Photo: Placard next to the Memorial

Photographer: Michael Herrick
Taken: January 3, 2017
Caption: Placard next to the Memorial
Additional Description: Seawolves HA(L)-3, nicknamed "Seawolves", developed from a need for a dedicated naval squadron of helicopter gunships in Vietnam. Due to the Brown Water Navy's early successes in the Mekong River Delta, it was decided that the U.S. Navy needed to provide air support rather than the Army.

An all-volunteer squadron, the Seawolves, soon supported Naval Special Warfare operations and the Mobile Riverine Forces in Vietnam. In 1966, Helicopter Combat Squadron one (HC-1) began flying support missions using Army surplus UH-1B gunships.

On October 31, 1966, two Navy PBRs encountered a superior fleet of sampans and junks intent on transferring a battalion sized Viet Cong unit from one riverbank to the other. The patrol boats came under intense fire from both sides of the bank, a call for air support went out and HC-1 Det 25 arrived fifteen minutes later. While the PBRs acted as decoys to pinpoint enemy positions, Det 25 opened fire and forced a retreat through rice paddies.

Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3 or HA(L)-3 was officially commissioned in South Vietnam on 1 April 1967. Missions included search and destroy, reconnaissance, MEDEVAC, SEAL team insertion and extraction. Decommissioned on 16 March 1972, the Seawolves flew over 120,000 combat missions during the Vietnam War.
Submitted: January 9, 2017, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.
Database Locator Identification Number: p373283
File Size: 1.446 Megabytes

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