Military Model Scene

Title: White Water Red Hot Lead
Author: Dan Daly
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 978-1-63624-451-8

On Board U.S. Navy Swift Boats in Vietnam, a 413-page soft-cover book from Casemate. A story about service life on one of the Riverine/Coastal craft used during the Vietnam War.
A new paperback edition of this book that highlights the job of the Swift patrol boats during the Vietnam War. It is told by the author who was the commander of one of these small ships during the war. Already in the Navy, he volunteered for service on the Swift patrol boats in Vietnam. It goes from training at Coronado to service in the northern coastal area of Vietnam, up near the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), includes plenty of interesting domestic details of life in Vietnam as well as firefights with enemy troops onshore as they gave fire support to US Marines, interception of enemy coastal craft smuggling supplies to the Viet Cong, and eventually their trip home at the end of their tour. Plenty of detail about how these small boats, with a crew of just 6, managed their workloads and even how they coped with changing sea conditions. Those conditions led to him losing one boat, though fortunately all crew members survived. A junior officer commanding these small patrol boats, but having to work alongside more senior regulars who didn't always appreciate the work involved with these small craft and the work their crews put in.
Working from bases such as Da Nang and other smaller sites there is lots to discover about this aspect of the war. Often linked to the riverine craft known as the 'Brownwater Navy', these PCF boats were involved more with coastal patrols rather than on the rivers such as the Mekong, further south in the country. A time for recovery after the sinking and a period working as the maintenance officer before it came time to return home to the US. There was little 'welcome' when they got home, a condition which has since changed since then. I found this an interesting read on a small yet important aspect of the Vietnam War.
Thanks to Casemate for the review copy.

Robin