Vietnam Remembered

[vftb]

Neat picture Gunner; of course you can call me Hans, I've been called much worse.  Let me see if I can put together something interesting here:

The first two pictures are of the Point Clear in CONUS being prepped for deployment (taken by someone else).  The third picture is of the Point Clear in Cat Lo, a couple of years later, looking a little battle worn (picture taken by me).

Ok, for all you squids and grunts (terms used affectionately) looking at this, there was a time when all CG 82 footers were named Point "  " and all 95 footers were named Cape "  ".  I've spent almost a year trying to educate these guys about the Guard  by myself; so glad I have some help now.

Diesel!, I just noticed that one of the three is the Point Mast, cool.

[EX-CG-GM]

Ok, for all you squids and grunts (terms used affectionately) looking at this, there was a time when all CG 82 footers were named Point "  " and all 95 footers were named Cape "  ".

As I recall, there was a time when 95's didn't have a name. Just the hull number. 

Diesel, my brother went to Nam with the first deployment of 82's.  He was a BMC....Hal Robbins.  Ever run across him?

[OFFSHORE DIESEL]

Diesel, my brother went to Nam with the first deployment of 82's.  He was a BMC....Hal Robbins.  Ever run across him?

I don't think so. I was on the second deployment Feb 67 Feb 68. Can you be more specific?
Diesel
NY

[EX-CG-GM]

You missed him then.  He went over in I think 65.  I don't recall what boats he was on, although I think one was the point marone.  He'll be in town this week and I'll ask him.

[OFFSHORE DIESEL]

You missed him then.  He went over in I think 65.  I don't recall what boats he was on, although I think one was the point marone.  He'll be in town this week and I'll ask him

Tell him I said hello. I made EN2 on the POINT MAST in 1967.  Do it right. Have about 10 beers for our Brothers that can't be with you.

Thank you for Your Service
Diesel
NY

[EX-CG-GM]

Do it right. Have about 10 beers for our Brothers that can't be with you.

Hmmm, guess we will have to cut back from what we normally consume when we get together....

[BuoyJumper]

    A COAST GUARD HERO COMES HOME    

From the USCG Historian's Office

At at 1300 hours on 6 Oct 2003, the remains of Lieutenant Jack Columbus Rittichier finally came home from his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Jack Rittichier was born on 17 August 1933 in Akron, Ohio.  He graduated from Coventry High School in 1951.  He attended Kent State University, where he played college football and was the team's captain.  He graduated with a BFA degree in March of 1957.   

After graduating, he joined the Air Force in August of 1957 and went through flight training at Bainbridge Air Base, Georgia and Loredo Air Force Base, Texas, earning his wings in December of 1958.  Trained to fly the Boeing B-47 Stratojet (photo), Second Lieutenant Rittichier was assigned to the Strategic Air Command's 340th Bomb Wing based at Whiteman AFB, Missouri.  During his Air Force career he was promoted to the rank of captain. 

After being discharged from the Air Force in November of 1962, he accepted a commission in the Coast Guard Reserve as a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, his commission dating from 26 September 1963.  While assigned to his first tour of duty at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, he served as a search and rescue pilot and had collateral duties as the unit's legal affairs officer and public information officer.  He was promoted to Lieutenant in the regular Coast Guard on 28 March 1966.  The Coast Guard awarded Rittichier and his unit the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for their rescue work during Hurricane Betsy.  Early in 1968 Lt. Rittichier volunteered for the exchange program with the Air Force.  The Air Force assigned him to the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron [ARRS], based at Da Nang, in the Republic of Vietnam.  Once with the 37th ARRS, Rittichier began flying the large Sikorsky HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" combat rescue helicopters.  He was literally thrown into the fire as soon as he arrived in Vietnam.  He began flying as a copilot on rescue missions but soon became an aircraft commander himself.  He was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross [DFC] for a rescue he took part in on 21 April 1968.

On 9 June 1968, a Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk went down 37 miles west of Hue in the A Shau Valley near a North Vietnamese Army staging area.  The pilot, First Lieutenant Walter R. Schmidt, Jr., USMC, ejected safely but injured his leg and consequently, once on the ground, was unable to move.  He established radio contact with control aircraft in the area and a rescue attempt was quickly coordinated.         

Rittichier, flying as the aircraft commander of an HH-3E (Serial Number 67-14710), code-named Jolly Green 23, and another HH-3E, code-named Jolly Green 22,  were scrambled from Da Nang.

