July 29, 2015

USS Forrestal - Trial by Fire

On Saturday July 29, 1967, in the Gulf of Tonkin, the USS Forrestal (CVA 59) is preparing for a strike against targets in North Vietnam when a missile is accidentally fired across the flight deck, hitting an A-4 Skyhawk that is fully loaded with fuel and ordinance. Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate Gerald Farrier grabs a fire extinguisher and rushes

Jan. 31, 2015

Tet Offensive Battle of Hue City Gives Cruiser its Name

]The guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) returns to Naval Station Mayport in 2013 after two back-to-back deployments to the Arabian Gulf. The ship and crew returned with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Adam Henderson/Released)It was 47 years ago today when the

Dec. 18, 2014

Swift Boats Were Workhorses of Brown Water Navy in Vietnam

Not since the end of the Civil War did the U.S. Navy have a need for a riverine force, or Brown Water Navy. But that all changed as the United States got deeper and deeper into conflict between North and South Vietnam.Due to the nature of the fighting and supply lines in Vietnam, the Navy needed fast, strong, reliable boats that could patrol the

Sept. 19, 2014

Dirt, Taps & Nursery Rhymes: Vietnam POW Book Offers Insight into Captivity

It's National POW/MIA Recognition Day today, observed on the third Friday in September. There may not be any big sales in the stores this weekend, but please take a moment to remember those who served as prisoners of war and the thousands who remain missing in action since World War II. The POW/MIA flag, made official by Congress in 1990, may be

March 11, 2014

Operation Market Time Challenges North Vietnamese Resupply Efforts

]The U.S. Navy fast patrol craft PCF-38 of Coastal Division 11 patrols the Cai Ngay Canal in South Vietnam.Most of the blogs that appear on this space are tributes to the Blue Water Navy, those Sailors and Marines who fought their enemies in magnificent warships, impenetrable ironclads, stealthy submarines and a whole fleet of aircraft carriers,