War in the Shallows: U.S. Navy Coastal and Riverine Warfare in Vietnam 1965–1968
by John Darrell Sherwood ’85
Naval History and Heritage Command, October 2015
At the height of the U.S. Navy’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the Navy’s coastal and riverine forces included more than 30,000 sailors and over 350 patrol vessels ranging in size from riverboats to destroyers. These forces developed the most extensive maritime blockade in modern naval history and fought pitched battles against Viet Cong units in the Mekong Delta and elsewhere. War in the Shallows explores the operations of the Navy’s three inshore task forces from 1965 to 1968. It also delves into themes such as basing, technology, tactics, and command and control. Finally, based in oral history interviews, it reconstructs deckplate life in South Vietnam, focusing on combat waged by ordinary sailors. Vietnam was the bloodiest war in recent naval history, and War in the Shallows strives to provide insight into the men who fought, and honor their service and sacrifice.
John Darrell Sherwood has been a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command since 1997 and holds a Ph.D. in history from George Washington University. Dr. Sherwood has authored five books on the Vietnam and Korean wars and published a large number of articles and book reviews in a wide range of journals and publications.