Since Schmidt was injured the helicopter crews would need to deploy their pararescue jumper [known as a "PJ"] to rescue him -- a dangerous procedure under any conditions as the helicopter would need to remain in a hover while the PJ deployed -- making a large, stationary target for enemy fire.  Adding to the danger was the possibility that enemy forces had captured Schmidt and were using him as bait to bring in the Jolly Green Giants as close to their guns as possible.  These rescue missions into hostile territory were some of the most dangerous flights undertaken during the war and it took a special breed of serviceman to volunteer for this type of duty.

Helicopter gunships first fired their ordnance around the area where Schmidt lay to suppress enemy fire.  Then Jolly Green 22 made the first attempts to rescue the injured pilot but heavy enemy fire repeatedly drove them off.  After trying three times and running low on fuel, Jolly Green 22 flew off to refuel.  The gunships and fighter-bombers then once again pummeled the surrounding area with ordnance but the enemy appeared to be well dug in and therefore resistant to suppression.  The control officer, orbiting the area while he orchestrated the rescue and ground suppression missions, asked if Jolly Green 23 would make a rescue attempt.  Rittichier, as the command pilot in Jolly Green 23, answered in the affirmative.

After heavy enemy fire forced him to pull away during his first attempt to hover over the injured Marine pilot, he came around after the area had been swept by attack aircraft yet again.  As he hovered over Schmidt and his PJ began to deploy, enemy bullets riddled the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant just above and aft of the ****pit, causing a fire.  Rittichier pulled up and attempted to fly to a nearby clearing to put his helicopter down.  As he cleared a line of trees, witnesses saw his rotor slow and the Jolly Green Giant lost altitude.  It exploded as it impacted the ground.  An official report of the crash noted: "that at an altitude of approximately 50' JG 23's rotor very noticably [sic] slowed down and it looked like he was attempting to set the helicopter down on a small knoll.  Upon crashing the entire aircraft burst into a fire ball and within 30 seconds the entire structure was nothing but smoking ashes.  The aircraft had melted out of sight." 

There had been no chance to escape the inferno--all four men on board perished almost instantly.  Lieutenant Rittichier and his Air Force crew had given their lives attempting to save the life of a fellow serviceman.  The other men on board Jolly Green 23 with Rittichier were the copilot, Captain Richard C. Yeend, Jr., USAF, the flight engineer, Staff Sergeant Elmer L. Holden, USAF, and the pararescue jumper Sergeant James D. Locker, USAF.  Subsequent attempts to rescue the Marine pilot proved unsuccessful and he remains missing in action [MIA] to this day.

During his distinguished career, Lieutenant Rittichier demonstrated a fearless determination to save lives at the risk of his own.  He was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, a Coast Guard Unit Commendation, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.   

On 16 June 1969 the hangar at Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, based at Selfridge AFB--Lieutenant Rittichier's last Coast Guard duty station, was dedicated in his honor.  On 10 November 1998 the Coast Guard Integrated Support Command at Portsmouth, Virginia, dedicated one of their buildings in his honor as well.

Lieutenant Rittichier and his crew on board Jolly Green 23 were listed as "Killed in Action / Bodies Not Recovered."  Their names appear on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.  In 2002 a Joint Task Force-Full Accounting investigation team located the crash site inside Laos and recovered the remains of the crew.  Lieutenant Rittichier was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on 6 October 2003.

[BuoyJumper]

THE STORY OF LT. RITTICHIER IS ABOVE IN POST #21

LINKS:  Lieutenant Jack Columbus Rittichier

CG Reservist Magazine article
USCG History
Virtual Wall
In Memory

[Synovio]

How are we so blessed as a nation to have incredible men as this serve and sacrifice for us..?

[BuoyJumper]

THE U.S. COAST GUARD IN VIETNAM 
MEMORIES of USCGC POINT GRACE VIDEO PHOTO FILE  (CLICK HERE)

MANY THANKS TO MARK ROMEY exGM2 FOR SHARING YOUR PHOTOS WITH US.

                         Thanks Stan Robbins (Ex-CG-GM) for
                         bringing this video to our attention.

[EX-CG-GM]

I can't take any credit for it.  Found it on "the other" website.

Should serve to give those not in the CG a bit if insight into what some CG members experienced while in Nam though.

I'm going to try and contact the man that put it together and see if he would share his pics on Bill Well's website.

[Crazy Horse]

I can't take any credit for it.  Found it on "the other" website.

Should serve to give those not in the CG a bit if insight into what some CG members experienced while in Nam though.

I'm going to try and contact the man that put it together and see if he would share his pics on Bill Well's website.

