all about STABs & PBR Boats in 'nam
DRUNKEN SAILOR
From Robert Stoner
to:Doc Rio
Subj: SEALs/MSTs
Doc, this to help the ST-1 guys: I was with MST-2 Det CHARLIE at SEA FLOAT/SOLID ANCHOR (Nam Can) from May 1970-November 1970. The ST-1 folks that were with us at the time were: 1) Foxtrot Platoon (LT Winant, LTjg Hollow), 2) Golf Platoon (LT Dill, LTjg Huggins), 3) Zulu Platoon (LT Telfer, ENS Richards).
MST-2 Detachment Romeo was at Rach Soi from to July 70 with ST-1 Romeo Platoon. I'm looking for some one who knows the member of Romeo Platoon and dates at Rach Soi to add to our data base of
SEALs/MSTs.
;all about STABs & PBR Boats in 'nam Naval Special Warfare Operators, SEALs, Boat Support, and Air Support
From: Paul
Wayne Cagle
Doc Rio; Cu Luong is the name of the Restaurant that was on the MyTho
River bank at MyTho. I do not have any pics. but I ate there many times. The
food was good. I remember there was a Restaurant Dog on the floor that ate
scraps of food thrown to him by the Vietnamese. I was assigned to 532 and was at
My Tho, Hunterdon County, and Tra Cu.
Paul Wayne Cagle River Patrol Sedction 532 PBR Vietnam
Paul Wayne Cagle River Patrol Sedction 532 PBR Vietnam
To: Doc Riojas
Subj:
Doc, these is where I served in 'nam: My Tho,
Hunterdon County, and Tra Cu.
To me The most shoot outs were at Tra Cu on the Vam Co Dong River (Operation Giant Slingshot). I was on two PBRs that were hit by RPGs (139-sunk and 124-damaged) and
was W.I.A. and awarded 3 Purple Hearts there. Dates of Purple Hearts were 31JAN69, 07MAR69, and 27MAR69.
The last Purple Heart got me Medically Retired from the Navy. I lost my right eye while in a water born ambush.
From: David Clouse <regulado [at] ecpi.com>
To: namdevil [at]
sccoast.net
Subject: Dinner on PBR in 'nam
Paul, As frequently occurs during our evening meal you seem to get into the conversation.Judy & I were having a small steak for supper with potato salad & broccoli.
I don’t remember how you got into the discussion but I was remembering some of the meals you used to fix up with nothing more than C rats and what ever you used to buy from the VN’s.As I remember Akins crew was the best fed on the river.
I was telling Judy we always had to get chow started before dark as Charlie could see the flame from the small stove you used to cook with and that was a no no . we were talking about all cases of C – Rats were the same but you were still able to put together a pretty dern good meal. Only had the runs once and ain’t sure that was your fault.
Memories are great at least some of them. Think of you often .
David
From: Paul Wayne Cagle
To: David Clouse
Subj: Dinner on PBR
I remember that part of Nam real good. It was strange how good those C-rats tasted mixed all together. I usually had some small onions, and real rice, and nucmom(sp)-fish sauce- added to the concoction. Never, never put those scrambled eggs into anything.
I was looking at the pics you sent out about 8 or 9 years ago. Wow, did we really do those things back then, and how did we survive those storms and wind, and rain, and insects, the intense heat, and the enemy?
People, places, and events that will forever be with me. I am so lucky to have served with the best. And so thankful.
Paul Wayne Cagle-Just a Sailor
Rapp and Rudy Boesch John Jauzems SEAL Team Two
We visited in 2009. Dong Tam was wiped out and a Snake Farm and a Hospital for Snake Bite Patients is now there.
Dong Tam, during the war, presently it is a Snake Farm and snake bite hospital
Albert OCanas, PBR Sailor Vietnam: he contributed the below PBR photos.
x
Panama City FL. Diving School Diving Boat
USMC Amphib
Combat Craft Crewmen 50th Reunion
Photos contributed by "Doc" Greenough
photo
is about three years old I was camping with some SBU-13 boat guys in
Paniment Valley Calif. shooting a souvenir (SKS-56) from RVN.
The NVA 324 division soldier didn't need it anymore. doc Greenough
Who are these musicians? email me their names please
The guy on the left is yours truly Jim Dickson. I have forgotten the name and River Division of the guy on the right. He's been coming to the Cupertino Veterans Memorial for eight years. I think he used to be up north near Da Nang. Jim Dickson
These 2 guys are both SEALs. John Gulick (left) and I were on the same Mike boat when we were ambushed. John took over my .50 cal. after I was shot in the head. CDR Colin Supko (right) was a guest speaker at the ceremony.
The gentleman in the center of the third photo is "Corky" Axelson who is an Army Vietnam veteran and the father of Mathew Axelson, one of the fallen SEALs represented in the monument The Guardians.
Naval Special Warfare Operators, SEALs, Boat Support, and Air Support
From: Ron Laratta rflaratta@
Anyway, i hope you enjoy the story and photo We did a fantastic job! We
suffered a lot of losses . . . of life, and sunken/damaged Boats."
My Riv Sec 532 was in My Tho @ the Carter "hotel" in '68 until November when we moved over to Cu Chi and Tay Ninh.I got hit at Snoopy's Nose 2/69 on the Vam Co Dong. |
Echoes of the Mekong by Peter A. Huchthausen and Nguyen Thi Lung if you were PBRs in MyTho at the Victory Hotel you will like this book.
I think the Hiway to Tan An was FOUR (4), but in our visit to Vietnam in 2009, the Commies changed the names of streets, hiways, and racked down all the American buildings including the Vietnamese Embassy Bld. Roy Dean Matthews, Glen Grinnage, and I traveled to SAIGON and toured the FOUR Corps area. We took a Hydrophoil boat ride to Vung Tau which is so modern that there is nothing there we could recognize. We returned to Saigon by VAN, it took three times the time to get back because of heavy traffic and one souvenir stop in a huge store. Everything was dirt cheap. We did not mess around with the CO's. HIV is common there.
\Paul W. Cagle
John
Eascon GM2 works for SEAL Teams shows weapons to Reporters
Webmaster's NOTE:
Thank you "Pancho" for the article and the emails. In 1967, out of MyTho, some early AM, we were returning to the base after an OP and a PBR came alongside our boat and asked for a Corpsman. They had some VN gal who would have given birth to a baby but when the head of the baby popped out she crossed her legs. The baby was BLUE already. I suggested they take her to the VN hospital in MyTho for treatment.
