(1) First and last day in Vietnam
- Ton Son Nhut AFB in Saigon. I arrived here after a two hour flight from Clark AFB in the
Philippines. I left a year later after staying three nights at the President Hotel
in SaigonSelect Thumbnails to Enlarge
(1) First and last day in Vietnam
- Ton Son Nhut AFB in Saigon. I arrived here after a two hour flight from Clark AFB in the
Philippines. I left a year later after staying three nights at the President Hotel
in Saigon
(2) First day - An unknown street in Saigon. This photo was taken
while on a COMNAVFORV (Commander Naval Forces Vietnam) Personal Response bus tour of the
Saigon/Cholon area
(3) 4th day - Enroute to the ARL-23 from Ton Son Nhut by U.S. Navy Helo. I believe we were approaching the
Helo base shown in the next picture
(4) 4th day -
Fuel stop somewhere between Saigon and the upper Mekong River. This was an army Helo base
somewhere in the Mekong Delta. Another photo of this location is on Page 6
(5) 1st day on the River (Mekong River South of Tan Chau) -
Approaching the ARL-23
for the first time. We left the Benewah (APB-35) minutes before
(6) USN PBR - (Patrol Boat, River) Two fiberglass models were used,
the MarkI and MarkII. Both had twin 50 Cal. machine guns in the bow turret, a M-60 machine
gun mid-ship, and a manual firing 50 Cal. on the stern. They were also equipped with
grenade launchers, shotguns, M-16's, and other optional weapons. Visit the PBR Forces Veterans Association Web site
(7) USN PBR
- Tan Chau or Long Xuyen
(8) USN ATC's, T-2 in the center - The Armored Troop Carriers were
originally WWII LCM's, and after conversion weighed 80 tons. They were designed to carry
40 fully equipped infantry troops at a speed of around five to seven knots. Permanent Helo
landing decks were added later in the war with T-92-4 being the first. They were 56ft
long, and had a normal crew of seven. Their armament consisted of .50 Cal. and M-60
machine guns, one or more 20mm canon, several small arms, and other optional weapons. They
were called Tango Boats, and were the most numerous of the Riverine Boats around the
ARL-23
(9) VNN (South Vietnamese Navy) ATC's - During the last few months
of my tour the U.S. Navy was quickly turning over (ACTOV) the Riverine Boats to the South
Vietnamese. ACTOV was short for ...... Accelerated Turnover to the Vietnamese ......
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