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SEAL 'Nam Boat Support (BSU-1) Men and their Toys
SEAL Special Boat Teams
please send me photos Doc Riojas docrio45 @ gmail.com
Friends of the SEAL
Trio awaiting
Court Martial! Fire in the hole!
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Vietnam Combatant-Craft
Crewman (VCCC) Pin
James Williams
PBR Sailor Vietnam RIP
Jaime Garcia PBR Sailor
From: Ken Delfino
To: Doc Riojas
Cc: Watson, Steve ; Albert Ocanas
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008
Subject: Photos of SEAL Boat Suppor Personnel and their Toys.jpg
This is the photo...guy with glasses, doesn't that look like Bob
Leavitt? Pretty darn close if not. That's what I left out. I know a lot
guys played regardless of unit.
Still looks like EN3 Bob Leavitt,
engineer on PBR 152 while at Nha Be and My Tho.
Ken
Harry
Constance, Jack Rowell, Frank Toms(feet on
table)
I think it is worth noting that the original boat had the 427 engine with 12 inch water jets. In late fall of 69 Grafton made some changes to the boat Primarily changing to a Mercruser Engine with outdrives.
At SEAL Team TWO we call ed the STAB (SEAL Tactical Assault Boat) SEAL Team Assault Boat? Maybe?!
July 15 2006 Santa Fe TX home of Lowell. He is recouperating from Lung surgery. We talked about the times in MyTho 'nam war games. Good ole days.
Lowell
Dickey, "Pancho" Ocanas & Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
2006 Gamewardens Reunion in Denver: Front Row (L-R): Lowell Dickey, Glen Slay, Bill Goldman, Ken Delfino, Walt Fanton Back Row (L-R): Al Ocanas, Bill Wood, Gary Bay, Jerry Sapp, Dave Ajax, Steve Watson, Harlan McPherson, Duane Pulliam, Jon Inskeep. labeled by Ken Delfino.
The
U.S. Navy SEAL S.T.A.B. Boat; What we remember about them now
in 2005
What
has Erasmo "Doc" Riojas created here?
Please join the discussions.
email: docrio @ ev1.net
from: Bob Stoner
May 28, 2008 to:Doc Riojas; Glad you mentioned the STABs. Here's a short progression on them. As you know, ST-2 developed the first STAB (SEAL Team Assault Boat) for use in RVN in 1967. (I have a connection to the son of the original owner -- the boat was a modification of one of their fiberglass boats, PowerCat 23C -- and were built for the USN.) ST-2 modified them before using them in RVN. As you indicated, they lost one when it fell from the transport chopper and landed in a parking lot, killing some cars.) John Woody, who was the MST-2 OIC, brought six spare engines over to RVN after the first STABs were put into service. Grafton Boat Works, Grafton, IL built the 16 Light SEAL Support Craft to replace the Boston Whalers, LCPLs, and STABs in-use. The contract was let in 1967, and the boats were delivered in 1968. One boat was retained in Coronado for training and the others went to RVN. Above: Detchment ECHO's LSSC on the beach at Nam Can showing off its propulsion system. SEA FLOAT was not built at this time. Admiral Zumwalt and his staff came up with the idea of transporting an LSSC sized boat by helicopter behind enemy lines to raise hell and then get airlifted out. Proof of concept was accomplished by flying an LSSC on a CH-47A Army Chinook helo. The first two lifts went OK. On the third lift, the LSSC developed an uncontrolled oscillation below the helo and it was jettisoned into a rice paddy. The boat hit the paddy and the two engines kept on going. Later that day the Air Force put in an air strike to destroy the remains. Above: Getting ready to lift the LSSC. Below: The LSSC is airborne carried by an Army CH-47A. The Navy cut a follow-on contract to Grafton for 22 Mk 2 LSSC's. These boats changed the propulsion from two Ford 427 gas engines and Jacuzzi water jet pumps to two Chevrolet 427 gas engines and MerCruiser stern drives (same as used by the larger MSSC). The Mk 2 boat was designated as the STAB (STrike Assault Boat). The "improved" STAB was two feet longer (26 feet) than the LSSC (24 feet). Above: Twenty-two of Grafton's "improved" LSSC were contracted in 1968 and delivered in 1969. Twenty boats were deployed to RVN as part of StabRon 20. StabRon 20 was under the operational control of RivPatFlot FIVE and not MST-2. Note the differences in the stern and propulsion between the STAB and LSSC. Below: The STAB plaque from StabRon 20 clearly shows the protruding stern drives. During tests at Coronado, the boat ran over a waterlogged piling that ripped one of the stern drives out of the back of the hull.
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MY NOTE: Somebody help this poor guy ! Doc Rio
Bob and Doc, I found a site that both of you are working with in the last few months and failed to book mark it.Please send it to me, I knew Doc Hill and Joe Churchill. Thanks Jim Thomas ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Stoner" <rstonercrd21 [at] msn.com> To: <danwithers [at] qwest.net>; <jamethomas [at] homexpressway.net> Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 Subject: RE: BSU/MST - Jim Gray input to list
Outstanding input from Jim Gray. I wish we could do a "core memory dump" into a computer somewhere. He's a walking encyclopedia.
From: "Dan Withers" <danwithers [at] qwest.net> To: "'James S Thomas'" <jamethomas
[at] homexpressway.net>, "'Robert Stoner'" <RStonerCRD21 [at] msn.com> Subject: BSU/MST - Jim Gray input to list Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006
-----Original Message----- From: James and Cheryl GRAY [mailto:jgrayptf24 [at]
msn.com] Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006To: dwithers [at] rodaxwireless.com
Subject: RE: BSU/MST/etal: Service Units
From: "Dan Withers" <dwithers [at] rodaxwireless.com> To: "'James S Thomas'" <jamethomas
[at] homexpressway.net>,"'Robert Stoner'" <RStonerCRD21 [at] msn.com>,<jgrayptf24
[at] msn.com> Subject: BSU/MST/etal: Service Units Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006
Dan, Here's my imput on the list below I just made changes on Your list below. Need any thing else please ask. I checked out you ships page , looks good. I think the PTFWeb site should remain same as is. War boats should expand. MST-2 DETS can go to both sites really as they were part of BSU-1 your call on that guys. On the matter of the SEAL names, and I love my brother frogmen, and I have allot of friends are SEALs. they have their on websites and full blown association.They don't include us in their platoon listings. My say is unless the SEAL served under and part of the Boat Units (ie. many SEALs serve in SBUs and SBTs now.) It was my belief that we hope to bring all the Boatguys together and grow into a assc. like the SEALs. In Seperate areas. and I would have no problem with a associate
section. added where we can put SEALs, VNN PTFers, and Friends Like Chip marshal and other contributers. Dan I am Prepared to send you SBU-13 Info.
Cheers,
Jim G.
===========================================================================
=
BSU-1 MST Dets
MST-1 Da Nang
---------------------------------------
MST-2 Det Alpha - Ben Thuy Det Alpha - Ben Tre Hotel Platoon, SEAL Team One S-Ray Platoon, SEAL Team One Det Alpha - Ben Luc Mike Platoon, SEAL Team One Det Bravo - Ben Luc/Nam Can (SeaFloat) Bravo Platoon, SEAL Team One Det Charlie - Nam Can (Solid Anchor) Echo Platoon, SEAL Team One Foxtrot Platoon, SEAL Team One Golf Platoon, SEAL Team One Whiskey Platoon, SEAL Team One Zulu Platoon, SEAL Team One
2nd Squad, SEAL TEam One - Dan Doi LDNN Advisor UDT-12, Det Golf Det Delta - Nha Be
7th Platoon, SEAL Team Two Det Echo - Rach Soi Kilo Platoon - SEAL Team One Romeo Platoon - SEAL Team One LDNN Advisor Det Foxtrot - Ca Mau
9th Platoon, SEAL Team Two Yankee Platoon, SEAL Team One - Bach Lieu Det Golf - Nam Can (SeaFloat)/ Long Phu Juliet Platoon, SEAL Team One Kilo Platoon, SEAL Team One Mike Platoon, SEAL Team One Victor Platoon, SEAL Team One LDNN Advisors Det ? - Ben Thuy/Nha Be Det Charlie - Song Ong Doc/Sea Float
3rd Platoon, SEAL Team Two UDT-12, UDT-13, UDT11
-------------------------------------
MST-3 - Nha Be Det Echo - Nam Can (Sea Float)
-------------------------------------
Coastal River Squadron One - 1971 CRD-11, CRD-12, CRD-13 Moble Support Team 3 Subic bay
-------------------------------------
Special Boat Squadron ONE - 1978 Cornado Special Boat Unit ELEVEN - Mare Island NRF Special Boat Unit Twelve - Coronado Special Boat Unit Thirteen Coronado NRF Special Boat Dets, Subic, Guam, Bahrain, Args etc.
-------------------------------------
BSU-2 Little Creek.
