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Nov. 5, 2001 - Bill Cooper
58:37
Cua Viet – Bill’s Last Show (Killed the same day)
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Thank you.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm William Cooper, and you're listening to the Hour of the Time.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
I'm William Cooper and you're listening to the Hour of the Time.
We're going to take a little deviation here tonight from what we've been involved in over
the last week.
I'm...
Because I've been doing something that's necessary for me.
I absolutely can't get around doing this.
It's been in the works for some time.
As you know, I'm writing a book about Quy Viet.
The river.
The monster, as I think of it.
The river that I patrolled in Vietnam.
And part of that was trying to find material from other people who served there.
And over all these years, I've never found anyone.
Until I wrote an introduction to the book and put it out over the internet.
And all of a sudden, I became inundated with emails from people who had served in Vietnam.
and uh...
you know this stick around and uh... stay tuned because
it's going to be interesting uh...
the the
the the Coivet River.
Anyone from the Marine Corps, the United States Navy, the Air Force, or the United States Army who served on that river in any capacity are at the base camp, Coivet, or Camp Kistler.
In any capacity whatsoever is going to be welcome on this website.
And we need stories from people and pictures and all kinds of things.
I put the word out and people have responded.
The email is just overwhelming.
The amount of information that's flowing in is overwhelming.
And it's incredible because most people have never even heard of Quavia.
And I mean that, seriously.
It's like it fell down through the cracks of the war.
And I knew that this website would be important, to me especially, and to a whole lot of other people who served at Coivet, or had something to do with Coivet, or knew about Coivet, that somehow it was going to be important, and it's turning out to be much more important than I ever dreamed that it would be.
Now, if you want to go there and look while I'm doing this broadcast, uh, you can.
And, um, uh, the, the, uh, internet address is quaviet.org.
C-U-A-V-I-E-T dot O-R-G.
That's C-U-A-V, as in Victor, I-E-T dot O-R-G.
Hello?
Hello?
Why are you calling?
I didn't open the phones.
Can you hear this broadcast?
No, I can't.
Then, if you can't hear it, stay off the damn phone.
I can't stand it when people don't know what the hell's going on and so they just, the phone's ringing off the wall.
Just literally ringing off the wall.
And I know it's people who aren't listening, don't even know that I have something going on here that's important.
And it's just, it's extremely disturbing.
I can't believe it.
I really can't.
I can't believe how gross and inconsiderate so many people really are.
And I'm not going to let it bother me.
I'm going to go on with this.
The website is Quaviet.org if you'd like to visit it during this broadcast while I'm I have pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of email here from people and you're not going to believe what you're going to hear.
I knew instinctively that this was going to be a catharsis for healing and for bringing people together and doing a lot of good things and I had no idea how right I was and I had no idea even being right how.
How much it was going to touch people and how many people it was going to affect and bring out of the woodwork, literally, folks.
So, I'm going to read you these emails and these letters that I've been receiving from people and I hope That it affects you as much as it has affected me.
Because it's really touched my heart.
Way down deep inside.
It has literally... Well, it's done great things for me.
Let's put it that way.
So, here we go.
Listen very carefully.
I don't know how much, if at all, this touches your memories.
My unit, H Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, left Kaesong on July 5th, 1968.
After walking from there to Kalu, maybe 12 miles, overnight, we boarded trucks and, via Dongha, went toward the South China Sea.
We spent two months along that river and it was dangerous territory for us.
North Vietnamese Army ordered to get into the south along eastern routes, headed for, and eventually reoriented themselves to the Quaviet River.
The bad news, as I saw it, was you guys were always on the duck pond.
The good news was you were tenacious and on a fluid medium, and therefore really presented problems once they struck.
I remember the riverboat personnel as focused and just waiting to unload.
Men who have tasted the sting of the enemy are like that.
I felt comfortable while riding on the river with you guys.
I and my men could actually relax a bit because we could see you at the ready.
Thanks for your courageous and effective work over there.
And this next one is so important to me.
When I got this email, I gotta tell ya, I was blown away.
I sat down and I cried.
Because all these years I always wondered what happened to my crew.
My crew.
I was a boat captain.
And I never could find any of them.
And all of a sudden in my email box, Here's what I read.
Hey, Coop!
Don't sweat it, man.
I understand.
