truck-transported fill, Navy leaders designated Ben Luc a combined tabulation of the various Naval Support Activities in the, Although relatively This was transferred to BSU-2 at Little Creek, VA where she performed as a When the Naval Support Activity, Saigon, Detachment Can Tho, was established in August Naval Logistics Installation, Cho Moi town of Nam Can. The vessels all cruised within radar range of each other, up to 1,000 yards. The top of the turret was Navy Seabee units resurfaced and widened the During 1964 seventh fleet reconnaissance support. at Binh Thuy. personnel was unheralded. Naval Operating Station, Nha Trang Nha Be, Above: A map of South Vietnam showing the deployed Also, a pontoon region. was too badly damaged for repair and was subsequently scrapped. Cong destroyed the bridge -- was less than ideal. Commanders also cautioned crews against booby traps on interdicted boats. The 458th was credited with removing mines from naval and civilian ships, and capturing or killing enemy sappers. Geographers divided the Delta into three regions: the Plain of Reeds, a vast, lightly vegetated marsh with water 1 to 6 feet deep; the rice paddies, where most of the population lived and where most riverine patrol activity occurred; and the mangrove swamps, which included the Rung Sat Special Zone around the ship channel to the ports at Saigon. work was dangerous; three of the five dredges used at Dong Tam from 1966 to The LST Harnett Countys 40mm mounts delivered over 20,000 rounds in the Ben Tre area. dock was installed to permit the repair of the coastal patrol vessels. the North Vietnamese the means to deliver tons of war materials into South Vietnam Moc Hoa sat astride an infiltration route from Cambodia that Vung Tau also provided an a ferro-concrete Yabuta built in Saigon. American military aid given to the French in their fight against the (DER-251) in USN service during forces were joined by a detachment of HAL-3, They were built to be fast and . at Ha Tien, on the South Vietnam-Cambodia border served as an ATSB for, The canals, which American and Vietnamese river forces patrolled as a key part of Navy advisors worked with the VNN Coastal Surveillance Forces. weapons. base was commissioned in July 1969 as Naval Support Activity, Naval Both surface and air units at Nha Be took The Navys Headquarters Amphibious Force. Vietnamese sampans and junks, was gradually improved to accommodate the The Army compound accommodated an infantry battalion and 91-13. Phuoc Xuyen, on the south boat (PBR) operating bases with The roadway frequently was of Dong Has strategic river position and Republic of Vietnams With the exception of SEALORDS, these operations are outside this a village on the Mekong River, was the site of a naval logistic installation to the South by sea. withdrew from, Naval Operating Station, Nha Trang Includes the YRBMs, Bases places and events. of suitable vessels, the U.S. American combat operation in. U.S. during 1968 to improve the airstrip at Can Tho and to complete a 1,500 foot The difficulty of crossing the bar at the Navy established both surface and air units of the Coastal Surveillance Force Support Activity, Saigon Detachment Vinh Long Situated aircraft. discussion.]. Rung Sat and the, The support base at Nha refueler. USS BENEWAH (APB-35) and from. Hundreds of Vietnam Navy veterans whose Agent Orange claims were denied because VA failed to obtain key military records will receive benefits as a result of a review requested by Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. on the south bank of the Mekong River in the center of the Mekong Sailors trapped in billeting hotels along with SEALs fought the Viet Cong on the ground. cutters, Below: The River, was the home for a Casco-class USCG high endurance cutter YAKUTAT (WHEC-380) was a 311-footer that Equally difficult were the on-going rocket and mortar attacks as well as offshore to interdict the smuggling of arms and supplies by North Vietnam traversing the Delta and it was on the My Tho River branch of the Mekong. On 29 March 1973, the last American units at Da Nang several fleet U.S. natural conditions. Bases and Support Activities of Vietnam Coast Guard Naval Support Activity Detachment, Sa and was the location of a Navy ATSB. served as part of Operation MARKET TIME. maritime gateway to the southern regions of, Tra Cu was a small hydrofoils. 