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!!! SEAFLOAT !!!
!!! SOLID ANCHOR !!!
OPERATIONS
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Boat operations on the Song Cau Lon River

Boat operations on the Song Cau Lon River

A PHOTO OF BOAT OPERATIONS NEAR NAM CAM ON THE SONG CAU LON




HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF BOAT OPERATIONS
NEAR NAM CAM
SOLID ANCHOR TANGO OPERATIONS

INFO FROM HENRY MCCLAMROCK
EMAIL: hvgofish[ at ]nwinfo.net">
I was a GMG-2 on a Tango boat at Seafloat in 1970. About May or June of that year our boatwas hauling some c-4 like substance that looked lengths of fire hose that UDT or SEALS had been trying to deepen a canal with.

We were heading back to seafloat on the Ki- nap canal when I spotted some B-40s and B-50s sitting in launching tubes on the bank. I opened up with my 50 cal. and thought we were pretty damm smart in taking care of that problem.

We went about one klick down the canal and then got our tango boat sunk by what I thought was 30 or 40 B-40s which actually was only 3 or 4. I will NEVER forget that sound. Thank god for Sea- Wolfes.

I was not bothered by Viet- Nam for about 20 years but now for some reason am having lots of memories and getting too damm emotinal about it. I would,nt be so bothered if the military would have just been honest about AGENT ORANGE''''''' Sure would like to hear from any other river rats that were there
SOLID ANCHOR SWIFT BOAT OPERATIONS

INFO FROM STEVE JOHNSON
EMAIL: Johnson564645825[ at ]cs.com"
I served on several swift boats that operated off seafloat & nominally the floating barracks by the repair LST just out of square bay. I was trasfered down from Cat Lo sometime in early 1/70 & took off for state side muster out in late 5/70.

While I was there the VNN had a very old converted French ship with twin 40's on it, parked a couple of clicks up river from seafloat. In 5 months we never saw them do anything besides their laundry.

I was a GMG-3 & saw a considerable amount of action while I was there. I haven't thought or talked about this in 30 years. Are there any crew lists boat#'s or any other info available.
SOLID ANCHOR ZIPPO OPERATIONS

INFO FROM DGray42415[ at ]aol.com
EMAIL: DGray42415[ at ]aol.com">
Did anyone mention the guard dogs? How about the tender that came up the river to service our boats? It took a sapper attack, and I knew of one who lost half of his head when the gang plank was blown down on him. He was a swiftboat sailor.

I was the coxswain of Zippo2. We started out as rivdiv 132. Ltcdm Ray was our Commadore for all river divisions as far as I no. WE went to S.E.A.R training at Woodby Island with him, and entered country with him also. It could also be spelled Rea, but I'm not sure how his name is spelled. I've had no contact since. We were called Rags,and Heavies at that time because of our slow speed.
SOLID ANCHOR ADVISOR OPERATIONS

INFO FROM RAYMOND HAELUND
EMAIL: raymondo[ at ]fidalgo.net
I was at both SeaFloat and at Solid Anchor. In March or April of 1970, I was assigned there with a my Vietnamese counterparts on their PCF. Over the next year and a bit more, I would take a "tour" of SeaFloat/Solid Anchor for 2 weeks to a month at a time with my various boats.

I was station at An Thoi, Phu Quoc Island, and my assignments varied from Market Time patrols to "tours" of Ha Tien, Rach Gia and SeaFloat/Solid Anchor. During the invasion of Cambodia, we got to raid the Kep peninsula and my counterparts got to steal lots of things that the rich refugees left behind. My boat almost capsized from the haul.

Your pictures that are labeled as looking at Nam Can look to me like the first construction scenes of Solid Anchor. The jungle has been melted into the ground by large amounts of Agent Orange.
Although I am probably mistaken, I *think* that I actually passed Admiral Zumwalts son while on that base. His lapel partially covered his name and I mouthed the complete last name to myself as he went by me. I shook my head and said to myself--"nah!!!, COULDN'T BE!!! Later, I read that he was there. Maybe I only dreamed it. I did my best to dream a lot then.
SOLID ANCHOR TANGO BOAT OPERATIONS

INFO FROM KENNEDY
EMAIL: cygnet[ at ]trip.net
I was coxswain/Mk19 gunner on T-113-8 at SeaFloat. My main memories of that place was when we initially offloaded from the LSD we were worried about getting stuck on the sandbars going into the river (did a couple of times). A SEAL team was also stationed on the barges with us and they were certified nuts!