I couldn't kick the nom thing and the two together were destroying me.
Hey, man, I've been up at my cabin the last few days.
Glad to hear from you and somebody who actually knows the score.
Hope you are well.
I remember you talking about your wife and how you liked going to the movies once when we were at the Air Force Club Theater.
Not a bad memory for an old pickled brain snipe, huh?
I still enjoy matinees because of that.
You know, that whole episode brings tears to my eyes.
Mostly the camaraderie we shared on that blankety-blank river.
I was on Shorty Shelter's boat on the Coivet.
You may remember him.
I also rode with old Stringer and was up there so long they let me be a substitute boat captain a couple of times.
Mostly on day patrol when I was short.
We got into a doozy on Three Limo patrol one night, on Shorty's boat.
That's where I got the combat action ribbon.
I lost a couple of Marines, but ended up with about thirty or so kills.
If it wasn't for those army guys and those gunships, things would have gotten really nasty.
That, uh...
That three limo...
It was a mother-blankety-blank, wasn't it?
I don't remember talking to you all that much up north, but maybe a couple of times.
You got the Silver Star, didn't you?
Yeah, I remember the new cut.
We had a mine go off just as we went through one morning.
I remember the ramp at Dong Ha.
Saw an old high school buddy of mine there one night.
He was a jarhead guarding the fuel.
I remember that U-boat that was sunk right around Tu Lima.
A guy had a picture of it on Military.com.
It was weird seeing a picture of that boat again.
Many a night I thought I heard ghosts on that old rust bucket.
You remember that leper colony in Da Nang and that old half-sunken Jap ship?
The stories go on and on.
I think it was our boat, PB-44 in Da Nang, when we had that picnic on Spanish Beach and a couple of kids blew themselves up.
With that hour, crew?
Well, I'll stop... Well, I'll stop the rambling.
I have to get to bed anyway.
Got to go to work tomorrow.
Was glad to hear from you.
Let me know if you need any stuff for your book.
Good luck to you.
Keep your head down.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
And remember that old saying, it don't mean nothing.
Talk to you later.
Your Injunman.
It was my Injunman on PB44 with Da Nang Harbor Patrol.
And later, he came up to Quaviet on the Quaviet River and served under other boat captains, Shorty Shelter, and a guy named Stringer, as you heard.
And that email has touched me probably more than anything that's ever happened to me ever since I left Vietnam.
And they go on and on and on.
Hiya, Bill.
Just a quick question.
Is your book available out there to be purchased yet or not?
I'm very much interested in getting one, as several guys in my DFW club are.
I can't tell you how much your little note and pictures brought back some memories of those years long gone.
Welcome, Brother Dennis.
Hi, Bill.
You've described the Coivet River to a T. I don't know how you did it.
I tried for years to remember all of the things that you have brought back to my mind in just a few short paragraphs.
I spent a lot of time going up and down that muddy, bank-eaten, shallow, sandbar-infested stream.
I was on the LCU 1499 from August 68 to 69 and remember it all better than most.
I really liked your passage.
I've also written a short story of my one-year experience in-country.
It is kind of long to email to you, but if you are interested, I can figure out something.
And yes, I am very interested, and I want you to send it to me, because I want to put it on the website.
I want to put all your stories on the website, whoever you are.
What did you do when you had the delightful experience of serving Uncle Sam?
Were you attached to PDRs or small boats?
How did you come across my email?
I have many photos on many different sites and have signed many guestbooks.
Let me give you a few sites."
And he does.
Scroll down to members' photos and look for my name.
I also have video of I Corps of the rivers and boats that I had transferred from 8mm film I had taken while in country.
I have been making copies and sending it all to the brown water sailors that seem interested.
Let me know.
Talk to me, brother.
I am in contact with a lot of us brown water sailors from I-Corps.
Joseph Criccioni.
Hello, Mr. Cooper.
My name is Larry Bissonette.
I am presently the website coordinator for Game Wardens of Vietnam Association.
I have become aware that you are writing, or have written, the subject book On the Game Warden's website we have a ship store page where we sell various items to the membership.
I would be interested in talking with you concerning making your book available there as well.
If you could put me in contact with someone or talk to me yourself, I would appreciate it.
I was with River Division 593 during 1969 and have a Zippo lighter from River Section
543 when they were in Nau Bay.
