Background of the Swift Boat Sailors Association
On Saturday, April 29, 2017 the Swift Boat Sailors Association honored the fifty swift boat sailors “still on patrol” at a wreath laying ceremony at the Vietnam Unit Memorial at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. The Swift Boat Sailors Association, which has about one thousand members, is “a veterans organization created by and for the personnel who manned or supported U.S. Navy PCFs (Patrol Craft Fast) assigned to Coastal Squadron One during the United States’ involvement in Vietnam between 1965-1973.”
Every odd numbered year the Swift Boat Sailors Association holds its reunion, and this most recent union was held in San Diego. For many of the veterans in attendance at this year’s reunion, returning to the San Diego area felt like coming home; after all, Coronado is the place where the majority of them began their Swift Boat training about half a century ago. (All Swift Boat training was done in Coronado until July of 1969, when training was then shifted to Mare Island, California.)
According to the Swift Boat Sailors Association’s website, “Swift boats were first used in Operation Market Time to patrol the coastline of South Vietnam to prevent infiltration of soldiers, munitions, and other supplies, via the sea from North Vietnam.” From 1965-1973, an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 Swift Boat personnel were assigned as crew members or served in support roles. Of those Patrol Craft Fast crew members, fifty never returned home, and it was for that reason that a group of about 350 people, including Swift Boat sailors and their family members, attended the memorial.
The 50 foot long Swift Boats held a crew of only 6 men, which makes the stories of each of the men who never returned all the more meaningful to those who attended the reunion. With such small crews, these men couldn’t help but get to know each other intimately, and when one of them was killed in action, he took with him a piece of every crew member’s heart.
Tom Edwards of Minnesota, a professional photographer and published author, wasn’t part of a Swift Boat crew, but was an essential part of the Swift Boat community, nevertheless. Stationed in Vietnam, Tom, originally from Brooklyn, New York, was responsible for repairing the Swift Boats, getting them ready to return to action as part of the Brown-Water Navy. He could see with his own eyes the action each Swift Boat had endured on each trip down the river.
Tom worked on the very first Swift Boat that arrived in Vietnam, PCF-3. (PCF-1 and PCF-2 stayed in San Diego to serve as training boats.) One thing he hears time and time again from Swift Boat veterans is, “Thanks for fixing them after we broke them.” As Tom recalls, he often spent time working on three or four Swift Boats a day, fixing voltage regulators, installing new batteries, and repairing/ installing wiring.”
Tom is passionate about his service in Vietnam, as are many of the veterans with whom he served. He explained that the Swift Boat Sailors Association formed back in 1995 when two Swift Boats were returned to the United States from the country of Panama. As hundreds of Swift Boat sailors showed up at a Navy museum to see the Swift Boats again for the first time since their Vietnam days, they realized the need to come together as a group to honor their shared experiences.
Since then, the group continues to meet every other year, with locations throughout the country. When it’s time to return to the west coast though, the reunion is always held in San Diego. There’s a Swift Boat in the water at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and as part of the group’s west coast reunion, members and their families take tours of it. The museum’s Swift Boats at War in Vietnam exhibit, which is included with general admission, is open through November 14, 2017, and the Swift Boat PCF 816 is part of the museum’s permanent collection. As advertised on the museum’s website, “Naval history cruises of San Diego Bay aboard PCF 816 are available weekends.” The Swift Boat Sailors Association, after acquiring it from the Navy, restored the Swift Boat, outfitting it with new engines and new wiring. The group then had it transferred from Virginia to San Diego not only so it could be preserved, but also so people could have an opportunity to see it as it once was.
“I hadn’t been on a Swift Boat since 1969, and when I was able to see that one up and running in 2013, it really took me back,” Tom says. Tom admires how his fellow Swift Boat sailors donated their blood, sweat, and time into restoring the Swift Boat so that others, such as himself, could take a trip down memory lane and show their friends and loved ones the type of boat they were stationed on in Vietnam.
Even though Tom describes his group as fun, he also acknowledges that they’ve all looked death in the face a number of times. Another thing that they unfortunately have in common is that a substantial number of them have been diagnosed with cancer at least once, if not twice, due to Agent Orange exposure.
Tom calls the Swift Boat Sailors Association “a fraternity like no other,” noting how many of them were changed so profoundly from their experiences in Vietnam. Being together with one another, Tom explains, is often more healing than therapy. “I’m really proud to be associated with everyone in this group,” Tom shares. He elaborates, “They’re good, kind, generous people. The camaraderie is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
He continues, “Everything I ever needed to learn about teamwork I learned when I was nineteen years old, when I was in Vietnam. It wasn’t pleasant because there was a war going on, obviously. It was hot, and the food was just-a-touch short of gourmet (said tongue-in-cheek), but we all got along well, from the captain on down. When I’m around these guys now, there’s a commonality where we can just look at each other, and nod, and say, ‘Yep! I know what you’ve been through.’ I didn’t serve with most of these guys, but through the Swift Boats Sailors Association, we’ve bonded instantaneously. It’s a neat experience.”
