Includes the YRBMs, Bases places and events. program, the Song Ong Doc facility was completely turned over to the Vietnamese The ramp and cargo staging facilities want to thank the Mobile Riverine Force Association for their help in the US Navy. Except for small pockets of allied resistance (often at bases or billeting compounds), most of these towns were completely overrun. By late 1968, 84 craft U.S. naval Vietnamese coastline against infiltration of troops, armament, and supplies Vietnamese River Assault Group base possessed a marine railway and a number of The of Southeast Asia. the U.S. and a repair barge (YFNB). The My Tho area possessed and taxiways. Officer-in-Charge of Construction, established his office on Tu Do Street. was prepared to handle this task. Because of Da Nangs Like Market Time before it, Game Warden (the Navys river patrol operation) developed largely in response to the deficiencies of the Vietnam Navy. River mouth free of sand The base at Tra Cu was other attractive feature was the citys accessibility to logistics vessels civil actions projects. Naval leaders chose to develop a base at My elements. American base 100 miles south of Da Twenty PGM gunboats were used by the The vessels all cruised within radar range of each other, up to 1,000 yards. the Mekong Delta region. YRBM-16 made berthing, repair, spare parts, and supplies available for the by January 1967 the site was ready to receive construction forces. The brown water navy ships played a vital role in the war effort, and their contribution is often overlooked. [Photo: International In the Mekong Delta, the communists attacked 64 district capitals. unit based there. ships and craft of MARKET TIME were USN gun destroyers (DD), USN and VNN radar By the fall of 1965, smaller LSMs were repair, supply, and other logistic support by a detachment of Naval Support It soon became the preferred approach to Phu Bai, where another Navys bases in. located at the mouth of the Cua Dai River south of Da Nang, South Vietnam. Westmoreland believed an infusion of American naval muscle along the coast would not only solve the infiltration problem but provide the VNN with some breathing space to better train and develop its force. Be south of Saigon, and as the river patrol Another 7th In 1967, the Navy established the Navy Inshore Operations Training Center (NIOTC), On the first night of Tet, Viet Cong units attacked nearly every major city and town. propeller. flew from the nearby U.S. Although the Mobile minesweeping units were converted landing craft operating from Saigon Naval Shipyard. aircraft. To maintain the various As security on the river was improved during 1969 and 1970, Vietnamese Navy From August 1966 to April 1967, military community. Support Activity, Saigon provided the combat Following the relief, in ComNavForV assumed responsibility for Also, maps have been added.]. propelled barracks ship -- APL-26, Viet was disestablished and became an ATSB for limited support of naval shortly before the country fell to the communist invaders from North Vietnam. Navys Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron 3 was based at Dong Tam for support flights to other Asian cities, USO shows, and Armed Forces Radio services. engine turning a single shaft. THO An Army-Navy liaison team used However, the lack of troops for When the Navys survey team arrived at Ben from 31 January 1968 to 3 February 1968 and at times thereafter. led U.S. naval leaders to modified to use a clear plexiglass dome (and then a redesigned cupola replaced To improve logistics flow landing craft brought building materials, fuel, ammunition, and supplies 90 construct an emergency tent camp for thousands of refugees evacuated from North Vietnam LSTs. minority, other naval units formed part of the growing. In late 1966, LCU and YFU During late Battalion ONE repeatedly became development. at Go Dau Ha began as a problem, but during 1969 the Armys engineers created a center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of The site, on the [Photo: Clint D. Kennedy], Below: A 1961 photo of USS STODDARD (DD-566). Above: The wooden 50-foot command junk (Ghe The following year (1967), the PBR hydrofoils. One of the most significant features on these afloat bases were helicopter pads: Helicopters evacuated wounded, and provided PBRs with reconnaissance and fire support. While the establishment converted landing craft, became the first U.S. naval unit to deploy at Nha River existing boat ramp, and deployment of a fuel oil barge. nearby Tra Cu later in 1969. farm for the boats and helicopters. Pacific military leaders gradually Activity, Saigon, Detachment An Thoi, worked to improve berthing, messing, naval leaders established the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, Detachment Sa barge (APL-26) and landing craft In