Nickerson, Bob, EM1

Other Memories
IUWG1 Unit 4 was memorable with Hubbs, Guinn, Geiger, Venema, Kearney, Bergeron, Dougherty, Goodwin, Carr, Phipps, Roos, Mezzacappa, Nau, Arnold, 'Rocky' Powers, 'Doc' Seely, Hotz, Diminio, etc. My memories include: the sinking of the Kin Wah***Lili's tavern***Fresh lobster from the fish market in Cau Da***watching the war from our side of the hill***Phipps calling down from the tower during a morning personnel inspection to tell Mr Murphy that Goodwin had run over a junk***making runs to Cam Ranh Bay, etc.

IUWG NEWSLETTER
INSHORE UNDERSEA WARFARE GROUP
CAM RANH BAY, REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
MAY 1970 VOL.1 NO.1
(Transcription by ren)
 
LETTER FROM THE OFFICER IN CHARGE, Commander George H. Overstreet, USN                Page 3
FEATURE        Unit One-Vung Tau                                                                         Pages 4-5
FEATURE        Unit Two-Cam Ranh Bay                                                                   Pages 6-7
FEATURE        Unit Three-Qui Nhon                                                                       Pages 8-9
FEATURE        Unit Four-Nha Trang                                                                       Pages 10-11
 
The INSHORE UNDERSEA WARFARE GROUP NEWSLETTER is the official publication of the U.S. Inshore Undersea Warfare Group, Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam and is printed in compliance with NAVEXOS P-35 from funds appropriated by the Inshore Undersea Warfare Group. The IUWG NEWSLETTER is distributed to the officers and men of IUWG and their dependents.  All statements and opinions contained herein are those of the writer and are not to be construed as official views of the Department of Defense. 
 
Officer in Charge: Commander George H. Overstreet, USN
Assistant Officer in Charge: Lt. (J.G.) John M. Saunders, USNR
Public Affairs Officer: Lt. (J.G.) James R. Harriman, USNR
Editor and Photographer: Quartermaster Second Class John S. Brown, USNR
Assistant Editor: Journalist Third Class James W. Fleming Jr., USNR
 
A special word of recognition is extended to the Photographic Laboratory at the Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, without whose assistance in providing photographic processing, this NEWSLETTER would not have been made possible. 
 
All photographs appearing in the IUWG NEWSLETTER are official U.S. Navy photographs. 
 
(Front Cover)  Late April afternoon finds an IUWG patrol craft on board and search operations in the Qui Nhon Harbor. 
 
(Back Cover) A lone crewman keeps a firm grip on his weapon as he steps from junk to junk during corral maneuvers at Vung Tau.
 
Page 3     
Dear IUWG-1 WESTPAC Detachment Family,
 
We are putting out this NEWSLETTER in an effort to bring our lives here in Vietnam a little closer to you at home. 
 
Our mission is to protect all friendly shipping in the harbors of Vung Tau, Cam Ranh Bay, Qui Nhon, and Nha Trang.  We are not only engaged in protecting all friendly shipping against swimmer/sapper mining attempts, but also by checking hundreds of junks each month we help to cut the enemy supply routes and disrupt the contraband and black-market operations.  To carry out this mission successfully in the face of the enemy threat and to maintain the continuous patrols in adverse weather requires considerable professionalism and dedication.  The 500 officers and men of IUWG-1 WPD have met this challenge for over four years with great success, having had only one ship sunk in our harbors. 
 
Each of the units is now deeply involved in Vietnamization which is the process of training Vietnamese Naval personnel to eventually take over harbor defense.  Our Vietnamese trainees have not had any English language training; neither have our men had Vietnamese language training.  We accomplish our instruction through interpreters in the classrooms and on the boats, where communication is of prime importance.  Training is done through a word of Vietnamese here and there, pictures, and most of all, patience.  The effort has been successful and our training significantly effective that in the near future we will be ready to turn over our first unit. 
 
The Navy in Vietnam has been aiding the Vietnamese, especially the dependents of their Armed Forces, by providing an economic subsistence program which will also help hold down the inflation in the country.  IUWG-1 WPD is contributing by raising rabbits, poultry and pigs.  This livestock will be turned over along with our units and the Vietnamese can continue to raise them for food or money.  Other projects include dependent housing construction and agricultural development programs. 
 
You can be proud of “your man in Vietnam”.  He is doing an outstanding job and fulfilling a very important mission.  Without secure harbors, the supplies to necessary to maintain our efforts here in Vietnam might never arrive.  The swimmer/sapper continues to be a threat to shipping and requires the constant vigilance of our patrols. 
 
Let me take this opportunity to wish you a pleasant spring.  I sincerely hope that the time will pass swiftly for you and that you will soon be reunited with your loved ones again. 
 