-------------------------------------
Coastal River Squadron Two - 1972
-------------------------------------
Coastal River Squadron Two -Little Creek CRD-20 Little Creek Coastal River Division - Twenty One - Great Lakes NRF Coastal River Division - twenty Two - New Orleans NRF
-------------------------------------
Special Boat Squadron Two 1978 Little Creek Special Boat Unit 20 Little Creek Special Boat Unit 22 New Orleans NRF /Steniss Ms Special Boat Unit 24 Little Creek NRF Special Boat Unit 26 1983 Panama Special Boat DETs ( east coast boys can fill these in)
______________________
Naval Special Warfare Group-4 2002 Little Creek Va. (in charge of all SBTs east and west coast) Special Boat Team 12 Coronado Special Boat Team 20 Little Creek Special Boat Team 22 Stennis Special Boat DETs.
=========================================================================
Doc and John, This is what I got back from Fred Schuler. Does this stimulate any memories? Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Fred Schuler To: Robert Stoner Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005
Subject: Re: STABs
Did
Doc forward the photos of the STABs to you? What did you think
of them? If he didn't let me know and I will forward what I
have. As I understand it, the first STAB (SEAL Team Assault
Boat) was a Boston Whaler-built hull with two 115 hp silenced
outboards. Three of them were brought over with SEAL Team TWO in
the 1967 time period. They were eventually replaced by the Light
SEAL Support Craft (LSSC).
The
second STAB (STrike Assault Boat) was the brainchild of VADM Elmo R.
Zumwalt, COMNAVFORV. He envisioned the airlift of an LSSC-sized
craft behind enemy lines, heavily armored and armed, to raise hell
with the VC/NVA and then be extracted. Proof of concept was done
using an LSSC. There were three helo-lifts done by an Army CH-47
"Chinook". The first two were successful; the third
resulted in an uncontrolled oscillation beneath the helo. The
LSSC was cut away and landed in a rice paddy. The two Ford 427
engines kept going into the muck. The USAF was called in to bomb
10pt; COLOR: black; In 1969,
Grafton Boats, the same builders of the LSSC, built 22 Mk 2 LSSC's
(aka STAB) for the Navy. These boats were 2 feet longer than the
Mk 1 LSSC and had twin Chevy 427 engines with MerCruiser stern drives
instead of the Ford 427s and water pumps. Two boats were left
stateside for training and 20 boats were sent to RVN in January 1970
under command of LCDR Kirk Ferguson. The unit was called StabRon
20 and operated on the upper
Mekon
River
. There normal patrol area was the 40 miles of the Grand Canal
between the
Mekong
and Vam Co Tay River. Ten boats of StabRon 20 were part of the
Cambodian invasion in May 1970. They were withdrawn from
The Sea Float/Solid anchor Word file was posted to the www.mst2-vietnam.info site. The one that I sent you is the latest revision that has the stuff on Song Ong Doc added. I don't think Dan Withers -- he maintains the website -- has picked it up yet, so you might want to use the latest, revised version. Verdana">I've been supporting the websites of others, so "technically" I don't own one of my own. However, I "feel" like I own it, because of the writing I've done for them. I keep thrashing about and writing. I am doing a series of articles about the PTF's for the MRFA newsletter "River Currents." Oy, such a deal I have for you on STAB boats.
I have your SEAL Team Assault Boat and your Strike Assault Boat. Both are on the www.warboats.org site. Verdana">The PTF stuff is on the www.ptfnasty.com site. Verdana">Oh, yes. Please take a look at the MST/SEAL/UDT rosters on the www.mst2-vietnam.info site. We could use a lot of help filling in blanks of people attached to the various detachments and platoons, especially in the early years of the Vietnam conflict.
Robert Stoner GMGC, BSU-1 with ST-1 'nam war games.
Hi Glen Grinage and Doc Rio,
Did Doc forward the photos of the STABs to you? What did you think of them? If he didn't let me know and I will forward what I have. As I understand it, the first STAB (SEAL Team Assault Boat) was a Boston Whaler-built hull with two 115 hp silenced outboards.Three of them were brought over with SEAL Team TWO in the 1967 time period. They were eventually replaced by the Light SEAL Support Craft (LSSC). Verdana">The second STAB (STrike Assault Boat) was the brainchild of VADM Elmo R. Zumwalt, COMNAVFORV. He envisioned the airlift of an LSSC-sized craft behind enemy lines, heavily armored and armed, to raise hell with the VC/NVA and then be extracted.
Proof of concept was done using an LSSC. There were three helo-lifts done by an Army CH-47 "Chinook". The first two were successful; the third resulted in an uncontrolled oscillation beneath the helo. The LSSC was cut away and landed in a rice paddy. The two Ford 427 engines kept going into the muck. The USAF was called in to bomb the remains. black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">In 1969, Grafton Boats, the same builders of the LSSC, built 22 Mk 2 LSSC's (aka STAB) for the Navy. These boats were 2 feet longer than the Mk 1 LSSC and had twin Chevy 427 engines with MerCruiser stern drives instead of the Ford 427s and water pumps.
Two boats were left stateside for training and 20 boats were sent to RVN in January 1970 under command of LCDR Kirk Ferguson. The unit was called StabRon 20 and operated on the upper Mekong River . There normal patrol area was the 40 miles of the Grand Canal between the Mekong and Vam Co Tay River.
Ten boats of StabRon 20 were part of the Cambodian invasion in May 1970. They were withdrawn from Cambodia by July 1970 and the unit was split into two divisions. One division of StabRon 20 went to Nha Be and the other to Dong Tam. They operated out of these bases until they were ordered to stand down and go home at the end of October 1970.
Bob Stoner
Greetings, Doc.
The BSU-1 crowd became either MST-1 (HQ Da Nang -- PTF support) or MST-2 (HQ Binh Thuy --
SEAL/UDT boat support) when deployed. Operationally, they were part of TF-116
Gamewardens. I know John Woody, an ex-BSU-1/MST-2 guy who's president of the association, Gamewardens of Vietnam
(GWVN).
I wear two hats -- I was with TF-117 on the first tour (Mobile Riverine Force) off Dong Tam and with MST-2 (TF-116) at Nam Can
(SEAFLOAT/SOLID ANCHOR) on the second tour. I'm a member of both MRFA and
GWVN. The Gamewardens site is www.tf116.org. All the contact information is on the site, including John Woody's e-mail.
Robert Stoner MCPO (ret)
From:
Robert Stoner [mailto:RStonerCRD21 [at] msn.com]
Monday, September 19, 2005
3:35 PM
To: Doc Rio docrio45 [at] gmail.com
John Woody
Subject: Re: hey bob where is
the URL that I asked you for
My
understanding is that the Boston Whaler company made three of these STABs
for RVN service. They were not built on the standard Boston Whaler
hull because it was too narrow for moving people fore and aft on the boat
efficiently.
Boston Whaler Co. used a different hull configuration that had interior armor, self-sealing fuel bladders, and a low profile for the operator (who was on the centerline). These first STAB's were interim designs until the Grafton-built LSSC came in-country. I think John Woody (now president of Gamewardens of Vietnam) told me that he brought three of the boats over along with six of their special 115 hp silenced outboard engines.
He wasn't clear as to whether he was counting the outboards
as the ones installed on the boats or if the six were additional spares for
those already on the boats. Once the LSSC was in-country, these
fiberglass STAB's (well-worn from combat operations) were discarded.
Bob
The below photos compliments of Master CPO Robert Stoner SEAL Boat Support Vietnam
What's their names?
What's their names?
From: Norman Olson
To: Doc Rio Cc: Robert Stoner
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Subject: Re: creating a page for SEAL Boat Support men and toys Norm Riojas'
note: while transporting one
of those STABs with a helicopter, it was twirling a lot and broke
lose lot at Desert Cove, Little Creek
VA. I remember the story told saying that it
landed on one of the guys auto. He called his insurance agency and told
them that a boat had landed on top of his car and they would not believe
him. I was not at the Team
at the time of this memorable event. I wish somebody could've
taken a photo of that, maybe they did, Archie Grayson was our
photographer, maybe he has a photo of that event. I'll give him a phone
call after RITA blows over.
From: John
Woody
Thursday, September 22, 2005 To: All, I always thought there were three STABS; we called them Trimarine (sp).
