I teach with Professor Byram who wrote the following. It is so well written I feel it deserves the light of day.
Bob Robertson, USArmy 1957-59

Recollections of a former Swift-boat veteran

I have resided in Elko County 19 years, and have become acquainted with, and respect many of its more permanent residents for various reasons which include honesty, and integrity. I have helped to raise my children here because of the quiet somewhat rural lifestyle. To the people of Elko County I am most grateful. Some of you know that while in the Republic of Vietnam from 9/69 to 9/70, I served on “Swift Boats,” as did one of our current presidential candidates. What you don’t know is what I did during my time in the Republic of Vietnam.

I served as a Radarman and peak tank gunner, manning an M-60 machine gun, Mark 19 grenade launcher, or whatever weapon was available at that position. This was a part of my life that involved living aboard that 50 foot boat for a solid year without many of the amenities we now take for granted, such as; showers, bathrooms, individual beds, space to be by ourselves, etc.

While on the boat our daytime duties included keeping everything necessary to our survival in operable condition, including radios, radar, weapons, engines. We spent most of every day searching sampans, junks, and water taxis, and checking identification of the Vietnamese populace as our paths crossed. Night operations included keeping a constant vigil for Viet Cong traffic as they liked the convenience of the canals and rivers for travel. By means of the waterways they might terrorize some small, out-of-the-way village, kill the village chief, or indoctrinate the villagers and enlist school age children (12 years and older) into their cadre. On some nights we would set up guard posts using Night Observation Devices (starlight scopes) to halt the movement of Viet Cong as they traveled by land. Our boat would be aimed into the Mangroves (small cypress type trees) in pitch darkness hoping to hit the river bank and not some up-ended, now angry, 15 foot python. The insects that fell on me during some of these operations actually made a thump when they hit my helmet, or the deck. Funny, but the darkness never did afford me a good look at any of them. There we would sit and watch for movement until discovered or fired upon, or both. On some nights we would aim loud speakers in the direction of known Viet Cong controlled areas and play tapes asking them to Chu Hoi. (give up) Sometimes we were flat out ambushed. We spent as little time as possible in those encounters due to what I called “the carnival effect”. We were, more or less, sitting ducks.

We were shot at almost daily whether we were in transit (moving from one patrol area to another) or still, and really became somewhat normalized to the sound of an AK-47 weapon, or should I say number of snap-like sounds passing near, or over our heads before we took any action. More than once on a quiet night I was awakened to the sound of a wailing pregnant woman approaching our boat needing a fast ride to the nearest Bac Si (doctor). And, as ranchers know, babies just aren’t born in the daytime. So we did it!

This type of duty was unknown to many servicemen in Vietnam, and elsewhere due mainly to our base locations, which was always on the rivers, or coastal waters. We were not always in harms way, nor were we able to engage the enemy for sustained periods, based on our small numbers (a crew of 6) and the places they picked for a firefight. The camaraderie among the crew was tremendous. The Swift sailor’s attitude of readiness, was second to none.

I just want you to know that during my entire tour of duty I never witnessed, nor heard of anyone on my boat, or any other Swift Boat crew in my division, mistreat any of these people. Be they friend or enemy they were treated like people. Accordingly, the Viet Cong were treated for their wounds (as best we could), or otherwise reasonably bound for theirs, and our safety, and generally fed during the transit to an outpost.

I was one of the original returning Vietnam Veterans who was spat upon and ridiculed when I arrived back in America. I was even poked with a cane by a very old lady in the San Francisco airport while trying to catch a ride to Indiana. In retrospect, I have to conclude that people were a bit confused at that time, but none more confused than was I. I would later learn that much of the anger and disdain directed towards me was a result of erroneous claims being made by a group called “Vietnam Vets against the War.”

Now when I see a former member of that group (VVAW) using his “Swift Boat” Vietnam Veteran status to assure me that he will protect my American brothers and sisters, young and old from terrorism, or support our most cherished possessions (our children) as they fight terrorism face to face in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi or elsewhere, and when that same person used cries of protest for atrocities he supposedly witnessed while in Vietnam, to cause Americans to spurn the returning veterans, and to spring board his political career, I can only pray for us.
How ironic that a person who, 35 or so years past, caused the vet so much grief, making us want to forget that time in the worst way. Not for what we did, but for what we didn’t do. This appears to have been done for his political gain, and he is back again causing us grief from painful memories…. for his political gain.

Robert C Byram, RDSN, COS DIV 13, Cat lo, Sa Dec RVN
Spring Creek, NV

Posted by: Bob Robertson at August 30, 2004 11:43 AM