Reply #5: A little story about V.C. the puppy...

[A_Possum]

"Even in the midst of this absurdity (a particularly confusing firefight), there was a moment of comic relief. During the firefight PCF-94 nearly lost its mascot. A few weeks earlier, Kerry and his crew had been in a village where they came across a puppy some of the locals were preparing to kill and eat. The Americans immediately traded some rations for the little dog and adopted him, naming the mutt V.C. Displaying great fortitude, V.C. soon took to standing in the bow of the Swift, with his muzzle sniffing the air, barking at villagers along the riverbanks. His only drawback was his inability to be housebroken. That afternoon when the mine exploded just off PCF-94, to the crew's horror the concussion blew open the two big engine cover doors, catapulting V.C. into the air and overboard. After the ensuing firefight the crew fell silent. "Nobody was wounded," Kerry explained, "but V.C. was gone." A few minutes later, however, the Mekong Delta river featured a scene straight out of a Disney movie, as the men of PCF-94 heard a yap, yap, yap, and turned to see their puppy on another Swift's deck, barking to come home."

TOUR OF DUTY by David Brinkley, pp 301-302

I'm so thrilled to see a photo of him!

(This was not one of the medal firefights, btw. I dunno if the smearvets would admit that V.C. existed, but now we have proof!) ;)