SwiftVets.com

[mtboone]

I hope the moderators leave this message on this site and not put it to any where else.


"It is with extreme sadness that I announce to you that John Davis, skipper of PCF-19 passed away this afternoon at 4:40 P.M. Eastern Time in Niles Ohio. Nancy Davis called me a few minutes ago and gave me the news. John was not well having been in the hospital just a couple weeks ago. He was readmitted this week and his heart stopped. They revived him but he was in a coma and never came out. The cause of death is cardiac arrest caused by liver failure. His cancer on his neck had come back as well so his body was just giving out. I want to say that John loved every Swiftie he came in contact with or spent time with at reunions. He carried a heavy burden of survivors guilt for his crew as most of you know. The good news is he read part of the book "Swift Boat Down" and had finally realized that the death of his crew was due to no fault of his own and being around fellow Swifties was the best medicine for him. Unfortunately, according to Nancy he had done a lot of damage to his body from drinking that he could never really recover completely from. The funeral arrangements will be made tomorrow and the funeral will be held on Wednesday January 25th in Niles, Ohio. This is her e-mail address in case any of you want to send messages to her about John, I am certain she would love to hear from you. She told me to give it out but if you have a question she will not be able to answer until after the funeral. I will pass on the final arrangements to this forum as soon as she lets me know tomorrow. If any of you that live nearby can make it, I am sure John's family would appreciate seeing you'all. Thank you all for listening, John Davis Ltjg USN is now with his crew "still on patrol"
Jim Steffes

May he finally rest in peace!"

To those that do not know, this is a summary of what happened to the 19 boat and what happened in 1968 and 30 years plus later.

"On the night of 16 June 1968, PCF-19 was cruising on a routine patrol offshore northern South Vietnam. A sudden explosion rocked, then sunk, the small ship. Four of its crewmen were lost that night:
QM2 Frank Bowman, Walterboro SC; body not recovered
BM2 Anthony G. Chandler, Warner Robbins GA; body not recovered
EN2 Edward C. Cruz, Inarajan Guam;
GMC2 Billy S. Armstrong, West Helena AR;
Lieutenant (junior grade) John Davis, who commanded PCF-19, and crewman John Anderegg were the only two survivors. Anderegg had kept Bowman's head above water until he determined that Bowman was dead; he then turned his attention to the badly wounded Davis.
There was no certainty about how it happened - some said the PCF was attacked by North Vietnamese helicopters while others believed that a friendly aircraft had attacked the boat by accident. Eventually the US Air Force concluded that one of its aircraft had attacked the swift boat, believing it to be a North Vietnamese PT boat - a "friendly fire" incident.

What was certain was that four men had died, and that two had not been recovered. On 6 October 1993, an armbone fragment was recovered from a grave ashore; a Vietnamese fisherman stated that he had recovered the bone and buried it. It was almost 8 years before the fragment could be positively identified through DNA testing, but once done there was another certainty" Tony Chandler had come home."
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

[baldeagle]

Fair winds and following seas, shipmate, save us a place in Fiddlers Green.

"On your eternal voyage, each day will be fair, the nighttime will always be clear
With azure seas and a steady breeze, a million stars will help you steer
Assuming the watch at the Golden Helm, you plow through the billowing clouds
God is on the bridge by your side, smiling and standing proud...
Farewell dear Shipmate...farewell"
Authored by another shipmate, Cdr. Edward Bookhardt, USN retired.
_________________
"In a word, I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home." --George Washington

[mtboone]

[LewWaters]

I have no eloquent words, but you're right, Terry, it's a sad day.

My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. May he now have eternal peace.

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

I'm so sorry to hear that we lost a shipmate. I'm sorry that things were so hard on him and I hope that he has found himself in the presence of the Love that comforts every wound and grief and guilt.

My condolences and sympathy to his family and friends - it's so hard to lose someone you care about.

[BuffaloJack]

It's sad to lose a fellow swifty. I never met John Davis, but we probably chewed some of the same dirt and sand in country, and we may have had some of the same friends. He will be missed.
Good bye, Trung Uy Davis.
_________________
Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71)

[3rd gen Navy]

Fair winds and following seas
_________________
Warm Regards,
Sean G. Smith,
RN, BSN, EMT-B, U.S. Navy, 1994 - 2003.
BS Biology, Business Administration, Nursing
The Deal with Life: Make decisions based on what you might gain, not on what you may lose.
!!!!!! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN !!!!!!

[gmez2001]