I started my OIC tour at My Tho with our LCM. Capt Price TF116 called me
to Bien Thuy to as OIC to be close to TF116. I traded places with one of
my Det Officers. We were keeping the LCM in My Tho so that the SEAL dets
would have its availability and TF 116 would not be able to use it for
independent ops as much as they did when it was on the Bassac. There was a STAB at My Tho and at Bien Thuy. I carried two 7.62 mm
miniguns with me as I deployed in addition to the Mercursers engines. The
SEAL Det at Bien Thuy was lead by Marcinko and Jake Rhinebolt. I was the third OIC of MST2. There was a MST3 over in the area of
Saigon. Capt Price ordered me to take control of that MST as overall OIC
and make it a Det within MST2. I sent an msg to BSU One stating that
unless otherwise directed, I had assumed command of MST3. We mounted one of the miniguns on the LCM in My Tho and the other on my LCPL. It was during this time that the SEAL Dets were beginning to feel the strain
of using the LCPLs. They did not mind the firepower we carried, but the
transit times were long, especially going home. I conducted about 45
missions with Marcinko and about 15 missions independently. This was
during and just after TET 68. We did move the LCM to Bien Thuy for the trip to Roc Jaw (sp) on the Thailand
Gulf. We did this through a canal from the Bassac to the coast. This
was the first trip by any Allied military on this canal during the war. It
was here that we (SEALs) unset the balance of the U Min forest area. We returned the LCM to My Tho after this mission. It was placed in
overhaul at the Ninth Inf. Facility there. My first tour in Vietnam was with MST1 in Da Nang. I was the PTF
training officer doing missions and training of the Vietnamese boat crews. On return to CONUS after the MST2 tour, I was Ops Officer and XO of BSU One. There were three STABS. John Woody To:El Gordo:
Friday, September 23, 2005 From: Hoot Andrews During the outfitting of SEAL Team
TWO, I ordered 2 catamaran's from commercial sources. They had two
100 HP Evinrudes for each. The Guys mounted a recoiless 3.5 rocket
launcher in each. The could carry a 2-thousand pound payload. We
trained with them down in St. Thomas each year. Just thought you ought to
know. that was in 1962. Resp. HOOT
I rember one stab that I know didnt go = the one I watched
fall on the autos in the desert cove parking lot. Watching that almost made
me sick.good to hear from you
Jake Rhinebolt's
account of the dropping of the first STAB in the Desert Cove parking lot
in Dec. 1966 is accurate. I was home on leave when Bill Garnett
called me and told me about it. We were sling-testing it for an Army
sling lab at Ft. Lee or Ft. Eustis (as I remember), and the pelican hook
straightened out. The sling was fine, though! The account of
the sailor telling his insurance company what happened is the truth.
Garnett told me that the STAB absolutely totalled the car, and the STAB
was a total ruin, of course.
As I recall it, a replacement STAB was put together and
sent to Vietnam at a later date. I'm not sure. I do remember
that Det A in Can Tho/Binh Thuy had the survivor during my tour in 1967.
It was not a BSU-1 asset at that time, but it became one (maybe during
that tour); I remember that Ron Fox, Ken Estok, and Pierre Birtz were
coxswains.
I think the Boston Whalers that originally were at Can
Tho went with the Mike Boat to My Tho. The armored LCPL and the STAB
remained with Third Platoon at Can Tho. So says my fading memory...
BTW, did you guys know that Ron Fox's son, John, is coach
of the Carolina Panthers?
Larry Bailey
PS: It was not a SEAL T.A. Craft,
as somebody mentioned.
From: Dee
Clark To: Erasmo
Riojas
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Subject: Original STAB
Rio,
As I remember it, The original STAB was a fiberglass TRICAT 23 foot triple
hull catamaran. Jack Macione who had previously worked with fiberglass
car bodies showed Melochik and Brozak how to mount the
center mount 50 cal tripod on valve lifter springs to absorb recoil,
which worked well. The center mount could support the 5.56 MM
mini-gun. He also designed the side mounts for 57MM recoilless
rifles, 3 per side,which were fired by the coxswain via foot
pedal and aimed by turning the boat. There were 4 M60 mounts, one on
each quarter
I don't know that the mini-gun was ever used, but I saw the Honeywell
M18 40MM grenade launcher, hand cranked model, mounted there in summer
of 1967. I was a PRU adviser in Sadec province when LT. Rick Trani and his
platoon paid me a visit before he bought the farm. They used that
configuration with some success. The boat was powered by two 100 horse Mercury outboards at that time.
Sorry, no pic's. A.D. Clark ST-2 Plank owner
John Woody
[mailto:jwoody [at] texas.net]
Doc,
Great web site, I forwarded it to several Vietnam
Vets, mostly Swift Boat riders and PBR hands.
I served with, shipmate, friend,
EOCS Olin Nelson USN SEAL, early 80s,
Special Boat Unit 22 NOLA, and Operation Kindle Liberty, Panama, then lost
track of him in the mid 80s.
I was Patrol Officer, boat line maint. Chief at
the time. Somewhere I have some photos of he and I during
Panama ops. PBRs and Mini ATCs. Pearl River, Miss. Ops too.
Once during a dull Saturday night at the NSA
Chief Club NOLA, Senior Chief was sitting at the bar when a Marine
and a base Chief got into it, a bit of a fist fight,
Nellie broke it up by grabbing both by the
collar,, introduced himself as NELSON "Easter SEAL" ,
" This is my FUCKIN Chiefs Club, if ya want to fight here, you ask
me FIRST" We all cracked up except for the jarhead, he
stomped out and did not show his face for a while.
Doug Traylor ENC USNR ret.
Plankowner US Dept. Homeland Security
Retired Lake Somerville TEXAS
RivDiv 533 entire time
10/66-11/66 - Cat Lo
12/66-5/67 - Nha Be
5/67-7/68 - My Tho, Jennings County, Garrett
County, Hunterdon County
Tet '68 - in MyTho
26Jul1968
- luck ran out in Ben Tre Canal on
PRU mission pick-up
My patrol officers on these missions were QMC
Frank Jackson, RD1 Wilbur Cosson (KIA 7/7/67 lower Ham Luong) and LTjg Frank
Yusi
My patrols did a lot of delivery and pick-ups with your
teams.
Ken Delfino
Oh man....we were there TOGETHER! Our crew (PBR152) was
on the bottom floor...I think the 2nd room from the corner. Anyway, I was there that morning...groggy from a very
good celebration with the PHILCAG detachment and couldn't really wake up
during that attack. My crew threw two mattresses between my rack an the outer
wall and took off. I got up a few minutes later and ended up riding shotgun
for the crew shuttle driver. I didn't pull river patrols that first
week...Rich Wies, Dennis Keefe and Garza joined me when we went out and pulled
the 'off-duty' PHILCAG team from their villa out at the "Y". You might
remember that all of a sudden we had a bunch of Filipino military personnel at
the Carter and in officer's country. A lot of them knew my family in Manila
(I'm American-born) because they were in the entertainment business. I had a
lot of great home-cooked Filipino dishes during my tour!
With Pops, we were providing a blocking force for an ARVN
operation on the lower Ham Luong in the Long Toan Secret Zone. We were
operating off the beach with our guns trained down a straight and wide creek.
The ARVN were pushing them toward that spot where we'd just pick off all
sampans and/or swimmers.
We had laid down a lot of suppressing fire for the ARVN and
later in the day I was not only running low on ammo (forward tub), but my
barrels were becoming worn. Rounds were going out and going wherever they
wanted so rather than risk having a round hit our cover boat, I just loaded my
forward tub with blooker ammo and all the small arms.
Two boats were coming toward us with resupply and new
barrels and to save time, we turned to meet them. While we were closing range,
the rear gunner spotted movement starting to cross the creek so Pops called
PBR 160 alongside and he shifted to that boat. They turned and went back into
the fray...rather than waste time transferring stuff, we told the two boats to
follow and get in the fray while we took up the rear.
When 160 closed in to about 20 yards off the beach, with LT
Moir's boats about 30 years behind them, they took heavy fire and Pops took a
round in his head just under his lid. 160 boat did an immediate 180 heading
for the "T" while the other two boats relieved us. He was still
alive when we got him on the Dustoff, but died before he arrived at Dong Tam.
He was a damn good patrol officer....and a friend.
I ended up meeting his family in Salt Lake City during a
Kiwanis convention in 1995. The next year our convention was in Nashville and
I realized that the Florida panhandle was not that far away. I drove down to
DeFuniak Springs and met his mom and spent July 4th with them.
I commuted from Suisun City to Fisherman's Wharf for about
16 years and on July 7th every year, I'd stop off at Treasure Island and
lay a wreath in the lobby of Cosson Hall.
I know you guys kept to yourselves a lot, but Pops, Chief
Jackson, Frank Yusi and Dick Strandberg knew your guys pretty well...we pulled
a LOT of ops with your teams. We may very well have run across each other in
the mess hall...or one of the bars or restaurants downtown if not together on
ops.
Anyways, are you going to the Gamewarden reunion in Denver
this August? If not, how far are you from San Antonio? Our Kiwanis
International convention will take place in San Antonio next year and maybe we
can hook up with some other Gamewardens.
