Tuesday, September 24, 2013

1972 News and Combat - Navy


In late 1972 and early 1973, the USS O'Callahan was often in combat up and down the Vietnam coast in support of ground troops or air combat elements. The primary location was near the DMZ (between the two Vietnams) usually supporting South Vietnamese Marines or dueling with shore based counter battery.  This AUDIO collection (with a few supporting pictures) is about 40 minutes long. The first HALF is essentially news from the period - a lot of it prior to Chrismas, 1972. The last HALF is a collection of audio recordings taken with a portable recorder tucked in my jacket in the pilot house of the ship where I stood my combat watches.  IF you can make out the gravely radio talk you'll hear call for fire and damage assessment reports. I did not record ALL the gunfire - so if you hear a call for ten rounds and only hear one or two it is because I was stopping the recorder to conserve battery juice. Other ship call signs are heard. Ours is IRISH SONG. I think SKIP ROPE is the overall boss of the gunfire for the five ships on the gunline. At the very end is a GQ alarm and also a sonar whistle just for reference. Typical chatter and noises from a ship underway. Enjoy.