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THE COAST GUARD IN VIETNAMThe Coast Guard in Vietnam(Copied from The Coast Guard Reservist, November 1996 by Vern Toler)Editors Note: This is a thumbnail history of the Coast Guardin Vietnam with a detailed listing of the Coast Guard Cutters that were deployedthere.Vietnam is usually remembered as a war fought jungles and ricepaddies. But there was another conflict as well, a sailor's war, much of itfought from the decks of United States Coast Guard Cutters. The Coast Guardplayed a significant role in securing Vietnam's 1,200-mile coastline. Some 8,000Coast Guardsmen and 56 different combatant vessels were assigned to duty there.Coast Guardsmen destroyed enemy supply ships, supported ground units, rescuedAmerican and other friendly forces, and performed many more duties, includingcarrying out humanitarian roles which are common to the Coast Guard. Yet TheCoast Guard's involvement in Vietnam Was is still little known. So this year, asAmerica salutes its servicemen and women on Veterans Day, We pause to rememberin particular our Coast Guardsmen who served in a land thousands of miles fromhome, Vietnam, roughly three decades ago.    Early in the Vietnam War, The Viet Cong and North Vietnameseobtained their supplies in many ways. Forces allied with the Republic of SouthVietnam could not stop the enemy's flow of men, arms andsupplies.    During February 1965, A U.S.

Army pilot flying over Vung Ro Baynear Qui Nhon noticed an 'island' moving slowly from one side of the bay to theother. Upon closer observation, he saw the 'island ' was a carefully camouflagedship.    Intelligence sources determined the ship was North Vietnameseand engaged in supplying enemy forces. Air strikes were called in and the vesselwas sunk.    A tight security and surveillance system was necessary. Thiswould be no easy chore with 1,200 miles of coastline to patrol and over 60,000junks and sampans to control. To provide this coverage, the Coastal SurveillanceForce was established in March 1965, Called Market Time and after the nativeboats using the waterways for fishing and marketing, this task force provided asingle command to integrate sea, air, and land-based units and coordinate U.S.Navy, Coast Guard and South Vietnamese naval units.Squadron OneThe backbone of the Coast Guard Fleet were the twenty-six82-foot patrol boats (WBP). Known as Squadron One. The 82-footer's main job waschoking off the enemy's sea borne supplies.

Much of the action took place nearthe border, Division 12, out of Danang in the north, patrolled the 17thparallel. Division 11, based at An Thoi in the south, guarded the border betweenSouth Vietnam and Cambodia. At first, these patrol boats formed a barrier fromthe shore straight out into the ocean. They were to cut off the enemy as theytried to enter South Vietnamese waters. But the North Vietnamese sent theirsupplies in large steel-hulled vessels far out to sea and beat the blockade bygoing around it.So, the Coast Guard and Navy changed tactics. Rather than tryingto catch the enemy as they entered Southern waters, the Coast Guard and Navydecided to hit them as they approached the drop-off points. The boats formed apicket line along the shoreline and covered the area with radar.

When a targetwas spotted, they would attack.A year after the new defensive scheme was set up, enemysmuggling was stopped cold. In desperation, the communists tried a tacticalchange of their own. In February 1968, The North Vietnamese ran four largetrawlers south all at once, in the hope of getting something through. Three weredestroyed, and one retreated. After that, sea-borne smuggling was largelycarried out in small sampans.The patrol boats also worked with the Navy SEAL's and reconunits.

They also gave emergency support to Special Force's camps, transportedpersonnel, evacuated wounded and provided naval-gunfire support. About two yearsinto Operation Market Time, naval operations were extended further off-shore andexpanded into the Gulf of Thailand.Market Time units stopped many enemy vessels carrying suppliesand men.

Organization The HIANG is commanded by Brig. The HIANG is comprised of the HIANG Headquarters, the 154th Wing, the 201st Air Operations Group, and the 298th Air Defense Group. 154th Wing The 154th Wing is commanded by Col. The wing is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam. If you have a spare front window stone guard, would love to purchase,happy camping Reply LadyLocust Jun 2,2016 6:07 pm John: I realize this is a little late, but I have a ’68 Land Commander.