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas HMC (SEAL) of the 7th ST-2 Platoon in MyTho
On Mar 8, 2014, at 6:31 AM, "Albert Ocanas" <aocanas1@wrote:
From: Ken Delfino [mailto:allegedly_retired@
Sent: Friday, March 7, 2014 8:03 PM
To:
RJC29339@
Subject: Re: picture with article attached
Dick, While you were in My Tho, did you happen to know LTJG Dick Strandberg? He was one of our 533 patrol officers...then went up to Vinh Long and was on the barge when it as mined. On one of Dick's patrols, they picked up a pregnant lady up near Snoopy's Nose and rushed her to the civilian hospital in My Tho. The guys went to visit her the next day and they named the baby "PBR"!!!!! Notice, I did NOT start this post with "This ain't no shit!"!!!! :-) Somewhere, I have a Stars and Stripes article on this as well. I'm copying in one of Dick's men who served on PBR 112 (Delta Dawg) and maybe he has the article. Ken ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 7:42 AM Subject: picture with article attached
<Untitled attachment 00031.jpg> Attached is a composite article from Stars and Stripes.
all the best,
Princeton
Richard J. Cragg Senior Patrol Officer River Section 532 MY THO 67/68 "Princeton" Game Wardens Association-Vietnam to Present Mid West Chapter President
651 437 3122 (Cell 612 812 8190)
Albert Ocanas (aocanas1
image001.jpg
(201K)
rhfries@
10:08 AM (5 hours ago)
to 535
Good Morning to all,
This actually happen while I was located at NSA Det-Nha Be South Vietnam during the time that we were in the process of activating River Section-535 for combat duty within the River Patrol Command in the highly contested Mekong Delta area during the Brown Water Naval build up of combat forces. This action was a real propaganda story that was played out to the local populous that we (Brown Water Navy Sailors) were there to help them out and show them a new life.
B/R's to you all,
Ralph J. Fries River Section-543 6/67 to 8/67 River Section-535 9/67 to 6/68
Subject: FW: picture with article attached
The photo was from this article, which was about River Section 532, not 533. I remember there was an article in Stars and Stripes at the time about the parents naming the baby Nguyen "PBR" Something, but I don't have that article. By the way, I didn't have anything to do with any of it. I was in 522 by this time.
Dick,
While you were in My Tho, did you happen to know LTJG Dick Strandberg? He was one of our 533 patrol officers...then went up to Vinh Long and was on the barge when it as mined. On one of Dick's patrols, they picked up a pregnant lady up near Snoopy's Nose and rushed her to the civilian hospital in My Tho. The guys went to visit her the next day and they named the baby "PBR"!!!!! Notice, I did NOT start this post with "This ain't no shit!"!!!! :-) Somewhere, I have a Stars and Stripes article on this as well. I'm copying in one of Dick's men who served on PBR 112 (Delta Dawg) and maybe he has the article. Ken
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 7:42 AM
Subject: picture with article attached
<Untitled attachment 00031.jpg> Attached is a composite article from Stars and Stripes.
all the best,
Princeton
Richard J. Cragg Senior Patrol Officer
River Section 532 MY THO 67/68
"Princeton"
Game Wardens Association-Vietnam to Present Mid West Chapter President
Subject: FW: picture with article attached
The photo was from this article, which was about River Section 532, not 533. I remember there was an article in
Stars and Stripes at the time about the parents naming the baby Nguyen "PBR" Something, but I don't have that article.
By the way, I didn't have anything to do with any of it. I was in 535 by this time.
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
BACKTRACKING IN BROWN WATER |
Doug Traylor US NAVY Ret.
During the Korea War, I was Army ROTC Cadet, worked after school each day in
the Armory of the 36th Div. Texas National Guard of Italy Campaign fame WWII.
Our ROTC Regiment was co-located with the 36th Div local unit in Bryan,TX
The old Master Sgt there who was an armorer, taught me so damn much, that the
Navy refused to waste funds sending me to GM "A" school an designated
me a GMG ( small arms ) striker when I graduated from boot in San Diego.
Doug Taylor
Doug
Taylor
Doug Traylor US NAVY Ret. : Allen military Academy Doug Traylor 1956, Cadet Corpral
Subject: Doc Rio, You asked us PBR men: Is the below story a pretty aqcurate story of the work PBRs performed in 'nam? I copied it from a Port CHarlotte newspaper on line
From: "Ken Delfino" allegedly_retired@ Scroll
further down and Read OUR ANSWERS !
To: "Erasmo \"Doc\" Riojas"
docrio45@
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2014
"Port Charlotte man haunted by Vietnam memories"
In Presidential Unit Citation, Purple Heart, US Navy, Vietnam War on December 27, 2010
Bill Schwartz was a “River Rat.” He was a brown water sailor who skippered a PBR patrol boat in the Mekong Delta area of South Vietnam in 1968 during the Vietnam War.
When he arrived in ‘Nam he was a 1st Class Signalman attached to the 593rd Boat Division as the skipper of a PBR 32-foot fiberglass patrol boat. These boats were light, fast and lethal.
“I could turn a 360 on a dime in my boat,” the 78-year-old former Navy man explained. “We had twin .50s up forward, an M-79 grenade launcher amidship along with an M-60 — .30-caliber machine-gun — on a stand there, too.”
“We snuck into the area aboard two patrol boats and covered ourselves up pretty good. We sat there for several hours and waited for them. Then all of a sudden our white mice, our interpreter, said, ‘Okay guys, lock and load.’ When we were on such 'listening post' ops, we were already 'locked and loaded' so as not to give away our positions should the Cong get that close.
One night when they were in the lead patrol boat, the second boat was hit by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) that didn’t explode. PBR 160 with patrol chief QMC Frank Jackson on board, took an RPG in the starboard battery that did not explode. Night ambush...upper Long Tau not far from Nha Be. This was documented in a story by former LTJG Dick
Strandberg. I was on 152 at the time...we were the cover boat on this patrol. I think that SM2 Walt Fanton was 160's skipper at the time.
“It hit right near where the boat’s captain was standing. They had to helicopter in a demolition expert to extract the RPG,” he said. “After that the boat continued on its way.” I cannot honestly remember how the RPG was removed, but I've copied Walt in on this.
