What Am I?

obbop · #1 12-04-2007, 10:37 AM

Stood on the sidewalk, waving my flag and cheering as the Vietnam Vet contingent in the 4th of July parade passed by.

I was wearing the ball cap with my ship's name upon it.

One of the 'Nam vets looked at me and ran over, saying I should be out there with them. I declined, saying I was never in-country, that THEY were the ones worthy of respect. He asked me where I served. I briefly mentioned a couple evolutions during the '75 evacuation. Well, he grabbed my arm and drug me out there where the others marching gave me a cheer.

Golly, that made me feel good, real good!!!! I continued with them until parade's end. There weren't that many in the contingent, perhaps 15 or so if my memory is correct (this was 1992 or so).

I recently wondered, what about folks such as I. I do not consider myself a Vietnam Veteran.

Yet... I read of high-ranking officers who flew out of the Philippines and crossed South Vietnam at 40,000 feet and doing it once monthly so as to receive combat pay and rate the Vietnam Service Medal.

I also read of the Saigon Commandos who seldom left air-conditioned buildings and faced little to no danger yet are considered to be 'Nam vets.

But, I also read of the many who trudged through mud and rain and dodging incoming fire for many months...in my opinion the "real" Vietnam vets.

However, I still wonder.... what am I?

Our little destroyer escort was one of the first American warships (maybe the first?) to arrive at Vietnam in April 1975. Mass confusion ruled, as could be ascertained via the tac-net radio traffic. It was mayhem on the airwaves.

We were ordered to ascend the Saigon River and render assistance to the S. Vietnamese forces (SVA) to save Saigon from the approaching NVA forces. We were told by our officers that the NVA was estimated to number 60,000 or so.

Huh???!!! Having grown up with Vietnam on the TV nightly most of us were aware of the quality of the typical SVA soldier. And there was a mere 240 of us with one 5-inch naval rifle to wave menacingly at opponents (along with a few 50 cals, M-60s, M-14s, shotguns, etc).

Well, off we went, upriver as a flotilla of evacuees floated down river, hundreds of those little boats seen over there.

Around 50 of us were placed topsides and took cover, weapons at the ready (I had a M-60 light machinegun and 1500 rounds at the ready). A junior officer was in charge and was connected to the bridge via internal communications (head-set type device). We were ready in case we took fire from the river banks, that were steadily drawing nearer as the river's width lessened.

The officer kept a running commentary as he received word from the bridge. He also passed along info from the tac-net radio. Nobody appeared to know what was really going on, the command and control system was anything but!!!

The captain and executive officer formulated plans for when we arrived in Saigon. Basically, it was get there and see what happens!!!

Eighteen years old and possibly heading for action, against great odds. Visions of Custer and his affair entered my mind. I grabbed that weapon a little tighter and thought of the stories related by Uncle Jim, a Guadalcanal and Frozen Chosin Marine vet. I wondered what advice he would give me and one of his sayings arose: There are old Marines and there are bold Marines but there ain't too many old bold Marines.

Darn good advice, I thought. I will do my job but that stuff seen in the movies is best left for actors who walk away when the camera stops rolling.

Onward we steamed... the tension steadily increasing. Suddenly, the officer shouted with joy!!!! "We've been ordered back to sea!!!!" he yelled. I could feel the relief among those of us scattered around the weather decks. With a scream of the ship's whistle (to warn the many little boats around us headed the same way we were now headed) the ship's engines were revved up many notches as we changed heading 180-degrees and FLEW down that river.

We headed for Subic Bay, PI, and took aboard five SEALs. Rough tough men. Well-armed and with enough C-4 to level a lotta' stuff. At 2 AM we silently drifted into what I believe was Cam Rahn Bay where intel stated a division of NVA with a battery of 5-inchers had seized what used to be a major USA base. A quarter-mile off-shore we came to a stop and the SEALs slithered over the side into their inflatable boat and into the dark they disappeared. Barely revving the engines, we slooooowly quietly crept away. We never did return to retrieve those gutsy guys. Never did learn what happened to them. We assumed that some sort of retrieval method was in place. I hope they got out of there!!!!

