This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Daniels, Richard Lewis, ET2.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Washougal
Casualty Date Mar 01, 1971
Cause Non Hostile- Died Other Causes
Reason Other Cause
Location Dinh Tuong (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Green Mountain Cemetery - Rainier, Oregon
Description This Campaign period was from 1 July to 30 November 1971. Confident of the coastal patrol's effectiveness, Commander Coastal Surveillance Force began early the Vietnamization of the Market Time effort. The ACTOV program of the Navy and the SCATTOR (Small Craft Assets, Training, and Turnover of Resources) plan of the Coast Guard entailed the phased transition of the Vietnamese Navy into complete control of the inshore barrier, then the high seas surface patrol, and finally a coastal radar network intended to replace the American air surveillance effort. Throughout 1971, the American naval command transferred seagoing ships, harbor control and mine craft, and logistic support craft of many types, including Coast Guard cutters Yakutat (WHEC 380), Bering Strait (WHEC 382), Castle Rock (WHEC 383), and Cook Inlet (WHEC 384), each equipped with 5-inch guns; radar escort picket Camp (DER 251); Garrett County, reconfigured as a small craft tender; and refrigerated storage craft YFR 889.
Despite the natural complications of a turnover process, the combined coastal patrol continued to perform successfully in 1971. Of the 11 Communist ships detected attempting infiltration during the year, only one delivered its cargo to the Viet Cong in An Xuyen Province, the usual destination of the trawlers. Another nine ships fled after being sighted by the allied patrol. The remaining vessel was tracked and sunk in coastal waters on 8 April through the coordinated effort of Coast Guard cutters Morgenthau (WHEC 722) and Rush (WHEC 723), the U.S. Navy's gunboat Antelope (PG 86) and air patrol units, and the Vietnamese Navy's motor gunboat Kien Vang (PGM 603).
An efficient logistic establishment was as important as a ready combat force to the future performance of the Vietnamese Navy. Soon after the turnover of combatant craft got underway, the U.S. Navy prepared its support establishment for eventual transfer to the allied naval service. Under ACTOVLOG (Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese, Logistics), Admiral Zumwalt oversaw not only the turnover of U.S. installations, but also the expansion of the Vietnamese base, transportation, maintenance and repair, supply, and personnel housing infrastructures to accommodate the planned doubling in size of the navy. The Americans modernized existing facilities and constructed new bases, coastal radar sites, and housing for Vietnamese sailors and their families.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
July / 1971
To Month/Year
December / 1971
Last Updated: Dec 22, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories Richard was an electronics adviser assigned to train South Vietnamese sailors as the Navy began transferring its Swift boats and other crafts to the South Vietnamese military, his hometown newspaper, The Columbian, reports. Richard was part of the Navy's river-based fleet. As an electronics adviser, he taught them to repair and troubleshoot communications and radar equipment.