It's inscribed to GM2L Voorhees, Bronx, New York.
Waiting to hear from you, Larry Bisonette.
I don't think I know you, but thanks for sending this article to me.
It brought back a lot of memories.
If there is more to this story, I would love to read it.
Best wishes, Bill Walton.
Hello, Bill.
I just read our post on the PBR website.
I'm right below you.
I was at Clavier late 68 and 69.
Was there when they hit our club with an RPG round.
Got my combat action ribbon on May 5th, 69, when we ran to a nest of the NVA trying to cross the river.
Have some pictures of the base and ramp area.
Where in Arizona do you live?
I have a brother that lives in North Phoenix.
Go out there every winter to get out of Minnesota.
Will have to run.
I have a call to go on.
Stay cool, River Buddy, and welcome home, Dennis.
Hello, Stingray 12.
This guy knew my call sign.
I was Stingray 12 on the river.
Hello, Stingray 12.
This is Mike Trojanowski-Wiley, now living in Northern California near Redding.
I reported to Quaviet in March 69.
I was there with 543 until we went down to Da Nang and Hoi An.
There was that huge typhoon I have pictures of the sunk MSB and the rock barge up on the LST ramp, as well as the PBRs up on the sand.
I have a cruise book from NSA, the name, and hear that there is a Clearwater cruise book out there somewhere.
I would be happy to share my pictures and anything else I might help with.
I am interested in finding the unit diaries for Rivdiv 543.
I just have not found a source I am very interested in helping you.
I think that we served in a unique area, most certainly with great guys.
I am disappointed that there is not more acknowledgment of Task Force 115.
I have both of my berets with the Task Force 115 patch and know that is who was above us in the chain of command.
who lives sunny southern Minnesota has a scanner set up and currently has all of my slides.
If you email him, you can ask how many of my pictures he can send you.
I don't have a scanner yet.
Please get in touch.
Mike.
I've read these dozens of times and they still touch me.
They still get me right in the chest, I gotta tell you.
I was the deck division officer on the USS Tioga County LST-1158 in 1967.
We took a load of tanks, jeeps, and marines to Da Nang before going to the Long Tao River near Nga Bay.
We became the mothership for PDRs and supplied them with food and sleeping quarters, ammunition, and gasoline.
We had three stops in Subic Bay for repairs.
After returning to the States, I volunteered to be a patrol officer on PDRs and was with
WIVDIV 571.
From February of 69 to February of 70, we patrolled at Thuyen Nan,
Nga Bay Rung, Sat Special Zone, Upper Saigon River, and the Vinh Tay Canal.
I made over 220 combat patrols, and with God's help brought back every man alive.
With only three minor injuries, and ladies and gentlemen, you have no idea what a great
accomplishment that was.
Bye.
My patrols engaged the enemy 22 times.
I am not a hero and did not try to be one.
I did not initiate a gunfight unless I thought we could kill or capture all of the enemy.
Those of us who were in Vietnam were doing our jobs just like teachers and carpenters were back in the USA.
The tragedies of death, injury, destruction, danger, loneliness, and broken hearts are real.
As soldiers, sailors, and airmen, we did our jobs, but we are different because we have killed others and shot at others with the intent to kill.
Thousands of us needed help in order to become proper citizens and to recover from battle stress fatigue.
I believe I have recovered from it and want to help others recover as well.
I wrote a book called Not a Hero, which describes my experiences in the military.
At the end I talk about recovery from being involved in war.
Maybe you don't need it, but you have a friend or relative who is still plagued with war-related stress.
Get a copy of my book and give it to them.
You can check out my website at http://www.notahero.com Thanks for the job you did in Vietnam, Bill.
Ron Fitz, Lieutenant.
Hi.
My husband was in River Section 543 and Coivet in 1967-68, I believe.
He does have photos.
He is still a boat captain and out in the Gulf of Mexico right now.
When he comes home, I will have him contact you.
Name is Gene Geiger.
Ring any bells?
Sue Geiger, San Leon, Texas, near Galveston, Houston area.
Yeah, Sue, I remember Gene very well.
And he was a... He was a damn good boat captain.
Bill, I too am in search of pictures and stories.
Most of the pictures I had got destroyed in the flood we had here.
