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The Vietnam Experience
The US Navy was present in all its diversity during the Vietnam War. The blue water Navy provided the big gun ships of the offshore firing line that supported the troops of the US and its allies engaged in combat operations ashore. The aircraft carriers on Yankee Station sent naval aviators on missions deep into North Vietnam and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in addition to providing air support for the infantrymen south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Inshore, the brown water Navy's fast patrol boats patrolled coastal and inland waterways to intercept enemy supplies and troop movements. These patrol boats also carried out operations with Navy SEALs and shore-based Navy helicopters. Since the front line was non-existent, the war surrounded these Sailors and there was no telling when and from where the next attack would come.
In addition to their inshore activities, the Navy also carried out onshore assignments in South Vietnam. Navy Mobile Construction Battalions (Seabees) continued their tradition of expert military engineering in support of combat troops, while also engaging in projects to help the local people. Navy medical personnel and chaplains were attached to US Marine combat units, and provided assistance and comfort for the wounded and dying. Navy personnel additionally operated the logistical shore facilities where massive amounts of material were landed from ships in support of allied military forces.
Navy combat artists recorded all of these aspects of naval operations, and they often shared the same risks as Sailors and Marines they chronicled. For those who were not there, the scenes depicted here give a visual sense of the Vietnam War: the colors, the landscape, the people, and the action. |