|
War Stories by Members of VFW POST 2015
Reflections On My Tour of Duty in Vietnam 1968-1969 A Photo Essay Herman W. Hughes Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve, Retired 
My tour of duty in the combat zone of the Republic of South Vietnam began on April 12, 1968 when I arrived in Saigon. After five days of orientation at Headquarters, MACV, I departed for the northernmost U. S. military post in South Vietnam, located on a spit of sand at the mouth of the Cua Viet river. Enroute from Saigon to Danang on a Navy C-47, an ancient two engine propeller cargo plane, I had my first of many scares. One engine began having trouble and we had to make an emergency landing at Cam Ranh Bay for repairs. After two hours we took off again only to have more trouble with the engine. The co-pilot, an old Navy Chief Petty Officer, came back into the cargo bay and told us about the trouble and that we were diverting out over the ocean. He assured us that this “old workhorse” could fly on one engine, but just in case we lost both engines and had to ditch, he went through the emergency procedures with us. How “reassuring” to know that I might survive a crash landing at sea after only being “in country” for five days! 
I was assigned to CTF 543, Task Force Clearwater, to serve as Intelligence Officer. By the time I arrived at CTF 543 I was an experienced intelligence specialist (officer designator 1635). I had 6 years of experience in intelligence work in Japan, GTMO (the U. S. Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) and in Washington, DC. 
Task Force Clearwater provided security on the Cua Viet and Perfume rivers utilizing various types of river patrol craft, most common of which was the PBR (Patrol Boat River). Task Force Clearwater also had two huge Patrol Air Cushion Vehicles located on the Perfume River on which I rode on night patrol on one occasion. What a thrill ride! 
Shortly after my arrival at Cua Viet our little base began receiving bombardment by North Vietnamese artillery - 85 mm, 122 mm, and the really big ones, 152 mm. These attacks usually occurred at night. The attacks resulted in 6 killed and 23 wounded in a little over two months. The attacks continued until the artillery units were “taken out” by a B52 bombing run - an Arc Light Strike. That was quite an event! We couldn’t see the airplanes or where the bombs were landing more than five miles away. But we felt the earth shudder and saw the giant columns of black smoke rising in the distance. We were never shelled again. 
This is our nearly completed mess hall which was located about 25 yards from my “hooch.” 
While we lived in tin roofed plywood “hooches” we spent a lot of time building and seeking shelter in sandbag reinforced bunkers. It got pretty hairy at times; hard to sleep never knowing when someone would yell the warning “INCOMING!!” and we would make a mad dash for our bunkers and holes in the sand. I injured myself a couple of times when I stumbled on something in the dark. Lost some blood, but alas, no Purple Heart for such injuries. 
I sometimes would go out on night patrol on the PBR’s just to get away from the tension, although it was probably just as dangerous on the boats. They were made of plywood and fiberglass -- no armor plating! We occasionally received enemy fire but were never hit when I was aboard. One time, a piece of shrapnel landed near me in the boat, but it didn’t hit anyone. 
On several occasions there were enemy frogmen who tried to reach our base by water. Some did manage to attach explosive charges to a boat or two and do some damage. Whenever we suspected swimmers in the river the flares went up to take away the advantage of darkness from the enemy. 
Here I am inspecting some captured enemy gear. 
During my three months at Cua Viet, I participated in numerous patrols on the rivers, in the air and on land with the Navy, the Marine Corps and Vietnamese navy (Junk Force). 
We did find some time to play . . . horseshoes, pickin’ and grinning‘, watching the camp cat, MRT (which stands for Mobile Rat Trap) stalking a chicken which had strayed our way. 
MRT The Cat Some of my thoughts about Vietnam and the war are reflected in the following poems I wrote after leaving Cua Viet and returning to Saigon.
Street Without Joy
Verdant fields like manicured gardens,
Laced delicately with blue and
Starkly contrasted against barren
Dunes and rust hills, flash by
As cool monsoon rains pepper
The windows of the Huey
That carries me high above
The Street Without Joy.
Far below me unimposing.
Ancestral homes are carelessly
Sprinkled across a patchwork of
Rice paddies and stately hedgerows.
Majestic churches lift their
Spires in silent prayer as
Children tend water buffalo on
The Street Without Joy.
Peace and tranquility seem to
Pervade this pastoral scene,
The pain and ravages of war
Long past and almost forgotten.
But, alas, it’s only a sad
And transitory illusion, for
I know that Charlie still walks
The Street Without Joy.
Herman W. Hughes, LT, USN
Republic of Vietnam
November 1968
Incongruous Vietnam
Well kept parks with lovely trees;
Frightened, homeless refugees.
Stately villas of the rich;
Starving orphans in a ditch.
Crowded shops and stalls in rows;
Forlorn waifs in tattered clothes.
