Swift Boats in Vietnam

On November 4, 2010, Conversations with American Heroes at the Watering Hole features a conversation with Weymouth D. Symmes, USN, author of War on the Rivers A Swift Boat Sailor’s Chronicle of the Battle for the Mekong Delta.Weymouth D. Symmes, USN, “was raised in Lewistown and Billings, Montana. In 1966 he enlisted in the United States Navy. During his service he spent two years aboard the USS Ticonderoga and one year on Swift boats in Vietnam. Honorably discharged in 1970 he was awarded the Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation for Extraordinary Heroism, Two Navy Unit Commendations, The Republic of Vietnam meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross) and other awards. He was the treasurer for the Montana State Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial; was one of the founders and first treasurer of the Swift Boat Sailors Association (the fraternal organization for Swift Boat sailors); was one of the founders and the national treasurer for Swift Boat Veterans & POWs for Truth; and was on the board and the treasurer of the Admiral Roy F. Hoffmann Foundation. Weymouth is the author of two books: War on the Rivers A Swift Boat Sailor’s Chronicle of the Battle for the Mekong Delta and This is Latch The Story of Rear Admiral Roy F. Hoffmann." According to the book description of War on the Rivers: A Swift Boat Sailor's Chronicle of the Battle for the Mekong Delta, “This is a story about sailors, and one sailor in particular, asked to do extraordinary things and make great sacrifices during the Vietnam War.”