HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF BOAT OPERATIONS
NEAR NAM CAM
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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).
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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.
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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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