The Ole REAL SEALs Photos; Page FIVE
. by: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
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Friends of the SEAL
Trio awaiting
Fire in the hole!
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An unsentimental personal account of the Vietnam War. With the assistance of magazine writer Riebling, retired SEAL master chief Keith chronicles a tale that's oddly refreshing in its clear-eyed bluntness. The author and his tough-as-nails team had jobs to do, he writes, carrying out missions protecting friendly villages from Viet Cong attacks; they simply did not have time to let the brutal surroundings affect them.
The narrative opens with the SEALs surrounded by explosions and tracer fire as they wait to be extracted by helicopter. Keith was not consumed by fear, as most people would be. Instead, he reflected on how the red tracer fire was "as beautiful as any Fourth of July fireworks display" and how lucky he felt to be doing a job he loved. The son of a Navy chief and the grandson of two Army veterans, from an early age Keith dreamed of entering the military, and his determination and skill led him to the elite Navy SEALs.
More Reviews and Recommendations
July 2007 Dan Zamuda, RIP

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Hey Rio . we went on liberty together in Siagon...and we had to babysit Joe DeMartino...I was sent there this tour to be an advisor for the Vietnamese Seals.I served In Hoi An and was relieved by Mike Thorton and Tom Morris. Small world..LOL..I was Tommy roomate for a few years in VA beach..Went thru class 30 UDTR in Little creek..theres thats it.. Fire in the Hole. Dan Danny Mcevoy..I retired after 28years in 1989
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Doc
Bill
(SOB) |
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Our
Teammate Daniel "Mud" Zmuda will be laid to rest in
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Class 20 E.C. Class
20 East Coast

Kerry King Ernest Szokes
Kerry King

Adm. Ray SMith
Hershel Davis


Bernie Jose Mike
Jimmy Breits Precher
Richard Marcinko & his Kids

Bob Kerry
Pete "The Pirate" Coralan


lt. to
rt.:Augie Maynard,Ed Schmidt, Frank Scolise, Bill Bruhmuller, Hugh Landsen, UNK.


Erasmo "Doc"Riojas eating a VN HOT
pepper; Chuck Jessie next to him.

Erasmo "Doc" Riojas on SEAL STAB being towed by the Mike Boat. washing
MUD off gear and getting ready for the next Operation.

Erasmo Riojas & Jesse Ventura

Erasmo
"Doc" Riojas , Lourdes Tolentino , Bob Shouse and Rosalie Shouse

Jack
Walston
Clark D. Stuart Jack

Charlie Bump, ???,
& Chuck Detmer

W. M. Shepherd

Della & Jim Hazelwood

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These photos from the USNavy movie: "Men with Green Faces." ~ 1968 Little Creek VA. SEALs from ST-2 getting attaboy awards. The only HEROES came home in body bags. Viet?

Bill Langley & Tocci lt to rt: Mike
Bill Langley and Tocci
Boynton, Tocci,Langley,Riojas, Rowell,
Jessie, Peterson, ? , PT Schwartz

Moose Boinott, & Doc Riojas
Pete Girard

Pete Peterson
"Shorty" Long
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Archie Grayson Tocci,
Mike Boynton; Jim Finley
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Jack Fowler
Dave Bodkin and Ted Kassa
28 Oct 2007
Gday Rio,
Maybe this will help Andy Hayden with his documentation problem.
I Remember some of these guys from our 1967 trip in country We had a plt.and did
break in OPS with them in Cantho for month or so before going up to Vin
Long , Lt White was OinC an CWO Boils With us He may remember more details
about Andy Hayden's WIA since he was out from the East Coast!! He still in the
Coronado A.O. I due Remember Charlie Bump! Brian Rand was also in my PLT.Joe
Casmar,Van Orden Teddy Mathison, Got out an Died in Diving Acidient off
Australia Going for the big bucks. They got pined to the bottom with gear that
fell off an oil rig .Ten years in the Navy shot too hell?
Only God Knows!
Only God Knows!
All the best, Dave " Kaloki " Bodkin, (SEAL) USN Ret.