“We were out in the ‘Horseshoe,’ in the Delta doing some patrolling with another boat when one of my guys said, ‘I’ve got my water skis on the boat.’ Seemed to me like a good time for us to go water skiing,” Schwartz said with a grin. “I asked the
j.g. aboard and he agreed.
“We were out there skiing in the Mekong River when a helicopter flew over and ordered me to pull the boat up to the bank. The chopper landed and out stepped Gen. (William) Westmoreland (commander of all troops in Vietnam),” he recalled.
One of the Nha Be SEALs was caught doing this as well. "Moon River", can't remember who he was at the time (Dec, '66) took off for a meeting in Saigon on a
Seawolf. He apparently forgot something and came back and there in the water...in the wide confluence of the Long Tau and Soi Rap, was a SEAL
water-skiiing. Yep, he got chewed out as well! We were patrolling the middle Long Tau at the time (around the Alligator checkpoints) when we heard about it.
“We got our tails chewed out. He wanted to know who the boat captain was. I told him it was me. Then he wanted to know: ‘Who authorized you to water ski?’ I said, ‘He did’ and pointed to the
j.g.
“Okay, you people better get back to patrolling. I never want to see any more water skiing,” the general admonished.
Then he flew off in his chopper.
l.bissonnette@comcast.net
On Jan 4, 2014, "Erasmo \"Doc\" Riojas" wrote:
Thank you for sending me all these emails. Your historical information is fantastic, and true. thank you guys. Keep adding to it and please, pretty please, keep sending me a copy of your emails on this subject.
bacsi Riojas
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas https://www.sealtwo.org Merry CHristmas and a Happy New Year!
On Sat, Jan 4, 2014 at 4:18 PM, Steve Watson < wrote:
In Presidential Unit Citation, Purple Heart, US Navy, Vietnam War on December 27, 2010 at 4:38 am
Bill Schwartz was a “River Rat.” He was a brown water sailor who skippered a PBR patrol boat in the Mekong Delta area of South Vietnam in 1968 during the Vietnam War.
When he arrived in ‘Nam he was a 1st Class Signalman attached to the 593rd Boat Division as the skipper of a PBR 32-foot fiberglass patrol boat. These boats were light, fast and lethal.
“I could turn a 360 on a dime in my boat,” the 78-year-old former Navy man explained. “We had twin .50s up forward, an M-79 grenade launcher amidship along with an M-60 — .30-caliber machine-gun — on a stand there, too.”
“We snuck into the area aboard two patrol boats and covered ourselves up pretty good. We sat there for several hours and waited for them. Then all of a sudden our white mice, our interpreter, said, ‘Okay guys, lock and load.
Sent from my iPad Jimmorganjag
to me, S, Ken, l.bissonnette, Scott, Pat, Bill, me The funny part of the Chieu Hoi story is that blood ran into Bill Schwartz's eyes from his forehead. He thought he was blind. That TP stopped the blood and his eyes cleared up. He was a very happy guy. As the old Irish mother said "It's all fun until someone loses an eye." Jim
Sent from my iPad
From: Ken Delfino Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 1:00 PM To: Cc: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas; Jim Morgan (593); Scott
Beachy; Pat Madden; Bill Straight Subject: Re: Is this pretty aqcurate story of the work PBRs performed in
'nam?
Additional input below (in red). I have never heard of the Iron Butterfly refered to as the "593rd"!!!
Ken
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas 2:04 PM (5 hours ago) Thank you very much. I'll look into that. I am reading two books, slow reader... Jimmorganjag
3:52 PM (3 hours ago)
to Bill, patmadden, swatson9, l.bissonnette, allegedly_reti., scottbeachy, me Pat, I remember the XO except for his name. Maybe your friend should come to lunch with us. Brown, Randall and Schwartz I remembered. Suter is a good bet but I am not sure. Can the XO's son get us CDR Ken Warden's address? He was CO and I liked him a lot. We should get him to a reunion. Get the XO 's address as well. Hope you get all better soon. Jim
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: Is this pretty aqcurate story of the work PBRs performed in 'nam?
This is not too far from the actual events that took place. Schwartz was a Boat Captain from Sept 68 to Jan 69 we were together like two weeks, after I got there in January 1969. River Division 593 was NEVER farther South than Ben Luc on Operation Giant Slingshot when we were stationed aboard the USS Harnett County
(LST 821),(Not "Hornet"), anchored just South of the Ben Luc Bridge on the Vam Co Dong River, not docked anywhere. We were never in the Mekong Delta.
One of the three officers in the Cc addressee block might have been the jg Patrol Officer when SM1 Schwartz went water skiing and invited General Westmoreland's visit. But I doubt it. Bill Straight was the CO before me. Petty Officer Brown was killed in the Rung Sat on April 9, 1969. Schwartz had been gone since January 1969.
I doubt that there was a firefight with over 1000 VC with only two 593 PBR's. There's nothing in our daily Patrol Reports about that incident. BM1 Williams was awarded a Medal of Honor for such a fight.
I have seen this article before. Schwartz has never attended any Gamewardens Reunion events.
Larry
RE: Is this pretty accurate story of the work PBRs performed in
'nam? Inbox x Steve Watson
4:18 PM (4 hours ago)
---- l.bissonnette wrote: Hi Steve, 593 had all MK II's.
to Ken, l.bissonnette, me, Jim, Scott, Pat, Bill
Just a couple comments / questions?
Ken Delfino and I were on 152 and it was a MKI, and attached to River Section 533 operating out of Nha Be. Ken has the dates.
We patrolled the Long Tau and Soi Rap rivers. It was just after the MSB’s were lost on the main shipping canal. We picked up more than one of the guys and did escort duty with the MSB’s
Did 593 have any MkI’s ? I was under the impression they had MKII’s
Larry
From: Ken Delfino Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 To: Cc: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas; Jim Morgan (593); Scott
Beachy; Pat Madden; Bill Straight Subject: Re: Is this pretty aqcurate story of the work PBRs performed in
'nam?
Additional input below (in red). I have never heard of the Iron Butterfly refered to as the "593rd"!!!
Ken
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Watson" To: "Ken Delfino" , "l
bissonnette" Cc: "Erasmo \"Doc\" Riojas" , "Jim Morgan (593)" , "Scott
Beachy" , "Pat Madden", "Bill Straight" Sent: Saturday, January 4, 2014 3:18:42 PM Subject: RE: Is this pretty accurate story of the work PBRs performed in
'nam?