A USCG cutter came down and motored around offshore for a period, we swarmed out there and the Captain fed us and loaded us up with c-cell batteries (a hard commodity to get way down in the U Minh).
I also recall seeing the tallest &%#@ Vietnamese I've ever seen when we made an ice run in the ville one time. Other memories come to mind, but I gotta go right now. Great website!
SOLID ANCHOR SEAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS

INFO FROM TERRY A. FLETCHER
EMAIL: terryf[ at ]earthlink.net.com
I was at Solid Anchor during my third tour of Vietnam. Let's see, most of 1971. I left in October and got out of the Navy six weeks later. (Only to reenlist and do 20 years!!) I was with Mobile Support Team Two (MST-2).
We were a detachment of Coastal River Squadron One out of Coronado, Ca in Support of Seal Team operations. We had the 24 foot LSSC (Light Seal Support Craft), the 36 foot MSSC (Medium Seal Support Craft) and the HSSC (Heavy Seal Support Craft - which was actually a converted Mike boat).
SOLID ANCHOR OPERATIONS

INFO FROM EMLISS RICKS
EMAIL: eglcrk1[ at ]apk.net
I volunteered for duty at Seafloat II in September 1969. At the time I was attached to Coastal Division 14 at Cam Ranh Bay aboard swift boat #42 and had about six months left incountry. I was assigned to Operation Duffelbag training at Vung Tau; where we were instructed in the operations of portable sensors and their remote monitoring.

Arrived Seafloat in early October, where for the next three months I functioned in a number of different roles. I operated skimmers for the SEALS and UDT teams stationed at MATSB (Mobile Advanced Tactical Support Base); mostly inserting and extracting units involved in covert operations; also participated in WPGPs (water borne guard posts) with swift boats and riverine units, utilizing the remote sensors and their monitoring equipment, performed nighttime monitoring of sensing equipment around perimeter of MATSB.

Another aspect of our operations was the actual installation of the sensors out in the bush; either from boats or from Seawolves. These units, triggered by magnetic or sonic disturbances, would allow us to have an idea where activities were going on in the maze of canals and tidal streams in the vicinity of Seafloat. We could then direct fire or investigating units to the sites.

I also picked up mail drops on the beach where ultimately Solid Anchor was to be located.

The landscape on either side of the river (incidentally, the Song Cua Lon and not the Bo De) was a surreal combination of defoliated mangrove and huge craters from B-52 strikes a year or two earlier. The canal located a couple of clicks east of Seafloat was the Rach Kai Nap or some such spelling. There were still the twisted remains of a steel bridge about a half a click up the canal. The canal was always a hotbed of waterborne traffic, especially at night, and a number of firefights and ambushes took place on this nasty stretch of water.

I also participated in some PSYOPS patrols; what a waste of time and lives.

I believe the commander of Seafloat was LCDR Patrick at the time I was aboard. I left Seafloat just after the new year in January 1970. It was a pretty scary place with more action than I was looking for and I was certainly glad to get back to the safety of Cam Ranh and R&R.

Another interesting aspect of duty at Seafloat was the river itself. The Cua Lon was a tidal river that had a mouth on either side of the peninsula, so the river was always flowing in one direction or the other depending on the tides. There were only a couple of hours of slack water each day. This made boat handling difficult in tight situations, and sometimes it was actually difficult to make headway against currents over five knots in speed. It was always muddy and turbid.
SOLID ANCHOR OPERATIONS

INFO FROM TOM BYRNES
EMAIL: tombyrne[ at ]aug.com I HAVE NEVER READ ABOUT IT ANYWHERE, BUT THE SEALS AT SOLID ANCHOR RAIDED A POW CAMP ABOUT 4 MILES IN FROM SQUARE BAY , ON THE CUA LON NORTH BANK, IN LATE OCT OR EARLY NOV, 1970.

THE SEALS WENT INTO THE AREA ABOUT 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ATTACK. I WAS ONBOARD AN ARMY SLICK WITH OUR 1400 WATT BROADCAST SYSTEM. AT EXACTLY 7:00AM WE HOVERED IN THE SUSPECTED AREA AND TURNED ON THE TAPE WHICH TOLD ALL PRISONERS TO LAY DOWN. THE VC STARTED SHOOTING AT THE BROADCAST SOUND, AND THE SEALS SHOT EVERYONE STANDING UP.

NO INNOCENTS WERE INJURED AND I BELIEVE THAT 45-85 PRISONERS WERE FREED. NONE WERE AMERICAN. THE PRISONERS WERE JUST YOUR AVERAGE PEASANTS WHO SOMEHOW CROSSED THE V.C.
TOM BYRNES (SEAFLOAT/SOLID ANCHOR HEARTSACTUAL)
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