Colleton (APB 36) - Naval Cruise Book

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DATELINE... ATTACK On 31 May 1968 at approximately 0040, the COLLETON began receiving direct enemy fire from the South bank near Ben Tre. It had been a quiet night, typical of the hundreds of others the Mobile Riverine Force has spent in its patrol of the Delta. LTJG John MC CONNELL was the Officer of the Deck on the Bridge, ENI MESSER was the Junior Officer of the Deck below and I was the bridge phone talker. The ship ' s assigned anchorage in the vicinity of Ben Tre was first opposite a South Vietnamese Army Outpost on the South bank. This small cluster of thatched buildings with its protective series of sandbag fortified machine gun nests guarding the perimeter, was set on the shore in a small clearing, behind which was a modest patch of cultivated open land. About 50 yards directly to either side of the outpost was open, but beyond the 50 yards, dense jungle immediately sprang up forming a solid wall of vegetation. It was from the edge of this wall on the right side of the outpost, that the excitement originated. At 0040 Mr. MC CONNELL was standing at the rail scanning in the direction of the outpost while I was inside the conning station monitoring the radio network. All of a sudden several things happend at once. The OOD saw a fl ash to the right of the outpost and instantaneously heard, as did I, the frightening whoosh of a large round going very close over our heads, and then the splash as it fell harmlessly into the water on the other side of the ship. As the second round was going over, MR. MC CONNELL was on the phone calling the Commanding Officer, Command Control and preparing to go to General Quarters. I was getting the guns of Mount 41 trained on the target, pulling on a flak jacket and trying my darndist to make the right log entries. —continued NIGHT ATTACK 57 MM RECOILLESS HOLE

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MESSAGE TO ALL HANDS We have spent out year in the Republic of Vietnam in USS COLLETON learning about a new form of warfare. During the course of the year we have been challenged almost daily with the type of problems which have been without precedent for a ship of the United States Navy. Support of 900 embarked Army and Navy personnel with all the requirements for their day to day living. Provide primary Medical Treatment for the combat casualties of the Mobile Riverine Force. Defend ourselves and our embarked personnel from a cunning and determined enemy never more than a 1000 yards from our ship. Maintain our ship continously on the line without missing an operational committment. The details of how we have met these challenges are sufficient to fill a book. The initiative and effort that went into the solutions will provide the stuff from which sea stories will be told throughout the fleet for years to come. The performance of the officers and men of COLLETON in meeting these challenges and seeking additional ones has been attested to by the praise spoken of COLLETON by Commander River Assault Flotilla ONE, the Battalion Commanders and River Assault Squadron Commanders which have been embarked as well as the patients we have treated and the individual soldiers and sailors who have lived on board. To this praise I add my own ; Your efforts and initiative have made a difficult task easy and the im- possible task only slightly bothersome. No matter what the job may be, if it requires good men, I can think of no more competent group than the COLLETON and nothing would please me more than an opportunity to serve with any and all of you in the future. ' Z - . CUju.---

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General Quarters was sounded as the sound of the third round approached, but unlike the others, it did not go over head nor splash down on the other side. Both the OOD and myself heard what we thought was a dull-thud and experienced a sinking feeling deep inside that the COLLETON had taken her first hit. We waited for the explosion which fortunately never came. Almost immediately thereafter and as 2 more rounds went across the flight deck, luckily clearing the ship, Mr. MCCONNEL and I were relieved on the bridge and went to our General Quarters station in Damage Control central. In the space of seconds. General Quarters was set and the COLLETON ' S 40 MM guns were pouring a fantastic number of rounds into the spot we were receiving fire from. Soon it was over and whoever was shooting at us was either vaporized or long since departed. Later investigation revealed we had been hit in the 01 level just above the Quarterdeck by a 57 MM recoiless rifle round which penetrated the canvas awning, outer bulkhead, and on into Mr. KINARDS (Gunnery Officer) and ironically enough, Mr. MCCONNELL ' s stateroom lodging in Mr. KINARDS bunk about 8 inches from where his head would have been had he still been there. Estimates have it that he was 3 steps up the ladder when the round hit. None of us slept too well that night and we all will remember the night of the Attack . By PN2 Timothy Bennett, USNR MR, KINARD ' S RACK PARTS OF 57 MM