Iron Butterfly

Chief Jim Davy, Ralph Christopher

Description

The true story of an elite group of men who wrote a page in Naval history.


They patrolled the waterways in thirty-one foot river patrol boats powered by Detroit diesel engines with water jet-propulsion. Armed with machineguns and grenade launchers, as well as sheer guts and determination, these sailors faced danger around every bend in the river. Working together, they became one of the finest weapons in Admiral Zumwalt’s arsenal for turning back the tide of communist infiltration into Saigon, taking control of the inland waterways. These are true accounts of their bravery, which they proved time and again by spearheading operations into enemy controlled territory. United together in brotherhood, they accomplished all their missions and won their part of the Vietnam War.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Military
• Naval
• Christopher
• History
• Butterfly
• Ralph
• Iron

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 08 juin 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781452027043
• Langue: English

Extrait

Iron Butterfly
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ralph Christopher and Chief Jim Davy
 
 
 
 
 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
© 2010 Ralph Christopher and Chief Jim Davy. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 07/18/2023
 
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2703-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2702-9 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4520-2704-3 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010907157
 
 
 
 
Edited by Keith Bettinger.
Cover, back, maps and photo pages all designed and reconditioned by Dave Chase.
 
Back cover: top left Edwards on .50s and right Holland on M60. Next row L to R are Larsen, White, Davy with flag, Straight, DeRoco. Next row Phillips with girl, Brown, Randall, Morgan and Suter around gun, Monzingo center, Williams, Weeks, Hickey, Temple and Owens. Under them are Bodiford, Randall, Persico, Suter and Madden. Far right under Raquel Welch poster is Bonomelli. Group shot of Iron Butterfly on USS Harnett County and PBR 756 at bottom center.
Contents
Prelude
River Section
Rung Sat
Nha Be
Sampan Smith
River Division 593
Wild Ideas
Heroes
Sea Lords
1969
Slingshot
Like A Lion
Forest Of Assassins
Changes
Meritorious Service
Saigon River
Extraordinary Heroism
Chief
R&R
Ready Deck
Change of Command
New Year
He Enlisted
Sailors of A Different Breed
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
The Iron Butterfly
Other books published by Ralph Christopher - www.authorhouse.com
 
 
RIVER RATS
DUTY HONOR SACRIFICE
RIVERINE photo album
 
For Iron Butterfly and other River Rat merchandise, go to www.tf116.org Gamewardens of Vietnam and search the ship’s store.
 
