Iron Butterfly - Softcover

Christopher, Ralph; Davy, Chief Jim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 145202703X ISBN 13: 9781452027036

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2010

Synopsis

The true story of an elite group of men who wrote a page in Naval history.
They patrolled the waterways in thirty-one foot river patrol boats powered by Detroit diesel engines with water jet-propulsion. Armed with machineguns and grenade launchers, as well as sheer guts and determination, these sailors faced danger around every bend in the river. Working together, they became one of the finest weapons in Admiral Zumwalt’s arsenal for turning back the tide of communist infiltration into Saigon, taking control of the inland waterways. These are true accounts of their bravery, which they proved time and again by spearheading operations into enemy controlled territory. United together in brotherhood, they accomplished all their missions and won their part of the Vietnam War.

About this title

About the Author

Ralph Christopher served in the U.S. Navy in 1967 aboard USS Vega and completed three WESPACs off the coast of Vietnam in support of Operation Market Time and Yankee Statiion. In 1970 he volunteered and served with the River Patrol Force aboard YRBM 21 and at ATSB Phouc Xuyen. as well as ATSB Ben Keo. After returning home to Richmond, he attended classes at VCU in Virgina and later graduated the Musician's Instute of Technology in Hollywood. He is now a veteran performer and recording artist of over thirty years and lives in Las Vegas with his family where he writes and speaks of the Brown Water Navy in Vietnam.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Iron Butterfly

By Ralph Christopher Jim Davy

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2010 Ralph Christopher and Chief Jim Davy
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2703-6

Chapter One

RIVER SECTION 544

United States Naval Forces, Vietnam, had been patrolling the Rung Sat Special Zone south of Saigon for over two years by May 1968 and had extended operations even further south into the Mekong Delta. Code named Operation Game Warden, river patrol boats patrolled the strategic Long Tau Shipping Channel and engaged in a large variety of actions which included river ambushes, gunfire support, amphibious landings, and salvage operations. Acts of valor by brown water sailors were numerous with allied forces fighting fiercely to take back Viet Cong-controlled waterways.

The South Vietnamese Navy, accompanied by American advisors, continued to grow and demonstrate a willingness and ability to meet and defeat the enemy. Game Warden operations also continued to expand as more patrol boats arrived from the States, with new units being formed. River Section 544 "the Iron Butterfly" was one of them.

On May 1st, 1968, Navy Lieutenant William David "Bill" Straight, a 1961 Naval Academy graduate, was stationed at Nha Be Naval Support Activity Base when the soft spoken man of Fairmont, West Virginia, received a message from the Commander of Naval Forces, Vietnam, Rear Admiral Kenneth L. Veth, to officially activate River Section 544. Although Lieutenant Straight had no river patrol boats whatsoever at the time, he went ahead with the formal task of giving birth to a new river combat unit.

When twenty-nine year old Lieutenant Straight first arrived at Nha Be, he was assigned to train with River Section 542. On a night training patrol that included going into a very narrow canal, without permission, west of the Soi Rap River, the boat became grounded. Bill, the patrol officer, and the crew had to get out and wade through the water while physically pushing the boat backward out into the river. What with the tide going out, the canal had become too shallow and the boat had gotten caught in a peculiar position. The crew didn't seem too concerned. But Bill was.

I was scared shitless. I also noticed that I was the only one with a helmet and a flak jacket on at the time. Bill Straight

The Patrol Boat River, called PBRs by the men that served on them, had already gained much fame shortly after the first 120 Mark I patrol boats arrived in 1966 and had become the great nemesis of the Viet Cong, depriving them of the waterways they had once controlled. Designated Task Force 116, the river patrol boats first operated in the southern part of South Vietnam in the Rung Sat Special Zone river system between Saigon and the South China Sea. They then pushed further south into the Mekong Delta region, as far as the Cambodian Border. The missions of Game Warden were to interdict communist infiltration, enforce curfews, prevent taxation of water traffic by the Viet Cong, counter enemy movement and resupply efforts, use loudspeakers to promote the amnesty "Chieu Hoi" program for enemy deserters, and gain the support of the Vietnamese people through Civic Action Programs providing medical care and by giving away such items as soap, fishing gear, and school supplies. Operation Game Warden also patrolled and swept mines from the shipping channel into Saigon and other coastal cities and was almost entirely made up of PBRs, with some modified landing craft and minesweeper boats called MSBs.

