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This freshly minted seaman arrived in the Rung Sat and was given command of the "Battlegearboat", a LCM6. It had twin Detroit deisels, and a useless wheel (steered it with the throttles using forward, reverse and neutral). I met my crew: two Vietnamese who scared the sheet outa me, but we became good friends.
I had never been trained for job (I was fresh out of Yeoman "A" School, 32nd Street, San Diego with stops at Coronado AMPHIB Base, Camp Pendleton and Warner Springs). It was strictly OJT.
I was low man on the totem pole and it was the sheetiest job, so I got it. I waited four months until a new unsuspecting seaman arrived to take my place.
Tooling around the Long Tau River and Vung Tau Bay, during the dulldrums, always trying to escape that deisel exhaust.
Today, one tiny whiff of deisel smoke sends me back to the Battlegearboat.
The times that the smoke didn't bother me were the times I was fighting like hell to stay afloat (and aboard) during a Monsoon!
I was with MSTSOV (Military Sea Transportation Service Office Vietnam - Vung Tau) and to this day I've yet to run into anyone who has ever heard of us.
Oh, and I don't want to hear about how sweet the duty was at Vung Tau. Vung Tau, the resort, was about ten miles down the road. (We officed on the LST beach next to the DeLong Pier.)
I was there a year (May 20, 1969 - May 20, 1970).
I love my country, I love the United States Navy and I'm very proud to have served both in Vietnam. We were winning when I left!