Ken Delfino
----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Stoner To: jwoody@texas.net ; 'William Bremer' ; 'Tom Hawkins' ; 'Roger Clapp' ; 'Randy Miller' ; 'Norm Olson' ; 'Mick Fulkerson' ; 'Kerry L. Ruth' ; 'Jim Gray' ; 'james s. thomas' ; 'Erasmo "Doc" Riojos' ; 'Don Tyson' ; 'Dan Withers' ; 'Bob Rieve' ; 'Steve Thomas' Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2007 8:23 AM Subject: Re: Heavy SEAL Support Craft ----- Original Message -----
From: John Woody
To: 'Robert Stoner' ; 'William Bremer' ; 'Tom Hawkins' ; 'Roger Clapp' ; 'Randy Miller' ; 'Norm Olson' ; 'Mick Fulkerson' ; 'Kerry L. Ruth' ; 'Jim Gray' ; 'james s. thomas' ; 'Erasmo "Doc"
Riojas' ; 'Don Tyson' ; 'Dan Withers' ; 'Bob Rieve' ; 'Steve Thomas' Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 9:51 PM
Subject: RE: Heavy SEAL Support Craft to All; Here's what I've gotten so far.
----- Original Message -----
----- Original Message -----
From: Striperseal [at] aol.com
To: trident33 [at] comcast.net ; docrio45 [at] gmail.com
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: Boats in Vietnam
NORM,
I cant be sure but i believe only two.
WILLIAMS was operating one when
he got shot in the back+paralized from the waist down. I will always
remember visiting him in the VN. HOSPITAL. HE WAS A REAL SUPER SEAL AND
PERSON..I WILL NEVER FORGET HIM.
I think the stabs were only used on the 1st
trip ,and then replaced by our new boat built at Grafton
Ill.
Jake Rhinebolt
----- Original Message
Larry Bailey Erasmo Riojas ;
Jake Rhinebolt
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 Subject: Re: The fate of one of our STABs at Little Creek
Razzmo:
I can tell you everything you want to know about the first
STABs, as Jack "Black Jack" Macione, Bob "Eagle"Gallagher,
and I were in charge of developing and modifying the off-the-shelf
catamarans bought by Hoot Andrews.
I have to say that I had very little input in how the STABs
turned out, as Jack and Bob were the idea guys. I just hung around
and took the credit! :-) Jack and Bob really did all the work.
We would come up with an idea and run over the the Navy Yard at Portsmouth
and have the idea incorporated into the boat.
----- Original Message -----
bold">Sent: Monday, October 03,
2005
To: 'Robert Stoner'; 'Ty
Zellers'; 'Tom Hawkins'; 'Norm Olson'; 'Barry Freece'; 'Bill Moreo';
'Bob Rieve'; 'Carl Chitwood'; 'Doc Rio'; 'Don Tyson'; 'Steve Thomas';
broberts [at] brandywine.net; 'Charles Bayer'; fgs [at] charter.net; 'Randy
Miller'
RE:
MST-2/SEALs
-- Rosters
!
No problem. Say Doc, on another note, I'm wondering if my
patrols ever took you (personally) out on ops. Here's where I was and when:
----- Original Message -----
From: Erasmo Riojas
To: Ken & Melba Delfino
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: Here ya go
Thanks for the updates and clarifications, John. Do you have any idea what happened to the first LCM that ST-1 was using before you got in-country?
As I understand it, the first boat took the direct hit with a mortar round that messed-up a bunch of people, but it seems to have dropped off the radar with the arrival of your purpose-designed and built craft. It could be that the damage on the ST-1 improvised boat was so bad that it had to be surveyed.
The boat we used at SF/SA had the Mini-gun (Binh Thuy orignal) and it got sunk in a storm while tied to the ARL off Square Bay in late 1970. Whatever details on the Nha Be boat will have to be filled-in by those who operated there.
Bob Stoner
Bob,
MST 2 brought the Binh Thuy boat. The MST 3 boat was the Mighty Mo as far as I can remember. This was as far as I can remember being the third OIC of MST 2. We moved the Binh Thuy boat to Me Tho to keep it from being used by Capt Gray who was using our craft for his initial canal incursions. MST 3 was at Nha Be.
We had a LCPL at Binh Thuy when I was there.
John W.
All,
I just received some photos as part of a story from Ron Allen who was with MST-2, Det. Alpha, at Nha Be. It has photos of the Nha Be boat that is quite different in layout from the photo I got from Don Crawford that shows the Binh Thuy boat. Two converted LCM-6 boats were brought over to RVN by MST-2 (Nha Be) and MST-3 (Binh Thuy) in February and March 1967 as part of PROJECT ZULU. These boats are quite different from the SEAL Team ONE converted LCM-6 called the "Mighty Mo" of 1966.
Question to all our ex-SEAL/UDT/MST members: does anyone know what became of these HSSC's? The Binh Thuy boat eventually went to SEA FLOAT/SOLID ANCHOR. It was lost in a storm at the end of 1970 when it was tied up to the ARL off Square Bay on the Gulf of Thailand side of RVN. The storm punched one or more bar armor supports through the side of the hull. The boat flooded and sank. No records appear to have survived about these craft -- that is, whether they were scrapped or given over to the South Vietnamese Navy as part of AcToV.
Bob
My understanding is the first HSSC was built by SEAL Team ONE in 1966 and had the soft top over the well deck and the rear gun tub over the stern with the 57mm recoilless rifle mounted above the conn. I have not found out what happened to it. It may have been scrapped in-country.
Project ZULU brought the two modified PacFlt LCM-6's over. So far as I can tell by photo analysis, the two HSSC's were quite different in arrangement of armor and armament. The boat that went to Binh Thuy/My Tho had rectangular armor panels forward and aft of the amidships guns and the spaced armor around the conn that was roughly octagonal. The conn did not have a cover over it at first, but the well deck had a fabric cover.
Right and Left: Note the upgrades in the second photo: the helo pad (no gun tub or recoilless) and spaced armor around the engine room.
The well deck was soon covered over. First by a plate with sandbags and later beefed up to hold a chopper. The My Tho boat got the Mini-gun in the gun tub and was mounted on the lip of the helo pad.
Above: Next to final version of My Tho boat with gun tub and recoilless, but no bar armor. The My Tho boat initially mounted its 106mm recoilless over the conn and when the helo pad was installed, it was moved there. The My Tho boat mounted its 106mm recoilless behind the Mini-gun tub.
The boat at Nha Be had a different arrangement of the side mounted armament and the spaced armor around the conn was much larger and more box-shaped.
Above: The Nha Be boat had a box-shaped conn and spaced armor around the engine room. Note forward mounted 106mm recoilless and no gun tub in this photo.
Above and below: The Nha Be boat had a gun tub ahead of the helo pad and mounted a twin .50 set up. Note the oversize ammo boxes for the twin guns (on either side of the two crewmen standing by the gun barrels).
Both boats used the Mk 2 Mod 0 81mm mortar initially. The My Tho boat was upgraded to Mk 2 Mod 1 (w/the .50 BMG) in late 1968 and got bar armor by late 1969. We used this boat at SF/SA in 1970. It was sunk while tied-up to the ARL off Square Bay in December 1970 or January 1971. I have no idea what happened to the Nha Be boat. It may have been turned over to the Viet Navy as part of AcToV.
Above is a VNN photo of the HSSC. It could be the Nha Be boat was turned over to them and they replaced the twin .50 with single guns as appears here. The layout is that of the Nha Be boat.
This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
The second Sealion (SS-315)
was laid down on 25 February 1943 by the Electric Boat Co., Groton, Conn.; launched on 31 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Emory Land; and commissioned on 8 March 1944, Lt. Comdr. Eli T. Reich in command.
Following the shakedown, Sealion, assigned to Submarine Division (SubDiv) 222, sailed for the Pacificand arrived at Pearl Harbor on 17 May. Furthertraining occupied the next three weeks; and, on 8June, she headed west on her first war patrol. Sailing with Tang (SS-306), she stopped off at Midway on the 12th; glanced off a whale on the 15th; and, on the 22d, transited Tokara Strait to enter the East China Sea. On the 23d, she and Tang took up stations in the Osumi Gunto, an island group to the south of Kyushu. That afternoon, Sealion unsuccessfully conducted her first attack; then underwent her first depth charging.
On the 24th, Tinosa (SS-283) joined the two submarines; and the group moved northward to patrol the approaches to Sasebo. Patrolling in adjacent lanes, the submarines contacted a convoy on the 25th, but Sealion lost depth control on reaching attack position and was unable to fire.
From the Sasebo area, the submarines moved toward the Korean peninsula. On the 28th, Sealion caught and sank a Japanese naval transport, Snasei Maru, in the Tsushima Island area; then continued on into the Korean archipelago. On the 30th, she used her deck guns to sink a sampan; and, with the new month, July, she moved closer to the China coast to patrol the approaches to Shanghai.
