine, a joint US Army/South Vietnamese Army operation.

On January 23 through 25, USCGC Point Arden and a PCF provided anti-infiltration/exfiltration services in support of Operation Badger Catch, which took place along the coast of Quang Tri province.

Between January 25 and January 26, the Coast Guard cutter Point Young provided blocking services for a sweep by elements of the US Army’s 11th Infantry approximately twenty-one miles southwest of Cape Batangan.

006_a_aa.jpg

SECOND COASTAL ZONE

D uring January, coastal junk and sampan traffic also increased in the Second Coastal Zone as 19,885 craft were detected, an increase of more than 7,000 from December’s figure. More than 9,500 of the detected craft were inspected and over 3,700 were boa rded.

On 8 January, sector authorized requested PCF-63 to head for a deserted village approximately twenty-two