111-Ops3 Photos

Me again trying to make that scrawny arm look like it had a muscle.   The photo on the right below is me playing with a Boa Constrictor.  A few of the Vietnamese boats (those that had been turned over from RivRon 9 earlier in the year) had a snake aboard to deal with rats that found their way on board.  There were lots of rats in Vietnam and the Vietnamese were always beaching their boats overnight in rat infested villages.

Various uniforms of the day for this rag tag Brown Water Navy

Helicopters were used extensively in Vietnam.  The one on the left below (called a Seawolf) was predominent in our operations, although others like the Cobra on the right provided heavy firepower.  Note in the teeth painted on the Cobra is a minigun capable of spewing out an enormous amount of rounds per minute.  Usually the Cobra worked in tandem with a Light Observation Helicopter (it was called a "loach").   The LOH would fly close to the treetops to draw enemy fire.  If fired upon, the Cobra would come in and provide the sting.  Pretty effective dynamic duo.

Here's a picture of a couple of classmates who went to River Squadron 11 with us:

Rowland Fletcher and Bill Paul

      River Division 111 Pictures 1               River Division 111 Pictures 2

      River Division 111 Pictures 4                                 Troop Insertion