Jim Tipton, Hightower, Jack Lynch Tom
Keith ST-2 'nam

Ephrayim J. Aven
Jerry Sweezy Jr.

Tom Keith & Doc Riojas

Kevin Keith, Tom Keith, Doc Rio, Brian Keith

George Doran (SEAL) Plank Owner ST-2

Rear Adm Joseph Kernan
Dry and Martin

MCPO Andrew Tafelski III (click on photo to read story)

Nix White
Adm Mc Guire

Larry Summerfield II
Seth Stone
A SEAL Motivator

L to R: Mark Boyer, Jeff Moran, Kirk McConville, BIll Rachman, Joe Hohmann, Paul
Barry, Jerry Field, Ron Flockton, Don Tocci

S. Helvenston

Class 142

H.S."Bud" Thrift
Lt to rt.TOP row: Jay Stansel, Ken & Lorraine Palmer, Bill Holloway, Bill Daugherty & Beverly, Phyllis & Troy Vaught, Bob Mackey & Jan Turpen, Melissa & Larry Lyons, Pam & Ken Abasolo. Bottom row LT to RT: Olga & Bill Miller (Rat), Dee Clark, Debbie & Roger Guerra

Walter Diaczenko

Admiral Joseph Kernan


Eric T. Olson

Chris Cassidy SEAL Astronaut

Damon Woo

Elbert Tillman Jr.
Eric Olson

ROBERT HARWARD
Joseph Maguire
Rich Machowicz

Eric T. Olson
"Moki" Martin

Monsoor RIP
Harry Humphries

James E. Suh

Have you seen some of the pictures on my UWSS Key West Web Site? to see them go HERE!
| A Story by Dennis
"Doc" Borlek about James R. Nelson, and his Korean &
Vietnam Experience. Ken
Garrett knows of Mr. Nelson from their UDT Korea Police Action
Escapades.
April 2009 Doc Rio, James Rad Nelson went from SR to Capt. with a 8th grade formal education. Was UDT in the Korean war as a BMSN, locked out of a Sub, blew a power plant in N.Korea and his team missed pick up, had to evade for several days, maybe longer, I'm not sure of that. Any way he made Chief then Ens. Limited Line, petitioned that and was granted Unlimited Line. As a junior officer he was CO of an ATF and had Command of the Conserver ARS39 out of Pearl and eventually Commanding Officer Panama City. He's one hell of a great guy, lives just outside of Panama City. Rad Nelson was my boss when I was on the rivers as Independent Duty Corpsman with River Assault Division 112,
I was FMF prior to that in '66. He and I were the only ones in 112 with any prior combat experience, we are very tight to this day. We were supporting the Marines in I Corps, the only Assault Division up there. I feel that I can talk to you because you are a brother Corpsman and have "been there". I'll bet that if you went through my family pictures, you won't find more than two or three of me in-country. I'll send it but please do not put it up on the internet.
I have one good picture that was taken on the pontoon of the USS Benewah before a beer call. The gent with the mustache is James Rad Nelson, my "Boss" on the rivers. Please don't put my picture on your web site. He was Korea UDT (Two Silver Stars there and Navy Cross 'Nam, five Purple Hearts total) we had a deal which we kept "wherever you go, I go", he retired as CO Navy School of Deep Diving and Salvage, we were in some pretty heavy shit together and are close friends today. Don't expect him to be around much longer as he is in his eighties now. We also worked with our army and the
RVN Marines. Did a lot of work keeping the river clear of mines, not
always successful. I'll attach a pict. of one of the mines we
captured. in the picture it is less than 1/2 out of the water. It's an
old Polaroid so quality isn't so great. The mine was Russian and EOD
said that it was large enough to sink any ship in deep water.
Was magnet, acoustic and pressure influence all interacting and could
be set to detonate anywhere from the first boat over to the tenth and