Just a couple comments / questions?
Ken Delfino and I were on 152 and it was a MKI, and attached to River
Section
533 operating out of Nha Be. Ken has the dates.
We patrolled the Long Tau and Soi Rap rivers. It was just after the MSB’s were
lost on the main shipping canal. We picked up more than one of the guys and did
escort duty with the MSB’s
Did 593 have any MkI’s ? I was under the impression they had MKII’s
---- l.bissonnettewrote: Hi Steve, 593 had all MK II's.
-----Original Message----- From: patmadden To: swatson9 ; l.bissonnette <l.bissonnette@comcast.net> Cc: Bill Straight <bstr8@aol.com>; Jim Morgan (593)
; Ken Delfino ; Scott Beachy ; Erasmo "Doc" Riojas Sent: Sat, Jan 4, 2014 10:33 pm Subject: Re: Is this pretty accurate story of the work PBRs performed in
'nam?
Bill, Larry, Jim, Scott
Glad to hear from you. I'm trying to resurrect myself from the flu. Bill, Larry, Jim: I agree with everything you've all said. About all I can add is that it appears to me from the close up photo of the crew, I would guess from left to right and not counting PO Schwartz, they are: GMG3 Brown, FN Randall and perhaps SN
Suiter. But you guys knew them as well as I did and I may have misidentified one or more of them.
On a related subject, it is a small world. The son of the XO of USS Harnett County when we were embarked, including the night it got hit with the 109mm rocket, works in the same Pentagon office I work in. The son has shared an e-mail or two from his dad about those times and I'm trying to get his dad's permission to pass them on to y'all because it's all part of our collective history. I will keep you posted.
V/r Pat
to patmadden, swatson9, l.bissonnette, jimmorgan.jag, allegedly_reti.,
scottbeachy, me Pat et al, I remember that the CO of Harnett County had a podium that he apparently used for captains mast that had a cat-of-nine tails tacked to the front of it. Just think what commotion that would stir up today. Bill
RE: Is this pretty accurate story of the work PBRs performed in 'nam? Inbox x Bill Straight 1:00 PM (6 hours ago) Doc, If you want to read about River Division 593 then buy the book "Iron But... Bill Straight
Bill Straight
1:00 PM (6 hours ago)
to me Doc, If you want to read about River Division 593 then buy the book "Iron Butterfly" by James Davy and Ralph Christopher. You can order it by going to
Authorhouse.com. It is the life history of the division form the time we put it into operation in 1968 until it was turned over to the Vietnamese in 19 71. It is the story of a very special group of young men who were all heroes in my book. I am ever proud and thankful to have been their first CO. We lost 7 in Vietnam and have lost several since due to age and Agent Orange complications. We are a tight nit group to this day and when we have a reunion of the Gamewardens of Vietnam to Present (River Patrol Force) we have the most guys there. Our next reunion is in Seattle near the end of July or early in August. Bill Straight CAPT USN (RET)
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, January 04, 2014 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: Is this pretty aqcurate story of the work PBRs performed in 'nam?
This is not too far from the actual events that took place. Schwartz was a Boat Captain from Sept 68 to Jan 69 we were together like two weeks, after I got there in January 1969. River Division 593 was NEVER farther South than Ben Luc on Operation Giant Slingshot when we were stationed aboard the USS Harnett County
(LST 821),(Not "Hornet"), anchored just South of the Ben Luc Bridge on the Vam Co Dong River, not docked anywhere. We were never in the Mekong Delta.
One of the three officers in the Cc addressee block might have been the jg Patrol Officer when SM1 Schwartz went water skiing and invited General Westmoreland's visit. But I doubt it. Bill Straight was the CO before me. Petty Officer Brown was killed in the Rung Sat on April 9, 1969. Schwartz had been gone since January 1969.
I doubt that there was a firefight with over 1000 VC with only two 593 PBR's. There's nothing in our daily Patrol Reports about that incident. BM1 Williams was awarded a Medal of Honor for such a fight.
I have seen this article before. Schwartz has never attended any Gamewardens Reunion events.
Steve Watson 4:18 PM (5 hours ago) Just a couple comments / questions? Ken Delfino and I were on 152 and it was ...
l.bissonnette Hi Steve, 593 had all MK
II's. ________________________________ From: "Steve ... Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
9:07 PM (28 minutes ago)
to S, Ken, l.bissonnette, Jim, Scott, Pat, Bill Thank you for sending me all these emails. Your historical information is fantastic, and true. thank you guys. Keep adding to it and please, pretty please, keep sending me a copy of your emails on this subject.
bacsi Riojas patmadden@cox.net
9:33 PM (2 minutes ago)
to swatson9, l.bissonnette, Bill, Jim, Ken, Scott, me Bill, Larry, Jim, Scott
Glad to hear from you. I'm trying to resurrect myself from the flu. Bill, Larry, Jim: I agree with everything you've all said. About all I can add is that it appears to me from the close up photo of the crew, I would guess from left to right and not counting PO Schwartz, they are: GMG3 Brown, FN Randall and perhaps SN
Suiter. But you guys knew them as well as I did and I may have misidentified one or more of them.
On a related subject, it is a small world. The son of the XO of USS Harnett County when we were embarked, including the night it got hit with the 109mm rocket, works in the same Pentagon office I work in. The son has shared an e-mail or two from his dad about those times and I'm trying to get his dad's permission to pass them on to y'all because it's all part of our collective history. I will keep you posted.
V/r Pat
patmadden
to Bill, Jimmorganjag, swatson9, allegedly_reti., scottbeachy, l.bissonnette, me Jim et al-
The XO's last name is Stuart--I'll check the spelling tomorrow. I'll ask about Ken Warden's address but may not get a rapid answer. The XO, now over 70, lives in Hawaii and doesn't really like to travel but I believe I mentioned the reunion once via his son, my work colleague, and I'll mention it again.
Am off line until at least Tues.
Pat
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Iron Butterfly
By Ralph Christopher and Chief Jim Davy
The true story of an elite group of men who wrote a page in Naval history. They patrolled the waterways in thirty-one foot river patrol boats powered by Detroit diesel engines with water jet-propulsion. Armed with machineguns and grenade launchers, as well as sheer guts and determination, these sailors faced danger around every bend in the river. Working together, they became one of the finest weapons in Admiral Zumwalt’s arsenal for turning back the tide of communist infiltration into Saigon, taking control of the inland waterways. These are true accounts of their bravery, which they proved time and again by spearheading operations into enemy controlled territory. United together in brotherhood, they accomplished all their missions and won their part of the Vietnam War.
