p6album5.html

Kyle Maggards Photo Album

At sea and heading for trouble in Vietnam
Deck loads and choppers were a
regular routine
>

Pontoons were used for many purposes. Here they are deployed alongside the ship and are being used as a temporary pier for small boats carrying troopers, picking up supplies, providing food and water, and.as a resting place between missions.

Trouble found the ship and the crew too soon.

A rocket struck the bridge
The entry hole on the inside

A second rocket struck the hull on the starboard side
This photo shows the start of repairs on the rocket hit on the hull

This photo shows the entry hole of the rocket that penetrated into the mess decks and caused fatalities and injuries.
with the mess decks out of commission the Officers and the crew had to improvise a temporary mess deck on the weather deck.

The crews mess deck
The Officers mess deck

The gun crews played an important role defending the ship and spent many hours at drill perfecting their gunnery skills.

The gun gangs patch
One of the gun crews that manned the 3 inch 50s

The first loaders on gun 33
The gun Captain

Defending the ship at night was an awesome and sometimes frightening sight

Foward gun mount firing
A closer view of a gun mount working

The gun crews view when they were working the gun
Empty shell cannisters waiting to be off loaded and refilled.

While it seemed peaceful when leaving on a "Brown Water Navy" mission things could turn ugly very rapidly.

Underway and on the alert on one of the rivers in Viet Nam
The guns were always manned and ready while underway on a river.

When on a mission a wide variety of river boats were used.
Patrol boats were part of the group.

Repair ships were used extensively.
Scouting choppers were also frequently employed.

Vung Tau was a reprovisioning location at the end of a mission.
One of the activities the crew enjoyed at the end of a mission to relieve the tension was the pie eating contest.

This is the patch of a number of sister ships that operated with the "Tom" on the rivers of Viet Nam.

At the end of the Vietnam War many shipmates paid their respects to their fallen comrades with a visit to the Viet Nam Memorial wall.

To see more photos Click Here

*Return to the Sixth Cruise*

A rocket struck the bridge	The entry hole on the inside
A second rocket struck the hull on the starboard side	This photo shows the start of repairs on the rocket hit on the hull

The gun gangs patch	One of the gun crews that manned the 3 inch 50s
The first loaders on gun 33	The gun Captain

Foward gun mount firing	A closer view of a gun mount working
The gun crews view when they were working the gun	Empty shell cannisters waiting to be off loaded and refilled.

Underway and on the alert on one of the rivers in Viet Nam	The guns were always manned and ready while underway on a river.
When on a mission a wide variety of river boats were used.	Patrol boats were part of the group.
Repair ships were used extensively.	Scouting choppers were also frequently employed.
Vung Tau was a reprovisioning location at the end of a mission.	One of the activities the crew enjoyed at the end of a mission to relieve the tension was the pie eating contest.