Vietnam 1970

USS Saint Paul (CA 73)

I was aboard this heavy cruiser during her deployment in 1970 to the Western Pacific (West Pac). Our mission was to provide shore bombardment along the Vietnam coast in support of our ground troops. A brief history of the "Fighting Saint" can be found here.

Although I was admitted to the New York bar before receiving my commission as a Navy officer, I was an officer of the line, not of the JAG corps. Nevertheless, I was licensed by JAG and designated as the Legal Officer aboard the Saint Paul, reporting directly to the Executive Officer.

For the first half of our seven month deployment, when we were on station along the Vietnam coast. I would have every third watch with a couple of enlisted men inside a steel box called a radar director. That's the thing high up on the superstructure with the dish on top.

Our job in the radar director was to swivel it around and point this dish so that the radar aiming the anti-aircraft batteries could lock on to the target. Thankfully, the only targets we ever had to acquire were our own weather balloons, no hostiles. We spent most of our time sunbathing on the flat roof under the dish out of sight of the rest of the crew. Boring.

For the last half of the cruise I stood watches on the bridge as the conning officer, the one giving course and speed orders to the helmsman and the engine room. The tensest moments were when steaming parallel to a supply ship for Underway Replenishment.

Keeping a precise and steady distance between ships at a constant speed of 15 knots is critical to the safety of the ships and their crews.

The inter-ship lines for fuel and wares are tensioned using winches, but when transferring personnel (as seen here), a long line of men hold the line directly in order to react more quickly should the distance between the ships change.

R & R

Subic Bay ("The Peril [sic] of the Orient") in the Phillipines. The Navy had a history of sailors on liberty in Olongapo getting into trouble. My XO told me he had never seen a Legal Officer not weep when entering this port. Preparing "Captain's Masts" (disciplinary proceedings before the CO) would keep me busy.

Subic Bay

While repairs and resupplying were attended to, there was opportunity to have fun off ship, on liberty outside the base and even during pierside breaks when on duty.

Hong Kong

While anchored in Hong Kong harbor, certain of the duty officers, including me, were treated to lunch aboard a British naval vessel anchored nearby. Unlike our Navy, the Brits still got to enjoy their rations of grog while aboard. Of course, we had to accept their courtesy and imbibe with them.

On one of my days ashore, my buddies and I opted to get back on the water by taking a cruise around Hong Kong Island on the Hilton Hotel's party junk.

But alas, a storm cut the cruise short in Aberdeen. After sailing past this floating restaurant, we were sent ashore and bussed back to the hotel.

A Day in the Delta

The Saint Paul was the flag ship of the Cruiser Destroyer Force of the Pacific Fleet, which meant that we were carrying the admiral in charge of that force.
The Admiral (left), seen here conferring with my CO (right), was going to tour the Delta area with his staff officers, courtesy of our Army stationed there.

My CO rewarded me with the privilege to go along and have my first ride ever in a helicopter.
Notice that the doors on the passenger compartment aft of the pilots are wide open. They remained open throughout the day. The Admiral and his staff had seats and seatbelts.

I, however, was relegated to sitting cross-legged on the slippery deck with no belt. I kept my hands close to the Admiral's ankles, ready to grab them if I started to slide toward the open door.

My first fearful glimpse out the door after takeoff had me looking straight down the ship's stacks as the pilot banked steeply and circled the ship a couple of times. I didn't dare take my hands away from the Admiral's ankles and aim my camera until we leveled off. The pilot later explained he had seen my swank NIKON FTN around my neck and figured I'd like a couple of Hollywood laps around the Saint for photos. Geez!

Once inland, we landed and our contingent split among this and two other helos.

Here is a closer look at my ride. The sliding side doors remained open even while in the air because soldiers sitting aft of us were manning machine guns,

Now I had a seat and a snug seatbelt. With new found courage and moxie, I would lean out (well, closer to) the door to take some pix.

The flag lieutenant (Admiral's aide) had the forward looking seat as we flew lower over rural villages.

We landed in this city on the Mekong River to visit the U.S. Army's Delta headquarters there.

After visiting HQ we lifted again to visit an outlying village.

Our visit attracted attention, fortunately only of the good kind. This summer was relatively peaceful in this area.

One of our accompanying South Vietnamese soldiers entertained the locals.

The siding of this building was made of flattened beer and soda cans.

By the time we were flown back to the ship, I had calmed down and become better at handling my camera. Hence, the sharper focus here.

But landing on the fantail involved some vibration.

My Commanding Officer, Captain Nott, welcomed us back.

GOING HOME

Our WestPac deployment ended in September and we turned homeward across the Pacific to San Diego.

Heading home cheered the crew, but there were a couple of sad clouds hanging over us.

First, we learned that we were on the Fighting Saint's last voyage. The ship would be decommissioned and mothballed after our return to homeport. Longtime crew members teared up.

Second, we suffered our first and only crew fatality for this deployment in an accident while conducting the ship's last anchoring. This occasioned a burial at sea.