I have only three left.
I will scan them and send you a copy when I get my scanner hooked up.
I will have to think of any stories and try to put them on paper.
My wife has been after me to do that for some time now.
I read the excerpt from your book and it brought back a lot of memories and feelings.
I will get back to you if I can come up with anything.
Bruce Meyer.
Good morning.
I did not serve up north.
Were the LCPL crews attached to NSA Da Nang detachments?
If so, what was your unit name and did you have any casualties?
If you did have any KIAs, that means killed in action, folks, please send them to me so I can identify them correctly to the right unit.
Go to my website and look under NSA Da Nang.
and stroll down the list of casualties of the units that were attached to the name.
The victims were the members of the Vietnam War Volunteer Corps, the Vietnam War Volunteer
Corps, and the Vietnam War Volunteer Corps.
Okay.
Thank you.
My name is Eldridge Fowler and I was stationed in Da Nang for three months in 1972.
While there I was sent on a mission to Qua Viet which lasted about twelve days.
I was an advisor in Vietnam and held a diver classification.
Our mission was not far from the river's mouth at a seabee base.
A small civilian survey boat, Small Tug, was blown up one night about two hundred yards from the seabee base.
We were to recover the five bodies still on board and remove the wreck from the river, if possible.
If you were in Coivet your whole tour, I sure don't envy you.
That was one heck of a bad place.
The sappers were terrible.
Sea snakes at that site, sink site, were in abundance and extremely deadly.
One good memory, and I'm sure you've also seen it at times, was some nights these little floats about the size of your hand would float down the river.
They would have a candle on each float with maybe some colored paper to give different light shades.
There would be, it seemed like, hundreds of them stretched out for maybe a half mile or so.
They gave off a beautiful glow during the dark nights.
I was told that was a funeral custom and represented the dead person's soul going out to sea.
There is a little more to this story, but mainly I just wanted to say I'm glad you made it back.
By the way, the only two Americans that were on that boat when the sapper blew it up
made it off the boat and to the CB base.
After the three months in Da Nang, I was sent to spend the rest of my tour in the Delta.
Take it easy, bro.
Hiya, just got your reply.
I live in Lake City, Minnesota, right on the... My tongue's getting all tired.
Right on the Mississippi River.
Worked for the police department there.
Small one.
Only eleven of us.
I was with the task force Clearwater when I first got in country.
I was on one of the old river boats to start.
The old heavy steel hold ones.
The LCPLs.
I worked mostly with the 3rd Marine Division.
Had two snipers that went out on night patrol with us.
Mostly all night patrols.
Then they moved me to PBRs Then I was up and down the river from Coivet to Dong Ha and Quang Tri.
I'm very happy to see that you're making a website on Coivet.
Can't wait.
Like I mentioned before, have some pictures, but my first wife kinda did away with a lot of my stuff, if you know what I mean.
Bill, this was great.
Just great.
I'm still sitting here trying to find myself.
Got lost in time for a while.
Some things are starting to come back to me now, like Jones Creek.
Forgot what we used to call that place.
Other things.
Also the Lima River sections and the LCPLs and the other stuff.
To tell the truth, Bill, I am sitting here with tears running down my face, so have to go before the other guys get here and see me.
Thanks again.
This will be a day I won't soon forget.
Thanks again, Dennis.
Yes, I was there in 69 with the Seabees when we pulled out.
We had to burn or tear down all of our buildings.
I was running the water treatment plant in our compound.
We had also built a small walk-in freezer to make ice, which we used the excess that we did not need to trade for SP packs.
Those boxes of goodies that had cigarettes, shaving cream, candy, and a lot of other stuff in them.
The insulation that we used in our walk-in freezer was mattresses and pillows that we had, quote, liberated, end quote, from your area.
Hope yours was not one of them, signed Bill.
Nope, mine wasn't one of them, Bill.
But I remember I remember mattresses and pillows turning up missing all
the time and guys bitching and complaining about it.
Thank you for this.
Gene will be enthralled.
Are you the author?
If not, how can we contact William Cooper?
As a freelance writer-editor, I just want to say to him, As I read the words, they all sounded so familiar.
Gene talks about the very same things with little fanfare.
He told me that every morning he'd wonder, will this be the day I die?
But he was not fearful of death.
