documents & Photos
from Jim HoeyWO-4/LT
(LDO)
Combat Action Ribbon (CAR)
March 6, 2009
James D. Hoey
14774 Rio Rancho
San Diego, CA 92127
Cell: (858) 248-3735
Email: tazmand@hotmail.com
Senator McCain
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Main: 202-224-2235
Fax: 202-228-2862
Senator McCain,
Sir, my name is Jim Hoey and I was an OSSA - OS2 (Operations Specialist) on the USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) from February 1974 to August 1977.
I retired from the Navy seven years ago as a Lieutenant (LDO-Surface Operations) and as a Chief Warrant Officer Four CWO4 (Operations Technician) after 24 years of service. I now work for the Department of the Navy (DON) at Spawar Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) Located in San Diego, CA.
I'm trying to establish with the Veterans Administration (VA) that I was in "Combat Operations" so that I can have my VA Status changed from "Vietnam Peace Time era Veteran" to *Vietnam Combat era Veteran*. Right now my August 2002 letter from the VA states the following: "Mr. James Hoey is a Vietnam Era, Peacetime and Gulf War Era Veteran" In my military records I
have a Citation from Destroyer Squadron Seventeen clearly stating that I was
in "Combat Operations" during Operations Eagle Pull, Frequent Wind and the rescue of the SS Mayaguez.
I have a copy of a letter you wrote to MR. Dale Clark, dated January 24, 1997, "thanking him for being a Veteran of the Mayaguez fight". It's been nearly 35 years and the USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7), USS Harold E. Holt (DE-1074) and USS Coral Sea (CV-43) have never received the Combat Action Ribbon. Specifically, I easily found numerous facts from Operations; Eagle Pull, Frequent Wind and the SS Mayaguez rescue from Cambodian captives on Koh Tang Island. These three events have had numerous books, newspaper articles, Time Magazine and Newsweek articles, Proceedings articles and unclassified "After Action Reports", all in greater detail then most events in U.S. and Naval History. The most current documentation to date resides on the Koh Tang Beach Club Website. http://www.kohtang.com/. My ship the USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) was involved in Combat Operations i.e. recovery of SS Mayaquez on May 15, 1975. Our ship was fired upon and we returned fire to hostile shore sites with our 5" 54 guns (158) rounds expended, plus 50 Caliber guns.
USS Henry B, Wilson (DDG-7) did the following:
1,) Steamed at high speed at 31 knots for 1 1/2 days towards Koh Tang Island for the rescue and the safe extraction - return of SS Mayaguez ship and crew
2.) Rescued 13 crewmembers - Marines from a down helicopter. The ship's Rescue Team consisted of an (8) man crew handpicked (from volunteers) to use the Captains Gig mounted with 50' Caliber Guns to rescue Marines. Neither the eight man crew nor the fiberglass hull of the captain's gig received a single bullet! The eight man volunteer crew received: (7) Bronze Stars and (1) Silver Star.
3.) Rescued 40 man crew of SS Mayaguez - received them onboard May 15, 1975.
4.) Destroyed - Sank former U.S. Navy (PCF Swift Boat) by Wilson's Gunnery Team.
5.) Fired 158 High Explosive (HE) rounds with 5" 54 guns at enemy shore sites on Koh Tang Island.
6.) Received from USS Harold E. Holt - 101 Marines for 5 day transit back to Subic Bay Navy Base Philippines.
USS Harold E, Holt (DE-1074) did the following:
1.) Tied their ship to SS Mayaguez (Extremely Dangerous) - offloaded Marines to the ship for rescue operation.
2.) Towed the SS Mayaguez at 3 - 4 knots under heavy enemy fire
3.) Was in very serious danger the entire time due to heavy combat fire from
700 - 800 seasoned enemy troops on Koh Tang Island.
USS Coral Sea (CV-43) did the following:
1.) Protective air strikes were flown from the carrier against the Cambodian mainland naval and air installations as Air Force helicopters with 288 Marines from Battalion Landing Teams 2 and 9 were launched from U Tapao, Thailand, and landed at Koh Tang Island to rescue the Mayaguez's crew and secure the ship. Eighteen Marines, Airmen, and Navy corpsmen were lost in the action.
Links to information-documentation:
http://study.schleppingsquid.net/Files/Pubs/SECNAVINST-1650.1G.pdf)
*Pages 66 - 67*
- Operation FREQUENT WIND. (Evacuation Operations, Saigon) 29Apr75
and 30Apr75. (No ships).
- Operation MAYAGUEZ. 15May75 (No ships).