One such person with whom Tom has gotten to know through the Swift Boat Sailors Association is Bob Bolger, also originally from Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bob, as his Swift friends call him, is one of the people responsible for coordinating the Swift Boat Sailors reunion as well as one of the veterans dedicated to maintaining the Vietnam Unit Memorial at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. A 1964 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the retired commander enjoys giving tours of the Swift Boat at the Maritime Museum as well as tours of the static Swift Boat on display at NAB Coronado. Bob knows the inside and outside of the Swift Boats as well as the personal stories of many of the 50 Swift Boat sailors “still on patrol.”
Bob encourages people who are interested in learning more about Swift Boats to contact him to set up a tour ([email protected]). As he flips through a binder of photographs of sailors during their Swift Boat days, Bob offers humorous anecdotes as well as somber details about the fate of some his fellow Swift Boat brothers.
Tom reflects on his time in Vietnam with the Swift Boat community. “We did what we thought was right, and we served our country honorably.” Despite the fact that Tom was only in Vietnam during war time, he remembers it fondly, sharing, “There seems to be two schools of thought among the Swift Boat sailors about returning to Vietnam, but I would do it in a heartbeat. I remember it as being gorgeous with its white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. Everything around me was a deep, deep, green. It’s a personal decision many of us have considered, whether we would ever return. It would certainly be interesting to see how much Vietnam has changed, but also see how much has remained the same.”
Tom recalls several interactions he had with the South Vietnamese, and recognizes how meeting people on the other side of the world changed his life. He remembers with great affection the reaction one family had when he took a Polaroid picture of them as they ate the Hershey chocolate bars he had offered them. A minute after the picture was developed, the family huddled in amazement, marveling at it, and Tom realized it was the first time they had ever seen themselves in a photograph. Experiences like those made Tom appreciate how good life was for him back at home, even though he was still considered too young to vote when returned from Vietnam. Of all the things Tom took away from his experience in Vietnam, the greatest lesson of all was that “laughter in Vietnamese sounds exactly like laughter sounds in English.”
Swift Boat Sailors Memorial, April 29, 2017
The members of the Swift Boat Sailors Association and their families gathered in San Diego to celebrate their shared camaraderie, while at the same time commemorating those who did not return. The fifty sailors “still on patrol” were remembered by their shipmates, many of whom traveled a great distance to once again pay their respects.
Unlike the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., where names are listed chronologically by year of death, the Vietnam Veterans Unit Memorial at Naval Amphibious Base is arranged alphabetically by last names. The memorial contains the names of the Coast Guard and Navy personnel lost in Vietnam. Included in the names on the wall, are the 50 Swift Boat sailors who never returned home from Vietnam.
Before the memorial ceremony started, there was first the presentation of a wreath, which was handmade by Bob Bolger’s wife Val. The wreath was laid next to the POW/MIA table, which was set as a reminder of those brave servicemen and women who shall never be forgotten.
As the ceremony began, Chaplain LCDR Paul Kim delivered a moving invocation, and the Director of the Swift Boat Sailors Association, Sue Edwards, made some poignant remarks. (Sue, the daughter of a Swiftie, is the founder of Legacies of Swift Boat Sailors, which is an organization dedicated to descendants of Swifties, and is also the developer of the Swift Boat Sailors Memorial website.) Then the Executive Vice President of the Swift Boat Sailors Association, Bob Barnet, introduced the guest speaker, Captain Scott Tait, USN, Commanding Officer, USS ZUMWALT (DDG-1000).
Captain Tait, whose father and grandfather both served in Vietnam, was chosen as the guest speaker because his ship is named after the late Admiral Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt, Junior. Admiral Zumwalt was the Commander, Naval Forces, Southeast Asia, and was revered by the Swift Boat sailor community.
After delivering a heartfelt speech, Captain Tait then had the honor of introducing Admiral Zumwalt’s daughter, Ann Zumwalt, who was received with a standing ovation. Ms. Zumwalt conveyed her late father’s admiration for sailors who served on Swift Boats. She shared with the audience how much her father loved the Swift Boat sailors, and judging by their reaction, it was clear that the feeling was mutual.
The Swift Boat Sailors Association concluded their memorial ceremony with a roll call, where each name of the 50 Swifties “still on patrol” was read aloud. Included in announcing each name were Swifties as well as some Gold Star family members. After each name was called, a bell rang, honoring each brave man who gave his life while on active duty with the Swift Boat community. The ceremony concluded with a rifle salute provided by the 82nd Airborne Honor Guard.
Swift Boat Sailors Association Memorial Ceremony Videos
