![]() ![]() The long-running debate about whether the North was using the sea to supply communist forces in the South was over.īut there was also concern that VNN forces had taken nearly five days to capture the ship, and U.S. On board were large amounts of ammunition and other supplies-many bearing labels from an assortment of communist countries-as well as numerous documents and objects that made it clear the trawler had come from North Vietnam. air strikes and attacks by Vietnamese navy (VNN) vessels disabled and eventually captured the intruding ship at Vung Ro. Navy away from their traditional blue-water realm and send them into the green and brown waters of South Vietnam. What this Army lieutenant did not realize at the time was that he had triggered a sequence of events that would take elements of the U.S. The pilot reported his discovery, and what would enter the history books as “the Vung Ro Incident” was under way. Swooping down for a closer look, he saw that the “island” was actually a trawler whose decks and superstructure had been camouflaged with potted trees. Focusing on a small, vegetation-covered island he suddenly realized that it was moving! ![]() Just before 1030, the pilot rounded the promontory that flanked the northern side of a picturesque bay known as Vung Ro.īecause they sometimes fly in tight formations, Army helicopter pilots have a finely tuned sense of relative motion, and as he surveyed the sapphire waters of the bay below, the lieutenant sensed that something was not right. On his right, the lieutenant could see the mountains of the Chaine Annamatique, their steep slopes covered with dark green carpets of jungle foliage, their feet immersed in the blue of the South China Sea. Not knowing what happened to the has caused a lot of grief over the years.On the morning of 3 March 1965, a UH-1B helicopter piloted by an Army lieutenant lifted off the pad at Qui Nhon on the central coast of South Vietnam and headed south. If you know anything about the 750 incident, please let me know. Ralph Fries and I served in 543 together and transfered to 535 when it was formed in September of '67. I can also assume that Johnson was one of those seriously wounded in that incident. I can only guess that he had been wounded or transfered to another crew and that Ford replaced him. I can only assume that something happened to Herman prior to the incident. The story of PBR 750 does not mention that Marc Cline was killed in that ambush and was part of that crew. Eddie Johnson,EN3 was the engineman and Herman,GMGSN was the aftergunner. He replaced our boat captain who was seriusly injured by a RPG70D out of Can Tho.Īt the time I left, Marc Cline,GMG3 replaced me as forward gunner. I was Scott Delph's forward gunner prior to April 1968. This inquiry is courtesy of Dan Kleinhesselink This was the worst loss of personnel to date for River Section 535. Is interested in any stories that anyone who knew his uncle has. Provided the above excerpt taken from the Commissioning book. For his heroism he had a Ship Named after him. This excerpt was taken from the Commissioning book at the Commissioning ceremony of the However, as a result of his fearless devotion to duty, he saved the lives of two of his shipmates.įor his "extraordinary heroism" in battle on 21 June 1968 and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Navy, Petty Officer Ford was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Soon after Petty Officer Ford entered the water, he was killed by a burst of enemy machine gun fire. He was the last man alive to leave what was left of PBR-750. Only after insuring that all the surviving crewmembers had left the boat did Ford make his way into the water. In the face of enemy gunfire and with his clothing on fire, Ford assisted three seriously wounded shipmates from the PBR into the water. As the PBR veered toward the river bank, at least four additional rockets struck the craft.įord, being seriously wounded in the initial barrage, tenaciously maintained a steady volume of return fire from his aft machine gunner's station until he perceived that the boat was out of control. Within seconds the patrol boat was ablaze and out of control, heading directly for the Viet Cong positions. Dennis and the boat coxswain, Boatswain's Mate First Class Scott C. Two explosive B-40 rockets struck PBR-750 immediately killing the patrol leader, Lietuenant William E. PBR-750 gave chase and captured the sampan one hundred meters further up the canal.Īs the patrol boat returned to the river with a Viet Cong suspect and the captured sampan in tow, it was ambushed by a Viet Cong patrol who unleashed an overwhelming barrage of heavy machine gun fire and rockets. The boats were maneuvering down the river when they spotted a sampan fleeing into a nearby canal. On 21 June 1968, Petty Officer Ford was serving as the after machine gunner aboard PBR-750 as part of a two boat patrol operating in the upper MY Tho river near the town of Cai Be. ![]()
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