E FORC IN E A R S E S IV O R C I E A L I T I B O O N M V I E T N A M A PUBLICATION OF VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 THE MOBILE RIVERINE FORCE ASSOCIATION SPRING 2007 TThhee NNaavvyy ooff ththee RReeppuubblilicc FFRROOMM TTHHEE GGAALLLLEEYY ALBERT MOORE, MRFA PRESIDENT ooff VVieietntnaamm Reunion 2007 Hospitality By Edward J. Marolda a separate military service in Reunion 2007 Rooms The Vietnam Navy (VNN) April 1965). Recognizing that Reunion 2007 will be held at If you want more info on came into existence, fought its the sea was a likely avenue of the Adams Mark by the Air- booking an individual hospi- battles, and faded into history in approach for Communists in- port, 2544 Executive Dr., Indi- tality room, contact Angela a short span of twenty years filtrating from North Vietnam anapolis, IN 46241, from Jordan, Convention Service (1955-1975). But, during that or moving along the South Viet- Thursday, August 30 until Manager at 317-381-6107 or e- time, the VNN, with the assis- namese littoral, in April 1960 check-out Sunday, Septem- mail ajordan@adamsmark. tance of American advisors, be- the navy established the para- ber 2. Members may make com. If Angela is unavailable, came one of the world’s largest military Coastal Force and in reservations starting Septem- you may contact Reggie navies with 42,000 men and July 1965 formally integrated it ber 6, 2006. Room rates will be Vaughn, Sales Manager 1-317- women and 672 amphibious into the navy. $79 per night. To make your 381-6127 or e-mail rvaughn@ ships and craft, 20 mine warfare The different missions of the own reservations, call the ho- adamsmark.com. vessels, 450 patrol craft, 56 ser- navy’s combat forces deter- tel at 317-248-2481. Be sure to vice craft, and 242 junks. mined how they were opera- mention you’re making your Adams Mark Free Shuttle The organizational changes tionally controlled. The units reservations under the Mo- Service to the Vietnam Navy during involved in open sea and bile Riverine Force Associa- The Adams Mark has free those two decades reflected the coastal patrol missions oper- tion. For more information on shuttle service to and from evolution in the service’s mis- ated first in five Sea Zones, the hotel, contact Angela the airport. To phone the sion and responsibilities. Ini- then in four Naval Zones (after Jordan, Convention Ser- hotel for shuttle service, tially, the Chief of the General October 1963), and finally four vice Manager at look for the bank of Staff of the Vietnamese Armed Coastal Zones (after April 317-381-6107 or phones in the Forces, an army officer, con- 1965). The coastal zones, from ajordan@ Room baggage area. trolled the Navy Staff and its reservations have the 1st in the north to the 4th in adamsmark.com. The Adams chief. With the encouragement been going faster than usual, the Gulf of Siam, corre- Take a virtual Mark also of American naval advisors, the sponded to the army’s I, II, III, so if you want to be sure you tour at www. have a room at the has shuttle general staff established the and IV Corps areas. Coastal adamsmark. Adams Mark and not a standby service billet of Chief of Naval Opera- hotel, we recommend you Force junks patrolled the off- com. Be sure to available to tions, which handled the ad- make your reservations shore waters from 28 bases click on the and from ministration, if not the opera- ASAP. along the coast. The regional Indianapolis the downtown tional control, of the naval ser- operations of the Coastal Force Adams Mark. area. We will vice. were directed from coastal sur- have shuttle sched- In the early years, the navy’s veillance centers set up in ules in the summer issue combat forces consisted of the Win a FREE Tour! Danang, Cam Ranh, Vung Tau, of River Currents. Sea Force (renamed Fleet Com- and An Thoi. See page 3! mand in January 1966), River The River Force, organized CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Force, and Marine Corps (made into river assault groups on the French model of Dinassaut (naval assault divisions), ini- tially served the army divi- II WWASAS THERETHERE LASTLAST NIGHTNIGHT sions closest to its Mekong By Robert Clark But this is what I said. “Yeah, I Delta naval bases at Saigon, “The High Ground” PO Box 457 think about it. I can’t quit think- would like My Tho, Vinh Long, Can Tho, Neillsville, WI 54456 ing about it. I never will. But, A couple of years ago some- and Long Xuyen. In the early I’ve also learned to live with it. one asked me if I still thought 1960s, the navy also formed the I’m comfortable