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
Chief Warrant Officer Boatswain United States Navy Jerry enlisted shortly after high school. He quickly found his passion for the sea and toured the world three times around before the young age of 20. After the Korean conflict, he became a Boatswain mate where one of his greatest feats was mapping the Mekong Delta up to Laos. Thereafter he practiced his boatswain trade and worked his way up to become Chief Boatswain. He later became lead swimming instructor at officer candidate school
(OCS) in Rhode Island. After his time at OCS he learned about a new Navel program for Swiftboats
(aka Brownwater Navy), for which he had a great passion, and later retired in 1971.
Emails about the HX. of SEAL STAB boat ----- Original Message -----
Original Message ----- G.
----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Stoner [mailto:RStonerCRD21 [at] msn.com]
----- Original Message -----
Original Message ----- Norm Olson ----- Original Message ----- ----- Original Message ----- Norm Olson
----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message ----- Bob
Subject: Fwd: STABs of SEAL Team 2 in 1967
Subject: Re: STABs of SEAL Team 2 in 1967 Thanks to all of you for keeping me informed about our origional
STAB. We, the 7th platoon, turned one upside down in the south china sea
back in 1967. Our LDNN lost a foot, and Jack Rowell saved his head by
pushing the screw with his M-16. The weapon was a total loss, but Jack
did not get one scratch.
----- Original Message -----
That's why I'm appealing to the "human records" who made
the history.
----- Original Message ----- From: Jack Lynch To: 'Bill Langley' Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:08 AM Subject: RE: STABs of SEAL Team 2 in 1967 Hello
all you old guys, I was in SEAL Team Two 10th Platoon in My Tho from April to October 1968 and we didn’t have any LCSR’s there at that time. We only had the ole Catamaran hull with two 125 HP Mercury engines at that time. Now, we did have the Mike boat Battleship as well. We inherited these from Doc Rio, Mike Boynton, Bob Gallagher’s platoon. The Mike boat had a deck big enough to land a helo if needed, 5 50 cals, 106 recoiless, and the mini gun. We use to come back at 3 or 4 in the morning and drill holes in the boat so it could drain and then at 2 or 3 in the afternoon we would fill the holes with fiberglass resin so it would be good to go in the evening again. I did that with Pierre Bertz. When the boat finally gave out and just wasn’t making it Rudy Boesch and Al Quist our platoon officer took me to Dong Tang and we borrowed a 16 foot Whaler from the Army but didn’t ask or tell them we were going to use one of their 20 or so Whalers. By the way, we did this op in broad day light, with and Army guy untying me to test the boat engine. They thought I was from and maintenance activity. We got back to My Tho pulled it out of the water, pulled the big Johnson off it and painted it camo colors, and some Army guys came up and looked at it and said, nope that’s not our boat. We put one of our Mercury's on it and that’s what we operated until we left country in October. I
think the LCSR’s came shortly after we left in October. Great
memories of how to fight a war! Jack Lynch -
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From: Jack Lynch To: 'doc rio' Cc: 'Robert Stoner' Sent: Monday, June 01, 2009 12:45 PM Subject: PASS THIS ON TO : Jack Lynch, President of UDT SEAL Assn, Little Creek Virginia Your
right Bob, and Rio your right to. The LCSR never made it over
there and would not have done well with those two big turbo jet
engines in them. And what I meant to put down was LSSC vs the
LCSR in my remarks below. Thanks for bringing that to my
attention. Doc Rio, Thanks for sending Dick Cyrus email.
He looks good. Forward this to him if you would. Hope all
is well with him and wondered where he disappeared to. Dick,
drop me a line as some of your class mates are looking for you. Jack
----- Original Message ----- Bob
----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message ----- I was with MST-3 at Nha Be from Oct 67 to Apr 68 but don't remember a Stab being there. I can tell you as a boat driver that the Boston Whaler floats upside down just fine from first hand experience. We were on a night op and pulled up behind a PBR. I was having engine problems and the order was given to move out. There was a PBR, Bill Moreo in the other Whaler, the other PBR and myself and my gunner. The 2nd PBR hit the throttle and the wash from the jet pump swamped my boat and we overturned and we went straight to the bottom of the river. I pulled the lanyard of my life vest and popped up along side the whaler, my gunner popped up underneath. We were floating away from where the other boats were heading. We got the boat ashore and waited for them to come back for us. We tied the whaler up to a PBR and towed it back to Nha Be. The drivers seat came loose and was dragging underneath and the engine was still attached. We lost the fuel tanks and battery, an M-60, M-16, M-79, and radio. But she still floated flat even with the engine attached. When ever we'd get to much water in the boat we'd get out in the middle of the channel and get the speed up and pull the plug in the bottom to suck the water out. We did that alot due to when we were on the beach and waves from other boats crashed over the side or rear of the boat. I have fond memories of the Boston Whaler and its capabilities. We could get 6 Seals on board with the two of us and get the boat up on plane. The Chrysler 105 engine had plenty of power but it required special oil/gas mixture and we ran out of the oil. Regular oil wouldn't due as I blew up an engine because of over heating. If I were to buy a boat my first choice would be a Boston Whaler. Randy 'Bear' Miller
Original Message ----- Wow! YES! we quit using the Boston Whaler during my first tour in MyTho when we had to insert more than four men.
We got swamped by a PBR, same as you did and damn near lost one SEAL, his name is Roy Dean Matthews. The driver had no problems, he was only wearing swim trunks.
He refused to let his Stoner go and struggled in the bottom mud to allow his life jacket to bring him up to the surface.
I dropped my M-16 and much later when the tide was down was found by a district chief (VN). We went back the next morning to dive for the weapons, we only recovered one Stoner.
Our LT Peterson was setting up an OP with that villiage chief and he saw my weapon. My M-16 was painted green with brown spots and the sling was replaced with a heavy nylon line. It was impossible to see another one like it ! "LT" asked him to trade it for his own. The Chief said it was a VC weapon and refused to trade it.
We wanted it because we were testing some chrome barrels from COlt Arms in CONN. and it had more rifling the the standard ones. We were supposed to return those barrels when we returned to CONUS.
We never again used the Boston Whaler for Ops. Good for water skiing, no?
