I VOW to the 58,000 + Brothers and Sisters on
The Viet Nam Wall who never came home
and to those who died at home from injuries and
from broken hearts.
"I will do everything I LEGALLY can
to expose Hanoi Kerry once and for all.
I will not tire, I will not falter,
and I will not fail.
I solemnly vow to do all I can to restore your honor
until I give my last breath on earth."
I spent 3yrs on a destroyer in the Navy from
'66-'69 as a Gunners Mate, GMG3.
USS CORRY DD 817 '68-'69 Gulf of Tonkin Yacht Club Member.
USS CORRY DD 817
Home port was Norfolk Virginia
and sailed with her in the North Atlantic,
Caribbean,(dealt with Cuban gunboats off of Havana in Jan '68)
thru the Panama Canal, across the Pacific to Viet Nam and back.
I was there the same time Kerry was.
I was there Oct'68-Apr'69 on the destroyer USS Corry DD-817
which sometime supplied PCF's and PBR's
and provided gunfire and gunfire support
in North AND South Viet Nam.
My ship may have even supplied
Kerry's boat in the Mekong Delta
Although there are many similarities between naval gunfire support
and Operation Sea Dragon (which ended Nov '68), they differ in two important areas:
naval gunfire support is normally fired at the request of troops ashore,
while Sea Dragon's mission is the interdiction of supplies and destruction
of military targets; and naval gunfire support is always conducted in South Vietnam,
while Sea Dragon missions are fired only above the demilitarized zone.
29 US Navy ships received gunfire from Viet Cong shore batteries.
My ship DID NOT get hit by the VC.
In Feb '69 my ship was part of Operation Bold Mariner
which was the largest amphibious assault since Korea.
This is EXACTLY what I used to do as a Gunner's Mate 3rd class.
DoughtyOne found this top pic from another ship.
The bottom pic is the ship I served on.
USS CORRY DD 817