Hondas roaring through the street;
Weary, trudging, unshod feet.
Friendly stars and pale moonlight;
Scream of rockets in the night.
Monsoon time; life-giving rain;
People dying; fear and pain.
Palm fronds sighing in the breeze;
Snipers lurking in the trees.
Tranquil, golden Viet dawn;
Savage, cruel Viet Cong.
Herman W. Hughes, LT, USN
Republic of Vietnam
July 1968
After three months in the “hot zone” I was reassigned to Commander, Naval Forces Vietnam Headquarters in Saigon. I worked in the Naval Intelligence office as Collection Plans Officer. While there I wrote numerous plans and assisted in conducting two agent handler schools for newly assigned Naval Intelligence Liaison Officers (NILO‘s). I also wrote the NAVFORV Intelligence Collection Plan, a comprehensive and detailed intelligence collection guide for subordinate commands and NILO’s. Such plan did not exist before. I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of Saigon although we did have occasional rocket attacks into the city. A nice little apartment with clean sheets and hot showers was a welcome change from the “hooches” of Cua Viet. The food at the officer’s mess was a lot better than the C-rations I had subsisted on for the previous three months, too. 
The ambiance was also a lot better in Saigon. The French influence over the previous two centuries was obvious in the beautiful architecture, the parks, the wide streets and the lovely Eurasian ladies. 
Not everything was lovely, however. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of refugees living in the streets and alleyways of the city. It broke my heart to see the ragged and naked children, many of whom were war orphans. 
A few of the more fortunate ones found their way into orphanages run by religious organizations. I got the chance to visit such an orphanage in Saigon one day. 
While stationed in Saigon I got acquainted with the Commanding Officer of the Naval Investigative Service Office, Vietnam. He learned that I had been the NISO Representative in Atsugi, Japan for two years prior to my arrival in Vietnam. About that time the NISO Rep in Danang was relieved of his duties and shipped out of Vietnam. It seemed logical to the CO NISO Vietnam that I should go to Danang and take over that office. He arranged with my boss, the Admiral (COMNAVFORV), to have me reassigned to his unit for duty as NISOREP Danang. 
Life in Danang was not as good as in Saigon. It did have its little benefits, however. My group was assigned a small 9-room hotel for living quarters and a nice large house for an office. NISRA Danang was responsible for conducting major criminal investigations for the Navy and Marine Corps in the northern half of South Vietnam. Also, I developed and ran an intelligence gathering network of agents in and around Danang. Danang, by comparison to Saigon, was a little backwater town overrun by refugees and the military. 
A cemetery and (?) 
Laundry day. 
I did get some time to interact with the local populace in Danang. I was invited to New Years dinner at the home of a retired Vietnam Army officer who worked for my office. Also, I got to meet some of the innocents -- the kids. 
My year in Vietnam was relieved a bit by two R&R trips out of the country. The first, and by far the best, was five days in Honolulu where my beloved wife, Sandy, met me. We enjoyed a second honeymoon there. We had not seen each other in over nine months. It was great! 
The second trip was a three-day excursion to Taipei, Taiwan where I got the chance to do some shopping, sightseeing and a little relaxing. 
In March 1969 I left for home, or as we said “returned to the world,” after more than eleven months “in country.” Although I had many successes during my tour of duty in Vietnam, my greatest accomplishment was returning to my family in Seattle having suffered no major injury or loss. The following poem fairly accurately reflects my thoughts about that experience.
Things I’ve Seen
During these few months I’ve been
In this war ravaged land, I’ve seen
A lot of things. Some have made me glad
I’m here and some have left me sad.
Some have made me mighty proud
Of who I am and for some I’ve bowed
My head in shame and felt somehow unclean.
I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen men,
Who just yesterday were boys and then
Were asked to pay the dreadful cost
Of keeping this land from being lost,
Show courage unsurpassed in the face
Of certain death in some God-forsaken place
To take a hill or help a friend.
Yes, and I’ve seen grown men crying,
Unashamed, when they see a buddy lying
In their arms, their furtive efforts all in vain
To save his life or even ease his pain.
I’ve seen strong men paralyzed by fear
When enemy shells have landed near
And they were so afraid of dying.
I’ve seen some lend a helping hand
To cure the sick and rid this land
Of dread disease, while others give
Much of their time to help men live
A better life than they have ever known.
By these deeds these men have shown
That they truly love their fellow man.
Then, too, I’ve seen the awful pain
That warfare brings and ask again,
“Why must it be? Why must men kill
And scourge the land? Is man still
So uncivilized and savage?” And then I pray
To God that I’ll live to see the day
When war shall end and peace shall reign.
Herman W. Hughes, LT, USN
Republic of Vietnam
July 1968
GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OLD GLORY ND Herman W. Hughes Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve, Retired Post Office Box 744 Lakeport, CA 95453 |