CORONADO -- Some stood at attention, while others held their hands
over their hearts as the names of the Navy's swift-boat sailors who died in Vietnam were read at a Saturday ceremony
at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
The remembrance, conducted by the Swift Boat Sailors Association,
took place at the base's Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument.
The monument's memorial wall was dedicated in May 2005 in honor of the 2,564 Navy and Coast Guard men who died
while serving in Vietnam between 1960 to 1975.
At the ceremony, a bell chimed as the name of each veteran who died was read.
Afterward, a Marine Corps honor guard gave a traditional 21-gun salute, and then taps was played.
John Culea, media and communications director for county Supervisor Bill Horn, read a proclamation by the Board of
Supervisors that marked Saturday as the county's day to honor the Swift Boat Sailors Association.
Bob Brown of Rancho Bernardo said the association has a reunion every two years and alternates from the East Coast to the West Coast to mid-America.
Brown, who was an officer in charge of Patrol Craft Fast 87 in Vietnam,
said about 3,000 men in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 served on the 50-foot boats that had one officer in charge and five
enlisted personnel. They were first used to patrol the coastline of South Vietnam.
Since the groups were small, he said "it was close-knit at the unit level."
"We were all bulletproof, we were all young, and we were all doing what
we thought was right," he said.
Brown, a retired Navy commander who is now a contractor, also said the group has worked hard to locate others who
served during Vietnam.
"There are a number of them out there who are still hiding out," he said. "We are in constant search of anyone who
served in swift boats or who served in support of them."
While the veterans served nearly 40 years ago, he said the lessons they learned are important today. In fact, he
said some swift-boat veterans are working closely with those serving in Iraq.
"There is a camaraderie, and it is building all the time," he said. "You want to make sure the things we learned
the hard way get passed on to the next generation of young boat crewmen to make sure they do well and survive."
Following the ceremony, attendees had the chance to climb aboard the three "Brown Water Navy boats" that were
restored as part of the monument, as well as participate in demonstration boat rides in Glorietta Bay.
Ken McGhee, a retired Navy captain and president of the Vietnam Unit Memorial Monument Fund, said the ceremony fittingly
took place at the site "built by veterans who had served in the Brown Water Navy," which refers to those who served on the
waterways in Vietnam.
McGhee, who was one of five swift-boat division commanders in Vietnam, said Coronado itself is "kind of home" to the veterans since San Diego is where they were trained.
Virg Erwin, chairman of the reunion, said the purpose of the event was to remember the "50 men we lost."
"We trained here, this is where we started, and this is where we started to trust," he said of the Coronado base.
For Erwin, the officer in charge of the swift-boat unit, the reunion was the first he has attended since his service in Vietnam.
"For many of us, it was very difficult to talk about," Erwin said, attributing it to the negative public perception of the Vietnam conflict.
"We weren't heroes when we came home," he said.
He said that's why the reunion events that took place from Thursday through today had one positive theme -- "Welcome Home."
He also said that the swift-boat veterans shared a similar mission as those who are serving in Iraq.
"They are doing today in the rivers of the Euphrates what we did in Vietnam," he said.
As the names were being read, Larry "Mac" McNealy stood at attention with his hat held against his heart and his wife of 40 years by his side.
The resident of Fairfield, described serving in Vietnam as "something that will never leave my heart."
McNealy, who was a radioman third class from 1966 to 1967, said it was the first time he has seen sailors since the conflict ended.
He said he decided to attend the reunion to honor the men who are "still on patrol for us," as well as to find some familiar faces from the past.
Although he had yet to reunite with his friends, he said the reunion broke down a feeling of isolation that he believes many have felt.
"When I came home, I felt I was alone," he said. "When I came here, I realized that a lot of people were there, too. I am not alone."
Just being around men who have shared similar experiences, he said, has illustrated an invaluable truth.
"We are strong together, just like we were 40 years ago," he said.
