SEA TIGERS OF VUNG RO BAY
US Army 458th Transportation Co.
US Army 18th Military Police Brigade
During the Vietnam War the United States Military employed heavily-armed high-speed gunboats to intercept and disrupt enemy travel on the rivers and bays of South Vietnam. While the US Navy operated over 250 of these specialized watercraft, the US Army had less than 40.
Vung Ro Bay was one of nine outposts of the US Army 458th Transportation Company (PBR)
OTHER UNITS
Vung Ro Bay was home to several US Army and US Navy units in addition to the 458th Transportation Co. They are listed below in no particular order. Since Steve Leuty has passed away, his well documented site for Vung Ro Bay is no longer available. Please feel free to submit photos and stories to this site. I will do my best to carry on Steve's work.
photos by Dave Harmon
The personnel listed below have signed into the guestbook on my previous site 458pbr-vungrobay.com
IUWG 1 Unit 5 (US Navy)
Jim Ellis'68 - '69
Tom Sellers '68 - 70
Lawrence "Butch" Cornell '68
MSTS (US Navy)
Al Preese '68 - '69
344th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (LARC's)
LT. William Basset (CO)
Timothy Eldred (CO)
Edward Bell
155th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
Robert Ralyea '66
360th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
The 360th was a truck company that hauled fuel and supplies out of Vung Ro Bay.
Joe O'Rourke'68
Rick Parkinson '66 - '67
545th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
David Lydick '67 - '68
Edward Williams '67 - '68
854th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
The 854th Trans. Co. provided stevedores to go down into the holds of visiting ships and unload bombs, ammo, etc. There were frequently large supplies of ammo sitting on the Delong Pier.
Dave Harmon
Clinton A. Berry III '69 - '70
David Gosling '68 - '69
Mike Spurgeon '70
856th TRANSPORTATION COMPANY
This unit provided stevedoring services to ships,, unloading bombs & ammo, then transported to Tuy Hoa Air Force Base.
SSG Gregory Rodriguez '69 - '70
515th POL COMPANY
The 515th was responsible for pumping fuel from anchored fuel tankers to the Air Force base at Tuy Hoa.
Victor Morell '67 - '68
Co-ordinator, ROK Compound
Wayne Pieske '69 - '70
Medic
Richard Young '67
Motor Pool
Rick Vincent '69 - '70
LCU 1544
This Landing Craft made many trips from Qui Nhon to Vung Ro Bay, bringing ammunition for the Korean troops stationed higher up the mountain.
CWO Heinz Weingaertner '70
VUNG RO MOUNTAIN UNITS
visit www.vung-ro-tropo.com for details
261st Signal Company Darrell Rose
362nd Signal Company Don Wilts
514th Signal Det. Ed Landgrave
Doug Patterson
photos by Robert Ralyea
Chaney, Parker, Ralyea
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Ralyea getting off LCU
Berthing area on LCU
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LCU entering Vung Ro Bay
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Containment area
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The 155th transportation combat stevedores arrived VRB July 1966. We off loaded the 4th inf division which arrived in October 1966. The road to the bay wasn’t finished yet so we were flown in and out by chopper. Once the road was in we based at Tuy Hoa. We left in December 1966. I don’t remember any other units at the bay accept for and engineering unit building the road to the bay.
Robert Ralyea
"IN LASTING MEMORY OF THOSE WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES IN DEFENSE OF THE
FREE WORLD PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY
THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE"
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The photo above was submitted by Jim Ellis and shows the dedication ceremony at the memorial for four U.S. Navy sailors killed in Vung Ro Bay. They were:
LT JG William Turnley Morris III
ETR2 Norman L. McKenney
RD2 Anthony B. Brown
RD2 Thomas J. Meeham
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Nestled on a ridge high above Vung Ro Bay was a unit of the famed South Korean White Horse Division. The Koreans were a feared unit, apparently, as I heard horror stories about them from the moment of my arrival in Vietnam. They got the job done, though.
There were several Koreans who made a regular pilgrimage to our docks to trade for expended brass shell casings. They sent it all home and made trinkets for tourists, I guess.
On one occasion we traded an M-16 machine gun for a 45-caliber Grease Gun. What a great weapon! It was really fun to shoot. We reported the M-16 as being lost overboard!
South Korean White Horse Division
The South Koreans occupied a hilltop above Vung Ro and guarded us and the area around us. One night we thought we were under attack. After we got the troops spread out and under cover we realized the shooting was over our heads. Turns out there was some confusion between the Signal Company in the hills and the ROKs on the other hills. Each side thought the other was VC and continued shooting at each other for a little while...don't know if anyone got hurt but don't think so.
The other ROK incident involved the occassional pot shots they would take at us as we either took a swim in the South China Sea or walked along the beach. They were not trying to hit is... just have a little "fun."
Lt. Bill King ( 119th Trans. Co.)
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN UNITS
At the very top of Vung Ro Mountain was the 261st Signal Co. and 362nd Signal Co. We only went up there once, to the best of my knowledge. It was a long, narrow, rocky road up to the top of the mountain. I can't even remember why we went up there, but it was certainly an adventure!
The following information on Vung Ro Mountain provided courtesy of Don Wilts, 362nd Signal Co.
The 261st Signal Company was formed up at Fort Hood and the entire company traveled by ship (USS UPSHUR) and landed at Vung Ro Bay in early 1967. They cleared the area and set up the radio communications on top of Vung Ro Mountain. The 362nd Signal Company operated all of the long-lines tropo scatter systems throughout Vietnam from their headquarters in Nha Trang. The 362nd signal Company motto was "Hang loose with the Deuce". the signal site at Vung Ro Mountain was dismantled in 1970 and the First Signal brigade was deactivated in 1972, in Vietnam.
The South Korean White Horse Division helped provide security on the mountain.
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