We had a Mattell STAB with us while in MyTho 1967-68 and of course the Mike boat that towed it to our Op areas.
Your story will be on my web page www.sealtwo.org/ zero02.htm
Doc Rio The
"Green Ship" Fleet in into
APB's. Self-propelled
barracks ships and ARL's Used
on the ----- Original Message -----
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EMails on Boat Support Unit and SEAL History in the 'nam
Riojas, Bob Stoner didn't ask me for anything. From: Robert Stoner ----- Original Message -----
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----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Stoner To: doc rio Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 10:46 PM Subject: Re: MST crowd were certifiable for driving those boats Doc Riojas, One day we took a daylight recon of the area behind
the SOLID ANCHOR base and went where we'd never gone before in the MSSC.
We went west on the Song Cau Lon until we hit a canal that sent us north
and then curved around to the east. Several clicks after the turn, we
put the bow on the bank (mangrove swamp, about 6 inches underwater) and
dropped off the SEAL squad. The first guy's foot that hit the water sent
several snakes swimming off in various direction. (You're well aware of
the numbers of poisonous vs. non-poisonous snakes in RVN.) We used to joke that SOLID ANCHOR was the world's
biggest sandbox because it took over $6 million worth of sand, brought
in on huge barges, to make a solid foundation for the base that was
built there. Bob Stoner
----- Original Message ----- Above: A Russian DShKM (1938/46) on an AA tripod. Doc, Here is another Sea Story; One of the guys I remember from ST-1 across the courtyard at SOLID ANCHOR was SMC Tommie L.
Hatchett. Tommie was a was a tall, very well muscled black guy that looked as if the could give the Incredible Hulk some pointers. I was friends with GMG3 Frank Sparks and he clued me in that GOLF platoon had captured a really neat gun from the VC. Being a curious sort, I decided to pay GOLF platoon a visit and check things out for myself.
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----- Original Message ----- Doc,
Larry
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Lots of River Rats Photos: http://www.tf116.org/vgallery1.html
Bob
with ST-1 Officer
Bill
Breamer, Bill Mount, Jim Thomas, Blas Mojica, Bill Moreo, Mike Bradley
Lt.
to Rt: Tracker Dan Gerhardt, Mel, Chip Maury, Judy, and John Rapp
Chip
Maury and John Rapp
From John Rapp This
was taken in 2007 at Mystic Seaport,CT. Photo’s from my visit with
Tracker Dan Gerhardt and Mel, and Chip Maury and Judy, and myself in 2006 /
2007… We were all in Mystic Seaport!
Ron, Doc, Mark, J.J., Rio, Bill, and all…
John Rapp
Walt
"Red" Fanton , PBRs in MyTHo 1967
ALBERT MOORE Photos Email Albert Moore: mrfa [at}bellsouth.net ----- Original Message -----
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Jim Marsh
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Subject: MIke Rush I'm sitting here with Mike Rush, he mentioned that he had contacted you and you were going to help him out. I have known Mike for a while and have given him information about the team and LDnn's along with pictures. He is straight up and has done a fine job in documenting the teams history. He is very interested in any East coast Seals and LDNNhistory and photos available. He mentioned that he had contacted R.D. Russell but has had no response. I do not really know Russell so if you can open a door for him I would appreciate your help. He is interested in trading information. Harry Constance mentioned that he would talk to you also about Mike Rush's validity. Any info you give him will not be abused. If you have any regarding this matter, beam me up. I am sorry about John passing away and did not get the message until yesterday. You did a fine job on the web page you built. Friends like you
come far and few between. I hope all is well with you and your family. |
From: doc rio To: Richard Barcus Some of the
men that I remember.
Chris Haney, USNavy SeaBee, 'Nam Seastory about SERE
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Teammates, I received the following email through the folks at the POW Network
(they get lots of weird stuff and pass it along to me whenever possible )
Here it is, exactly as transmitted I hope maybe someone in the VTC can help this
guy. I'll ask Doc Riojas to post this on his web site www.sealtwo.org
Steve Robinson, Virtual Team Compound Administrator
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Hello all, I went thru SERE with 2 SEALs before we went to Vietnam in 67 .
The SERE was at ; maybe China Lake ?? Somewhere in California . I was a SeaBee
but got paired up with 2 SEALs . We broke into a State Prison Honor Farm
together the 1st night of training. I have no idea what their names were .
I have long since forgotten. But was wondering if there is a message board for
SEALs anywhere I could post the message about that night....find out if they
lived thru Vietnam or wherever they went. And just in general have a laugh about
that night. If you know of a website like that I would appreciate any info you
might have??
Thanks
Chris Haney chrishaney [at] mindspring.com
----- Original Message ----- From: Erasmo Riojas To: chrishaney [at]
mindspring.com Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 Subject: your sea story about SERE
your sea story about SERE will be posted on my web site and hopefully somebody
remembers these guys. I visited with the SeaBees up in ChuLi on a trip to bum
furniture for SpecWarGru Saigon. The CPO's had state side commodes and a
stateside bar. You men had it a lot better than us SEALs.
Find me your origional message that went to the SEAL blog if you kept it. I
would like to see it.
Rio
From: chrishaney [at] mindspring.com To: Doc Riojas , docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2009 Subject: your sea story about SERE
Doc,
Let me look for it....I think I sent it from a link on one of the web pages I
was reading about "Make Believe Seals & Special Forces Guys" ...or
the POW web site. Yeah...we SeaBees didn't have it half bad...if we were
anywhere we could beg borrow or steal....especially steal from the Air
Force......we had pretty nice stuff. I was at 14 Gia Long in DaNang for my 2nd
part & didn't even carry a weapon. My cousin came to visit from Chu Lai
& thought he was stateside. I used to tell people it was so safe there
....in downtown DaNang .....because we were surrounded by Viet Cong & NVA
....they didn't want to blow up or hurt any of their own guys !!
Thanks, Chris
From: chrishaney [at] mindspring.com To: Doc Riojas , docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 Subject: your sea story about SERE Doc, Thanks for
the reply
You have built a great web page. But there must be a mistake. These guys are
MUCH older than I am. ha.....Just kidding. It's amazing how fast life goes by
once you get past about 50 .
I had always wondered what happened to those 2 Seal's I went thru SERE/POW
training with at China Lake. When they let us lose on the range they told us
about the state prison I think either medium security or honor farm. that was
just off range. When they paired me up with these 2 guys they told me 1st thing
that was where we were going.
