Is this a correct statement? I don't know much about mines, but I had the impression that they didn't need to be 'blown' by someone on shore because they detonated upon contact with a ship's hull. I'd appreciate input on this topic from a knowledgeable person.
With all guns blazing on the three boats that didn't bug out, I can understand someone thinking they might be under fire for a while. Someone here I believe has pointed out that even if there was some initial fire, it's not likely that there was any when Kerry finally returned to pull out Rassmann. After all, Kerry claims that he was under fire for 5 km, downstream then back up to get Rassmann. Odell claims that the three boats that didn't bug out fired for maybe 30 or 60 seconds, then the boats spent about 90 minutes salvaging PCF-3 during which time there was obviously no enemy fire. I doubt that Quick John could have covered 10 km in less than a minute--he'd have to be traveling at 370 mph!
All descriptions that I've seen indicate that it was a 'command-detonated mine' which means that a person on shore would have to be there to trigger it. That doesn't necessarily mean that there were any others there to fire at the boats.
<speculation
I think that there would have to have been a fairly large VC force present to be willing to go up against the combined firepower of five Swifts.
/speculation>
The VC weren't all that advanced in their weaponry. An improvised mine with a human to trigger it is quite likely to have been all they had available.
Is this a correct statement?
That's how it read in Unfit for Command - a "VC sympathizer" (why not actual VC, I don't know) was behind a 'bunker', and set it off. Odell and others have been referring to it as a "command detonated" mine. It was, in fact, an ambush. There COULD have been others armed on the bank. The surprize was that there WAS NO enemy fire. That should have been emphasized in the book.
There are problems with the book, otherwise. Corsi may be the root of those errors. I don't know. I don't know how much O'Neill actually contributed. It's almost as if the authors didn't first consult with the eyewitnesses now making the rounds. There was no 35 boat for Rassman to fall off, in other words. And Chenoweth supposedly has a diary entry which shows him trailing Pease on the left, not leading Kerry, on the right, as it says in Unfit. So . .
I don't know if Corsi even still posts here.