anywhere in between. I was undergoing training with FMF Force RECON. We went to UWSS in Key West FL. Later I finished all aspects of Diving Physics/Medicine along with Chamber Treatment Operations while with SubDevGpONE, wanted to go all the way but BUMED said no, I had to go back to SSN's. While in S.D. got to 2nd Class Diver's School and learned to cut and weld, that's as far as I got. Pissed me off as I could have been part of the new Deep Diving Research Unit at Ballast Point. HMC (DMT) Miller had gone AWOL with a Navy Capt. POW's wife and there was an opening, I just didn't have the pull with BUMED that SubPac had. I did get to work with TriMix and lectured at the
Commercial Diving School, Calif. Mens Prison Chino in Medical Aspects
of Diving etc. Was a Licensed Treatment Chamber Operator in Calif. Dennis "Doc" Borlek
Doc Rio,
About; James
R. Nelson, BM3 -He also trained in Coronado
-Assigned (PCS – Permanent Change of Station) to UDT-3 Dec 1949
(presumably upon graduation from training) -Assigned (PCS –
Permanent Change of Station) to UDT-1 8/9/1950.
Ken Garrett
Doc, You can find my photo here: http://users.frii.com/rdruss/PhotoAlbumGarrett.html These photos are from my personal album, or rather just all that I have. So you will be copying my own photos, not somebody else's. You can pick me out in the photos to the far
top right and second row by the Strand sign. In the top right photo is
Steve Bouresky and my swim partner (now both dead also), Paul
Brewton. I am a dangerous man to be around. I'm 80.
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| How SEALs Carried Out Their
Mission
The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean.
The SEALs were part of a group of Special Operations forces involved in the effort, according to military officials. The SEALs set up operations on the USS Bainbridge, which had been communicating with the four pirates via radio and had used smaller boats to make deliveries of food and water to their lifeboat. Yet the pirates were growing increasingly agitated, the officials said. At one point Saturday, the pirates opened fire on one of the smaller U.S. Navy craft that approached. As the seas grew rougher, the Bainbridge offered to tow the lifeboat to calmer waters, and the pirates agreed, linking up the lifeboat to the destroyer with a towing cable that left 75 to 80 feet between the two vessels. Phillips at the time was tied up in the lifeboat, having been bound -- and occasionally beaten -- by the pirates ever since he had attempted to escape by jumping into the water on Friday, the officials said. Meanwhile, one of the pirates, estimated to be between 16 and 20 years old, asked to come aboard the Bainbridge to make a phone call. He had been stabbed in the hand during an altercation with the crew of the Maersk Alabama and needed medical care. "He effectively gave himself up," a senior military official said. The Navy then allowed that pirate to speak with the others in hopes that he could persuade them to give up. The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. "They had no promise of money, clearly no passage. The one ticket they had was the captain," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record. "In the last discussion, they said, 'If we don't get what we want, we will kill the captain,' " the official said. Soon afterward, two pirates moved to one of the hatches of the lifeboat and stuck their heads out. The third pirate advanced toward the captain and pointed his AK-47 straight at Phillips's back, the rifle touching it or inches away, the official said. U.S. military observers thought that Phillips was about to be shot. SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights. The on-scene commander gave the snipers authority to fire. "As soon as the snipers had a clear shot at the guy who had the rifle, they shot him and the other two in the hatches," the senior military official said. A member of the Special Operations team slid down the tow line into the water and climbed aboard the lifeboat. Phillips was then put in a small craft and taken to the Bainbridge.
Harry Humphries |