On the morning of 6 July, Sealion intercepted a convoy south of the Four Sisters Islands and, at 0447, commenced firing torpedoes at two cargomen in the formation. Within minutes, the 1,922-tpn Setsuzan Maru sank, and the convoy scattered. Sealion retired to the northeast to evade the convoy's escort, a destroyer,as it began its search for the submarine. At 0600, the destroyer closed Sealion; and the submarine fired four torpedoes at the warship. All missed. An hour later,enemy aircraft joined the search which was continued until mid-afternoon
Three days later, Sealion moved northward again and commenced hunting between the Shantung peninsula and Korea. Dense fog blanketed the area and left her blind while her radar was out of commission. By midnight on the night of 10 and 11 July, however, her radar was back in partial operation; and, on the morning of the 11th, she conducted several attacks, sinkingtwo freighters, Tsukushi Maru No. 2 and Taian Maru No. 2.
The running surface chase with the second freighter involved three attacks over a period of almost seven hours. On the third attack, at 0711, Sealion fired her last torpedo; then, after debris from the explosion had flown over the submarine, she moved down the port quarter of the target, pouring 20mm. shells into the Japanese bridge. At 0714, the freighter disappeared; and Sealion headed south of Tokara Strait. On the 13th, she cleared that strait; and, on the 21st, she arrived at Midway.
Refitted by Fulton (AS-11), Sealion departed for the Bashi Channel and her second war patrol on 17 August. Hunting with Growler (SS-215) and Pampanito (SS-383), she transited the channel and moved into the South China Sea on 30 August. During the pre-dawn hours of the 31st, she conducted a night surface attack against a Japanese convoy and heavily damaged a tanker. As Rikko Maru bellowed black smoke, other Japanese ships took Sealion under fire with deck guns. The submarine moved out of the area and ahead of the convoy. At 0720, she again attacked the convoy. Within minutes, Shirataka, a minelayer, went down; enemy planes begin circling the area; and the convoy's surface escorts began their search. Sealion went deep and headed south. Later that day, she closed another target with a merchant ship appearance; but, as she reached firing position, the target was made out to be an antisubmarine vessel. Three torpedoes were fired, but were spotted by the target's bow lookout. The target swerved, and the hunter became the hunted. Depth charging followed without damage to the submarine; but Sealion, low on fuel and torpedoes, headed for Saipan.
There, the submarine rearmed and refueled; and, on 7 September, got underway to rejoin her attack group. On the 10th, she moved through Balintang Channel. On the llth, she rendezvoused with two other submarines; and, on the 12th, the group attacked and decimated a convoy en route to Formosa.
At about 0200, Growler attacked the formation. Pampanito and Sealion followed suit. Growler's torpedoes sent a destroyer to the bottom. Sealion fired two torpedoes, both misses, and was taken under fire by two of the escorts. The submarine went to top speed and managed to keep ahead of the escorts until they broke off to rejoin the convoy shortly before 0330.
An hour and one-half later, Sealion again closed the convoy and, at 0522, fired three torpedoes at a tanker; then swung to fire on a large transport, Rakuyo Maru, the last ship in the nearer column. At 0524, the tanker Zuiho Maru, possibly hit by torpedoes from both Pampanito and Sealion, burst into flames. Kachidoki Maru, a transport near the tanker, was disabled. She swung into the burning tanker and was soon ablaze. Sealion's second target was illuminated; and, at 0525, she fired on Rakuyo Maru. Both torpedoes hit and that ship began to burn.
Sealion was then forced deep and, after several attempts to get a better look at the scene, cleared the area and started after the remainder of the convoy.
On the morning of the 15th, the three submarines reformed their scouting line. That afternoon, Pampanito radioed Sealion, and other submarines in the area, to return to the scene of the action on the 12th. Rakuyo Maru had been carrying Australian and British prisoners of war. By 2045, Sealion had taken on 54 POW's and started back to Saipan. All of the POW's were coated with crude oil and all were in poor health, suffering from malaria, malnutritional diseases such as pellagra and beriberi, and exposure. Three died before the submarine reached Balintang Channel on the 17th. On the 18th, Case (DD-370) rendezvoused with Sealion and transferred a doctor and a pharmacist's mate to the submarine. On the 19th, a fourth POW died; and, on the 20th, Sealion arrived in Tanapag Harbor and transferred the surviving 50 to the Army hospital there.
Prom Sainan, Sealion returned to Hawaii. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on 30 September, she departed again on 31 October and, with Kete (SS-369), headed west to patrol in the East China Sea. The two submarines stopped off at Midway on 4 November; then continued on to their patrol area.
Ten days later, Sealion transited Tokara Strait. On the 16th, her number 8 tube was accidentally fired with both doors closed. Heavy seas prevented a thorough inspection of the damage. On the 17th, she began patrolling the approaches to Shanghai. On the 18th, there was a hydrogen explosion in the battery space of the torpedo in number 5 tube. On the 21st, at 0220, she made radar contact with an enemy formation moving through Formosa Strait at about 16 knots and not zig-zagging.
By 0048, the pips were made out to be two cruisers and two battleships. At 0146, three additional ships, escorts-one on either beam of the formation and one on the starboard quarter-became visible. At 0245, Sea lion, ahead of the task force, turned in and slowed for the attack. Eleven minutes later, she fired six torpedoes at the second ship in line. At 0259, she fired three at the second battleship. At 0300, her crew saw and heard three hits from the first salvo, but they had hit and sunk the destroyer, Urakaze, not the first battleship. Shortly thereafter, one torpedo from the second spread hit the second battleship. Sealion opened to the westward. The Japanese searched to the east. By 0310, the submarine had reloaded and began tracking again with the thought that the torpedoes had only dented the battleship's armor belt.
The enemy formation, however, had begun zigzagging and the sea and wind had increased; then, at 0450, the enemy formation split into two groups. Sealion began tracking the slower group, the apparently damaged battleship escorted by two destroyers. At 0524, a tremendous explosion lit the area and the battleship, Kongo, disappeared.
During the next few days, Sealion continued to patrol between China and Formosa; and, on the 28th, she headed for Guam.
On her fourth war patrol, 14 December to 24 January 1945, Sealion returned to the South China Sea in a coordinated attack group with Blenny (SS-324) and Caiman (SS-323). Poor weather plagued her; and, of the 26 days spent on station, all but six were spent on the surface. On one of those few good days, 20 December, she sighted a supply ship escorted by a destroyer through her high periscope and, at 1937, fired six torpedoes at the supply ship for four hits. The submarine then evaded the escort, reloaded, and waited. Two and one-half hours later, the target, Mamiya, was still afloat, and the submarine went in for a second attack. At 0032 on the 21st, she fired three torpedoes for two hits. The supply ship went under.
That day, Sealion joined the 7th Fleet; and, from 28 December 1944 to 14 January 1945, she performed reconnaissance duties in support of the reoccupation of the Philippines. On the latter date, she cleared her patrol area and headed for Western Australia.
Arriving at Fremantle on the 24th, she departed on her fifth war patrol on 19 February. Again operating in a coordinated attack group, she returned to the South China Sea; then proceeded into the Gulf of Siam. In the predawn darkness of 17 March, she torpedoed and sank a small unescorted tanker, Samui; and, on 2 April, she rescued an Army aviator who had been drifting in a rubber raft for 23 days. That same day, three more downed aviators were transferred to her from Guavina (SS-362) ; and, on the 6th, she delivered her passengers to Subic Bay.
By 30 April, Sealion was again ready for sea. With Bashaw (SS-241) and Hammerhead (SS-364), she departed Subic Bay for the northern part of the South China Sea. Through May, she patrolled off Hong Kong and provided lifeguard services for strikes against Formosa. At the end of the month, she received downed aviators from Bream (SS-243) and transported them back to Subic; then, with passengers bound for Hawaii, she sailed east. On 12 June, she arrived at Guam, whence she proceeded to a lifeguard station off Wake Island; and, on 30 June, she cleared that area for Pearl Harbor.
From Pearl Harbor, Sealion continued on to San Francisco where she was undergoing overhaul at the end of the war. With the cessation of hostilities, in-activation preparations were added to the overhaul; and, on 2 February 1946, the submarine, which had been awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for her six war patrols, was decommissioned.
A year and one-half later, however, Sealion, along with Perch (SS-313), was designated for conversion to a troop carrier; and, in April 1948, she entered the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for the eight-months conversion. During that period, her torpedo tubes and forward engines were removed; and her forward engine room and forward and after torpedo rooms were converted to berth 123 troops. The forward engine room and after torpedo room were designed for alternative use as cargo space. The wardroom was redesigned for use as an operating room; the beam aft of the conning tower was extended; and a large watertight cylindrical chamber was installed abaft the conning tower to store amphibious landing equipment—including an LVT.
On 2 November 1948, Sealion was recommissioned with the hull designation SSP-315. Training exercises off the southern California coast, with Marines embarked, took her into the spring of 1949 when she was ordered to the Atlantic for duty in SubDiv 21. During April, she operated in the New London area; then, in May, she commenced operations out of Norfolk as a unit of SubDiv 61, SubRon 6. On 31 January 1950, she was reclassified ASSP-315; and, by the spring of that year, had conducted exercises as far north as Labrador and as far south as the southern Caribbean. Prom April through June of 1950, she underwent her first post-conversion overhaul at Portsmouth, N.H.; and, in July, she resumed operations out of Norfolk.