Thank you sir.

[EX-CG-GM]

For those that have not seen the website put together by Bill Wells, retired GMCM and Vietnam veteran, here's a link to it:

http://www.aug.edu/~libwrw/

It does a nice job of showing the breadth of the Coast Guard's involvement in Vietnam.

I'm sure Bill would be grateful to anyone that could contribute any pictures to help fill out the story and fill in the gaps.

[BuoyJumper]

THE LAST OF THE CLASS

Reprinted from Transquest.org

On March 28th, 2003, the United States Coast Guard transferred the Coast Guard Cutter Point Brower (WPB 82372) to the country of Azerbaijan thus bringing an incredible era of “Point Class” vessels to an end.  The transfer ceremony took place at 10a.m. at Coast Guard Group San Francisco on Yerba Buena Island.

CGC Point Brower was commissioned in 1970 and stationed in San Diego, CA with primary missions in Law Enforcement (LE) and Search and Rescue (SAR).  While in San Diego she was credited for the seizure of 17,646 lbs. of marijuana aboard the tug FLEETS POINT.  Her vigilance continued in San Diego until 1989 when she relocated to the San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Island continuing her missions in LE and SAR.  Upon arriving she found her enduring talents put to the test performing multiple operations in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989.  Her other accomplishments include several hundred law enforcement boardings, response to thousands of SAR cases throughout the waters of Coast Guard Group San Francisco, Onscene Commander for the rescue of Humphrey the Humpback Whale in 1990, and patrolling the 1992 America’s Cup races off San Diego.

Never irresolute from her motto of Semper Paratus, which means Always Ready, it’s easy to say that the many crews who have served aboard Point Brower’s decks have embodied the core competencies of the US Coast Guard, Honor – Respect – Devotion to Duty.  These core competencies are now being transferred to the country of Azerbaijan via classroom and practical hands-on training, instructional training on all equipment (old and new) and many hours of underway training throughout the San Francisco Bay.

  Senior Chief Boatswain Mate Paul Andrieu, Chief Machinist Technician Greg Ressio, Chief Quartermaster Steven Tierney and LT Paul Garcia possessing over 90 years of experience, took the twelve-man crew through all Engineering, Navigational, Operational and Damage control training associated with an 82 foot multi-use patrol vessel.  Adapting to the Russian language barrier by using translators, these men performed repeated instruction in all areas until the Azeri crew smiled that smile of confidence.

Point Brower’s prospective new skipper, Captain 2nd Rank Rufat Feyzulov, and his second in command, Auxiliary Ziyad Aghayev, now pilot the vessel demonstrating their new skills conducting operational, damage control and maneuvering drills independently.  They eagerly wait the day they’ll be patrolling their territorial waters in the Caspian Sea.  A place where Captain Feyzulov says their training will be put to the test as she continues Point Brower’s missions of LE and SAR as the “Azerbaijan Marine Brigade Ship S-201”.

The Point Brower is the 34th “Point Class” to be transferred by Coast Guard International Affairs’ Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Department at Coast Guard Headquarters.  The 12 Azeri sailors are now to be counted among the hundreds of Foreign Maritime Students trained as Coast Guard vessels are transferred to other countries.  From Antigua to Azerbaijan, Ecuador to Estonia and from Trinidad & Tobago to Tunisia, ex-Coast Guard Cutters are patrolling in waters around the globe. Over 27 countries have received one or more of the 8-WLB’s, 7-WLM’s, 41-44’MLBs’ and the already mentioned 34-WPB’s from the fleet.  This incredible program, operating almost entirely on reimbursable funding from the foreign clients, has saved in excess of 28 million dollars in disposals costs while receiving over 18 million dollars in reimbursements.

Many nations have a maritime service, but many of the service core missions are essentially those of a Coast Guard – SAR, counter-narcotics, resource protection, aids to navigation, etc.  The Coast Guard, as the world’s premier multi-mission maritime force, provides an excellent model for most foreign maritime services.  Ship transfers provide capable platforms, technical training and enhanced opportunities for engagement with foreign maritime services.

[EX-CG-GM]

Senior Chief Boatswain Mate Paul Andrieu, Chief Machinist Technician Greg Ressio, Chief Quartermaster Steven Tierney and LT Paul Garcia possessing over 90 years of experience, took the twelve-man crew through all Engineering, Navigational, Operational and Damage control training associated with an 82 foot multi-use patrol vessel.

Yeah, and I'll bet the LT brought maybe 6 of those years experience, the other 85 being from the Chiefs!