Vietnam War
After assignment to Coast Guard Squadron Three Mendota departed Wilmington on 27 January 1969, bound ultimately for the waters off the coast of Vietnam. Once in Vietnamese waters, Mendota conducted eight Market Time patrols during which time she detected 1,550 vessels, inspected 825, and boarded 8. Mendota also participated in Special Operation SEALORD missions twice, Navy SEAL support missions three times and Operation Silver Mace once. Mendota acted as a troop transport, operational base, and rest stop for Cambodian and Chinese mercenaries and Hoi Chi troops on numerous occasions. The cutter steamed 29,288 miles (47,134 km) in the Western Pacific Ocean from March through October, 1969, and was underway 70-percent of that time.
Combat operations summary
Mendota also conducted naval gunfire support (NGS) missions during her tour. She participated in 31 NGS missions with her main battery, expending 2,527 rounds of ammunition. Additionally 731 rounds of 81 mm mortar were fired and 30,830 rounds of .50 caliber machine gun ammunition. Although many casualty results were not able to be confirmed, Army spotters and ground troops confirmed that Mendota 's guns were responsible for 4 Vietcong killed or wounded, while another 11 casualties were estimated. Mendota's guns also destroyed 20 structures, 6 bunkers, 3 sampans, and 9 bivouac areas, and damaged 27 structures and 10 bunkers.
Humanitarian missions
The crew of Mendota also participated in humanitarian missions while serving in Vietnam. These missions were concentrated on the village of Song Ong Doc, on the Gulf of Thailand. The medical team conducted MEDCAPS (Medical Care of the Civilian Population), treating over 800 Vietnamese for every variety of medical malady during 14 visits to the village. The crew also helped rebuild a small dispensary. In addition, assistance was rendered to Vietnamese and Thai fishermen who were injured while fishing. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were also treated by the medical personnel.
Logistics missions
Mendota was not only home to the 160 men who were permanently assigned as her crew. She also served as a "mother ship" to U.S. Navy "Swift" boats and their crews, and to a lesser degree the Coast Guard 82-foot patrol boats, which operated in the inner barrier closer to shore. Mendota serviced the 82-footers forty times during her stay while the "Swift" boats received logistic support daily, and the crews alternated being on board Mendota every other day. The medical staff also aided 51 men who had been wounded in action.
Hong Kong station ship
Mendota established an excellent record as Hong Kong station ship. For one month, from 6 May through 6 June 1969, CAPT C. S. Marple, USCG, the commanding officer of Mendota, was Senior Officer Present Afloat for Administration, or SOPA (ADMIN), Hong Kong, and the ship's personnel handled all administrative matters for U.S. naval vessels visiting Hong Kong. The crew also maintained a permanent Shore Party detachment to assist and supervise liberty visits ashore.
Read more about this topic: USCGC Mendota (WHEC-69)
Famous quotes containing the words vietnam war, vietnam and/or war:
“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.”
—Richard M. Nixon (b. 1913)
“Let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.”
—Richard M. Nixon (1913–1992)
“The dead have been awakened—shall I sleep?
The world’s at war with tyrants—shall I crouch?
The harvest’s ripe—and shall I pause to reap?
I slumber not; the thorn is in my couch;
Each day a trumpet soundeth in mine ear,
Its echo in my heart.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)