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From 5 to 20 May, Tortuga participated in "Daring Rebel," an operation mounted to seek out and destroy Viet Cong rest camps on Barrier Island, 15 miles south of Danang. As a member of Ready Group Alfa. Operating with the DULUTH (LSD-6), WINSTON (LKA-97), USS OKINAWA, USS FORT MARION, and USS WHETSTONE, landed and sustained a Marine Amphibious Force, Tortuga closed the beachhead, while White River (LSMR-536) stood offshore to provide initial bombardment. When White River launched a heavy rocket barrage shoreward, "Daring Rebel" got underway. Landing craft splashed ashore while troop-carrying helicopters quickly airlifted troops ashore in the vertical-envelopment phase of the operation. For the next two weeks, Tortuga served as primary control ship for the operation which located and destroyed caches of food and ammunition and Viet Cong rest camps.  Throughout the operation, Tortuga operated as primary control ship for all landing craft, regulating all traffic between the ships and the beach. From sunrise till sunset and frequently to the next sunrise, Tortuga worked to keep the troops on the beach supplied. Tortuga did such a fine job throughout the

operation that she was cited by Commodore Stroud for, "great performance

demonstrated while acting as primary control ship in operation”.

"Backed by the ship's guns, the landing craft charge the

beach"

"OPERATION DARING REBEL"

The landing ship again served as primary control ship (PCS) in Danang harbor during "Gallant Leader," a follow-up to "Daring Rebel." Relieved by Duluth on 23 May, Tortuga set sail soon thereafter for Buckner Bay and simulated combat landings during exercises with Assault Craft Unit 1 in late June. In July, Tortuga transported the first increment of marines and their equipment for "Keystone Eagle," from Cua Vet, South Vietnam, to White Beach, Okinawa, before returning up the Saigon River to Nha Be with a load of palletized cargo.

Subsequently supporting Operation "Sea Float," delivering two pontoons and 32 pallets of ammunition from Nah Be to Tan My, Tortuga onloaded men and equipment from "Charlie" Battery, 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (LAAM), First Marine Air Wing, at Danang harbor for transport to the west coast of the United States. In this last operation, the second increment of "Keystone Eagle," Tortuga headed "stateside" for the last time, and arrived at Seal Beach, Calif., on 12 September 1969, unloading the 58 Hawk missiles of the 1st LAAM Battalion, USMC, and then proceeding to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

Tortuga disembarked her marines and proceeded to pier 7 where she was moored outboard of Carter Hall (LSD-3).

 During the Vietnam War Tortuga (LSD-26) participated in the following campaigns:

NU – Naval Unit Citation, RG – Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Medal Color with Palm), VS – Viet Nam Service Medal,  AE -  Armed Forces Expeditionary

Vietnam Service 1962-1973

From the time that United States' assistance to the Republic of South Vietnam was confined to an advisory status through the period of major combat actions, the varied and extensive roles of the U.S. Navy were crucial to the overall military effort in Southeast Asia.

After early participation by the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the detection of infiltration by sea from the north, a Coastal Surveillance Force, MARKET TIME., conducted inshore operations as well as offshore patrols to augment the efforts of the Vietnamese Navy.

Mobility and the endurance sustained by underway replenishment forces resulted in maximum use of Seventh Fleet carriers for retaliatory raids, for strikes in support of troops ashore, and for attacks against the enemy lines of communication. Naval air operations were of particular importance in the days before adequate airfields could be built ashore, and the ability of task forces to operate in nearby Tonkin Gulf permitted effective and efficient air operations against targets in North Vietnam.

The Amphibious Force of the Seventh Fleet projected ashore the first organized ground forces, U.S. Marines, at DaNang in March 1965, and carried out many later landings. Destroyers, cruisers, and battleship New Jersey added the weight of their gunfire in support of forces ashore, and conducted operations against the logistic lines of the enemy along the coast of North Vietnam.

