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rbshirley
Founder
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 394
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 Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:23 am Post subject: |
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| Misty wrote: | I can't imagine that boats would be out and about without there being a
record of who was in them and where they were going. This is frustrating. |
"After Patrol Entries" were made in the records of the organizaton to which
the Swift Boat belonged.In this case Coastal Division 14 in Cam Ranh Bay.
However, since all of these divisions were disbanded when their boats and
records were turned over to the VNN, not all of these records were retained
and are therefore un-available from US sources. I know that econstruction
of much of the information on my own patrols / missions was possible only
because our Division Executive Officer kept a personal diary listing of which
boats & OinC's went to which patrol area on certain days during his tenure.
And even rough records of an particular patrol where an After Action Report
was not required most likely would be very short and without much detail.
Any sailor who has ever written or looked at a deck log for even large ships
will verify that the majority of entries read "Steaming as before" unless there
was something really significant that happened during that watch.
The Division histories of Coastal Division 11 that have been widely viewed
on the internet are good examples of this. Only those incidents that were
of significance (ie involved hostile fire) are included in the entiries. The many
patrols / missions in which nothing significant occurred are not documented
Being critical of Swift Boat sailors for not being detailed enough on routine
incidents is probably valid. But remember that these were boats, not large
vessels with very large crews. Getting through each day and preparing
ourselves and the boat for the next patrol/mission was of prime importance.
Not documenting routine events for posterity .... at least for most of us.
And the only unusual thing about December 2, 1968 was Kerry's assinine
contention that he deseved a medal for an accidental nick in his arm that
occurred on a training patrol. Therefore it should not be surprising that no
reports for what was considered a routine event are available.
It is the behavior of Kerry three months later, and which was only brought
to light 30+ years later, that makes this incident significant
.
Last edited by rbshirley on Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:22 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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NavyChief
Rear Admiral
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Boise, Idaho
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:25 am Post subject: |
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deleted
Last edited by NavyChief on Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ASPB
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 1680
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 9:09 am Post subject: |
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Jeez Bob,
We both just said the same thing but you were more eloquent! 
So your logs had more words mine! My bad!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Tom
_________________
 On Sale! Order in lots of 100 now at velero@rcn.com Free for the cost of shipping All profits (if any, especially now) go to Swiftvets. The author of "Sink Kerry Swiftly" ---ASPB |
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Misty
Lieutenant
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 223
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| ASPB wrote: | Jeez Bob,
We both just said the same thing but you were more eloquent!
So your logs had more words mine! My bad!
Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Tom |
Thanks, you are way ahead of me on this. Sorry for my confusion. I thought it was in dispute and was trying to find some piece of evidence that might support the facts.
Another
_________________
Misty
----------
Dad was in the Navy Pacific Fleet
Brother was on the USS Regulus - Vietnam
Husband was AirForce 3rd (34th) Tactical Fighter Wing - Security Police Bien Hoa Vietnam |
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NavyChief
Rear Admiral
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Boise, Idaho
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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deleted
Last edited by NavyChief on Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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skidlid
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 7:53 pm Post subject: Batman and Robin Callsigns |
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Chief, Then what you are telling all of us is that "Batman" has back up as to being on the whaler that night. 'Whalers are towed up river to recon site.' & I'm sure they had a full Swifty crew aboard. Even though you can't find any written record of the operation. Do you have any idea who was OnC of Swift boat on thai op?
I love Brinkley's statment - John parsely volenteered & was parsely was draft for the OP that night, says a lot about John. Tee Hee
_________________
Skidlid
USMC 64 - 68
MASS-2,MASS-3 = RVN 66 - 67
ChuLai,DaNang,QuanNgai,DucPho,Hue |
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95.143
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 12
Location: SoCal`
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:12 pm Post subject: The Purple Heart Hunter... |
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rbshirley & ASPB; question(s)
First, it's to bad about the swiftboats.net site, great place for information, as is Mr. Shirley's site. I hope it comes back up soon!
OinC for the pcf boat that towed the skimmer is id'd as Mike Voss. Wouldn't he have known who was in the skimmer that he was towing(to & from)? He, or any of his pcf crew that night, would be one or more credible witness(es) to the events of that night. Is he/they available for the swiftees?
Also, would the skimmer crew for the op that night be in the pcf or in the skimmer?
(when the swiftboat.net site was up I read the after action reports of the Bo De ambush where Ponder was wounded & the April ambush where Droz & another was kia. Both seemed similar(except that in the Bo De & April '69 ambush the swiftees knew the enemy were waiting) to the 3/13/69 ambush. It left me wondering why the 5 boats that day weren't roughed up with enemy fire, unless the vc were throwing spitballs at them.) |
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NavyChief
Rear Admiral
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Boise, Idaho
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject: Re: The Purple Heart Hunter... |
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deleted
Last edited by NavyChief on Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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95.143
Seaman Recruit
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 12
Location: SoCal`
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 9:02 pm Post subject: NavyChief |
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Thanks for the quick reply ....
According to "Unfit for Command", pg.37, Voss towed the skimmer back to base, so wouldn't he know who was in the skimmer? |
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NavyChief
Rear Admiral
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Boise, Idaho
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| Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2004 9:45 pm Post subject: Re: NavyChief |
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