doublejj
Well-Known Member
A typical operation started with a formation of the Army troops on the pontoon tied to one of the ships that were the base to the MRF. There were two companies on each ship. We were checked by our squad leaders to make sure we had everything we were assigned and we were issued whatever equipment was specific to the operation. Weapons were given extra attention to make sure that they were ready for the task at hand. We weren't always told where we were going or anything else about the operation. It was just "going out." The information did get to us through the grapevine eventually. Some places were worse than others. I hated the area just northeast of Ben Tre. Quite often, the area of operation was all that was known and the details were worked out as the mission progressed.
The Riverine craft were normally tied up 4 or 5 deep to the side of the pontoon. To load the Tangos directly from the pontoon, all the boats were cleared away. Three boats could be loaded at a time. With all the stuff we carried, if you fell overboard you'd go down like a rock. So there were people stationed on the pontoon to hang onto us and pass us off to someone on the boat. Entering the well deck via the space between the closed ramp and the front of the roof structure, 35 - 40 fully load troops could be loaded in about 5 minutes. An infantry company could fit in four Tangos. As the loaded boats left the pontoon, they would form up with the rest of the boats into a single line that was typical for riverine operations.
The journey from the big river, would lead us to progressively smaller waterways where the alertness level increased according to the width of the passage. The Navy manned their guns and we kept our heads down. If anything did happen, there were three ways of dealing with it; (1)Shoot back and keep going, (2)Shoot back until the incoming fire stopped, or (3)Shoot back and unload the troops to go after them. More often than not it would be choice #3. Some operations were planned expressly for choice #3. We would slowly cruise the backwaters shooting at bunkers and stuff along the banks and when they shot back, we got out and chased them.
In an ambush the VC/NVA would fire from as close as 20 ft. if the waterway was narrow. It's hard to miss with an RPG at that range. They would shoot one shot and then run like hell! The first shot of an ambush usually hits what it's aimed at. We would shoot back, and call in ARTY and air strikes or maybe even get out and chase them, but a one-shot ambush would rarely yield an enemy body count. Done as a target of opportunity, as harrassment, as a delaying tactic, or just for fun, it kept our heads down and the pucker factor up.
When we stepped off a Tango's ramp we could be stepping into waist deep mud and thick vegetation or onto dry land. Or we might step right into the middle of a fire fight. When the ramp dropped it left the well deck without frontal armor. Sometimes the VC/NVA took advantage of that time when we were most vulnerable, bunched together in a confined area, by waiting to fire a B-40 rocket or small arms fire into the open bow. There was nowhere to hide if that happened. Small arms fire would bounce off the bulkheads inside untill it hit someone. A B-40 rocket only took a second to fire and its results were devastating. The Navy would prep the landing point with MG and canon fire if there was a threat. But it still happened often enough to make that moment when the ramp started to fall increase the pucker factor by 6 untill it was down, and we were out!
The battalion commander observed the operations from a helicopter. He and his radio operator flew in a LOH overhead directing traffic. If contact was made he could direct our movement, arrange fire support, and coordinate operations with the Navy. When the situation allowed, they would set down at the closest fire support barge or on a Tango boat with a flight deck near the CCB, and follow the operation by radio. If anything happened they could be airborne in minutes.
If the operation was based on good intelligence and we knew what we were looking for, we would be dropped off and the boats would move to a spot where they could provide the best fire support for us, or to our pick-up point. If the mission was expected to last a few days and we were within the range of our own fire support, the boats would go back to the big river and hold position, or go back to base. Sometimes one group of boats would drop us off and then head back to base while another group of boats would form a blocking force, and wait for us to drive the VC/NVA to them. Sometimes we would be dropped into an area by chopper, and then be picked up by boat. No two operations were the same but it was a rare occasion to be without the Navy.
I spent 13 months in the Army in the Mekong delta of Vietnam. We fought the war differently than the guys up north did. When I think back on the war, I always think about the boats.
