02 Jul 2004 Remembered Forever Visit the Swift Boat Linksite

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 14 Feb 1966 PCF-4, a "swift boat" from PCF Division 101, Task Force 115, was on patrol in Rach Gia Bay in the western part of the Mekong Delta. The boat carried a crew of 6; the boat commander was Lt(jg) Charles D. Lloyd. Toward the end of the afternoon a small raft carrying a Viet Cong flag was sighted. Lt(jg) Lloyd approached the raft cautiously and had hand grenades thrown close aboard it to detonate any explosives aboard the raft. When nothing happened, Lloyd directed his cox'n to bring the swift boat alongside the raft. As PCF-4 came alongside, a Viet Cong ashore lit off a command-detonated mine. The PCF's hull was ruptured and she sank at once. A nearby RVN naval vessel was able to take off the two surviving crewmen, who were then transported to Rach Gia - RM3 Robert R. Johnson by Army Huey and Lt(jg) Lloyd aboard PCF-3. PCF-4's hulk was well within gunshot range of the shore, which was controlled by the VC. Initial salvage efforts were hampered by enemy gunfire until the VC were discouraged by the combined firepower of Army helicopters, WPBs, PCFs, and VNN junks. Once the hulk was dragged into slightly deeper water, it was raised by the repair ship USS KRISHNA (ARL-38) and the bodies of four crewmen recovered: BM2 Tommy E. Hill, Knoxville, TN EN2 Jack C. Rodriguez, Jackson Heights, NY GMG2 Dayton L. Rudisill, Greensburg, KS SN David J. Boyle, Woodland, CA PCF-4 herself was beyond repair so she was taken to Subic Bay in the Philippines for examination. "Lessons learned" from examining her hull led to improvements in swift boat construction to reduce their vulnerability to underwater mines. PCF-4 was the first swift boat lost in Vietnam.

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