I reminded them they said they would bust us if we got caught anywhere near the
place & if I remember right they said. "this is what we'll be doing for
a living, might as well get started now" . We found the place right off. I
stayed at the wire. The guard tower & spot light were about 30 yards away .
They broke into the galley and stuffed their bloused trousers with food. I kept
watch & signaled them when it was clear to come out. They did, we were never
caught.
We evaded the people looking for us till the last day. Turned ourselves in &
went thru the POW part. I know as a SEAL that was nothing compared to what those
guys probably did afterwards. But as a SeaBee it definitely made me think about
how boring my time would be. Ha.
I went to Adak after that then to NSA DaNang till discharged in 69 . If you ever
hear a story like this I'd love to hear what happened to those 2 guys , if they
made it . I know one of the other SEALs that was with them had his foot burned
when a "Guard", those guys with the Big Red Star on their hats, came
into our camp & kicked over the big pot of hot water/food we were cooking. I
thought the SEAL was going to kill the Guard as he had to go for medical &
got separated from the other 2 Seals & was going to have to go thru the
whole thing all over again.
I Truly miss those days. Most exciting things I had ever done up to that part of
life. Thanks for listening & God Bless You guys for everything you did.
If you ever run across this story please let me know. I'm sure it wasn't
anything compared to these guys lives afterward.
Take Care, Chris Haney CE2 US Navy SeaBees.
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LINKS |
Smallest Photo Ablum of Ole SEALs |
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Other VN War Boats HERE ! |
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Doc
Rio's Korean Police Action Adventure: FMF Corpsman
Hello Folks,
At long last I’ve published the third book in my Indomitable Patriot series,
The Indomitable Patriot: the Submariners.
The book takes us back to 1943 and the OSS. The USS Great White (SS-299) has
just put an OSS team ashore in the Philippines and has gone hunting for Japanese
tonnage to sink. She almost gets more than she bargained for when she tangles
with a Japanese battleship with five escorts. Will she survive her assault and
live to fight again?
Lieutenant Commander Marcus Spencer, captain of the Great White experiences a
number of twists and turns in his career as well, mainly involving the OSS and
their covert activities in the Northern Mariana Islands. I’ve also introduced
naval aviation into this book to present many thrilling scenes taking place
above, as well as below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
As with my previous Patriot books, this book is historically accurate fiction.
The book is geared toward submarine warfare and along those lines I read and
reviewed dozens of actual patrol reports of USS Wahoo, Tang, and a number of
WWII submarines. I lucked out in one additional way however. My technical editor was a retired Navy Command Master Chief who
spent his entire naval career aboard diesel and nuclear submarines. His tireless
efforts have enabled me to write a book about submarine warfare a reader with no
knowledge of the boats will understand and enjoy, and a submarine sailor (also
called a “Bubblehead”) will enjoy the realism, jargon and accuracy of the
story.
If interested in looking further, just click this link and as-if by magic you
will be transported to Amazon and the books listing. It’s available in both
print and Kindle formats.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Indomitable-Patriot-Submariners-Volume/dp/1530641098?ie=UTF8&keywords=carl%20mclelland&qid=1459365936&ref_=sr_1_4&s=books&sr=1-4
I hope, regardless of your decision to check out the book, everybody is healthy
and prosperous.
All Best, Carl McLelland, Vietnam Veteran
Morning Folks,
Doc Riojas, if you want to publish it on your website, here’s a humorous
trailer for you of my next book. IF not, enjoy the read.... Later, Carl
Howdy men, I hope everybody is impatiently awaiting the arrival of the third
installment in The Indomitable Patriot series. The book takes us back to 1943
and the submarine USS Great White (SS-299), commanded by LCDR Marcus Spencer.
You will recall the Great White and Captain Spencer from the first book, FERTIG,
along with Evelyn “Pinky” Pinkert and LCDR (detailed OSS) David Meyers from
both FERTIG and book two, DEAN. The Great White is at Mare Island for overhaul
and installation of some OSS communications gear. After attending meetings at
OSS headquarters, Spencer, Meyers and Pinky drive the the OSS training academy,
the former Congressional County Club. All right, here’s a short, humorous
trailer from book three....
The meeting continued for a couple more hours before breaking. Meyers, Captain
Spencer and Pinky drove to the Country Club to spend the night with Pinky in the
guesthouse. The following morning they would fly to Fort Monmouth in Pinky’s
Staggerwing Beechcraft.
~~~ ~~~
“It never fails to amaze me, whenever I come down here,” Meyers said as they
parked in front of the administration building. “I’ll never forget the first
two weeks of the academy when Pinky shared a bunk in a dormitory with
twenty-three other men.”
“That’s all right, Mister Meyers,” Pinky said, ice in her voice. “We can
save that story for another time!”
“Now my interest is peaked,” Spencer replied.
“Later, sir,” Pinky replied as she deeply blushed. “Only after a martini
will I be able to tell that story.”
“My humble command,” Pinky said when Meyers and Spencer stopped and stared
at the barbed-wire encased Quonset huts. “Come inside administration for a
moment and I will introduce you to Colonel Godfrey, our administrator. Not even
the Colonel has clearance to enter the barbed wire. After meeting the Colonel,
David and I will give you a tour of the facility.”
As they drove around the complex, David and Pinky explained the training program
for OSS Special Agents. They were parked at one of the five-hundred yard ranges
when Spencer asked, “You went through all this firearms training, Pinky?”
“Captain Spencer,” Meyers answered, “Pinky is a distinguished master with
a rifle. She can outshoot me.”
Spencer glanced at Pinky. “My COB, or Chief Of the Boat on the Great White is
a thin, wiry fellow. Almost soft-spoken, but get under his skin or fail to obey
a command, he instantly becomes a grizzly bear. I suspect, ma’am, the two of
you are not that different.”
Pinky started up and then abruptly stopped their Jeep. “You see that man out
there, Captain, the one leading that squad. He will be going to Tinian with you.
His name is Carlos Hathcock, Senior. He can outshoot all of our firearms
instructors. He can hit bull’s eyes at a thousand yards with an iron-sighted
rifle.”
Spencer slowly shook his head as Pinky started up again. “Such young men we
produce, to go in harm’s way,” he muttered under his breath.