Like Cooper says toward the end, I forever lost the fear of death.
If you've not read Flags of Our Fathers, you would be moved.
Although a different war, World War II, certainly the same emotions.
The author is the son of one of the men who erected the flag at Iwo Jima.
The son tells how his father rarely ever talked about the war, and when he did, his statement was always the same.
I am not a hero.
The real heroes are the ones who didn't come back.
For all of you who did come back, welcome home.
I am honored to be Gene's wife and look in July 2002. Thanks again for sharing.
Thank you.
River.
Thank you.
You see, the movie is a true story about a United States Marine from the 1st Marine Division who was seriously wounded in the battle that I remember very well that took place on the Quaviet River.
And if you get a chance, watch the movie.
And the music is beautiful.
You should purchase the CD if you like the music.
If you don't, then forget about it.
But I've never met anyone yet who doesn't like that music.
It's an incredible composition.
And ever since I found it, I've used it on this broadcast for many, many years.
Most of you know that already.
I have a copy of All Hands, July 69, about river operations on the Coivet and Perfume Rivers.
Let me know if you need this info.
Well, folks, I need all the info I can get.
If you know anybody who served at Coivet or on the Coivet River or near the Coivet River, I need to know about them.
I need their story.
I need their pictures.
If you know anyone who died on the Coivet River or near the Coivet River, I need their name and their unit so that we can put them on a memorial page, which we're also going to have on the website.
We don't want to leave anyone out at all.
We want to include every single person that we can find, even if they were there for just one day.
It's so important to me, and as you're beginning to hear, so important to all of these other people.
Hi, whomever you are.
I surfed into the Coivet website and found it interesting.
No contact name, no other info.
So what's up with the Coivet organization?
I was there and closed it out.
Can do.
David W. Schill, Newsletter Editor, Vietnam Era CVs, P.O.
Box 36781, Richmond, Virginia, 23235.
Well, what's up is we're just getting it started.
And websites are a lot of work.
Eventually everything is going to be there that everybody is going to want there and anybody that wants to contribute suggestions or anything else that was there, we want to hear from you.
If you didn't serve there, if you weren't a part of it, then unless you're a relative of somebody who was, we're not too much interested in your input.
It's got to be, it's got to be the guys that fought there.
That's so important.
I-Corps, 3rd Boat Group, Lighteridge Division, Tinshaw, NSA Danang.
We ran boat ops through I-Corps rivers and coasts.
You can find some unit photos from my time over in Nam on the MRFA.org website.
Signed, Tom.
First things first, welcome home.
I just happened to cross a Mars website while searching for something totally different And decided to take a look and found the link to the web ring which brought me to your web page.
Apparently somebody's put us on a web ring and so people are finding the page already.
And I didn't do it.
Somebody else did it.
Some kind, wonderful person is helping people find our website.
He goes on.
Unfortunately, I kept getting an error message when I tried to pull it up, so I thought I
would try the email route.
Your site listing was the first one that I saw that mentioned
Quaviet, and your message stating intentions of starting a Quaviet web page definitely
interested me.
A little about me.
I was an RT forklift operator and also spent time in X division at NSAD Quaviet from May
through December of 1969 before moving down to Deepwater Piers at Da Nang for the remainder
of my year.
I was there during THE typhoon.
The one week the gooks actually let us keep the enlisted man's club open, I rebuilt the officer's row I can't say that word.
I rebuilt the officer's row, I guess a good word would be outhouse, that we awarded the Purple Heart after it was blown up by a mortar round and was one of the three of us that discovered the Black Widow invasion.
Spiders.
You wouldn't believe it, man.
We were just literally overrun by Black Widow spiders at Coivet at one point.
And that was more scary than the enemy.
They were everywhere.
All fond memories that I had put into history for the past 30 years.
I also have a few pictures.
Some were in the dusty boxes that I will be glad to share if the site is or gets up and running.
I unfortunately have to get back to work right now, but did want to make contact and request further info on the site when available.
My name, by the way, is James Higgins.
I was a gunner's mate guns seaman back in the days, and additional e-mail other than reply to my work address is, and he gives his e-mail address, I really do look forward to hearing from you, since I didn't keep in touch with any of our brothers from the NAM, but have often wondered about a few, and hardly ever, more never, find anyone who has even heard of Coivet.
