Naval Forces Vietnam Activates Task Force Clearwater

February 24, 1968

This mobile base was deployed to the mouth of the Perfume River to provide logistic support to the N

Overview

As part of the assaults on Khe Sanh and Hue, enemy forces begin attacking allied shipping on the Cua Viet and Perfume Rivers. These waterways are crucial supply and communication links for northern I Corps. Deputy commander of MACV, General Creighton Abrams, requests Naval Forces Vietnam to create a task force that can protect supply convoys and keep waterways open to traffic. It is known as Task Force Clearwater.

Task Force Clearwater begins escorting river supply convoys with patrol boats, helicopter gunships, and ground troops, which act as reaction forces during ambushes. The task force proves especially vital for protecting supplies intended for the besieged Marine garrison at Khe Sanh.¹

¹Willard Pearson, The War in the Northern Provinces, 1966–1968, Vietnam Studies (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1975), 57–65 (note that “Huong River” is another name for the Perfume River); Jack Shulimson, et. al., The Defining Year, 1968, U.S. Marines in Vietnam (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division, 1997), 231–32; Edward J. Marolda, By Sea, Air, and Land: An Illustrated History of the U.S. Navy and the War in Southeast Asia (Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1994), 186–88.