Colleton (APB 36) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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DATELINE... UNDERWAY TRANSITS 1968 The year of 1968 has seen the COLLETON as a member of the Mobile Riverine Force enter areas in th( Mekong Delta where allied forces have never operated before. The ability to move on short notice has enabled our joint Army Navy force to meet the Viet Cong in thei own back yard. . . and the results of these operations have greatly contributed to the pacification of these areas. The facts listed below show the transits made to various areas of the Delta, the distances traveled fron- out base camp at Dong Tam and the approximate travel time involved ; CITY AREA DISTANCE FROM TRANSITS TRAVEL DONG TOM HOURS BEN THUY 109 3 1 BEN TRE 26 7 3 CAN THO 114 3 13 CAO LANH 42 1 6 CHO MOI 64 1 7 DAI DIEN 38 4t 4 From Can Tho - 18 MY THO 7 15 1 To Can Tho ■ • 15 SA DEC 34 3 5 t From Ben Tre - 18 SOI RAP VAMCO 78 3 8 ft From Vung Liem ■ 18 TRA VINH 60 Itt 1 VINH LONG 28 13 4 VUNG LIEM 54 1 7 On numerous occasions the COLLETON got underway in as little as 10 minutes notice. Along with the many river transits the COLLETON shifted anchorage every night in order to thwart possible sabotage attempts by swimmers or command detonated mines. Depth 3 feet Dropping Howdy Neighbor You must be kiddmg Barney