Doc Riojas & Joe Singleton UDT WWII
Schmidt May 2009

Timothy P. Richardt

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A salute to Tom Tarbox http://knox.villagesoup.com/print/Print.cfm?StoryID=165266 CAMDEN (June 27): Tom Tarbox, 74, of Camden began training to become a Navy SEAL even before the SEALs were officially formed. Before the present day SEALs there were UDTs, or underwater demolition teams. The UDTs began training in June 1943 in preparation for the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Their efforts were originally focused on demolitions and mine disposal.
Thomas N. Tarbox was born March 7, 1935, in Montana. "My father loved initials," said Tarbox. "The 'N' doesn't stand for anything, he just liked that my initials were TNT. I used to tell people that 'N' stood for 'nothing.'" Tarbox graduated from high school in 1953 and from the University of Colorado in 1957 with a bachelor of arts in geography. He then enrolled in Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and started UDT training. At the time there were no careers in UDT, so he left and went back to the University of Colorado and started studying to become a journalist. In the summer of 1962 he got a call from a friend telling him about the SEALs. His friend told him SEAL stood for "sink enemy and leave." He left school and enrolled in basic training in Little Creek, Va. Officers and enlisted men train side by side to become SEALs. SEAL actually stands for "sea, air and land," and the training is considered by many military experts to be the toughest training in the world. At the time basic training lasted for four months. It was very
physically demanding, Tarbox said. "We ran everywhere. There was
a lot of swimming and the instructors constantly harass you." There were 91 men in his class when it started, but only 20 finished. "I was confident I could make it through," said Tarbox. "I would look at the next guy and think if he can make it then so can I." Tarbox said men who are afraid of the water or heights or who are claustrophobic won't make it. "I'm a strong swimmer, " he said. "I did a lot of swimming with my brother when I was young. A man may drop out of the course at any time, Tarbox said. To do this a man strikes a brass ship's bell three times and places his helmet down on the ground. Most classes lose about 80 percent of their trainees due to dropouts or injuries. Tarbox said winter dropout rates are higher due to the cold, and he was lucky his class was in the summer. Tarbox did make it through and was eventually named commander of the Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL (BUD/S) instructors. The only time Tarbox ever lost a man was in May 1965 in a skydiving accident. "When you skydive, a man who is free falling will wave his arms to let other skydivers know that he is going to open his parachute," Tarbox said. For some reason Melvin Melochick, a man in his late 20s, did not do this, Tarbox said. The man above Ochick, Jerry Todd, fell into Ochick's chute, which caused it to malfunction. Ochick died of a broken neck. "He was my teammate," Tarbox said. In 1971 Tarbox volunteered for service in Vietnam. The SEALs were initially deployed in and around Da Nang, training and supporting the South Vietnamese in naval special warfare, including reconnaissance and combat diving. Much of what Tarbox did during his career is still classified, he said. His son Wit, who lives in Tuscon, Ariz., said of his father, "He didn't go into details of what he did or where he was doing it. He's a man of honor and never shared anything that wasn't to be shared."
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| Jim Josse's Photos of
Frank Flynn in Vietnam
----- Original Message -----
The pictures look great. You can add my e-mail
address in case someone wants more info. Keep up the good work |

Steve A.Hlberg
Dana DeCoster

DavidFitzgerald

David Tannery
Rob ROy

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From Capt. Larry Bailey's Files
Per Erick "Swede" Tornblom put on report on Vieques Puerto Rico
"Swede" Per Eric Tornblom taught me this song while in Puerto Rico. /s/ Larry Bailey
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Don King
Jack Lynch
Jerry Todd

Eric Prince

Lt to Rt: Dennis Gaughan, Russ Geraldi, Brian Mulholland,
SEALs at Coronado
CHad Buck, Ron Seiple and Rep. John Mizuno

Jessse Ventura
SEALs in 'nam

Tom Keith
Jesse Ventura in Predator Movie

Ken Abasolol's Wedding: Lt. to Rt: Dan Potts, Roger Guerra, Ken Abasolo, Bob
Ross, Mike Macready, Larry Lyons


Carl Swepston and company
"Big Al" Ashton & John Friesch
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Daniel Cnossen W.I.A.
Howard E. Wasdin DC
Michael P. Wood
L-R: Roger Guerra, Troy Vaught, Wally Diacenzko

L-R: George Clarke, ? , ? , Greg
Flores

Roger GUerra and Jimmy "Gator" Algier

Roger GUerra and Jimmy " Gator" Algier 1970 P.R.

PRUs,top
row,left: Jerry Hammerle



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Mi Vida Loca - Copyright ©1998 - All Right Reserved email me at: el_ticitl @ yahoo.com Erasmo Doc Riojas