Previously Held NEC EN-4355-LAMPS MK III RAST Mechanical Maintenanceman
EN-4296-Shipboard Elevator Hydraulic/Mechanical System Mechanic
EN-90IE-Riverine Patrol Boat Operator/ Crewman
Best Friends River Assault & Interdiction Division 73 was a Vietnamese river assault group and consisted of 16 Tango boats, 8 Alpha boats, 1 CCB and a Converted Tango as a refueler. The Advisors went out on operations with our or other RAID boats to assist them in all aspects of the boat operations. We kept in contact with American artillery and other American Air assets like Cobras, Seawolves, Skyraiders, Puff and whoever else had ammo and was close.
Best Moment Our hootch had space for 2 officers and 16 enlisted men, altho we rarely had a full compliment of men. We spent 2 weeks at a time out withour Vietnamese counterparts, & 2 weeks stand down. However, it usually took 2-5 days to hitch rides in Hueys, Carabous, riverboats and duece and a halfs to get from the base in Dong Tam to the boats deep in the U Minh Forest, whos exact locations weren't public information.
Worst Moment We had a jeep and used it to go to Saigon or My Tho for stand down. The road to Saigon was always dangerous, and there were several checkpoints to clear. I remember coming up to the aftermath of several ambushes along that highway.