Reassigned to SubDiv 63 in March 1955 and re-classified APSS-315 on 24 October 1956, Sealion con tinued a schedule of exercises with Marines, Underwater Demolition Teams and Beaehjumper units; and, on occasion, Army units, off the Virginia and Carolina coasts and in the Caribbean until 1960. During that time , interruptions came only for overhaul periods, dur ing one of which the “LVT hangar” abaft the conning tower was removed, and for one deployment with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean from August to Novem ber 1957.
On 30 June 1960, Sealion was decommissioned at Portsmouth, N.H., where she remained as a reserve training submarine until reactivated a year later. In August 1961, she was towed to Philadelphia for overhaul; on 20 October, she was recommissioned; and, on 18 De cember, she rejoined SubRon 6 at Norfolk. There she resumed a schedule similar to that of the 1950's, again with few interruptions-for regular overhauls, and, in the fall of 1962, to support the blockade put into effect during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
On 22 October 1962 she departed Norfolk on what was to be a month-long training cruise in the Caribbean, but the formation of the blockade force altered the cruise plans. On 3 December, she returned to Norfolk and from then into 1967 she maintained her schedule of exercises with Marine Reeconnaissance, UDT, and SEAL personnel. On 15 September 1967, she changed homeports and administrative control and for the next two years, her last two years of active service, she operated out of Key West as a unit of SubDiv 121.
Reclassified LPSS-315 in January 1969, Sea lion was ordered inactivated the following summer; and, in September, she proceeded to Philadelphia where she was decommissioned and placed in the inactive fleet on 20 February 1970.
Sea
lion (SS-315)
earned five battle stars during World
War II.
, I worked on The USS SEALION
, late 60s, made a mod to the scope and repairs some seals on the attack
scope, thats when she was in Key West and I was aboard the
Bushnell. I worked on the 35 ft. tri engine CIA crewed
recon- cabin cruiser that was there at the time too. Very fast, about 50
knots, I drove her a couple times, just checking out my work on the
I had a close buddy who was on the USS Bolster,
never made it above Fireman, but went to AC&R school, now owns Tisdale
Industries , headquartered in Conroe,TX, , a world wide organization dealing
in refrig and air cond commercial and military contractors. A damn
millionaire now.
My
wife an SK2 was aboard the Dixon in San Diego for a while, at the same time, I
was in Key West aboard the HW Gilmore as a EN2, a periscope tech on the
Diesel boats with SUBRON 121, a unit that gave Castro an
ulcer. Big thing was to take a pic of the Castle at the entrance
to Havana harbor.
I was aboard as a tech, when we did a recon of Havana and got ran out of
the area by a Komar boat. I had modified the scope for a new type of
camera. Also worked on the SSTs, Marlin and
Mackerel, engine work and scopes too., I think they were about
the smallest subs I ever saw.
I
think I had another Baytown TX buddy aboard Sealion in 60s, as a
ETN2, name of Leonard Shaw, just had lunch with him a couple weeks ago
in Houston. I worked on many boats in Key West,
Grenadier, Odax, and others, forget some of them,
Doug Taylor, USN (Ret)
click on sub to enlarge photo.
On 15 March 1966 the River Patrol
Force was also designated River Patrol Squadron 5 for administrative and supply purposes. By
31 August 1968, the force consisted of five river divisions, each controlling
two 10-boat sections that operated from combat bases along the major rivers or
from ships positioned in the rivers. The Navy reconditioned each of the ships so
they could serve as floating base facilities for a PBR section and a helicopter
detachment.
River Patrol Force Dispositions
River Division 51 Can Tho/Binh Thuy
River Division 52 Sa Dec (later Vinh Long)
River Division 53 My Tho
River Division 54 Nha Be River
Division 55 Danang
Support Ships -- 1966
Belle Grove (LSD 2)
Comstock (LSD 19)
Floyd County (LST 762)
Jennings County (LST 846)
Tortuga (LSD 26)
1967-1968
Garrett County (LST 786)
Harnett County (LST 821)
Hunterdon County (LST 838)
Jennings County (LST 846)
532 was stationed in My Tho several times from 1965 until 1969. There were breaks in those times when 532 was on the USS Hunterdon County on the Ham Luong River and special ops. to Quih Nhon.
Former GMG3 Joseph B. Vitale has a case before the Board of Corrections and Medals for the CMOH. It has been in progress for six years and has finally reached the final stages. This came from SecNav in August.
The CMOH incident happened on 02APR68 near the Mo Cay Canal and involved PBR-139 rescuing Mike Wacasey and Joe Vitale who were trapped inland by a large force of enemy troops.
Paul Cagle
IN LOVING MEMORY OF : EN3 lOWELL W. DICKEY 8/29/44 - 03/11/08
2006 Gamewardens Reunion in Denver: Front Row (L-R): Lowell Dickey, Glen Slay, Bill Goldman, Ken Delfino, Walt Fanton Back Row (L-R): Al Ocanas, Bill Wood, Gary Bay, Jerry Sapp, Dave Ajax, Steve Watson, Harlan McPherson, Duane Pulliam, Jon Inskeep
|
Erasmo Riojas, Lowell Dickey, "Red" Walt Fanton
E."Doc" Riojas & Jaime Garcia at Coronado Base
Bob Monzingo in Red Shirt LeiLi Hotel Bar
Crazy PBR party !
LINKS |
Robert"Bob"Stoner,GMCM(SW)(Ret.) http://www.warboats.org/ |
Built
to deliver and support Navy SEAL operations, this high-tech carbon-fiber
craft is both beautiful and deadly smart. Get a closer look at the
military's floating feat of engineering with this
exclusive image gallery.
|
Craft and Boats |
MST-2 'Nam |
T.F. 116 Website & photo gallery |
Patrol, River Boat
(PBR) photos of the MK II |
Years
of Combat, 1965-1968
River Patrol
|
Gamewardens of Vietnam |
Mobile Riverine Force Assoc. in Vietnam |
Wannabe SLAYERS |
Many PBR's Photos on FreeRepublic.com |
Patrol Torpedo Fast (PTF)"The Nasty Class" |
War Boats |
Patriot Guard Riders |
Gerry Flowers (USMC Recon): MOORE's MARAUDERS |
Albert "Pancho"
Ocanas
|
:-) Howdy there, Doc ~
Hope you and your kin are both warm and well. It's a bit chilly up here but we
be grateful unto God for His providence and protection.
Hey mate, as a means of honoring those to whom it is due - it ain't me
that put that WarBoats.Org web-site together: one of the hard-working fellows
that really has done a bang-up job is Jim Gray, a retired Gunner's Mate (Master
Chief). Jim is an extraordinary special boat-guy and if you and I were to be
inserted/extracted, we'd want this fellow in our crew, ya' dig? I first met him
in '83 and am pleased to be back in contact with him. I'm humbled at the
remembrance of all them boat drivers who've helped you and I throughout the
decades, and of their own blood, sweat and tears shed.
Doc, you've got great photographs on the SEAL 2 web-site. It brings back some
memories, that's for sure. Thank you kindly for your hard work, sir. I salute
you.
Hope to communicate with ya' again soon. Adios mi amigo...
Billy Hoffmann JesusChristKING
[at] centurytel.net
Alleluia: for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Aleluya: porque reino el Senor nuestro Dios Todo-poderoso.
John Donovan
http://www.donovanassociates.net/
From: Rick Shepherd
Bill Moreo and I were with a group that went to Grafton, Illinois to Grafton Boat Company
during the summer of 1968 advising during the development of the
LSSC. We then flew into Ben Tuey Air Force base with the first to put into service on a Air Force
transport plane and I remained there with Blas Mojica supporting ST2 till early 1969 in Ben
Tuey. Crazy Toothman was with us, Robinson with his dog Silver, Steve Dunthorn, Dilly, Sonny Boyd
and the late Roberto Ramos who was KIA during that time. In 68 Rapp went to My Tho and supporting ST2
Seals Lt. Murphy, Johnny
Jaunzems, Rudy Boesch, Pete Jarard, Piere Burch, Curtis Ashton. Moreo operated with Rapp in My Tho
during this time frame and Rapp stays in touch with JJ and has been to several ST2 reunions.
John R. Rapp
Remembers Vietnam
May 22, 2008 There is one fella
from MST-2 out of Binh Thuy who was wounded on my LCPL during a new
platoon and MST Det. three boat day-light shake down trip to Cu Lao
Ton Din Island (Free fire designated) ,,, his name is Tom
Petty. He later was my gunner on
the LSSC up in My Tho on another deployment until he was reassigned.