 
PRELUDE
 
E ngineman Second Class James D. Davy awoke from a dreamless sleep as the plane’s wheels touched down on the tarmac. Through the window he could see the glare of passing runway lights and the fiery breath of jets as they roared down the flight line and took off into the moonless night. The young man from Anaconda, Montana, could hardly contain his excitement as he gathered up his things, waiting for the DC-8 to come to a complete stop. Unbuckling his seat belt, Davy waited, seemingly forever, before the flight attendant swung open the door and a solid wave of hot, humid air plowed through the cabin, welcoming the weary servicemen to South Vietnam. Although it was February ’69, one would have never known it by the oppressive heat, more intense than most Americans had experienced. This scene had played out day after day, month after month, with troops coming and going, and Jim Davy’s flight was no different. He stared out into the distance and thought, at last, he had arrived back home where he belonged.
Uncle Sam had sent Petty Officer Davy stateside for two months at the Naval Inshore Operations Training Center at Mare Island, California, to undergo additional schooling in his military specialty, which was war. Now he was to take his final exam and put his newly-acquired skills to the test. He got what he had asked for and had been assigned to what he felt was the best river patrol unit in Vietnam, the “Iron Butterfly.” River Division 593 had acquired its name after the Navy Times had written an article referring to the unit as the Iron Butterfly. Because the unit was in the news so often, the name stuck, and the men took pride in their new, well-deserved title. Jim Davy was no newcomer and had already earned his black beret while serving with Detachment Bravo of Naval Support Activity, Saigon’s detachment in Nha Be. He had worked in the dangerous Rung Sat Special Zone alongside the Iron Butterfly many times and knew its men well. He had made friends with Engineman Second Class Dan Morris and a couple of the other river patrolmen and liked hanging out in their hooch listening to their stories. He loved their attitude, and their yellow-and-black shoulder patches weren’t bad either. He knew they were a combat unit in which heroic action was the rule and they were all hard chargers. If he was going to volunteer for a second tour, this was the outfit he wanted to serve with. And it only took one trip to the personnel office. A month later, he got his orders.
Davy retrieved his bulging sea bag from the pile, and then shuffled through the harsh light of the Tan San Nhut terminal with the rest of the “newbies.” He was pleasantly surprised at the sight of a jeep parked just outside the door with the unmistakable black emblem of the Iron Butterfly. The driver was a strong man wearing jungle camouflage fatigues and a weathered black beret looking a little out of place and uncomfortable. Yeoman Seaman Ray “Bonie” Bonomelli saw Jim Davy, shot him a big smile, and greeted him with a friendly handshake. Seaman Bonomelli grabbed Davy’s sea bag and tossed it effortlessly into the back seat of the jeep and off they went speeding into the night.
They spoke very little on the drive south to Nha Be, where River Patrol Division 593 was stationed. Davy knew the Navy base well and the fact that it was home to many different units that patrolled the Rung Sat. It was one of the largest brown water Navy supply centers in the Mekong Delta, and its many American and Vietnamese units had wrestled away control of the rivers, streams and canals of the region from the enemy. Davy laid back in the passenger seat reflecting on why he had volunteered to come back to Vietnam. He knew he would be revisiting many locations from his first tour, but this time he would be working with a group of warriors that had built a solid reputation and had put the hurt on the bad guys. His two months in the States had been less than pleasurable, and he was convinced that back in the jungle was where he belonged. His only concern was living up to the standards that Iron Butterfly had set.
With no downtime at Nha Be after his arrival, Davy caught a ride on a river patrol boat up to USS Harnett County, LST 821, which was stationed at Ben Luc on the Vam Co Dong River. Located in Long An Province, this was a Viet Cong-dominated region where brutal fighting was taking place. He was first assigned to Boat Captain Engineman First Class Jerry Staples’ patrol boat. But not long after, Parachute Rigger First Class Paul Quinlin was promoted to chief by way of a Ho Chi Minh in-country advancement, and Jim Davy was promoted to boat captain of PBR 756. Boat captain was a respected position of great responsibility. He would have his own fully armed, thirty-one foot man of war with a combat crew of three men for whose safety he would be responsible.
Causalities were running high at Ben Luc when Jim Davy arrived, with two sailors having been killed in action and patrolmen seriously wounded and having to be sent home. Davy had faced combat before and was no coward, but the casualty reports were enough to make the bravest of men second-guess volunteering for such hazardous duty. It wouldn’t be long before he would find out.
 
 
 
 
 
 
“So, you were in Vietnam?”
“Yes.”
“Were you drafted?”
“No.”
“You volunteered?” “Yes.”
“Were you in the Army?”
“No. I was in the Navy.”
“Oh. Were you on a ship off the coast?”
“No, I was in the Mekong Delta.”
“I didn’t know the Navy was in Vietnam.”
 
 
 
 
 
I dedicate this book to the men that served in the Iron Butterfly and the River Patrol Force of Vietnam, especially Retired Master Chief Jim Davy. For without them, this book would not have been possible. We offer it in order to leave an account of what it was like for a river patrolman on the brown water highways of South Vietnam. We do not claim it to be exact history, but many labored to recall their tours of duty and record the war they knew and fought. All of the stories and many of the words are theirs, and I was honored that they shared them with me. Thanks to all that were involved and I hope through this book your families, friends, fellow veterans, and future generations can understand more clearly what you endured in the name of freedom and the United States of America. You were asked to turn back the tide of communist aggression and you did. You are all warriors and some of America’s finest. I salute you and am proud to call you my brothers.
RIVER SECTION 544
 
U nited States Naval Forces, Vietnam, had been patrolling the Rung Sat Special Zone south of Saigon for over two years by May 1968 and had extended operations even further south into the Mekong Delta. Code named Operation Game Warden, river patrol boats patrolled the strategic Long Tau Shipping Channel and engaged in a large variety of actions which included river ambushes, gunfire support, amphibious landings, and salvage operations. Acts of valor by brown water sailors were numerous with allied forces fighting fiercely to take back Viet Cong-controlled waterways.
The South Vietnamese Navy, accompanied by American advisors, continued to grow and demonstrate a willingness and ability to meet and defeat the enemy. Game Warden operations also continued to expand as more patrol boats arrived from the States, with new units being formed. River Section 544 “the Iron Butterfly”was one of them.
On May 1 st , 1968, Navy Lieutenant William David “Bill” Straight, a 1961 Naval Academy graduate, was stationed at Nha Be Naval Support Activity Base when the soft spoken man of Fairmont, West Virginia, received a message from the Commander of Naval Forces, Vietnam, Rear Admiral Kenneth L. Veth, to officia