As a 20-year-old gunboat captain and certified U.S. Navy diver in the Mekong Delta, the author was responsible for both the vessel and the lives of its crew. Ambushes and firefights became the norm, along with numerous dives—almost 300 in 18 months. Forty years after the war, he returned as a tourist. This journal records his contrasting impressions of the Delta—alternately disturbing and enlightening—as seen first from a river patrol boat, then from a luxury cruise ship.

Richard H. Kirshen has had three short stories published as well as numerous stories published in on-line magazines. He lives in Cooper City, Florida.

Richard H. Kirshen

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 152 photos, maps, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6814-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2742-7
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction 1
1. First Encounter 3
2. Go Back? 9
3. Flying Follies 12
4. Hong Kong to Saigon 17
5. How the Navy Got Me to Vietnam 19
6. Japan and Overt Sexuality 24
7. Subic Bay, Diving and Coronado 28
8. Prep-Work for War 38
9. Arrival 44
10. How the Hell Had I Ended Up in This Mess Anyway? 45
11. Touring Saigon 49
12. My Initial Introduction to Saigon 60
13. Eating 66
14. Cu Chi, Mr. Nam and the Tunnels 69
15. Operation Giant Slingshot 79
16. The Post Office and the Angkor 85
17. Nha Be 88
18. River Jobs 97
19. The Mekong 104
20. The Eskimo 108
21. Visits Along the River 111
22. Fish Farms and Wiping Out a Village 120
23. Cambodia and Night Travel 125
24. Phnom Penh and the Killing Fields 132
25. Our Prisoner 139
26. The Boat Show 142
27. New Life 146
28. Visiting a Cambodian Village 150
29. Again with the Darkness and My Night on the River 157
30. The Fighting Monks 163
31. Zippo Boats and Body Counts 170
32. The Afternoon Trip Without Me 172
33. R & R 175
34. Bus Rides and Ox Carts 179
35. On Watch 184
36. Busses, Goat Roads and Angkor Thom 190
37. Life on the River and Getting Shot 196
38. The Hotel and New Year’s Eve 201
39. Cam Ranh Bay 203
40. Angkor Wat and the Citadel of Women 211
41. Bare Sole 215
42. Hanging Out in Town 218
43. The Incidents 223
44. Bangkok and the End of the Trips 228
45. Entertainment 236
46. War? 244
Acronyms and Foreign Words 249
Index 251