It was a young officer's war where lieutenants had a lot of responsibility and did a hell of a job. Chiefs and first class petty officers were out on their own in most cases, leading patrols made up of young enlisted men who manned machineguns and time after time bravely rose to the occasion and distinguished themselves in battle. It was a proud time for the U.S. Navy, but most back in the States did not see or know of it.

In the early months of operations while River Section 544 was based at Nha Be, they had been assigned the task of patrolling the muddy rivers and waterways of the Rung Sat Special Zone. Because of attacks by the Viet Cong on merchant shipping, the region had become a Navy area of responsibility between III and IV Corp tactical zones. Though airlifting supplies had achieved remarkable results, ninety-eight percent of all allied war materials entered Vietnam by sea, and a third of this total was unloaded in Saigon by ships that steamed up a dredged connection of three rivers, the Long Tau, the Nha Be and the Saigon, which was the only deep-draft route from the South China Sea to Saigon.

There were few roads in the Rung Sat, with the major mode of transportation done by twenty-foot sampans with small two-cycle Briggs and Stratton engines driving propellers on long poles. The sampans were shallow draft and could be swamped easily, so they did not typically travel on main streams with strong currents, but rather on small waterways and canals, moving with the tide and mostly after dark, if they were the enemy. Therefore, the best ambushes were set downstream from suspected enemy base camps or well-used side streams.

On May 4th, 1968, the first three new improved Mark II, PBRs, hull numbers 752, 753 and 754, arrived in Saigon, with River Section 544 crews taking possession and preparing them for operations then sailing them to the pier at Nha Be. Two days later, they had completed sea and weapons trials, test firing all weapons, and on the third day, all three boats went for a familiarization run on the Soi Rap River.

The PBR had twin GM 6V53 Detroit diesel engines driving Jacuzzi water jet pumps that sucked water in through the bottom of the boat, compressed it, and shot it out the rear, projecting the boat at high speeds without use of propellers or rudders. This was the first time the U.S. Navy had used jet pumps for propulsion in Naval combat, and it would prove to be very effective. The thirty-one foot speed boats had twin .50 caliber Browning machineguns in an open turret forward, an M60 light machinegun and a 40mm grenade launcher amidships, and a single .50 caliber machinegun aft.

It was a matter of pride in the unit to get the last round of the forty-six-grenade belt of 40mm ammo in the air before the first round had hit, providing a continuous burst of shrapnel on top of the enemy. The PBRs would also carry 60mm mortar tubes mounted on helicopter tires for illumination rounds and for harassment and interdiction fire, but pinpoint accuracy with high explosive rounds was difficult on fast-moving boats. Patrolmen also carried M16 and M14 rifles, M79 grenade launchers and whatever else they could find for personnel weapons including communist AK47s. Every PBR also came with a machete attached to the inside wall of the splinter shield in the boat's coxswain's flat.

On May 9th, 1968, Patrol Officer Lieutenant Harry J. Feeney III, a Naval Academy graduate, with Boat Captains and both Boatswain's Mates First Class, Thomas L. Malone from Louisiana and William L. "Bill" Bailey, made the first River Section 544 patrol on the Soi Rap River when they received a radio message to proceed to the mouth of the river to intercept a sampan coming out of the restricted area trying to cross to Vam Lang Village on the west bank of the Soi Rap in Go Cong Province. The patrol sped to the scene and intercepted the sampan, searched it, and then turned it over to a nearby outpost. Then the patrol rushed to aid a Navy Seawolf helicopter gunship from Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three, HA(L)-3, Detachment Two, piloted by Lieutenant Junior Grade "Hollywood" Al Billings. The chopper had been forced to land in the minefield at Ly Nhon Village on the east bank of the Soi Rap.