Sincerely yours,
 
George H. Overstreet
Commander      USN
 
 
Pages 4-5             IUWG UNIT ONE AT VUNG TAU GUARDS SAIGON SHIPPING
 
UNIT ONE of IUWG-1 WESTPAC Detachment is located in Vung Tau, a tropical resort area of South Vietnam, and has a boat element in Cat Lo, roughly a thirty minute drive north.  However, the serene beach atmosphere is shrouded by Viet Cong activity in the area.  UNIT ONE has been engaged in keeping the harbor area under surveillance and has been responsible numerous times for restricting enemy attempts at sabotaging Allied installations and vessels and the running of contraband. 
 
An example of this occurred during May of 1969 when two boats responded to a swimmer sighting in the pier area.  The EOD removed high explosives from the pier and a mine from the vicinity of a nearby ship.  Two enemy swimmers were captured. 
 
UNIT ONE boats inspect almost 500 merchant ships each month, as well as 400 small craft during the same period. 
 
In addition to routine harbor patrols, UNIT ONE and the other IUWG units are involved in numerous civic action programs.  These programs add to the ever-increasing “Vietnamization” process, and aid the Vietnamese in becoming more self-sufficient. One such program was the construction of housing for the Vietnamese Fourth Marine Corps Battalion and installing recreational equipment for their dependents. 
 
Like many other U.S. Naval bases in the Republic of Vietnam, the Vung Tau installation is scheduled to become involved in training programs for Vietnamese sailors.  This type of Vietnamization will form the nucleus of the plan by which the base and its facilities can be effectively and confidently turned over to the Vietnamese successors. 
 
UNIT ONE, Vung Tau, is the only IUWG unit not situated at a major harbor entrance.  The majority of shipping it guards is bound either to or from Saigon. 
 
UNIT ONE Photo Captions
a.     LCDR H.H. WOODRUFF, Officer in Charge of IUWG UNIT ONE based at Vung Tau, makes a periodic check on the coastal operations from the “Bridge”.  This is a communications and radar installation overlooking the Vung Tau “Roadstead” anchorage area. 
b.     Personnel scatter as perimeter brush goes up in flame.  This is done to prevent enemy infiltration of the”‘hill”.
c.     General Quarters drills and simulated enemy attacks are often a part of life at IUWG.  It is important to constantly maintain an effective security status.
d.     Members of the Australian EOD detachment, headed by LT. R.S. BLUE, place a plastic charge over ordinance to be destroyed.  This Australian group is the only one functioning with an IUWG unit in Vietnam. 
e.     BM1 M.L. DAVIS and member of his crew re-assemble a twin 50 cal. machine gun mount aboard a picket boat at the pier facility in Cat Lo. 
f.     Picket “27” moors to the replenishment ship USS CORPUS CHRISTY in the bay outside Ca Lo to apply finishing touches to the 50 cal. Gun mount.
 
 
Pages 6-7   CAM RANH’S UNIT TWO PROTECTS MOST TONNAGE
 
IUWG UNIT TWO, situated at Cam Ranh Bay, was established during the summer of 1967 on the site of an old French fortress and lighthouse complex.  Since its inception three years ago, it has expanded to 150 men and 6 officers who are responsible for 35 square miles of harbor.  At this time there are 14 patrol boats assigned to the unit. The fortress sight on which the Harbor Entrance Control Post is built is comprised of a maze of connecting underground tunnels.  It was not only used by the French, but by the Japanese and the Vietnamese.  During these earlier times, 5” and 6” guns were positioned here.  UNIT TWO was responsible in 1969 for the protection of an amount of shipping equal in tonnage to that of Los Angeles Harbor for the same year.  This month three men were recommended for several high awards for the discovery of an 80 lb. high explosive charge attached to a ship anchored in the bay.  From the incomplete state of the charge, it was assumed that the sappers had been caught during their act. 
 
UNIT TWO Photo Captions
a.     LCDR WILLIAM B. DYER stands beside the remaining portion of an old French watch tower situated on the IUWG UNIT TWO hill overlooking Cam Ranh Bay.
b.     Maintenance for the engines of the “skimmer” boats is an almost constant process.  Below, four members of UNIT TWO disassemble a 40 hp engine for inspection and repair. 
c.     With underwater grenades exploding behind them, the “skimmer” crew makes their rounds at the pier area keeping VC sapper teams away from the boats and ships. 
d.     At right, FRED EPPERLY BM2 plays pitching position for UNIT TWO’S championship softball team. 
e.     To circumvent the problem of climbing the 268 steps to the “hill”, UNIT TWO has installed a lift to transport supplies and equipment to and from the facility. 
f.     ET1 SELLERS and LCDR DYER discuss the current security situation in the tower from which radio and radar surveillance is constantly maintained with the entire Cam Ranh Peninsula.
g.     C.L. Todd CS1, Mrs. BAI and R.D. BOLLINGER CS2 prepare a salad in the galley before dinner.  IUWG units boast some of the finest food in Vietnam.
 