- Operation EAGLE PULL (Not Mentioned or Listed)?
http://www.kohtang.com/
http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html
http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/02_awards/silverstar/6_PostRVN/03_mayaguez.html
Sir, I'm certain that you're aware that the brave men and women involved in these three historic events deserve the right to have the Combat Action Ribbon awarded for their bravery in battle.
Thank you in advance for your time and support.
Respectfully,
James D. Hoey
Sailors get CAR after rocket attack; Marines on the ships say ‘no thanks’
By Andrew Scutro
Times staff writer
01-06-2006, 01:57 PM
A rocket sailing over the bow of an amphib is enough combat for a sailor to rate a ribbon, even if he wasn’t there and the ship was pierside, according to the Navy. Sailors from the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge and dock landing ship Ashland have been awarded the Combat Action Ribbon for an Aug. 19 incident in Aqaba, Jordan.
The crews were notified by letter from 5th Fleet on Dec. 1, according to a Kearsarge spokesman.
While Kearsarge and Ashland were tied up pierside in port, a rocket flew over Ashland’s bow and past Kearsarge, hitting a nearby warehouse. The Katyusha rocket killed a Jordanian soldier and wounded another. Both were standing watch on the pier.
Two other rockets launched over the harbor. One landed in Israel, and the other near a Jordanian hospital. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
No Americans were hurt and no U.S. equipment sustained damage.
To rate the CAR under Navy regulations (SecNav Instruction 1650.1G), a sailor “must have participated in a bona fide ground or surface firefight or action during which he/she was under enemy fire and his/her performance while under fire was satisfactory.”
There are several subcategories, including those for riverine combat, peacekeeping and clandestine missions, but a firefight of some kind is generally required. In Aqaba, the docked Kearsarge and Ashland did not return fire. Both ships left the pier soon after the rocket attack.
However, the subcategory appropriate to the Aqaba incident may be “when the safety of a ship and the crew were endangered by enemy attack, such as a ship hit by a mine, or ship engaged by shore, surface, air or sub-surface elements.” The Kearsarge and Ashland were in the area for Infinite Moonlight, an exercise with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the Jordanian military. Some Marines were ashore at the time of the launch.
Ironically, since the 26th MEU deployed last year in “theater reserve” status, it meant that most of the MEU — including Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, went overseas without seeing action in Iraq.
Yet all the sailors on two of the ships that took them to the Middle East rated the CAR.
According to an Aug. 25 Marine Corps news story, the two ships, after getting underway, took up “less vulnerable positions” offshore while the Marines stayed on land and continued with their exercise.
Some 600 to 800 Marines were on the ships at the time of the attack, said MEU spokesman Capt. William Klumpp. They will not receive the award.
“In essence, the Navy submitted for it,” Klumpp said. “The Marine Corps has not submitted for it. The recommendation from this command is that it not be awarded to the Marines.”
Klumpp said the service planned to stick to the spirit of the CAR.
“In this case, we are applying the full stringency of this award criteria,” Klumpp said. “There are a lot of Marines that have been in some serious combat action.”
The awarding of the CAR was a contentious topic among Marines in 2005. Leathernecks have argued that those hit by roadside bombs should rate the award, which has not always been the case.
In November, Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, forwarded a list of recommended changes to CAR eligibility to Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee. Although Sattler avoided specifics, he said the Corps should give a second look to Marines who were nominated for the CAR but were rejected.
Navy rules
News of the CAR award was met with trepidation by some sailors, such as Construction Mechanic 2nd Class Kurt Doten. Doten, a reservist, served with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 24 in Iraq from March to October last year, where the CAR was an elusive award.
“We took incoming fire from insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah on a regular basis, and we were told we didn’t rate it because we weren’t in a firefight,” Doten said.
According to Navy rules, anyone assigned to the ship’s crew at the time of the incident is entitled to wear the CAR. Senior Chief Journalist Dave Nagle, the Kearsarge’s spokesman, said sailors are entitled to wear a CAR even if they were off the ship during the action.
“If you were assigned to Kearsarge on that day, you rate the ribbon,” he said.
According to a Navy news release, “robust” force protection measures were credited with saving the ships from “direct attack.”
The action in Aqaba was the most serious attack on an American warship since October 2000, when the destroyer Cole was hit by suicide bombers in Yemen, killing 17 sailors. The Cole crew was awarded the CAR, according to Lt. j.g. Bralyn Cathey, the Cole’s current fire-control officer and collateral-duty PAO.
Jim Hoey Comment:
In comparison to what the USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) did on May 15, 1975 to save ~ rescue the SS Mayaguez and Marines, does the USS Kearsarge (LHD-7) really rate the CAR?