We were coming back from a patrol when the engine oil pressure went to zero. I informed the lead helicopter and started a slow descent down from 1,500 feet. We were over the water, so I wanted to make sure we had enough altitude to make it to dry land if the engine froze up, which was just a matter of time. As we crossed the beach, I made a slight turn to where it looked like a good landing area and made my approach. As I came in, I planned for a no-hover landing, which ended up being a good idea. When I pulled in the power, there was nothing there. The engine just unwound, and the inertia from the rotor system cushioned the landing. My co-pilot Dick Sidney stayed with the helicopter while Crew Chief Boyd and door gunner Boissey grabbed their M60s and set up at the four and eight o'clock positions, about twenty yards from the helicopter. I took the M79 grenade launcher and M16 and headed for the twelve o'clock position and Dick stayed on the Huey to handle the radios.

Dick was on the radio with the lead ship while they circled overhead. I could see a group of Vietnamese approaching about a quarter of a mile away, coming to a stop on the edge of a rice paddy dike. They didn't seem to want to come any closer, and that was fine with me. Just about that time, I heard Dick yelling and turned to see him waving his arm outside the cockpit. I headed back to the helicopter when he signaled for me to stop. He pulled off his helmet, leaned out the cockpit door and yelled, "They said we're in some kind of a minefield." No wonder the Vietnamese stopped at the edge of the rice paddy. I told the crewmen to stay where they were, while I slowly made my way back to the helicopter.

As I approached the helicopter, I saw a large mortar round lying in the mud about fifteen feet in front of the helicopter, just off to the left. I put on my helmet and was brought up to speed on what was taking place. The lead ship was relaying information from the command center. It seems Charlie had rigged some booby traps in the area, and it had not been cleared. Not knowing what to call what we were in, they called it a minefield. As far as they knew, they were not conventional land mines, but makeshift booby traps made up of anything Charlie could get his hands on. There was no intelligence on how many or what to look for. I hollered out to the crewmen and told them to slowly make their way back to the helicopter and not to deviate from their original steps that got them there. We didn't have to worry about being overrun by Charlie, but needless to say we were walking on eggshells until help came.

We got word that the Army was going to crane the UH-1B out using an Army Chinook helicopter. While we waited for the Chinook, two PBRs arrived and helped us transfer some of the equipment. Since we were right at the edge of the Soi Rap, the risk of setting off one of the booby traps was minimal. The Army came in and marked the mortar round that I had seen and found one other in the area, only clearing an area big enough to get the Army maintenance crew in to rig the helicopter for an external hoist. We stood there watching the Chinook lift and fly off with the UH-1B helicopter, and then climbed in the Army Huey that landed right behind it. Two days later I was sent down to Vung Tau to pick up the helicopter after they replaced the engine. Lieutenant Commander Rice met me in the hangar and said, "You guys were lucky. That engine was just about ready to quit."

Al Billings

Lieutenant Feeney, with Petty Officers Charles Malone and Bill Bailey and the crews of PBRs 752 and 753, loaded Seawolf 28's weapons and ammo aboard and returned them to Nha Be.

That same day, Aviation Boatswain's Mate First Class Gary L. Larramore, who was said to be a quiet man, conducted a MEDCAP (Medical Civic Action Program) operation to Phouc Khan Village on the east side of the upper Long Tau. Boatswain's Mate First Class Daniel F. Hickey of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the crew of PBR 754, along with medical and Vietnamese personnel from Nha Be, all said it was a very rewarding experience.