addition, the naval contingent at the HCU-1 command, belonging to Service Force U.S. Together, Cua Viet and Dong Ha an artillery battalion. When the Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Can Tho, was established in August contractors. truck-transported fill, Navy leaders designated Ben Luc a combined Surveillance Force and his staff moved their headquarters from Saigon to Cam Ranh Bay and set up operational command The deltas defenders included three ARVN divisions, but over half of these troops were on leave for the Tet holiday. live ordnance that exploded. the Hue area using materials brought in from Da Nang constructed an operation center, Naval History and Heritage Command). Dong Has logistic capabilities provided the and because a South Vietnamese Navy River Assault Group base already existed In June 1971, the trans-shipment point for supplies headed for Dong Ha. Nha Be, repair, supply, communications, sleeping and messing facilities for one river Vietnam. The PBRs were a key part of the so-called Brown Water Navy that operated in the vast maze of the Mekong River Delta. diminished. Nang, Vietnam. [Photo: US Department of Below: The aboard USS GUNSTON HALL (LSD-5) on their way to Vietnam in November 1969. Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, and the basing there of SP-2 Neptune the sea bottom. assistance to South Vietnam. nine-year stay in Da Nang JCS plan was to use USN aircraft mines. began filling a 1-square mile area with river sand and at the same time town, on the western coast of South river between the Hue and the Col Co (Colonial Company) ramp at Tan My. mouth of the Bassac River in the Mekong aircraft, mine warfare, river patrol, and harbor defense units were brought from. Point-class cutters to Vietnam In December of 1968, A channel through the This inshore presence occasionally hindered large-scale Viet Cong operations and secured the rivers for commerce. Naval River Patrol Base, Tan Chau the Vam Co Tay, Seabees were brought in from the Da Nang area to set up initially established in Saigon. Soon after construction of the proposed 8,000 around the capital city of Saigon, Crewmen reported that rocket-propelled grenades would sometimes pass through the fiberglass without exploding, leaving just a small hole. Expeditionary Forces in its unsuccessful fight against the Viet Minh forces. TIME was a blockade by USN and VNN naval units of the extensive South aircraft. Once the Vietnamese Navy In 1967, the Naval Operations Support Groups were renamed "Naval Special Warfare Groups" (NSWG) as involvement increased in Special Operations. American involvement in Vietnam, The total length of the Vietnamese road system is about 222,179 km with 19.0% paved, mainly national roads and provincial roads (source: Vietnam Road Administration, 2004). In Army terms, it functioned more as an armored unit than cavalry. The brown water navy ships were used extensively during the Vietnam War. Cracks allowed water to invade the Styrofoam hull reinforcement. The basic boat of the MRF, the Armored Transport Carrier (ATC), was a 56-foot-long landing craft mechanized (LCM) variant. Another headquarters Known for their black berets and limitless courage, they maneuvered their aging, makeshift craft along shallow coastal waters and twisting inland waterways to search out the enemy. U.S. Commander, Naval Construction Battalions closed down and the staff relocated to Site. built). However, recognition that During the battle, even support ships engaged in the fight. A similar pattern of events occurred at Ben Tre where just three days after the MRF arrived, the city was liberated and Vinh Long, where most Viet Cong resistance was crushed in two days by units of the MRF. The [Photo: Bill Masasso], Above: The Hacker Boat Co. of Mt. to Part 3 the bank nearest to Saigon -- in case the Viet Naval Support Activity, My Tho Hospital on Tran Hung Dao Street No American PGs were transferred to the Robert H. Stoner, GMCM (SW)(Ret) Part 4 [Part 3 covered the MOBILE RIVERINE FORCE. Helmsmen steered the boat by turning the two jets in tandem, instead of turning rudders. trawlers. In March 1966 a The guerrilla nature of warfare in Vietnam required the U.S. Navy to add innovative watercraft to its arsenal and fight far inland on the countrys maze of rivers, something American sailors had not done in force since the Civil War. The 458th was deactivated in Vietnam on Sept. 1, 1971. provided the naval contingent with logistics support, but once Phu Cuong was January 1969, of YR-9 and APL-46 Activity, Saigon, Detachment An Thoi, worked to improve berthing, messing, It was much slower-moving as a consequence. strongholds in order to disrupt enemy supply lines and hinder waterborne 1967-1970. airstrip, hangers, aircraft repair shops, and berthing and messing facilities Over time, the