Question:
After all the Historical - Documented evidence to support a CAR for the USS Henry B Wilson's involvement in the SS Mayaguez incident. Why did the Navy exclude the Wilson and various other units from receiving the CAR for Eagle Pull, Frequent Wind and the rescue – recovery of the SS Mayaguez on May 15, 1975.
Excerpt from:
SECNAVINST 1650.1H
AUG 2 2 2006
COMBAT ACTION RIBBON ELIGIBILITY PERIODS:
An individual whose eligibility has been established in combat in any of the following listed operations may be authorized award of the Combat Action Ribbon. Only one award per operation is authorized. This listing is not all-inclusive, as the Combat Action Ribbon has been awarded in minor operations, as well as for specific actions.
1. Southeast Asia: 1 Mar 61 to 15 Aug 73.
2. Dominican Republic: 28 Apr 65 to 21 Sep 66. (No ships
qualified. )
3. USS LIBERTY (AGTR 5): 8 Jun 67 to 9 Jun 67.
4. USS PUEBLO (AGTR 2): 23 Jan 68.
5. Operation FREQUENT WIND (Saigon evacuation): 29 to 30
Apr 75. (No ships qualified. )
6. Operation MAYAGUEZ: 15 May 75. (No ships qualified.)
Second Excerpt:
Operation DESERT STORM: 17 Jan 91 to 28 Feb 91.
(a) The Secretary of the Navy approved the CAR as an
exception to policy for the following ships that operated north
of 28.30N.and west of 49.303 from 17 Jan 91 to 28 Feb 91:
1. USS ADROIT (MSO 509)
2. USS BEAUFORT (ATS 2)
3. USS CARON (DD 970)44
4. USS DURHAM (LKA 114)
5. USS FORD (FFG 54)
6. USS PAUL F. FOSTER (DD964)
7. USNS HASSAYAMPA (T-A0 145)
8. USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO 449)
9. USS AVENGER (MCM 1)
10. USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52)
11. USS CURTS (FFG 38)
12. USS FIFE (DD 991)
13. USS FORT MCHENRY (LSD 43)
14. 13-USS HAWES (FFG 53)
15. USS HORNE (CG 3 )0
16. USS JARRETT (FFG 33)
17. USS KIDD (DDG 993)
18. USS LEADER (MSO 490)
19. USS MACDONOUGH (DDG 3 9)
20. USS MISSOURI (BB 63)
21. USS NASSAU (LI-IA 4)
22. USS NICHOLAS (FFG 47)
23. USS OLDENDORF (DD 972)
24. USS PORTLAND (LSD 3 7)
25. USS RALEIGH (LPD 1)
26. USS VREELAND (FF 1068)
27. USS WORDEN (CG 18)
28. USS LASALLE (AGF 3)
29. USS LEFTWICH (DD 984)
30. USS MCINERNEY (FFG 8)
31. USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53)
32. USS NIAGARA FALLS (AFS 3)
33. -USS OKINAWA (LPH 3)
34. USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-A0 107)
35. USS PRINCETON (CG 59)
36. USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10)
37. USS WISCONSIN (BB 64)
38. USNS COMFORT (T-AH 2 0) 26 Feb 91
39. USS GUAM (LPH 9) 25 to 26 Feb 91
40. USS IWO JIMA (LPH 2) 26 Feb 91
41. USS OGDEN (LPD 5) 25 to 26 Feb 91
42. USS MISSOURI (BB 63) 12 Feb 91 and 25 Feb 91
43. VC-6 Detachment
44. EODMU Detachments
45. USS RICHMOND K. TURNER (CG 20) 19 to 24 Feb 91
46. USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50) 16 to 28 Feb 91
47. USS LEADER (MSO 490) 23 Mar 9
A total of 47 Ships received the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) for participating in Operation Desert Storm (40 days); when by all accounts
the IRAQI Navy was destroyed within hours of the start of the war; no significant air threat on any kind and no other threats that I’m aware of to these ships! I’m also certain that most of these ships were no where near the war and were located in the Gulf far from the fighting.
In my opinion; ever single sailor on the USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) “Deserves” the Combat Action Ribbon and I feel strongly that we should band together to request our records be updated to reflect that we were in Combat Operations and should have already been awarded a CAR for at least these two operations:
- Operation FREQUENT WIND (Saigon evacuation): 29 to 30
Apr 75. (No ships qualified. )
- Operation MAYAGUEZ: 15 May 75. (No ships qualified.)
Recommendation:
Start writing your Representatives to have this changed~!