From: John R. Rapp The organizational structure as I remember
it, and this references the West coast organization (((East coast
had a mirrored command structure using TWO as the numeric identifier
Two,,, NSWG Two, SEAL Team Two, Underwater Demolition Teams 21, and
22, Boat Support Unit Two, Beach Jumper Unit Two, the East coast had
no components deployed to the war zone))) The West Coast --- Our command structure was
as follows –
John
Rapp – 1970 or so Crystal lake dive / North-West lower peninsula
of Michigan, early open circuit SCUBA stuff (USD 71.2 CF 2270
psi., Aqualung regulator or Voight Trieste with built in reserve
lever… I must have weighed 180 then vs. 230 lbs. now… John
R. Rapp - Marine Safety Deputy neptune590
[at] netzero.com I
found my deployment record for - Project
Zulu / Det-A / MST-2 / Bien Thuy… May
18, 1967 November 22, 1967 Remember,
I was sent over early to relieve Buck Owens BM for family reasons
(an original Project Zulu member). I finished his time and then
stayed with the next group… Correction: Add Jack Schultz
to the SEAL Two platoon in My tho! Hell it’s only
been 39.5 years…
One more
correctionI added Skip
Lautsenhizer to the MST My Tho crew list…
Here is the
corrected info on the My Tho deployment.
Rudy
and Pierre were roommates at the time. Their Picture taken by me
when was in My Tho in 1968 - 1969. I roomed on the other side
of their wall and down at the end. Doc,
please accept this corrected information
to replace the original information I forwarded for posting on
your web-site… John
R. Rapp Corrected
Information (names, dates, location) as know to be accurate at this time… Subject:
1967 Operation with SEAL Platoons out of Binh Thuy and other areas, with
staging aboard an LST anchored as a forward operating base for a PBR
detachment out at the mouth of the Bassac River… Note:
This information was compiled with the help of Commander Bill Langley
‘SEAL Team Two’ who was a member of the Binh Thuy platoon. I
was awarded a Navy Commendation Medal with the V device for a night
mission where ‘Bobby Stamey’ and ‘Joe Silva’ were WIA on my
unarmed Whaler during a coastal insertion… I had the throttle shot out
of my hand leaving only a stub to control the RPM, steering control was
lost resulting in Hendricks (my gunner) wrapping his arms around the
motor and turning it at my direction in order to continue the insertion.
Under
the direction of Lt. Bill Bishop (SEAL Team Two) we did not abort the
insertion but continued forward through the surf lines to the beach! Joe
Silva (serious arm would) did not egress with us but inserted with the
squad. I then extracted with Bobby Stamey and Hendricks back out to sea.
We stopped at the MSSC (LCPL) to provide the severely wounded Stamey
emergency medical attention, and then continued transport to the HSSC
(LCM-6) where I remember Doc Shorty Long taking over Stameys' treatment
and medical evacuation… Unbelievable night and day!!! John R.
Rapp From: Karen & Pete Peterson
From: Eugenio Crescini I put the these men thru BASIC(East Coast 1964-1965):
From: John R. Rapp
Upon return to the LST at the mouth of the
Bassac River, the Whaler was removed from the water and placed on
deck. A close inspection of the damaged Whaler showed a whole
bunch of bullet holes,,, most notably the little console where my
knee, arm, and hand were located and directly in front of me where
Stamey and Sutherland were positioned. How the rounds managed to
miss me and everyone else aboard was the miracle of the day! John Rapp
From: "Robert
Stoner" <rstonercrd21 [at] msn.com>
From: wshark79 [at] aol.com BOAT DRIVER FROM 1965-1969,DANANG,NHA-BE,MY-THO,VINH-LONG,CAN-THO/BEN-THUY, I DROPPED YOU AN E-MAIL ABOUT MYSELF AND RICK SHEPARD BRINGING THE FIRST LSSC"S INTO VIET-NAM IN LATE 67-68. YOU MAY KNOW SOME OF MY RUNNING MATES JOHN RAPP,BLAS MOJICA. I"M GLAD YOU ENJOYED THE UAV"S,WE SURE COULD HAVE USED THEM IN COUNTRY,BUT WE DID HAVE THE BIRD
DOGS. SHARK 79"R WAS MY RADIO CALL SIGN IN NHA-BE. I SERVED
ALONG SIDE "BLAS" IN DANANG-65-66,NHA-BE-66-67,CAN-THO/BEN-THUY
67-68,ME-THO 68-69, HE WAS, AN IS ONE OF THE TOP OPERATORS DURING THE VIET-NAM
WAR HE HAD MY BACK AND MANY OF THE SEAL TEAM PLATOONS WE SERVED,ONCE AGAIN
THANK YOU FOR HONORING HIM, THROUGH HIM YOU HONOR ALL OF US THAT SERVED
IN THE MST/SEAL COMMUNITY IN COUNTRY. Webmaster's
NOTE: Thank you Master Chief,
Welcome back to the world and Thank you Very Much for your
service.
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, HMC USN
Ret. "Semper Fi"
and "Hoo-Yah!"
photo
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email: docrio45@gmail.com
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To: Doc Riojas
Cc: John Rapp ; Blas Mojica ; Bill Moreo
Sent: May 19, 2008
Subject: the photo will follow
Doc,
Blas Mojica, Bill Moreo and I operated with with MST supporting ST1 from September 67 to
March 68 in Nha Be. John Rapp was in Ben Tuey 66 - 67 and supported with ST2.
Rick
Doc Riojas,
To: 'Doc Riojas'
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Subject: More info
Good morning Doc!
Naval Operations Support Group Pacific, was changed around 1966 or
1967 to
Naval Special Warfare Group One
Components of that command were as follows…
SEAL Team One
Underwater Demolition Teams 11, 12, and 13
Boat Support Unit One
Beach Jumper Unit One
Deployed components were –
SEAL Team One (combat deployed platoons, as well as individual
members assigned to NSA / NAD / SOG Saigon, and NSA / NAD / SOG
Danang and others)
Underwater Demolition Team (combat deployed Platoons)
Boat Support Unit One - detachments were deployed as Mobile Support
Teams of which there were three. MST-1 (Danang – PTF’s / Nasty
Boats), MST-2 (SEAL Support Teams - Mekong Delta), MST-3 (Coastal /
Harbor / Inshore Security and Patrol)
Beach Jumper Unit One (Psychological Warfare operations throughout
the theater)
Specifics on operations and operational tempos are hard to document.
Elapsed time and aging memory make for poor components,,, generally
mixing dates, times, actions, and spatial locations into a stew!!!
Ha…
With that said, the dance cards for all in country special
operations should be in someone’s possession. In those
records you would find the specifics on most operations – who,
what, where, when, results, etc…
FYI - I was told that when the BSU was decommissioned most of the
records of the unit including personnel assigned to the unit were
discarded into a trash dumpster and one of the authors of the
Warboats.com website recovered as many as he could manage. SO –
you might be able to survey those records if the report is true.
The initial MST deployment to the Mekong Delta Vietnam by BSU as MST
was in 1966 to support SEAL operations. Later on this combination of
SEAL and MST components became known as the PACKAGE. SEAL’s and
Mobile Support Teams / SEAL Support Teams. This deployment was known
as Project Zulu.
Project Zulu / Detachment Alpha and the detachment Commanding
Officer was Lt. Sam Braly (My Tho) and the XO was Lt. S. L. Baumgard
(Binh Thuy). A few of the original enlisted members were Dennis
Thompson, Buck Owens, and others I can’t remember at this time.
(although I was a GMG, I relieved Buck Owens (BM) in Binh Thuy
around the second month of his deployment so he could return to
Coronado to take care of a family emergency)…
Prior to deployment from Coronado, the handpicked BSU crews
redesigned several vessels for use in support of SEAL operations,
fitted out the vessels, developed operational tactics, and trained
for deployment. Deployments of SEAL One and SEAL Two platoons as
well as MST-2 teams located to Nhe Be (ST-1), My Tho (ST-2), Vinh
Long (ST-1), and Binh Thuy (ST-2)…
Among the redesigned vessels were the LCPL, LCM-6, and an off the
shelf boat known as the STAB. Although the LCM-6 and LCPL were used
for insertions and extractions the primary vessel for that duty was
the STAB, in addition to the Boston Whaler, and IBS…
MST boats were also known as the HSSC (Heavy SEAL Support Craft),
MSSC (Medium SEAL Support CRAFT), LSSC (Light SEAL Support Craft)…
These vessels changed or were replaced over the years of deployment
as newer designed boats were added to the MST components.
Firepower changed as well. The original Project Zulu LCPL assigned
to Binh Thuy had four .50 caliber BMG. One on the bow, one port and
starboard, and aft. In addition we carried a 60MM handheld mortar of
which I took over for fire support missions, one BAR (relic), AR-15
/ M-16’s, 9MM Model 39 S&W, M-79 (my favorite), one Honeywell
hand cranked belt fed 40MM grenade launcher later replaced with an
M-60, LAW 67MM Anti-Tank Rockets, and on occasion a 57MM Recoilless
Rifle.