Thanks for starting the site and piquing my curiosity.
Would you please post this on your site?
The United States Marine Corps Vietnam Veterans Association would be honored to have you as a member.
The United States Marine Corps Vietnam Veterans Association has a restricted membership for Vietnam in-country Marine Corps and attached Navy personnel veterans only.
For more information, drop me an email.
He gives his email address.
Be sure to enclose your complete name and address and I will add you to our roster in the newsletter I-Corps, spelled A-Y-E, mailing list.
Hi Bill.
These are most of the photos I have of Coivet and area.
I checked out your website for Coivet.
Excellent photos.
I remember aiming for that narrow mouth of the river during a storm and surfing through like a giant surfboard.
And that's true, folks.
The first time I entered that river mouth was during some real bad weather.
And it was the first time I went up to Coivet.
And we were, our patrol boat, it was a patrol boat that had been sent to Da Nang to be repaired because it had been hit with a rocket and a whole bunch of bullets.
And when I was transferred up to Coivet, I was assigned with a couple of other guys to ride this boat up there behind, being towed by an LCU.
And when we got right outside the river mouth, the LCU cast us off and we started up the engine.
And at first, I really didn't know whether we could get into the river mouth or not because the surf was so high.
It was unbelievable.
You know, big, huge waves breaking through the river mouth.
And so we got up our courage and we hit the throttle full ahead and pointed the bow of that boat to the river mouth and got on the crest of a wave and we surfed right through.
It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, I got to tell you.
And he did the same thing, apparently.
And he sent a photo of YFU-62 about a month after it hit a mine.
on the Tulima Patrol Area.
Photo 2 is a PBR, of course, protecting one of our many slow voyages up the Quaviet to Dong Ha LST ramp in the background.
Photo 3 is YFU-62 sunk again.
Photo 4, dredged near the mouth of the river.
Photo 5, Marines on the shore of the river at Quaviet.
Photo 6, company of soldiers we took from Dong Ha to Quaviet for a weekend of R&R on board the LCU-1499.
I mentioned a video I made from 8mm movies that I took while in country.
If you are interested, let me know.
It has a lot of footage of Dong Ha and Kuwait and the river.
Joe, LCU 1499.
Chief, thank you, sir.
This is one of the most beautiful gifts I ever received in my entire life.
Thank you for taking the time and caring enough to bother to put this all together.
I am crying, not a lie.
Chief, you and the rest of the non-vets paid well beyond your fair share of dues.
You were ignored and spat upon.
I didn't do that, and don't now.
November 11th is coming up.
I will say an early thank you to you and all the rest that gave so much of themselves, not in vain, and still do, that I and others might be free.
Thank you, Chief, from the bottom of my heart.
Since you are a Christian, I don't know how else to phrase it.
Eternally bless you and your family with greatest good for all you have done.
Signed, John.
I was stationed on the YR-71 in Da Nang and made it to the Qua Viet area a couple of times before we moved south to Tan Chau.
Enclosed are a few patches that I either wore or collected while in the area.
Also are two pages from Changes 1970, the yearbook for NSA Da Nang and the different detachments.
If you are interested, I can Xerox them and send them to you.
I can also copy the main history pages in the book and send them to you.
Coivet is mentioned several times and it has some information that you may find interesting.
I also have a plaque that was given to me from River Division 543 and can scan the emblem part of it if I can find it.
Signed, Steve.
Machinist Mate, 3rd Class, YR-71, Republic of Vietnam, 68, 69, 70, and 71.
Nice sight from Vets Roll Call for veterans and built by veterans.
Just a quick note to let you know I got your reply in the link and am impressed with a very good start to the site.
It may take a while, but I now have the address and will have to dust off some of the old albums, but will forward what I can.
Thanks again for taking the initiative, James.
Nice job on the site, Bill.
I was attached to River Division 521.
From February 68 to August 69.
I remember the days all you guys stayed with us for a while.
Never made it to Mouth of River.
We patrolled a small river north of our location, Tui Tu.
It was supposed to emerge into Quang Tri City.
Eventually, the river was so narrow we couldn't turn our boat around.
Now that's small.
We also patrolled the Perfume and Tui Tien that ended at Khao Hai Bay.
There's a picture of me on our website under photos by Jenkins.
