DIRTY RIVER WAR: THROUGH THE EYES OF A GATOR SAILOR, 1967–70

DIRTY RIVER WAR: THROUGH THE EYES OF A GATOR SAILOR, 1967–70

During the Vietnam War, Richard Hermann, age 18, was the youngest sailor aboard his patrol boat in the Mekong River. He was also the lone survivor. Attacks on patrol boats were anytime and anyplace, forcing new-to-combat American sailors to stay ready for anything—from the sudden shriek of mortars and deafening clatter of M-50s, to the burst of recoilless rifles that flashed death through the black night. And the silence. “Always the silence. And you wait for it to start all over again.” In this gripping memoir about his service in Vietnam , Hermann reveals the brutal truth about life aboard the dangerous river boats patrolling the waterways of Southeast Asia—and how the near-constant combat forced young men like him to suddenly grow up. “You can become an entirely different person within a combat year,” Hermann says. “That’s because of the waiting —the waiting for hell to arrive, because you know it will.” U.S. Navy Petty Officer Richard Hermann retired from the United States Navy after 25 years and 10 months, having served active duty in combat in Vietnam from 1966 – 1969 on a PBR river gun patrol boat where on two operations in combat the boats were completely destroyed. During his numerous deployments to Vietnam Dick earned several commendation medals, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Dick currently resides in western South Dakota.