~~~ ~~~
Captain Spencer, David and I ate in the cadet’s mess. The food service was
very good for cafeteria-style service. Afterward, we adjourned to the recreation
room where I fixed martinis for the three of us. David brought up the subject of
the academy again… to my great embarrassment.
“You delight in forcing me to tell that story, don’t you, Mister Meyers,”
Pinky said as she broke out in laughter.
“Marcus (Spencer had told them to dispense with the Captain Spencer routine),
my family owns this place, the former Congressional Country Club. I lived in the
guesthouse when they leased it to the OSS for the duration of the war, under the
condition I continue residing in the guesthouse. My uncles didn’t want me
moving back to Chicago where I would be too close to them. The OSS hired me, and
I applied for special agent training. David and I were in the first academy
class.”
“For the first two weeks of physical, as well as stress training, everybody
lived in open barracks. If you survived that period, you moved into individual
rooms for the remainder of the training. Their theory, the enemy would neither
discriminate nor go easy on a female, so they lumped everybody together.”
“Sunday afternoon, the day before the training officially began; I’m
arranging my uniforms and gear in my locker… in an open bay with twenty-three
other guys.”
Marcus began to chuckle and then laugh aloud. “Excuse me, Pinky, I’m
picturing you bunking in the crew quarters on a sub and being with eighty men
who have not bathed in a week or two. It gets pretty foul at times on a boat!”
“We are all tending to our gear while our drill instructor marches up and down
the aisle, screaming ‘The enemy intends to kill you, pretty women as quickly
as big, tough men,’ and all that.”
“And then Gunny stops at my bunk. I come to attention. The rim of his Smokey
Bear hat a fraction of an inch from my forehead. ‘Pinkert, you get one
privilege,’ he screams… spittle landing all over my face. ‘There is one
stall in the head with a curtain. That stall is yours alone. In exchange for
that privilege, you shall not use the men’s urinal. Do you understand
that?’”
“Sir, yes sir,” I screamed in Gunny’s face, biting my tongue to keep from
laughing. Then Gunny screams, “Men, you will report immediately if you catch
Pinkert using your urinal. Do you understand that?”
“A chorus of ‘Sir, yes sir,’ rang throughout the barracks. By now I’m
about to explode with laughter.”
“It got worse when Gunny yelled at us about one shower for everybody,” David
interrupted. “I’ll save Pinky further embarrassment and leave that to your
imagination.”
“Pinky, water is in such short supply on a sub that bathing usually amounts to
a gallon of water, once a week if you’re lucky,” Marcus replied. “There is
an officer’s head on board, but it’s usually crammed full of supplies for
most of a patrol. Everybody uses one head in the after torpedo room. That, too,
becomes pretty foul after weeks at sea.”
Carl McLelland
One of our guys, although he had the
misfortune of going Army instead of Navy, has become a writer in About the Author
Carl’s professional career began as an Army and then FAA air
traffic controller. He advanced from a small radar van in the Central
Highlands of Vietnam to the TRACON in one of our nation’s busiest
airports. He also became a commercial pilot and flight instructor,
retiring after thirty-nine years of flying. By 1986 he was
experiencing severe burnout. He put himself through the police
academy, resigned from the FAA and became a deputy Sheriff in Reno,
Nevada. He retired after a distinguished career on the street. Not
only the cop on the beat, Carl became a renowned traffic accident
reconstructionist on his departments Major Accident Investigation
Team, as well as a highly acclaimed crime scene investigator.
Throughout his life Carl has been a student of the paranormal and
often experienced the effects of the supernatural in his personal
life. In 2012 he became involved in the saga of the haunted Allen
House in Monticello, Arkansas and its resident spirit, Ladell Allen
Bonner. The result of dozens upon dozens of paranormal interactions
with Ladell led Carl to write his first book about Ladell’s life and
death. Writing that first book sparked a latent avocation in his life:
writing. Carl has always been a connoisseur of military history, and
that interest began a new direction for his writing. This latest book
is the story of Wendell Fertig, and the beginning of a thrilling new
series, 'Behind The Lines.' While the stories are fictionalized, they
are all based upon factual military history. Join in with Carl and
enjoy his books as you gain an interesting new insight in what war is
all about.
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THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig, The Guerrilla General
Doc Riojas Comment: Once i started reading this book, i have find myself hard to putting it down! because of my very old age (84 yr old eyes and at the end of being able to correct my vision) I find that the way the paragraphs are other important text are spaced to be extremly easy to read.
Having retired from the Navy and traveled to that part of the orient reminds me of my days as a guerrilla combatant as part of the Navy SPecial Warfare serving as a Navy SEAL in the Jungles of Vietnam.
The author is equally as good a military writter as Tom Clancy. This story may possibly be material for a great movie similar to the the movie produced about the POW rescue in WWII by Filipino Guerilla fighters and the U.S. Army Rangers. "The Great Raid"
Do not wait to buy it tomorrow, order it today ! It was recommended to me by CDR R.D. Thomas (recommended for the Medal of Honor by the US Army, but our politically correct US Navy downgraded it to a Navy Cross. SHame on them !
The following is typical of the reviews I’m receiving on the book:
Just finished your book and you get 4.0 marks from this old Navy Seal.
Really enjoyed and it adds to my hobby of WWII.
Spent 22 years of my 34 in and out of the PI. Have traveled every
island and was trained a marksman by RJ when we were
stationed at Team 2 during Vietnam. Still a very good friend I keep in
contact with. Going to recommend it to my friends,
at least the ones that can read.
THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig, The Guerrilla General
Doc Riojas Comment: Once i started reading this book, i have find myself hard to putting it down! because of my very old age (84 yr old eyes and at the end of being able to correct my vision) I find that the way the paragraphs are other important text are spaced to be extremly easy to read.
Having retired from the Navy and traveled to that part of the orient reminds me of my days as a guerrilla combatant as part of the Navy SPecial Warfare serving as a Navy SEAL in the Jungles of Vietnam.
The author is equally as good a military writter as Tom Clancy. This story may possibly be material for a great movie similar to the the movie produced about the POW rescue in WWII by Filipino Guerilla fighters and the U.S. Army Rangers. "The Great Raid"
Do not wait to buy it tomorrow, order it today ! It was recommended to me by CDR R.D. Thomas (recommended for the Medal of Honor by the US Army, but our politically correct US Navy downgraded it to a Navy Cross. SHame on them !
Carl McClelland, USMC Pilot: the author