I think I'm on the middle photo sitting forward of the gun trays.
David Williams, gunner's mate.
I don't know how you found me.
This is a new post, folks.
I don't know how you found me, but that's okay.
I checked out your site and I hope you find all the guys from your unit that you can.
My new site is up on my personal page.
I have put a link to your site This site is, for right now, best seen in Internet Explorer 5 and up.
When I was over there, my radio relay unit set up a radio site near your base in the Quang Tri Province in the late part of 68.
Good luck, Louis Davis, Panama City, Florida.
Semper Fi.
Semper Fi.
Semper Fi to all you wonderful Marines who served in Vietnam.
I've never seen or heard of And I don't even believe any have ever existed as fine and
as wonderful as all of you were and are.
River rat here.
As a two-time Vietnam vet, I was on the YRBM-16 from 2-67 to 12-67 when I got off after it was hit by an enemy mine.
After two days of fighting the fire, we finally got it put out.
We lost two out of ship's company and five out of river commands.
The memories of that night I can still remember.
I can often still see their faces.
And I've tried to forget, but I don't think that will happen.
The allotment slap in the faces when we had to bring those people to this country.
Yes, I'm still a little bit bitter.
Did we ever even get a thank you from those people?
And where in God's green earth are the rest of the POWs that are still over there?
I have a buddy who was over there who lost part of his right foot because of rocket shrapnel, and to this day he's still a basket case, but he is doing better as long as he stays away from the booze.
I went back for a second tour from 69 to 70.
I was also on the YRBM-21 as a boat costume, while was over there the second time I had a boat run to the YRBM 16, but when I got there, I could not go on board because of the bad memories.
I was asked years ago if I would ever go back, and I said no.
Well, I'm signing out.
River Rat out.
My stay there was around 10 hours.
We delivered 1,800,000 cans of beer.
I know.
800,000 cans of beer. I know. I counted the pallets. I'm working as a webmaster and yes,
I know how to scan.
You can see my Coivet pictures at this address, and he gives me an address.
There are ten shots I made there, and you're welcome to use any of them for non-commercial uses.
Keep up the good work, Alan.
And Alan, I bet you I drank at least 500,000 cans of that beer that you delivered to our ramp.
But I gotta tell ya, nobody ever touched the Ballantyne's beer.
Not even the Marines and they'd drink anything.
It sat there on the pallets until it literally rusted and rotted away and the beer drained off into the river and all the fish died of Valentine's poisoning.
That was the raunchiest beer I've ever encountered in my entire life.
It had to be raunchy.
The Marines wouldn't drink it, believe me.
Keep me posted on how it's going and please keep in touch.
I am glad I found you, Linda.
I am a retired Army officer.
Two tours in Vietnam, 1st Cavalry, 4th Infantry Division.
Good sight, keep it up, Kendall.
I knew a couple of your guys from Mare Island.
Best wishes, Bob Jenkins, Gunners Mate, 3rd Class, River Division, 521, Tan Mi, Task Force Clearwater.
It appears that you are off to a good start on your web page, and we at PBR Forces Veterans Association Incorporated, PBRFVA, wish you good luck in your endeavor.
Thank you for signing our guest book, Cecil H. Martin, Vice President and Membership Chairman, PBRFVA.
That's the PBR Forces Veterans Association.
And this was enigmatic.
I got an email that said simply, Who are you?
Signed, Scott.
Well, Scott, if you're listening, now you know.
If you're not, you may never know.
I sent you an email telling you, so... That was kind of... I laughed when I saw that.
Hi, I have a friend who produces documentaries for PBS.
I have forwarded your website to him.
His name is Richard Koberle, if he contacts you.
May take months, but is something to think about.
Riverboat got such little play during the war.
It's time.
Hi.
Gene is out to sea right now, but will respond when returns.
I'm not sure how many more photos he has, but will check and send stories to match.
Do you still have the previous ones?
We'll get details on those.
Good job.
Signs too.
Was just wondering.
He was the same age as me.
It would be nice to find someone who knew the guy.
I also adopted a Naval Reserve pilot who disappeared in 68, William Rickert.
I'm hesitant to try to contact the families.
I would like to know what these men look like, but there are boundaries I don't want to cross.
Not sure where to go to find out more.
