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USS MULLINNIX DD-944

1966 Vietnam Gunline
Page 1
11 June - 17 December
(At sea 132 days of last 190)



Vietnam Radio (LIVE!!!)


Mullinnix, South Vietnam Gunline - 1966


MT 52 & 53 Shelling Vietnam Shoreline

During her tour with the Seventh Fleet, Mullinnix was assigned exclusively to Naval Shore Bombardment, firing 13,702 rounds of ammunition if support of the First-Marine Division, the U.S. Army and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. She departed the Seventh Fleet on 17 November and cotinued westward around the world.


Picture taken from Mullinnix Gig
Vietnam Gunline, 1966

Watch the video of the "Mighty Mux" In Action - WOW!
Mullinnix' MT52 & MT53 shelling the coast line of Vietnam! (.MPG)
Note the angle of the guns - this is close, damn close...



1966 Mullinnix Deck Logs

January 1966 (PDF)
February 1966 (PDF)
March 1966 (PDF)
April 1966 (PDF)
May 1966 (PDF)
June 1966 (PDF)
July 1966 (PDF)
August 1966 (PDF)
September 1966 (PDF)
October 1966 (PDF)
November 1966 (PDF)
December 1966 (PDF)



Excerpt from "The Last Gun Ship - History of USS Mullinnix DD-944"
A Historical Novel By Frank A. Wood

Ammunition expenditure increased from 90,000 rounds for all of 1965 to 40,000 rounds monthly by late 1966. In 1967 the ships fired a half-million projectiles. During the 68 Tet Offensive, 22 gunships – 2 cruisers, 18 destroyers, and 2 rocket ships – were in action at once, firing over 100,000 rounds monthly.

Ordnance expenditures fell from 454,000 rounds in 1969 to 114,000 in 1971. A last surge of activity came during the PAVN Easter Offensive, when as many as 20 ships fired against PAVN forces in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Provinces and were a key force in staving off attacks in Hue.

After a 3-month deployment with the 6th Fleet (and after extensive repairs to her boilers), MULLINNIX departed Norfolk for duty with the Seventh Fleet. After stops in Guantanamo Bay, Balboa, Manzanillo, Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Guam, and Subic Bay, she arrived off the coast of Vietnam to aid the Vietnamese in their struggle against Communist tyranny. Between 2 August and 1 November 1966 she was intermittently deployed off South Vietnam, ranging from the DMZ to Saigon River, providing valuable gunfire support. This was during the Vietnamese Counter-offensive Phase II (01 July 1966 - 31 May 1967).

During bombardment of enemy positions, she fired 13,702 rounds of ammunition in support of the First Marine Division, the U.S. Army, and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. She departed the Seventh Fleet on 17 November 1966 and continued westward around the world via the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal. After stops in Penang, Cochin, and Athens, MULLINNIX arrived in Norfolk on 17 December.

To be continued...


Vietnam 1966: USS Beale DD-471 Approaching Mullinnix for Personnel Transfer
(pic taken from USS Beale DD-471)


Vietnam 1966: Personnel Transfer With USS Beale DD-471
(pic taken from USS Beale DD-471)



Familygram 1 March 1966 - Page 1
Familygram 1 March 1966 - Page 2

Familygram 23 June 1966 - Page 1
Familygram 23 June 1966 - Page 2
Familygram 23 June 1966 - Page 3

Familygram 12 August 1966 - Page 1
Familygram 12 August 1966 - Page 2

Familygram 6 October 1966 - Page 1
Familygram 6 October 1966 - Page 2
Familygram 6 October 1966 - Page 3

Familygram 8 November 1966 - Page 1
Familygram 8 November 1966 - Page 2
Familygram 8 November 1966 - Page 3
Familygram 8 November 1966 - Page 4
Familygram 8 November 1966 - Page 5

Familygram 29 November 1966 - Page 1



If you are interested in further Mullinnix COMBAT DETAIL: Go to National Archives Access to Archival Databases. On that page, click on "Vietnam". On this new page, scroll down until you see "Records About Naval Gunfire Support During the Vietnam War...". Click on the . Then, were it says "Search this Series", type in "MULLINNIX" (spelling it correctly), then hit 'enter'. This should result in 897 USS Mullinnix records that cover 1966, 1969, and 1972. Click on the . You will see, in chronological order, the Mullinnix Firing Records starting with 2 August, 1966 and ending on 8 September 1972. You'll note there can be multiple records for any one day.