The MEDCAP is a combination of medical treatment for the villagers, intelligence gathering, inquiring into special problem areas and planning solutions, as well as a time where the Americans and villagers got acquainted with each other. The Viet Cong had controlled the people of the Rung Sat for many years through terror and taxes so they were scared at first. The communists had informed them that if they helped the Americans and government troops, they would be considered war criminals and subject to execution. Although the people did not totally trust the Viet Cong, or government for that matter, they did grow in time to trust the Americans, who only gave to them. The river patrolmen knew that, to win control of the Rung Sat, they needed the population, or a least part of it, supporting them.

On May 10th, Lieutenant Feeney with Boat Captains Gunner's Mate First Class Dossie M. Lee from Alabama and Gunner's Mate Second Class Dale F. Bristow, made a canal incursion with seventeen men from the Vietnamese 431st Regional Force Company based at Vam Lang. After a ground sweep was unsuccessful in finding the enemy, the PBRs embarked the South Vietnamese Regional Force "Ruff Puffs" soldiers and patrolled to a second location and reinserted them. This maneuver was repeated several times while the Ruff Puffs searched for eleven Viet Cong that had been reported as crossing the Soi Rap below Ly Nhon the previous night. Six two-man shelters were found and destroyed along with one bunker, but no contact was made with the enemy.

Also on that day, the merchant ship SS Fairland was hit by four rockets on the Long Tau about thirty miles south of Saigon, sustaining light damage. Five days later, the ship was hit again by rockets and recoilless rifle rounds eleven miles south of Saigon, along with SS Transglobe, which received four hits in the same area.

On May 17th, PBRs 755, 756, 761, 840, 841, 842 and 843 arrived at Nha Be, with all seven completing sea trials the next day. Two days later, all seven PBRs completed test-firing their weapons and made a familiarization run on the Long Tau and Soi Rap rivers. Regular operations commenced on May 22nd with three night patrols and one day patrol on the Soi Rap. (The river patrol boats had been built and shipped from Uniflite's shipyard in Bellingham, Washington, owned and operated by Art Nordtuedt.)

River sections normally consisted of four commissioned officers, one warrant officer who served as maintenance officer and six chiefs who served as patrol officers, usually riding on the lead boat of a two-boat patrol. There were ten or more boat captains and around forty to fifty enlisted men who all turned into gunners when the shit hit the fan. The enlisted were mostly eighteen to twenty-two year old seamen, firemen and third class petty officers made up of gunner's mates, enginemen, radiomen and a whole bunch of aviation and other rates who had volunteered to serve on the rivers as well. The officers had graduated from college and were a little older, with the chiefs being the old men of the unit, in the middle of their Navy careers and normally in their thirties. And there was a great deal of admiration and respect from the younger sailors for the older petty officers, who were often nicknamed Pappy because they looked out for us kids.

PBR patrols were twelve hours long, starting either at 0600 in the morning or 1800 in the evening, with each man in the section averaging twenty-four patrols a month. Though most patrols departed the piers around these times, they did try to stagger them a bit to avoid setting a pattern that the Viet Cong could exploit. Many times they would leave a little before first light or after dark so as to better conceal their patrols, especially if they were going to do an insertion or a waterborne ambush. The patrols might also leave early if they were going to a distant station or into an area for special operations that was farther away than normal. The river patrolmen never knew what was in store for them. Every day was different.

A crew would normally perform two day patrols then two night patrols and have a day off before starting the whole cycle all over again. But the day off wasn't really a vacation since they had just come back off an all-night patrol and had to clean up the boat before having breakfast. Then they would try and lie down and get a little sleep. If they were lucky, they might wake up in the afternoon and go out to the little city outside the base for liberty call and have a few beers from 1600 to 2000 hours. Then it was back to base and bed so they could wake up at 0430 hours for briefings, breakfast and patrol.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Iron Butterflyby Ralph Christopher Jim Davy Copyright © 2010 by Ralph Christopher and Chief Jim Davy. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 145202703X
• ISBN 13: 9781452027036
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 396