FYI – I was in Binh Thuy operating with the original Project Zulu
platoon and MST for a few months until it was relieved by another
platoon and new MST detachment of which I stayed and operated until
the next normal rotation. In 1968 I returned for another deployment
to My Tho…
The Binh Thuy platoon members were from SEAL Team Two
Lt. Trani (KIA)
Lt. Bishop
Lt. Murphy
"Clem" Clemson
Sam Fornier
John Guntis Jaunzems (JJ)
Bill MaCarthy
Jack Shultz
McQueen
Terry Sullivan
Peter Irish
Joe Silva
Fred Toothman
Fred McCutcheon (spelling)
Frank Thornton
Pete Girard
Doc Richard "Leg" Martin
Doc "Shorty"Long
Tocci
David Sutherland (WIA) on my boat during insertion
Jerry Stamey (WIA) on my boat during insertion
Others….
MST / Boat guys (a few of which were replacements for Project Zulu
crew)
Lt. Thompson (spelling)
John R. Rapp (Leading Gunners Mate / MSSC – LSSC driver)
Blas Mojica (GMG, drove everything)
Kaufman (EN)
Nelson Haney (ET)
Dallas Clark (EN)
Jim Bunning (MSSC – LSSC driver)
Hendricks (my gunner on the Boston Whaler that was ambushed on
insertion in the Long Toan District of Vinh Binh Province (coastal
op) on September 8, 1967…
SEAL Two – Fred McCutcheon
SEAL Two – Bill MaCarthy – Binh Thuy
John Rapp (boat driver) – GMG, 1967, Binh Thuy / Bassac River ,
STAB not seen executed the Dung Island extraction
MSSC (LCPL) - MST-2 / SEAL Support Team – 2 / Detachment Alpha
"In addition to the information Rick and Bill has sent you I
will forward to you updated information on BSU-1, MST-2, SEAL
Support Team-2 in support of UDT / SEAL operations in Vietnam."
Subject: Bill Moreo, Rick Shepard, Blas Mojica
Rick and I just returned home from Lubbock, Texas after spending the
last four or five days visiting Mo. As you are probably aware Mo is
quite ill with cancer as a result of his exposure to Beta and Gamma
waves during one of the nuclear air burst test he participated in
during his time in the Marine Corp,,, before his three years in the
Army,,, and his remainder of time in the Navy until his retirement
from the Navy…
John Rapp instructing 81MM. Mortar firing procedures to Nelson
Haney, Ed Blazinza, Michael Cali on the My Tho HSSC / Black Sheep 1
- 1968
John Rapp on M-60 LSSC out of My Tho 1968 / Bill Moreo and I
switched between driver and shooter… Brim rotted off the boonie
hat!
John Rapp on the GE / Mini-Gin 7.62 HSSC / Blacksheep 1 out of My
Tho 1968 – early 1969
Ashtenaw County Sheriff
Rochester Hills, Mi. 48309
Rudy
Boesch & Pierre Birtz
These guys were fom SEAL Team Two but I forget the platoon number.
They were a great bunch of guys…
OinC was Lt. Bill Bishop
XO was Lt. Murphy
John Juanzems
Bill McCarthy
Fred Keener
Toothman
Terry Sullivan
Peter Irish
Jack Schultz
Curtis Ashton
Pierre Birch
Rudy Boesch
Peter Girard
Ed McQueen
Doc Martin
Others team guys need to be remembered if anyone out there can
help…
Tour of DutyMy Tho, RVN. MST-2 August 8,
1968 to January 28, 1969
Thomas Gorla, Lt. (OinC of our MST-2 Detachment in My Tho)
(Tom Gorla –great officer, played football at Notre Dame)
John R. Rapp GMG-2 (senior Gunners Mate, LSSC driver insertion /
extraction, fire support)
Bill Moreo En-2 (LSSC driver, insertion / extraction, fire support)
Ed Blazina
Michael Calli
Nelson Haney
Frank Beard EN-1 (HSSC coxswain)
Kaufman EN-2
There may have been a few other boat guys – but I can’t
remember.
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2008
Subject: Navy Artist with us in 'nam
Rio: great job collecting and filing all of those photos. I recall a navy artist spent some time with our platoon in My tho taking photos for his use back home in doing oil painting for the navy artist collection. i do not recall his names. seems he did a painting of Kelley and the 106 RR. he rode the baot and took his photos there. Do you recall him. might be a source of photos for you.
Pete
in Spicewood TX
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John
Jauzems & John Rapp
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008
SEAL Team 2, Detach Alfa, 5th Plt, RSSZ,Vietnam:
Lt
Jukoski, Ltjg Norris, Ashton, R. Davis, Waters, Peck, Ebner &
Baron (5 Plt at Nam)
LT. M. Jukoski LTjg T. Norris
DMC E. Crescini
BT1 D. Zmuda
BM1 A. Ashton
HM1 R. Lashomb
BM2 R. Davis
EN2 E. Ebner
BM2 F. Waters
DK2 K. Peck
STG2 J. Glasscock
ABM2 P. Hood
AM3 T. Baron
GMG3 M. Pierson
LDNN Long
To: Doc Riojas
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2008
Subject: Check this out Doc...
I was awarded a Comm.Medal for the op
where Jerry Stamey and Davey Sutherland were WIA on my Whaler
during a coastal insertion… I had the throttle shot out of my
hand, steering control was lost resulting in Hendricks wrapping
his arms around the motor and turning it at my direction in order
to continue the insertion. At the guidance of Lt. Bill Bishop we
did not abort the insertion but continued on! Davey Sutherland
(serious arm would) did not egress with us but inserted with the
squad. I then egressed with Jerry Stamey and Hendricks (my gunner)
out to sea to get Stamey medical attention. We stopped at the MSSC
(LCPL) to provide the severely wounded Stamey emergency medical
attention, and then continued transport to the HSSC (LCM-6) where
I remember Doc Shorty Long taking over Stameys' treatment and
medical evacuation… Unbelievable night and day!!!
Bill Bremmer MST-2 'nam
To: "Dan
Withers" <dwithers [at] rodaxwireless.com>;
"Erasmo "Doc" Riojas" <docrio45
[at] gmail.com>
Subject: BM2 Gary Hunt: MST-2, Det. Alpha and ST-1 X-Ray
Platoon
Date: Monday, June 16, 2008
Dan and Doc,
Jim Gray sent this to me for the MST and SEAL sites.
*********** BM2 Gary Hunt MST-2 Det Alpha--Ben Tre Viet Nam
MST-2 Det Alpha operated out of Ben Tre and had one MSSC, one LSSC,
and a whaler and supported SEAL Team ONE X-ray Platoon.
On 28 Feb 1971 we received a call nobody wants to get, a emergency
call for assistance. Our own LSSC out on a mission was ambushed and
received a direct hit by a B-40 rocket.
On Board the LSSC: MST-2, QM1 Cronk - had one ear drum shattered
MST-2, EN2 McClaren - lost his right leg
SEALs on board: CWO2 Jones - okay EN1 Doyle - okay RM3 Majors - both
eardrums shattered and shrapnel wounds in right leg PT2 Walsh - both
eardrums shattered SN Barns - lost right leg SN McCarthy - had right
hip blown apart and shrapnel wounds in right arm Cheiu Hoi Tran van
Pham - both legs blown off; died aboard the boat
The LSSC had made it to the 10th Regt Fire Support Base and the
wounded Medevaced. We towed the LSSC back to Ben Tre. It was awful to
clean up all that blood in the boat. It had taken the hit right in
crew compartment and almost went all the way through the opposite
side.
Other SEALs I remember: LT Collins - X-ray's OIC, who was later killed
EM1 De Croce - badly wounded RM2 Baker BM3 Trigg FN Clayton
There were others as X-Ray took casualties and replacements came in.
The LDNN assigned to the platoon was named Thang.
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Doc Rio,
Pancho Ocanas, Max Ocanas
To: docrio45
[at] gmail.com
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008
Subject: U.A.V.'s
DOC Riojas,
I"M BILL MOREO ENCM(SW) USN RET. BSU-1 MST-1,2,3 SEAL TEAM-1,2
.
TO ALL, MY HEARTFELT THANKS ,TO ALL WHO WORKED ON GETTING A MEMBERSHIP FOR MY
LONGTIME FRIEND AND BROTHER IN ARMS IN THE UDT/SEAL ORGANIZATION,
BEST REGARDS,
BILL MOREO ENCM(SW) USN.RET
.
Smallest Photo Ablum of Ole
SEALs
.
WAR BOATS.org
.
http://www.specwarnet.com/americas/sbu.htm
what happened to this LINK? Help,
somebody
.
Other VN War Boats HERE
!
SEAL
TWO Photo ALbums by Doc Rio
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