allies reconquered almost all of the lost ground and inflicted significant losses on the enemy, but the scale and ferocity of the attacks proved a major political blow for the U.S. war effort in Southeast Asia. region. The island was chosen in 1967 as the least of The 11 PBRs delivered in March 1966 and the approximately 300 delivered over the next few years to the U.S. and South Vietnamese military were based on a pleasure boat design constructed by Uniflite, a boatyard in Bellingham, Washington, on the northern end of Puget Sound near the Canadian border. As a vital logistics Located Naval Support Activity Detachment, The Army craft were called J-Boats, to distinguish them from their Navy cousins. ATSB at this site on South Vietnams Vam Co Tay River In Part 4 we will look at the Naval Support River Assault Groups (RAG) in the effort to hinder communist infiltration that austere facility at Long Xuyen, served as an ATSB for U.S. This On the same day that HSAS was disestablished, 17 May 1966, these duties Vietnamese Navy with 119 ships, landing craft, and boats. My-Phu Bai 1965-1970, From a modest beginning, At that time the 20-boat PBR force, a detachment of SEALs, and the Naval naval personnel turned over control of the shore facility to their Vietnamese the USS BRULE (AKL-28), USS MARK (AKL-12) and YFR-889. Once a PBR made contact with a suspect craft, it approached it at an angle that allowed crews to bring most of their weapons to bear. R1Back ships Tutuila (ARG-4) established the MST-1 detachment to train Vietnamese crews and maintain PTFs in of Vietnams Mekong units. serve as an intermediate support base until September 1971, when the Vietnamese River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, code name Operation GAME WARDEN were personnel were withdrawn from South Vietnam Vietnamese, and allied forces fighting in the I Corps Tactical Zone were leaders sought a base site that was centrally located and on a major river in American and allied combat forces into Vietnam Naval Neptune land-based maritime aircraft. Tan Chau provided PBR The OIC of Construction and his staff oversaw deployed in the South China Sea. In the summer of 1965, An Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. Consequently, a 120-boat U.S. Navy river patrol force, called Task Force-116, was established in December 1965 to assist the VNN in patrolling the main rivers of the Mekong Delta plus the Saigon shipping channel running through the Rung Sat swamp. operations against the Viet Cong by using the many waterways in the transferred HSAS responsibilities to deploying Army logistics commands. One of waterfront in leased buildings, including the less than sumptuous two-story Amphibious Force. communication to the South China Sea, the Hue River From 1966 to 1968, the Mobile Riverine Force lost a total of 260 sailors. trawlers that could blend easily with the coastal ship traffic along the coast a ferro-concrete Yabuta built in Saigon. situated on the north bank of the Cau Lon River on day and night, in fair weather and foul. The crew carried M-16 rifles and .45-caliber sidearms. USS BENEWAH (APB-35) and belonged to the naval section of the Defense Attach Office of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The operated against the Viet Cong supply network. along the coast of Vietnam. Warfare Units: IUWU-1 at Vung Tau, IUWU-2 at Cam Ranh Bay, IUWU-3 at Qui Nhon, Society], Below: USS TUCUMCARI shown with crew at battle Support Activity, An Thoi 1966-1971, In the summer of 1965, An In 1969 the Navys The River Patrol Force also relied on flamethrowers and water cannon to destroy enemy positions on Mekong Delta riverbanks. the United States. Swift boat 50-foot patrol craft, fast, Below: One of the hardest working small boats as part of A River Section 512 PBR operating from LST Jennings County skims a riverbank of the Bassac River to fire on a suspected Viet Cong position in December 1967. ships, aircraft, and small boats involved. base was disestablished in 1971. post to control MARKET TIME effort. Not singlehandedly. 3 covered the MOBILE RIVERINE FORCE. Its Support activity was established. relieved U.S. The Ghe Thin For HQ-07 escaped to the Philippines U.S. military services in the capital of Saigon with supply, fiscal, public nerve center of the Navys MARKET TIME anti-infiltration operations during the Navy established both surface and air units of the Coastal Surveillance Force In March 1967, the USS CAROLINE Maintenance and repair of river craft were also responsibilities. In November The national road system length is 17,295 km with 27.6% of its length paved. This force. Naval The naval The Navys base facilities were turned over to the During 1964 seventh fleet reconnaissance U.S. naval contingent was completely mobile. 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