Are you familiar with the River Rats Brownwater Navy Organization?
I joined it for Tom.
I'm always doing these things.
To him.
Ha.
Good organization.
Signed, DM.
I added a link to your My Da Nang page.
I like your site.
Monty Moore, United States Air Force Sentry Dog Handler, Da Nang Air Base and Phu Cat Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, 68-70 VSPA K-9 Webmaster.
8-70 VSPA K9 Webmaster.
Bill, good job. I'm still searching for pictures.
I will keep you posted.
Keep up the good work.
Your web page made my skin crawl.
I don't mean that in a bad way.
Respectfully, Injunman.
Thanks for telling me about your website.
It is very informative.
Although I only saw Coivet from the deck of the USS Noxuvie AOG-56, I was very familiar with the area.
Your description is superb.
Congratulations on a job well done.
Paul, Webmaster, USS Noxuvie.
The Noxuvie was a gasoline tanker.
It would come along with the Genesee or the Tom Bigby and they would hook up to the offshore fuel line at the buoy and pump fuel to us that kept our boats running and all that kind of stuff.
Hello, I just looked at your page.
It is very well done.
I created the page titled, Do You Know This Man?
for my brother-in-law to try and help him locate the man in the photo posted there.
After I heard his story and saw the photo, I decided to try and help him.
I figured eventually someone would see the photo and recognize the man.
We have received some nice emails from veterans, but so far none that know the man in the picture.
I really enjoyed looking at your page and I wish you success with it.
You have some very nice photos posted there.
I have bookmarked the page.
Would you mind if I added a link from Hung's page to yours?
I think the veterans who come in to look at the picture on Hung's page would enjoy visiting yours.
Let me know.
Have a great day.
Sheila.
Thank you.
for your website.
We will be sure to watch as you grow.
My husband was on the PBR's in 1967 Mekong Delta River Rats, Section 512.
I have spent considerable time searching for some of his friends from that time.
He is not into the web building like I am.
I have just never forgotten that time, nor his leaving for Vietnam, or his return.
I have major respect for all that served on the boats, and I have tried to create my own, from a woman's viewpoint, little altar to all that were there.
You guys were brave beyond belief, and I am glad that I didn't have access to the site of a blown-apart river patrol boat in those days.
It was hard enough just being separated.
Thanks again.
Deanne and Tom who's out fooling around with his model railroad as I write this.
Great sight have sent to our webmaster to put on the MRFA site as a link.
Albert.
Beautiful piece.
Hot beer and cold beans.
That pretty well sums up that war.
Awful experience.
Awesome report.
The graphics are just fantastic.
Richard Palmquist.
Chief, I looked at the photos once again.
You and your crew had to have some real guts to go upriver at night on a little dinky patrol boat alone against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army who knew pretty much when and where you would cruise by.
And you don't have just a bunch of room on a river to maneuver in.
You can't get out at mark one like the Flyboys do if you get zapped either.
Damn, Chief.
That is real elegant.
Signed, John.
Bill.
Coivet website looks great.
Takes a bit of time to load, but well worth it.
Felt like I was there with you when you described the ambush.
Do you have a larger size picture of the photo entitled, The Moment Before Sunrise, Coivet River?
It is a beautiful sunrise and would make a really nice wallpaper for a PC.
Well, I'm off to continue preparing the vehicles for winter.
It's coming.
I can smell it in the air.
Monty, Radio Free Vermont.
No, Monty, I don't.
What you see on that page is exactly the size, and if you try to make it any bigger, it just disintegrates.
Wish I could help you with that.
That's it, folks.
The website is quaviet.org.
C-U-A-V-I-E-T dot O-R-G.
If you know anybody who's served there, turn them on to it.
Help us out.
And go there.
Check it out.
And check in from time to time.
It's going to grow beyond your wildest dreams.
I guarantee it.
Good night, folks.
God bless each and every single one of you.
Welcome home, all my long-lost brothers.
You have no idea how much all this means to me and to everybody else who have just been lost since then.
Good night, Annie, Pooh, and Allison.
I love you.
It's overwhelming.
But I'm so happy that I've made so many others so happy, and we're going to continue to do it.
It's going to be a great thing for a lot of people.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings and ravings tonight.
Don't miss tomorrow night's episode of The Hour of the Times.
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