Ship Security consisted of three man MP teams that were put on board merchant ships as they traveled up and down the river between the coast at Vung Tau and the Port of Saigon. The 188th MP Company was assigned this duty in early August 1966. About sixty or seventy of us were detached from the Company and transported down river to Vung Tau. We took up residence in tents in a compound not far from the Sub-Port of Vung Tau.

   Our job was to be outside on the deck of the freighters during the trip and to keep in radio contact with controllers in Vung Tau. We reported our position, via radio, at several checkpoints along the river and our progress was charted by the controllers. In this way we could request air cover or other assistance if the ship came under attack.

   The detachment used old WWII type landing craft [LCM-6’s] that were operated by the ARVN Army to ferry the teams from the Vung Tau docks to the ships. The ships didn’t stop for us so we had to board while they were moving.  As we came alongside the crew of the ship would throw a line down and we would tie it to our equipment and they would haul it up.

   Then a “Jacobs’s ladder”, which is a rope ladder that has an oval wooden spacer at each rung designed to hold the ladder away from the side of the ship, was lowered for us to climb. Because the LCM’s were fighting the bow wake of the ship they were bouncing up and down quite a bit and weaving in and out from the ship. This made it pretty hard to get a hold of the ladder. We learned that the safest way was to wait until the LCM was at its highest point on a wave and then grab a rung. As the boat dropped away we would find a foot hold and climb like hell before the LCM came back up and crushed our feet against the side of the ship.

   Once on board the team leader reported to the ships captain to advise him of our normal operations. On the way up the river the civilian crew stayed inside and we were the only ones on deck. One of us would go all the way to the bow and set up an M-60 machine gun and our PRC-25 Radio. Another would go to the stern and the Team Leader would shift between the two places.

   The delta area along the river consisted of low scrub in most places giving us a pretty good view in all directions over it. But the scrub was thick and you couldn’t see very far into it. We paid particular attention to things floating in the river. The VC had been known to attach mines to floating debris and at least one ship was sunk in this manner in 1966. (S.S. Baton Rouge Victory) We would use our M-14’s to shoot at debris, usually expending about 150 to 200 rounds per trip, each way.

   There was also a free fire zone along the river between certain checkpoints. We were told if there were friendly units operating in this area, otherwise anyone moving on the river, the shore or in sight, could be shot at. We sometimes saw small boats, apparently empty, drifting down the river within the zone. A liberal amount of ammunition was shot into these boats.

   Outside the free fire zone we would only fire on boats if they attempted to get too close to the ship, about 100 yards. Warning shots into the water near a boat were generally enough to get someone’s attention and scare the boat off.

   After the ship reached Saigon and was alongside one of the docks, MPs from the 188th came aboard with the Vietnamese stevedores and entered the holds to prevent theft and sabotage as the holds were emptied. The ship security team then became responsible for the outboard security of the ship. We watched the river for boats coming too close to the ship as well as for possible divers attempting to attach anything top the ship. Our shift in port was flexible; we had to cover the security around the clock but only needed one person at a time. We made our own schedule and we were responsible to the captain of the ship.

    We were given a cabin or two to sleep in and ate with the crew. We were allowed a rations allowance to pay for the meals, but I don’t remember any ship ever collecting the fee. On most ships there was a choice of three entrees at each meal and a menu was written on a chalk board for each meal.  They also always had fresh milk, which was not to be had on shore (recombined dry milk was served in the Army mess halls and it was terrible). A cold quart of fresh milk had quite a bit of trading power when the Saigon MPs of the 188th came aboard. The cabins were unused crew cabins, most had their own bathrooms with showers.

   I was treated very well on every ship. The officers and crews seemed to be genuinely happy to have us aboard and went out of their way to take care of us.

   No ammunition ships went beyond Nha Be to the port of Saigon. Nha Be (Pronounced Na Bay), where there was a large ammo dump, was about 15 miles before Saigon.

    After the ships were unloaded, they went back down the river. Our duties were the same on the return trip as on the upstream trip. When we reached Vung Tau, once again the ships did not stop for our transfer to the LCM’s. Getting off the ship was the reverse of the earlier procedure but was a little harder because the ships had been unloaded and, being empty, were riding much higher in the water. The curve of the hull now meant that the Jacobs Ladder would not touch the side of some ships for the last few feet and so swung free. We had to climb down and watch the LCM until we figured out its motion. Again we waited until the boat was high and then we jumped to the LCM’s rear deck and grabbed on to the pipe railing that was around the pilot house. We hoped that we wouldn’t slide across the wet deck and into the bay. Getting off and on the ships was very exciting, and only 19 and 20 year olds would enjoy it.