1966 Mullinnix Familygram Crest






World map from back of the Mullinnix 1966 Cruise Book






Excerpt from Stingray by Bruce H. Norton
Chapter 10 – “Just Another Day In October (1966)"

Three things made it a perfect situation for the team. One, as a gunnery sergeant I had been trained as a forward observer for artillery and as a naval gunfire spotter. SO I called for fire from the 7th Marine’s 105 direct-support battery, which I could actually see to my east. Then Odin really must have laughed, because the USS Mullinnix (DD-944), newly reporting on the gun line, cut in on my radio net to offer assistance. She had a 5”/54 rapid-fire mount forward and a twin-mount 5”/38 aft with more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition. I was delighted! Especially as many more enemy troops were pouring into the valley. By now we had several thousand men in the open and more on the way.

I call the infantry battalion CP (Command Post) and informed them they were outnumbered by a least eight or ten to one, and their CO came back with “Good, Cakewalk.”

I had not seen an enemy in that kind of number since Korea, but I told the CO to save his 105 ammunition because I was going to use the ship’s firepower first.

The Mullinnix came into alignment no more than 1,000 meters from the beach and dropped anchor. I gave them a center of mass, and all three of her guns commenced to rearrange the valley terrain and lots of people. IN the midst of this, the UHF ground-to-air radio, which I had scrounged in Chu Lai, came to life:

“Cakewalk, this is Pea Patch Leader, overhead with six A-4s with snake-eye and napalm. How about a piece of this?”

“Welcome aboard, Pea Patch. I’ll turn off the ship, and you can help yourself.”

In less than ten minutes the A-4s had completely expended their ordnance, and I turned the Mullinnix loose again. We fired the ship empty. The entire 21st NVA Regiment and 501B NVA Battalion and ceased to exist.

___________


Other than having the configuration of the gun mounts wrong, this is a pretty good piece of Mullinnix history. This paperback can be purchased on www.Amazon.com.

___________


Vietnam Gunline 1966

President Johnson Visits Cam Ranh Bay

Navy Video Clips - Vietnam 1965
Combat Vietnam: To Hell and Beyond
(1 short year before Mullinnix arrived for her 1st tour)
USS Orleck DD-886
USS Orleck DD-866 - Naval Gunfire Support. Note the distance between Orleck and the coastline. The Mullinnix faced these short distances daily on all three cruises to Vietnam.
USS Orleck DD-886
Introduction clip from Combat Vietnam: To Hell and Beyond.
USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 and USS Orleck DD-886
USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 launching planes and the USS Orleck DD-866 providing gunfire support.
USS Maddox DD-731
USS Maddox DD-731 comes under attack by N Vietnamese PT Boats on 2 August 1965.
USS C. Turner Joy DD-951
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara describes the attack on the USS Maddox. USS C. Turner Joy DD-951 (USS Turner Joy) enters the fighting with USS Maddox.
President Johnson
President Johnson explains the attacks to the US public.
Operation Dagger Thrust
Navy and Marines forces participate in Operation Dagger Thrust - March 1965.
USS Navy Ships
USS Canbera CAG-2, USS ??? 12, USS Allen M. Sumner DD692, and USS Bainbridge CGN 25 (formerly DLGN 25).
USS Orleck DD-886
USS Orleck DD-866 participating in Naval Gunfire Support.
USS Kitty Hawk and USS Enterprise
USS Kitty Hawk and USS Enterprise get into the action.
Planes
Planes are launched for US carriers.
LPH
LPH launches attack helicopters.
Destroyer Escort
US Destroyer Escort (DE-??5) checks out junk for arms as part of Market Time Operation. Swift Boats and Coast Guard participated as well.
The "Individual Man"
The Navy's most valuable asset - the "Individual Man". Includes clip of unknown ship and USS Orleck DD-866.
USS Orleck DD-866
Unknown ship and USS Orleck DD-866.



Bam Ba (‘33’) Beer

Vietnam Era Songs - "The Songs of Vietnam"

Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Animals)
Eve of Destruction (Barry McGuire)
Kiss Me Sailor (Diane Renay)
Navy BLue (Diane Renay)
A Letter From Vietnam (Hank Snow)
Vietnam (Johnny Cash)
Vietnam Blues (Kris Kristofferson - Dave Dudley)
Vietnam Deck of Cards (Red Solvine)
Letter From Vietnam (SSgt Barry Sadler)
Salute to the Nurses of Vietnam (SSgt Barry Sadler)



Video of "Mux" pulling into "Sailors Heaven" - Subic Bay!
Mullinnix pulling into Subic Bay for Liberty!
Note the forward 3" gun-mount


DESRON 32 Letterhead



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Go to 1966 Coming Home

GO TO Liberty Call Gitmo 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Balboa, Panama 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Manzanillo, Mexico 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Pearl Harbor 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Midway Island 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Guam 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Olongapo City 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Hong Kong 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Penang, Malaysia 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Cochin, India 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Aden, Yemen 1966
GO TO Liberty Call Athens, Greece 1966

Go Back to Bermuda Thanksgiving 1965
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© 2003 by Frank Wood, All rights reserved