The success of the operation forced the enemy to rely on the Ho ChiMinh Trail to transport supplies. As many of the trawler 'kills' were insouthern Vietnam near the Ca Mau Peninsula, the enemy had to carry supplies overan extraordinary long distance.Squadron ThreeAs time went on, the Coast Guard was asked to increase itssupport and did so by providing five high-endurance cutters ranging in size from255 to 378 feet. Coast Guard Squadron Three was born. The large cutters kepttheir peacetime white paint job instead of taking a coat of gray, like thepatrol boats.

They were quickly nicknamed 'White Ghost' by the Viet CongShortly after their arrival, Squadron Three ships began battlingthe Viet Cong. The cutter Rush, working with an Australian destroyer, broughtits guns to the aid of a small Special Forces camp in the village of new SongOng Doc. The village, located in the middle of Viet Cong held territory, wasbeing overrun. Gunfire from the two ships drove off the attackers and left 64Viet Cong dead. Like the patrol boats, the large cutters were multi-missionships. They supported amphibious assaults and gave logistical support for CoastGuard patrol vessels and the Navy PFC's (Patrol Craft Fast).Coast Guard AviatorsIn addition to the patrol boats and high endurance cutters, 12Coast Guard aviators flew in Vietnam between 1968 and 1967.

They flew with theAir Force as part of a service exchange program out of Tuy Hua and Da Nang,Vietnam, as well as from Thailand and thePhilippines.    Helicopter pilots flew Air Force HH-3s (known as the Jolly GreenGiants) and later HH-53s, while fixed wing pilots flew Air Force C-130s. Theseaviators flew hundreds of rescue missions over enemy-infested jungles. Theiractions kept a lot off pilots out of prisoncamps.     One of the Coast Guard's pilots was Lt. Jack Rittichier,who served as a pilot with the Air Force's 37th Aerospace Rescue and RecoverySquadron.

He was the first Coast Guard combat casualty in Vietnam. killed in a mountainous region west of Danang, while attempting to rescue adowned U.S. Fighter pilot. Rittichier's helicopter came under hostile enemy fireand crashed in a ball of flame. A hanger at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit atSelfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich., is named in Ritticher's honor.Other Support RolesAlong with their combat role, Coast Guardsmen played anessential support mission. Coast Guard Port Securitymen a Reserve-only rate,were on hand as experts for safe loading and unloading of ammunition. Move from iphoto to picasa for mac. ExplosivesLoading Detachments (ELD teams) were also set up. With one officer and sevenenlisted men, they could stop any U.S.

Flag vessel from loading or unloading anycargo, and basically had carte blanch to enforce safety regulations. EDT teamsencountered their share of bizarre and deadly situations as they struggled tokeep the harbors from blowing up. Fire was a constant enemy. Vietnams familiesliving aboard ammunition barges cooked with open flames, while both Vietnameseand American stevedores would smoke as they unloaded thecargoes.    Enemy attack was a constant threat.

In February 1968, a merchantship off loading took nine recoiless-rifle hits at Ca Lai. Fire startedimmediately. ELD team, battling against time, rushed onto the burning ship,charged the hoses, and dowsed the fire before the ship exploded.Merchant Marine Detail personnel helped keep the merchantvessels sailing by providing investigative and judicial services, and diplomacy.They served the merchant sailor both float and ashore.Other Coast Guardsmen were also assigned to keeping the harborssafe. Before ships could reach the docks, they had to safely navigate into theharbors. Coast Guard buoy tenders marked the channels to help keep the trafficmoving and replaced batteries used in the lighthouses along thecoast    Long Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) stations were setup and manned by the Coast Guard. The stations sent out electronic signals tohelp mariners and aviators fix their positions. Lifesavers At HeartPerhaps the most intangible, but no less important item a CoastGuardsman brought with him from the Unites States was his humanity. Lifesaversat heart, they never left that behind, even in combat.

Coast Guardsmen performedmany medical missions but also gave of themselves to Vietnamese program wasphased in. The 26 WPBs and several large high-endurance cutters were turned overto the South Vietnamese. They became the core of theirNavy.    By the time they left, Coast Guard cutters had cruised over 5.5million miles, participated in nearly 6,000 naval gunfire missions, and boardednearly 250,000 junks and sampans.    The services main job was to dry up the enemy supply routes -which they did. With Coast Guardsmen guarding the coast, an enemy junk had onlya 10-percent chance of slipping through.

A steel-hull vessel had no chance atall.