 
Pages 8-9   QUI NHON UNIT HEADS EFFECTIVE VIETNAMESE TRAINING A SEA COBRA EFFORT
IUWG UNIT THREE at Qui Nhon participated in a number of encounters with the enemy during 1969 and 1970.  Operating with the elements of the U.S. Army, Vietnamese Regional Forces and Army of the Republic of Korea, IUWG’S RECONDO Teams, known as “SEA COBRAS” put a sizeable dent in the Vietcong’s’ offensive artery.  The SEA COBRAS on many occasions cleared many V.C. strongholds yielding quantities of enemy stores, weapons, ammunition and secret documents, as well as destroying bunker complexes. 
UNIT THREE has not overlooked civic action programs, having provided medical aid and psychological operations in the Cam Cu Mong River Basin.  (This has been) in addition to distributing clothing in the Hai Minh Village, and performance of harbor patrol operations.
UNIT THREE Photo Captions
a.     QUARTERMASTER CHIEF JAMES F. WALLER instructs Vietnamese trainees during classroom navigational exercises at Qui Nhon.  These Vietnamese are a part of those who will assume the IUWG base after turnover is completed.
b.     An “LCPL” patrol craft ties a Vietnamese junk alongside in the harbor during boarding and searching operations.  Junks sailing too close to shipping anchored in the harbor or moving in restricted waters are prime targets for search by the IUWG patrol units. 
c.     Maintenance and repair facilities are situated throughout the base as well as on the pier area.  Above, American and Vietnamese ready their boats prior to getting underway for morning patrol.
d.     “A lucky catch!”  This sailfish, estimated at 270 pounds, was seen aboard a Vietnamese junk during harbor searching operations.
e.     EDWARD J. GRYA JR. ETR2 is presented the Bronze Star for his leadership in the SEA COBRA strike group by LCDR H.L. BARNES, Officer in Charge of UNIT THREE. 
f.     (Below) LCDR TRUAT (Vietnamese Navy) and LCDR BARNES look over two of almost 100 rabbits at the hill.  The animals are part of an economic subsistence program being developed for the Vietnamese in anticipation of the future base turnover.
g.     Depicted here are the three types of combat operational IUWG patrol craft.  (l-r) LCPL 36’ single diesel boat, a SKIMMER which is 16’ in length and capable of reasonably high speeds with its 85 hp engine, and the 45’ PICKET BOAT powered by two diesels and having double cabins with an armament of a twin 50 cal. Machine gun mount.
 
 
Pages 10-11         UNIT FOUR NHA TRANG PATROLS ISLANDS
UNIT FOUR, situated at Nha Trang, is the last of the four units operating in the harbors of South Vietnam.  Its RECONDO unit was formed early in January 1969.  Although it never made contact with the Viet Cong, it successfully interdicted enemy movement on the islands off the coast of Nha Trang. 
Unit Four has provided extensive help to the Vietnamese people through its civic action assistance.  Outstanding of these programs was the providing of surplus food to supplement the limited diets of Vietnamese inhabitants of the region.  Much of the Civic Action Assistance was directed towards school children.  Included was a Christmas party for the children.  It is through efforts such as this that the IUWG units have extended the hand of assistance to the Vietnamese in a sincere desire to promote a realizable and lasting peace.
 
UNIT FOUR Photo Captions
a.     LCDR W.G. MURPHY, USN, explains the position of the Panamanian cargo ship, KIN WAH (left) which was sunk by V.C. sappers in the Nha Trang Harbor.  Poor waterline illumination and lack of cooperation with IUWG by the crew of the KIN WAH are attributed to the sinking.  This is the only vessel to be successfully sunk by the V.C. in waters under the jurisdiction of IUWG.  Since it is sunk at an anchorage site, its position does not hamper the shipping channel. 
b.     This view of the hill shows the HECP tower and the surrounding building on the base.  In the foreground is situated the boat pier with an LCPL recently overhauled and currently in use as a training craft for the Vietnamese on board. 
c.     From his position in the tower, FRANK BABCOCK ETR2 can view the entire Nha Trang Bay.  As with several other IUWG units, the tower dates back to the early French occupation.
d.     LT (J.G.) DALE WATERMAN displays two of several dozen chickens being raised as a food subsistence program for the Vietnamese.  Each IUWG unit is maintaining some similar project.
e.     G.Green SM2 and R.HANDY GM3 paint down a remodeled skimmer which is used in UNIT FOUR RECONDO team missions.  These missions, begun in January 1969, aided deterring the movement of V.C. in the Nha Trang island area.