Landing at Hue 14 April 1965
After a short interval the amphibious group embarked another Marine battalion to bring to Vietnam. The combat troops went ashore in Danag and were moved, mostly by helicopter, to the town of Phu Bai, almost adjacent to the old city of Hue. Heavy equipment and supplies would be delivered directly to Hue. Heavy equipment and supplies were what we carried. But there was a small problem. Hue was located about 11 miles inland from the coast. We dealt with this by forming boat convoys of 4 to six landing raft. a squad of marines was carried on the first and last boats of each convoy to provide security in the event it became necessary. We also stationed one of the larger LCMs at the mouth of the river with a repair and salvage team be ready to go to the assistance of any boat that might need help.
The convoys carried everything up the river and delivered their loads to the waiting marines. Each round trip took a couple of hours. Meanwhile, the repair boat sat idly off the mouth of the river. It was hot. And it was boring. It isn’t easy to sit around waiting for an event that doesn’t happen. The officer in charge of the repair boat posted one man as a lookout. The rest of his team found corners in the well of the LCM where they could lie down, or even take a nap.
The sentry spotted a little local boat with an outboard motor and a couple of men in it. As the boat drew closer he could see the men, clad in black, were carrying weapons. He watched silently as the boat drew ever closer. When it was within hailing distance he called out to them in English.
“Hey, are you guys Viet Cong?”
The officer in charge hears that and grabbed a weapon as he rushed up to the conning station. I can imagine how he felt. But the black clad occupants of the motor boat turned out to belong to South Vietnamese Marines.
All’s well that ends well..
Wetherhorn 