The Mayaguez Incident arose and off we sped. We were placed north of the action to block any reinforcement attempts. Our corpsman was heloed over to where the action was occurring to assist with the wounded. We were "chomping on the bit," wanting to roar in, guns ablaze, to prove our mettle but it was not to be. Oh well, the runner scoring the touchdown often needs a blocker to attain the goal, so be it.

Marcos, dictator of the Philippines, said "No Vietnamese ships in my waters." Well, we were herding three rust-covered freighters, Vietnamese flagged with every inch covered with humanity, many wounded. Splashes of the dead being tossed overboard was sadly too frequent. When the body was a child it hit hard.

Our hospital corpsmen (God bless the 'docs') were doing what they could to assist the wounded and our repairmen were trying to stop/reduce the leak on one ship that was slowly and steadily sinking. When we first intercepted the ships we received intel that some of the refugee vessels had sappers aboard, ready to attack close-approaching American warships. With our 5-incher pointed menacingly we sent armed boarders over to take control and keep a close eye on those aboard.

We limped along at 5 knots towards Subic just to be told about Marcos' proclamation. I was on the bridge as the captain discussed this news with another officer. It didn't take long for the captain to come up with a solution. He told the quartermaster to log that he was seizing those ships as hostile/enemy vessels due to the reports of possible sappers. The captain then ordered that the American flag be hoisted on those ships. Thus, we steamed into Subic Bay, like a mother duck with three ducklings following behind. You should have seen the looks on the faces of those ashore.... three small rusty freighters with a horde of humans covering those ships, one very low in the water, with the American flag proudly displayed above them.

Various other minor evolutions. While patrolling the South China Sea, not far from the 'Nam, sonar detected possible incoming hostiles, screw rpm's and the speed suggested motor torpedo boats (shades of the Tonkin Gulf Incident!!!!). Radar didn't pick up the contacts but the sonar wasn't lying (hey, we were GOOD with that gear). The on-duty bridge officer had the fire control guys point their radar at the contacts, still several miles away. In a minute or so the contacts veered away, not to be "seen" again. Radar detection gear is cheap and common. Maybe that action kept the bad guys away. Kinda' creepy, though, on those dark moonless nights!!!

Okay...... long-winded I realize but I felt the need to give my "'Nam experience." I also tried to write so as not to be boring. All I write is accurate and I believe my memories of those events are accurate.

So, again, the question.....

What am I (as well as the 239 other guys with me).

How are we to be labeled?

And, was it "right" for me to have marched with those guys in that parade?

Brutal honesty is not only accepted but expected.

The question has been on my mind for years and I believe this venue may be the best place to receive an honest answer.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and......

all the best to you and yours.

DMZ-LT · #2 12-04-2007, 10:52 AM

I hate labels , but to me your a child of God , a man , a brother and a Viet Nam Veteran. Thank you , and your crew , for your service and Welcome Home.

SparrowHawk62 · #3 12-04-2007, 11:17 AM

Shipmate, you sir are a Vietnam Veteran, make no doubt about it! You served your country during a time of war, the crew of your ship were put in harm's way in a war zone.
You have every right to march along side other Vietnam Veterans!
May I also thank you, and welcome you home!

What was the name of your ship? Maybe there needs to be a correction made to the records to have the ship awarded it's proper due? (Along with it's crew.)

b3196 · #4 12-04-2007, 01:41 PM

Welcome home bro

Doc.2/47 · #5 12-04-2007, 03:09 PM

Thank you for your service bro.
Welcome home and welcome here.

Bill Farnie · #6 12-04-2007, 04:10 PM

Welcome to the Patroit Files. What DE was that you were on?

obbop · #7 12-04-2007, 05:58 PM

Howdy,

Thanks for the responses.

I was aboard the USS Schofield DEG-3 later changed to the designator FFG-3 with the "fast frigate" nomenclature replacing the destroyer escort title. The old tub was often referred to as the Scuzzy Scho due to the deferred maintenance brought on by repeated trips to Vietnam to man the gun-line and provdide Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS).