The Amphibious Command drew upon its Underwater Demolition Team capability to develop SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) Teams, which conducted operations against Viet Cong guerrillas. The River Patrol Force, GAME WARDEN, extended the control of waterways in the Mekong Delta and other areas of the Republic. The joint Navy-Army operations of the Mobile Riverine Force captured base areas and defeated enemy concentrations.

Elements of the Coastal Surveillance, River Patrol, and Mobile Riverine Forces were combined into operation SEA LORDS to interdict infiltration routes from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta, to control vital Delta waterways, and to harass the enemy in his base areas. Essential support to in country forces was provided by the Service Force's naval support activities and Seabees.

Sea lines of logistics were a key to the defense of the northern provinces. The valiant naval medical personnel with the Marines, in hospitals and in hospital ships, saved lives and healed the wounded with unprecedented success. Salvage forces recovered ships in distress and cleared waterways. From across the seas came the vast quantity of supplies required to fight this major war. Ships under the Navy’s Military Sealift Command delivered all but a small percentage of the tonnage.

After years of negotiations from 1968 to 1973, the Paris Agreement of January 1973 between the U.S., South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front provided that the prisoners of war would be returned and that the North Vietnam military and all U.S. military personnel had to be out of South Vietnam by 29 March 1973, except for U. S. embassy personnel. The eligibility for this medal ended on 28 March 1973.

3 Silver and 2 Bronze Stars

1. Vietnam Advisory Campaign (15 March 1962- 7 March 1965)
2. Vietnam Defense Campaign (8 March-24 December 1965)
3. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (25 December 1965- 30 June 1966)
4. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (1 July 1966-31 May 1967) Phase II
5. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (1 June 1967-29 January 1968) Phase III
6. Tet Counteroffensive (30 January-l April 1968)
7. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (2 April-30 June 1968) Phase IV
8. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (1 July-l November 1969) Phase V
9. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (2 November 1968- 22 February 1969) Phase VI
10. Tet 69/Counteroffensive (23 February-8 June 1969)
11. Vietnam Summer-Fall 1969 (9 June-31 October 1969)
12. Vietnam Winter-Spring 1970 (1 November 1969-30 April 1970)
13. Sanctuary Counteroffensive (1 May-30 June 1970)
14. Vietnamese Counteroffensive (l July 1970-30 June1971) Phase VII
15. Consolidation I (1 Jul 1971 - 30 Nov 1971)
16. Consolidation II (1 Dec 1971 - 29 Mar 1972)
17. Vietnam Ceasefire Campaign (30 Mar 1972 - 28 Jan 1973)

IN UNIFORM AND IN COUNTRY

·         Vietnam Veterans: 9.7% of their generation.

·         9,087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the Vietnam era (August 5, 1964 - May 7, 1975).

·         8,744,000 GIs were on active duty during the war (August 5, 1964 - March 28, 1973).

·         3,403,100 (including 514,300 offshore) personnel served in the Southeast Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, flight crews based in Thailand, and sailors in adjacent South China Sea waters). 2,594,000 personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam (January 1, 1965 - March 28, 1973).

·         Another 50,000 men served in Vietnam between 1960 and 1964.

·         Of the 2,6 million, between 1 - 1,6 million (40 - 60%) either fought in combat, provided close support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.

·         7,484 women (6,250 or 83.5% were nurses) served in Vietnam.

·         Peak troop strength in Vietnam: 543,482 (April 30, 1969).

CASUALTIES

·         Hostile deaths: 47,359.

·         Non-hostile deaths: 10,797.

·         Total: 58,202 (includes men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties). Men who have subsequently died of wounds account for the changing total.

·         8 nurses died - 1 was KIA.

·         Married men killed: 17,539.

·         61% of the men killed were 21 or younger.

·         Highest state death rate: West Virginia - 84.1% (national average 58.9% for every 100,000 males in 1970).

