Colleton (APB 36) - Naval Cruise Book

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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

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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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