By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia

440 Pages·1994·61.22 MB·English

by  Edward J. Marolda

•22 3- S E
1 . I
By Sea and Land
Air,
,

and Land
By Sea Air
, f
AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE NAVY
U.S.
AND THE WAR IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Edward Marolda
J.
NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
WASHINGTON
1994
99' Thepaperused in this publication meetsthe requirementsforpermanence estab-
lishedbytheAmerican National Standard forInformation Sciences “Permanenceof
PaperforPrinted LibraryMaterials” (ANSI Z39.48-1984).
1.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marolda, Edward
f.
Bysea, air, and land : an illustratedhistoryofthe U.S. Navy
andthewarinSoutheastAsia/ EdwardJ. Marolda.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographical referencesand index.
—
ISBN0-945274-09-2 (pbk.). ISBN0-9452774-10-6 (hard)
—
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 Naval Operations, American.
— —
2. UnitedStates. Navy History V—ietnameseConflict, 1961-1975.
3. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 Na—valopera—tions, American-
Pictorialworks. 4. UnitedStates. Navy History Vietnamese
—
Conflict, 1961-1975 Pictorialworks. I. Title.
DS558.7.M36 1992
—
959.704'345 dc20 91-33197
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments,MailStop:SSOP,Washington.DC 20402-9328
ISBN 0-16-035938-4
To the U.S. Navy veterans of the war in Southeast Asia
“Home is the sailor home
,
from the sea
,
And the hunter homefrom the
hill
RobertLouis Stevenson

Contents
Foreword
/ xi
Preface / xiii
Acknowledgments xv
/
Chapter 1
The Early Years, 1950-1959 / 1
Passage to Freedom 6
/
Development of the Vietnamese Navy 10
/
Chapter 2
The Era of Growing Conflict, 1959-1965 13
/
The Crises in Laos / 13
U.S. Naval Advisors and the Vietnamese Navy 20
/
Counterinsurgency and the Navy 31
/
U.S. Navy Direct Support 36
/
Expanding Operations into North Vietnam and Laos 45
/
Gulf of Tonkin Incidents 48
/
The Conflict in Transition / 56
Chapter 3
The Years of Combat, 1965-1968 63
/
The Naval Command in Southeast Asia / 65
The Carrier Force 70
/
Rolling Thunder 86
/
Amphibious Landings in South Vietnam / 119
Bombardment from the Sea 137
/
Coastal Interdiction 143
/
1
The Naval Command in South Vietnam / 162
River Patrol / 163
Riverine Assault Force 198
/
The Naval Advisory Effort 215
/
Civic Action 229
/
The Navy's Logistic Support of the War 233
/
Naval Support Activities 251
/
Chapter 4
Winding Down the War, 1968-1973 263
/
The SEALORDS Campaign 263
/
Allied Navies on the Offensive 274
/
VIETNAMIZATION OF NAVAL OPERATIONS 284
/
Task Force 77 Operations 300
/
Allied Surface Warfare 307
/
Vietnamization Completed 318
/
Countering the Easter Offensive 326
/
Linebacker 333
/
Withdrawal from the War 346
/
Chapter 5
The Final Curtain, 1973-1975 355
/
Naval Evacuation of I Corps and II Corps / 355
Eagle Pull 358
/
The Fall of South Vietnam 362
/
Appendixes 369
/
A. U.S. Navy Medal of Honor Recipients / 370
B. Secretaries of the Navy and Key U.S. Naval Officers / 385
C Carrier Deployments to Southeast Asia 387
. /
D. Aircraft Tailcodes 390
/
E. Enemy Aircraft Shot Down by Naval Aviators
in Southeast Asia / 39