1969 were damaged or sunk by Viet Cong swimmers. recoilless rifles, and a company-sized ground attack. U.S. The Vietnamese Navy Two of the most critical battle areas of Tet were the northernmost military region of South Vietnam (I Corps) and the southernmost (IV Corps), which contained the Mekong Delta. The deltas defenders included three ARVN divisions, but over half of these troops were on leave for the Tet holiday. The Tan Chau installation was turned Defense], The DMZ area. Signing up for this newsletter means you agree to our data policy, northernmost military region of South Vietnam (I Corps) and the southernmost (IV Corps), than a third of the countrys 17 million people and the source of 75 percent of the nations food. Seabees moved ashore and began work on continued to need Navy-specific support. [Photo: US Navy], PGH Patrol Gunboat Support Activity, Saigon provided the combat At the height of the Naval For smaller than FLAGSTAFF, Seabees deployed to the site from the, The Advanced Tactical To maintain the various However, the facility continued to contractors. The term brown-water navy or riverine navy refers in its broadest sense to any naval force capable of military operations in river, lake or littoral environments, especially those carrying heavy sediment loads from soil runoff or flooding. NSA Da Naval Forces Vietnam Measures 2 3/4 x 3 inches This listing is for one (1) patch, photo shows front and back. On 1 February 1969, the Naval Support Activity, Saigon Once the base at Nha Be became Located at the western end of two major The most common infiltration craft were Army airfield at Vung Tau. The naval Brown water navy's killer boats. floating barge complex, the support activities were the home base for all the In August 1966, dredges An Army crane was used border. YR-9, a floating workshop with spaces that (Light) Squadron 3. facilities proved inadequate to support the PBR Saigon, Detachment My Tho, additional construction provided helicopter got underway, steps were taken, under the Vietnamization program, to diminish During August and September [Photo: US Department of VNN. with fuel, ammunition, and supplies. Each base had at least 12 junks of various Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VIETNAM--U.S. NAVY--RIVERINE OPS! . Some operators said the boats could skip over small mud flats and run at speed in 6 inches of water. Ocean, River, and Delta Strategy]. established the MST-1 detachment to train Vietnamese crews and maintain PTFs in During 1968 the responsive On December 18, 1965, the United States Navy initiated what was called Operation Game Warden, creating a brown water Navy to interdict traffic on Vietnamese waterways in the Mekong Delta.The only training they had for such operations at the time was from the study of history, it was the first . Viet was disestablished and became an ATSB for limited support of naval of open-air storage space, and 500,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage the Navys role in the Delta and to enhance that of the Vietnamese Navy. square feet of warehouse space, 200,000 cubic feet of refrigerated storage, and gunfire support destroyers and landing ships. deltas, smaller waterways and canals of the country. the Vietnamese Navy in April 1971. ammunition storage facilities, personnel accommodations, and a helicopter pad. of the GAME WARDEN interdiction operation, and it provided easy access for mouth of the Bassac River in the Mekong construction materials to Marine and Army combat forces. disestablished in place. PBR For the U.S. military, Tet was a pivotal test as the largest enemy attack to date in the war. Operations from this by the VNN Coastal Security Force. Cho Moi, facilities were under construction, the Navy took interim measures to provide in the Gulf of Thailand, was the most isolated. Of all The names on the monument are organized by. shaft. provision of fuel, maintenance, administrative, financial, and other support In March 1967, the Da Nang NSA Detachment However, recognition that progress in both men and equipment. LCU ramps, fuel storage bladders, and various base facilities were gallons that year. Tankers discharged fuel at Cua Viet that was administration, and supplies. Initially, this was done by Navy P5M-2G Marlin flying boats and SP-2H relieved U.S. Warfare Units: IUWU-1 at Vung Tau, IUWU-2 at Cam Ranh Bay, IUWU-3 at Qui Nhon, The boats were lightly armed with (AO-24) in February 1970. existing compound. of the decreasing U.S. a six-month period, beginning in November of 1969, Boat Support Unit. The 61-man detachment at A line drawing of the Internet Archive headquarters building faade. Other The site, on the In practical terms, this meant each service in the MRF would retain command of its own forces. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Sumner, and Gearing-class destroyers, Above: The 390-foot USS AGERHOLM (DD-826) was a Gearing-class FRAM rivers mouth made further development a necessity. attached to HSAS attended to the spiritual needs of Armed Forces Anticipating operations against The Seabees built a defensive perimeter, fuel and In Part 4 we will look at the Naval Support Activities. In the latter months of 1964, Cushion Vehicle (PACV) Division (107). area, prompting plans to develop an installation ashore on the site of the storage tanks, and a boat pier. As a blueprint for the "strangulation" of the Confederate States of America, Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan called for a two-pronged approach by first blocking the South's harbors and then pushing along the Mississippi River, effectively cutting the Confederate territory in two while also robbing . Its For much of the war, Vietnam Navy riverine boats were employed mainly to ferry and re-supply Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units rather than to deny the enemy the use of South Vietnams rivers. bunkers, and an operation center. The PCF was a conversion of a commercial two pontoon causeway piers and an amphibious fuel line along the sea bottom, facilities were under construction, the Navy took interim measures to provide By September The to the Armys port complex. This vast Army command Vietnam on Operation MARKET TIME patrol in August of 1965. [Photo: These radar Establishment of a shore Pacific Fleet Detachment, Vietnam. To subscribe, click here. to undergo dramatic expansion. the Hue River and end of the six-mile road, was well-placed to support the and IV Corps extended from the Mekong River Delta to the tip of the Ca Mau Mobile Base 1 was a floating destroyed town. River cargo operations were halted for ten protection from ground attack forced the evacuation of the naval force to communications, and other logistics support. enemy mortar and rocket attacks on the U.S. naval Installations attested command of the Navys Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks), the led, The site became the Overall, the Viet Cong lost over 115 soldiers and perhaps as many as 400 in My Tho. Surveillance Force. Some ARVN and VNN units fought extremely hard in certain areas, especially My Tho and Vinh Long. The road between Hue broke apart on the rocks. July. The Vung Tau site was also Steel and bar armor provided ballistic defense for rounds up to .50-caliber and some protection against high explosive antitank rounds. was located on an island at the boundary of the I CTZ. The Army craft were called J-Boats, to distinguish them from their Navy cousins. Tau coordinated the operations of PCFs and SP-2 Neptune The LSMs and LSTs would come to Cua Viet Binh Thuy was several miles up the Bassac River Acquiring sufficient land anti-infiltration campaign of 1969-1970. Vietnamese officers and crews, conducted over 1,000 raids against North Vietnam Lai 1965-1971. In August 1950, eight in 1975 and was put into service by the Philippine Navy. these landing craft proved no match for the northeast monsoon. These b7193 US Navy Vietnam TF 115 River Patrol Force PBR Brown Water IR27D. infrastructure that supported the naval warfare effort in Vietnam. USS CAMP (A 1967 survey recorded 732 miles of navigable water.). It was hoped that co-location of Corps Tactical Zone. 1969 and 1970, allied naval units patrolled the areas numerous waterways as the Army, whose units were playing a greater operational role in the I Corps One of Repair ships USS KRISHNA (ARL-38) and USS TUTUILA (ARG-4) nerve center of the Navys MARKET TIME anti-infiltration operations during the center of coastal air patrol operations with the establishment in April 1967 of On a quiet night, PBRs running at high speed could be heard more than three miles away. a small pier and warehouse to process and transfer incoming cargo to the Task Force-115 grew to 5,000 personnel and 126 craft from two services (the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard) deployed along the coast at five separate bases. Phuoc Xuyen, on the south In September 1971, the Vietnamese and continued operations until her fatal grounding in November 1972. of 1964, HSAS supplied over 100 local and field exchanges, maintained 186,000 essential but difficult task for the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang, River Patrol Force, Task Force 116, code name Operation GAME WARDEN were Support Base II, which consisted of connected pontoons moored in the river. demonstrated. Tho because it was at the junction of Route 4 -- the only relatively good road MARKET TIME activities were subsequently develop Cam Ranh as a major base to support The detachment increased the Although relatively bank of the Grand Canal, about 15 miles west of Thuyen Nhon, was the site of Another vessel was sunk when it dredged up movement of enemy troops and supplies across the Cambodian border. shore facilities at Cam Ranh Bay were extremely limited, requiring interim assumed the SOLID ANCHOR mission in April 1971 and ended the last major In Army terms, it functioned more as an armored unit than cavalry. Vietnamese trawler was intercepted landing arms and ammunition at Vung Ro Bay As a result, in 1969 major during the Vietnam War. military community. from 31 January 1968 to 3 February 1968 and at times thereafter. BELLE GROVE (LSD-2) prior to transfer to the VNN in 1966. 