·         Wounded: 303,704 (153,329 hospitalized + 150,375 injured requiring no hospital care).

·         Severely disabled: 75,000--23,214 100% disabled; 5,283 lost limbs; 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII

·         Missing in Action: 2,338.

·         POWs: 766 (114 died in captivity).

DRAFTEES AND VOLUNTEERS

·         25% of the total forces in country were draftees 648,500 as opposed to 66% of the ones in WWII.

·         Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.

·         Reservists killed: 5,977.

·         National Guard: 6,140 served; 101 died.

·         Total draftees (1965-73): 1,728,344.

·         Actually served in Vietnam: 38%.

·         Marine Corps draft: 42,633.

·         Last man drafted: June 30, 1973

RACE AND ETHNIC BACKGROUND

·         88.4% of the men who actually served in Vietnam were Caucasian, 10.6% (275,000) were black; 1% listed as others.

·         86.3% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasian (includes Hispanics); 12.5% (7,241) were black; 1.2% belonged to other races.

·         170,000 Hispanics served in Vietnam; 3,070 (5.2% of total) died there.

·         86.8% of the men who were killed as a result of hostile action were Caucasian; 12.1% (5,711)were black; 1.1% belonged to other races

·         14.6% (1.530) of non-combat deaths were among blacks.

·         34% of blacks who enlisted volunteered for the combat arms.

·         Overall, blacks suffered 12.5% of the deaths in Vietnam at a time when the percentage of blacks of military age was 13.5% of the total population.

·         Religion of Dead: Protestant--64.4%; Catholic--28.9%; other/none--6.7%.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS

·         76% of the men sent to Vietnam were from lower middle/ working class backgrounds.

·         Three-fourths had family incomes above the poverty level; 50% were from middle income backgrounds.

·         Some 23% of Vietnam vets had fathers with professional, managerial or technical occupations.

·         79% of the men who served in Vietnam had a high school education or better when they entered the military service. (63% of Korean War vets and only 45% of WWII vets had completed high school upon separation).

·         Deaths by region per 100,000 of population: South-31, West-29.9; Midwest-28.4; Northeast-23.5

WINNING & LOSING

·         82% of veterans who saw heavy combat strongly believe the war was lost because of lack of political will

·         Nearly 75% of the public agrees it was a failure of political will, not of arms.

HONORABLE SERVICE

·         97% of Vietnam-era veterans were honorably discharged.

·         91% of actual Vietnam War veterans and 90% of those who saw heavy combat are proud to have served their country.

·         66% of Vietnam vets say they would serve again if called upon.

·         87% of the public now holds Vietnam veterans in high esteem.

Vietnam Service Medal

The armed forces' Vietnam Service Medal (at left in photo) was established by Executive Order 11231 from President Johnson's desk on 8 July 1965.

The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, a former employee of the Army's Institute of Heraldry.

The design of the medal's suspension ribbon reflects that of the flag of the former South Vietnam -- yellow with three red stripes. The green trim at the edges is suggestive of the jungle nature of the conflict.

 At right in the photo is the Vietnam Campaign Medal, issued to eligible U.S. forces by the then-Republic of South Vietnam.

The service medal was awarded to all members of the armed forces who service in Vietnam and contiguous waters and airspace between 3 July 1965 and 28 March 1973.

In addition, personnel serving in Thailand, Laos or Cambodia in direct support of operations in Vietnam during the same time period also were eligible for the medal.

 To qualify for award of the VSM an individual must meet one of the following qualifications:

(1) Be attached to or regularly serve for 1 or more days with an organization participating in or directly supporting military operations.

(2) Be attached to or regularly serve for 1 or more days aboard a Naval vessel directly supporting military operations.

(3) Actually participate as a crewmember in one or more aerial flights into airspace above Vietnam and contiguous waters directly supporting military operations.

(4) Serve on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60 nonconsecutive days in Vietnam or contiguous areas, except that time limit may be waived for personnel participating in actual combat operations.

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