The "G" designated the anti-aircraft ability provided by a Tartar missile system, a minimalistic set-up that was handy for the areas we were sent to... often the littorals where a warship as valuable as a carrier normally isn't sent to perform some actions, show the flag, etc.

Interestingly, ran into a guy few days ago who was on the Schofield at the same time I was. He saw my Schofield hat and approached me. I could not recognize him but his name was familiar. Is it possible I look a little bit different after 32 years? No way!!!! He was a chief petty officer back then and is fairly old now.

Funny how memory works. I KNOW we were there for the Mayaguez Incident!!!!! Our sonar shack was adjacent to the radar operators and we were a few steps from the bridge and had to check with the navigators every 4 hours to submit reports, get the "lat/long" for our reports etc. A flimsy sliding screen kept us apart from the CIC (Combat Information Center). We were privy to all the ongoing events while that ex-chief was a bosuns mate who seldom if ever interacted with the the stuff we were involved with. That old chief was convinced we were broken down in Subic Bay during the Incident. Well, maybe it's because he was old and his memory is going bad.

Since I am here..... I will tell of a memory I have that I have doubts about. I know it happened BUT..... I do not KNOW it happened.... if you get my drift.

Plane guarding a mile behind the aircraft carrier and a wee bit to the left while flight ops were underway. Various jet aircraft were practicing touch-and-go landings.

A friend and I were on the "flying bridge" out in the open above the regular ship's bridge watching the aircraft.

We saw a bomber coming in (forget what it was called but it was the standard non-fighter strike aircraft at the time) and it was obvious there was a problem. A small amount of brown smoke was coming out the exhaust and it sounded as if it was losing power.

Suddenly, the aircraft fell, several hundred feet into the water. Kersplash!!!!!!

Our alrms rang as we rushed to assist. We were there in mere seconds and the screws went full back to bring us to a halt alongside the impact point. Being up in the air around 40 feet above the surface, my friend and I looked down to see that plane several feet underwater and sinking fast.

We could see a white helmet, motionless, and, in a few more seconds, the aircraft was too deep to see. The last thing I saw was that small point of bright white... the pilot's helmet.

I remember the event. I am certain it happened. But, that memory is not as clear and sharp as most of the other memories from that period of my life.

There IS a wisp of doubt in my mind that the event happened but I am unsure why. It is so frustrating!!!

That is why when I write or speak of past events, I tell of that which I am 110 percent sure of. I only mention the above event since it is related to how odd memory can be, as evidenced in that old chief who truly believes we were in Subic Bay, broken down with a bad boiler, when the Mayaguez Incident went down.

Thanks again for your kind replies.

obbop · #8 12-04-2007, 06:40 PM

Heck, what are words without pics if they are available? Here's the old tub, expended as a target in 1992 or around then after rusting in peace for many years while in the mothball fleet:

Whoooops, where'd that one come from? Crazy "airedales"!!!!

Bernadette · #9 12-04-2007, 07:03 PM

obbop,

Welcome Home Sir.

Bernadette

Robert Ryan · #10 12-04-2007, 07:23 PM

I consider youy a brother and Vietnam Vet. However I would to remind you that in Vietnam there were no front lines, there were areas that were supposed to safer than others, but belive me the safer areas also got attacked. During the Tet Offensive in 1968, every American installion in Vietnam was attacked no matter where the location was. It was the first time I came under fire my first tour in Vietnam. In May 1968 which was called the mini Tet Offensive again just about every American installion was attacked it was the second time I came under fire my first tour. My second tour was with the 4th Infantry Division and ended up a non-feeling numb person for another 20 years. My third tour of duty was with the 716th MP's in Saigon, there were terrorist attacks like tossing satchel charges into bars were GI's were, getting ambushed on Convoy escort duty, so don't think the people in the infantry were the only ones putting their lives on the line, granted the infantry and other combats arms saw more combat then rear echleon units did, but they to with stood rocket and mortar attacks of base camps, fire bases, and LZ's. Anyone who was in country or the warters surrounding Vietnam are Vietnam vets in my eyes, they are our brothers and sisters. I say to all of the it was honor to serve during the same time you did. And to all a sincer WELCOME HOME.