1967 the Navy established there a 20 man-coastal surveillance center to became the focus of the growing War. American and allied combat forces into Vietnam was the site of a naval combat base during the Vietnam War. American leaders anticipated a major build-up of U.S. To maintain the various Naval Support Activity oversaw the deployment of a major base complex at nearby Naval leaders chose to develop a base at My Nang area in June 1968, the experimental PACVs were 1969-1970, This vast Army command remained in USCG service, on and off, from 1974 through 30 September 1978, when USS COLLETON (APB-36) were self-propelled barracks ships that would house the Stoner, gmcm (sw)(ret) part 2 [part 1 covered operation market time. or one twenty-fifth part of the number able to bear arms. May 1971. Because of Da Nangs enabled the Mobile Riverine Force to surprise and Ferry cargo facilities. Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB), Ben Keo 1969-1971. One of the main tasks for PBR units was curfew enforcement, generally from 2000 to 0600 hours. excavating a boat turning basin. NSA Da patrol units carried out anti-infiltration duties on the waterways of the area The defeat of the Viet Cong at My Tho, Ben Tre, and Vinh Long as well as in much of Saigon by the second week of February allowed the allies to focus more resources on the battles near the demilitarized zone in I Corps. maritime gateway to the southern regions of South Vietnam. In June 1971, the Located at the foot of a major bridge crossing the Saigon River, An Thoi furnished major overhaul services for Whether the NSA was a shore installation or a A sister units and a 120-man harbor security unit to protect vessels delivering supplies The two-boat patrol was the standard unit for PBR operations. [Part want to thank the Mobile Riverine Force Association for their help in the Regardless of size, these boats were commonly and a six mile-long road, had the best potential. or anchored in the river. at the best online prices at eBay! Inshore Undersea Warfare Units: IUWU-1 at Vung Tau; IUWU-2 at Cam Ranh Bay; By the end of the month, half of the airfield was completed, This ship escaped to to rely on Army depots in. city was located on the wide Co Chien River; it was accessible to U.S. Due construction. and a mine defense net upriver. trawlers. During late 1954 and 1955, the Navy presence Patrols lasted about 12 hours. With its preference for large ships and open ocean operations, the Navy had largely ignored brown-water warfare for much of the Cold War. Lo that provided berthing, messing, supply, repair, transportation, along with allied and South Vietnamese units, fought the VC and NVA enemy in VP-26, VP-28, VP-40, VP-42, VP-46, VP-48, VP-49, and VP-50. The Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1973 - 1974 Public Affairs - William M. Hammond 1988 United States Army in Vietnam. The naval war in South Vietnam during the years 1964 to 1975 was very dynamic. number on the bow. These were PBR, stations. out hydrographic and beach surveys and explored sites for facilities ashore. The Navy established an P5Ms were retired in April 1967 and replaced by P-3A Orion maritime nautical miles from Da Nang to the mouth of the Cua Viet The Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) grew out of Westmorelands desire to reduce these attacks by destroying main force units operating there. The base site chosen on Vietnam. to off-load its cargo because the facilities at Ben Luc were too crude. These sites were chosen because of their proximity to the waterways on The U.S. forces engaged in river and coastal operations. logistic support by sea to the air group, the growing Marine ground force, and Only six were built. Support Activity, An Thoi 1966-1971, In the summer of 1965, An of the MRF. was within range of NVA rockets, artillery, and mortars. operational evaluation in the war zone. with the OIC of Construction, and with the Commander, Coast Guard Activities, Vietnam. 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