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didactylos's review
2.0
An easy read and quite interesting on one level. However it is very repetitive with information which should have been edited out. I guess it would be expecting too much to lose the very gung ho attitude to the enemy forces. Certainly a book written in its time rather than reflecting back.
mburnamfink's review
3.0
These days, 'Swift boat' is political jargon for turning a candidate's strengths against them, thanks to Karl Rove. But historically, Swift boats were a dangerous and daring mission during the Vietnam War, patrolling the coasts and rivers of Vietnam in the finest traditions of the US Navy. In the words of John Paul Jones, "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way." This memoir by a Swift boat has some interesting stories, but doesn't quite rise above the pack.
Swifts were militarized versions of Gulf of Mexico oil rig boats, 50 feet of aluminum powered by twin diesels crewed by five sailors and one junior officer. The boats packed some hefty firepower, with twin .50 caliber M2 machine guns up front, and a stern pedestal mount with another M2 and an 81mm mortar, along with the crew's M-16s, M79 grenade launchers, personal sidearms, and any scavenged weapons that could be rigged onboard, but they had no armor aside from speed.
Vietnam is a an aquatic country, with a long coast and many rivers, and the Swifts searched coastal boats for NVA weapons shipments, provided fire support for troops ashore, and made occasional troop landings. The mission was dangerous. The 50 boats were vulnerable to heavy seas, and the author had one boat swamped and sunk under him on patrol by the DMZ. Inshore, narrow rivers and canals were full of ambush sites, and there was no shelter from enemy gunfire.
Daly writes about training in San Diego. Swift boat crews were all volunteers, and trained and deployed as a unit, which really made a difference to the mission. His description of radio procedures and navigation is really detailed. And Daly expands the story from his personal crew by mentioning some actions by his fellow captains from training, such as capturing an NVA supply ship and an ambush in the delta. While he's enthusiastic, he has room to improve as a prose-stylist, and I wasn't immersed in the writing. Swifts were an interesting branch of the Navy, a group of very junior mavericks doing things with style and dash in their own way, and yet Daly is careful to recount respect from officers in big ships like destroyers, along with unrelenting bureacratic hostility from LTCDR "Ball Cap" Smithson.
As I said, this is a solid memoir with a lot of facts, but the Swift Boats are still looking for their Chickenhawk or A Rumor of War.
Swifts were militarized versions of Gulf of Mexico oil rig boats, 50 feet of aluminum powered by twin diesels crewed by five sailors and one junior officer. The boats packed some hefty firepower, with twin .50 caliber M2 machine guns up front, and a stern pedestal mount with another M2 and an 81mm mortar, along with the crew's M-16s, M79 grenade launchers, personal sidearms, and any scavenged weapons that could be rigged onboard, but they had no armor aside from speed.
Vietnam is a an aquatic country, with a long coast and many rivers, and the Swifts searched coastal boats for NVA weapons shipments, provided fire support for troops ashore, and made occasional troop landings. The mission was dangerous. The 50 boats were vulnerable to heavy seas, and the author had one boat swamped and sunk under him on patrol by the DMZ. Inshore, narrow rivers and canals were full of ambush sites, and there was no shelter from enemy gunfire.
Daly writes about training in San Diego. Swift boat crews were all volunteers, and trained and deployed as a unit, which really made a difference to the mission. His description of radio procedures and navigation is really detailed. And Daly expands the story from his personal crew by mentioning some actions by his fellow captains from training, such as capturing an NVA supply ship and an ambush in the delta. While he's enthusiastic, he has room to improve as a prose-stylist, and I wasn't immersed in the writing. Swifts were an interesting branch of the Navy, a group of very junior mavericks doing things with style and dash in their own way, and yet Daly is careful to recount respect from officers in big ships like destroyers, along with unrelenting bureacratic hostility from LTCDR "Ball Cap" Smithson.
As I said, this is a solid memoir with a lot of facts, but the Swift Boats are still looking for their Chickenhawk or A Rumor of War.
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