with the memo- a photo about Vietnam. I nearly River Transport Escort Group ries. I’ve learned to stop trying laughed in their face. How do to protect the vital foodstuffs to forget and learned instead to for here you stop thinking about it? being convoyed to Saigon, and embrace it. It just does not scare Every day for the last twenty- the River Transport Group to me anymore.” four years, I wake up with it, Naval Support Base Cat Lo CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 A psychologist once told me turned over April 1971. and go to bed with it. CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 2 River Currents, Volume 16, Number 1 • Spring 2007 (JOSN) as a result of passing the advance- NAVY 20-mm GUNNER IN VIETNAM, 68-69 ment exams. In 1969, Admiral Zumwalt, Commander Naval Forces, Vietnam, “field by Capt. Robert J. Kermen, USN (Ret.) very fast. I shudder today when I think of Source: Adapted from a draft provided by CAPT promoted” all river sailors who were eligi- Kermen to the Naval War College dated 19 Dec. 2003. heating up leftovers at home using that ble. Thus, I became a Journalist Third Class Recollections of Captain Robert J. method. C-4 was plentiful. We always had manning a .20 mm. a case or two on hand for use by the Army Kermen, USNR, who served as an enlisted The ATC is quite interesting. It is a modi- troops we carried. Some crews tried to 20-mm gunner with the Mobile Riverine fied LCM-6 with added armor protection individualize the appearance of their Force, River Division 112, in the Mekong and a full weapons suite. The hull is pro- boats by adding everything from state Delta of Vietnam during 1968-1969. He was tected by an inch of armor plate, two feet of flags to Charles Shultz cartoons. Snoopy stationed aboard ATC-112-7 from Novem- Styrofoam, and a cage of rebar on the out- sitting on his doghouse was common. Say- ber 1968 to July 1969 when River Squadron side. The rebar was also called “trigger bar ings such as “Sat Cong” appeared as well. 11 was turned over to the South Vietnam- armor” that caused the incoming Rocket Our officers were pretty tolerant to a ese Navy. He served on the staff of Com- Propelled Grenades (RPGs) to detonate point; then the hammer would come mander Naval Forces, Vietnam, until No- before hitting the armor plate. This saved down and we would repaint the boat. I vember 1969. Captain Kermen is a U.S. his- many lives as most RPGs could penetrate once tried to calculate how many coats of tory teacher living near Mount Shasta, CA. one inch of plate. The weaponry was quite paint we put on our boat. Maintenance of The long journey to Vietnam began with interesting as well. The main armament our boats was a constant battle in that cli- 11 weeks of intensive training at Naval In- was one MK-19 grenade launcher and two mate and environment. Rocket hits into shore Operations Training Center .20 mm Honey-well, belt-fed machine the cases of C-rations we carried around (NIOTC), Vallejo, California, in August guns. These were mounted in three turrets our “superstructure” that were constantly 1968. Riverboat training was conducted at aft. The well deck had six .30 caliber ma- covering the sides of our boats with such Mare Island and in the Suisun Sloughs of chine guns. Small arms consisted of six M- delicacies as “beef with spice sauce,” “fruit the San Francisco delta. Included in the 11 16s, two 12 gauge shotguns, two M-79 gre- cocktail,” and canned ham and eggs (no weeks was a week of gunnery school at nade launchers, and a .38-caliber revolver. loss there!). Camp Roberts, California, and a week of Within 2 weeks of taking over the boat, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape We lived on the boat 24 hours a day. Our however, we changed out some of the (SERE) School at Warner Springs, CA. bunks were metal frames with canvas weapons. We replaced the six .30 caliber We trained in Vallejo as a crew but were stretched across them and an air mattress with four .50 caliber machine guns and broken up soon after our arrival in Viet- on top. Food consisted of Korean War era replaced the M-19 grenade launcher with nam. Four of the original seven were still C-rations and LRRPs, which were dehy- another .20-mm machine gun. This made together by the time we turned over the drated meals much like today's MREs. the boat much more formidable. In com- boats to the South Vietnamese in 1969. We This food was quite good once you devel- bat, the four .50s in the well deck were had four different boat captains, three dif- oped a taste for it.