“We caught B-40 Rockets 3 times.”

- LTJG Charles “Chuck” Rabel, USN

Service Program is honored to announce the March 2016 story of the month is dedicated to the Crew of PCF 35. The Crew of PCF 35 were interviewed by the United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program at the Swift Boat Sailor Association Reunion in San Antonio, Texas. The crew shared their memories of operations in Vietnam and camaraderie while serving together on PCF 35. The Veterans interviewed were, LTJG Charles Rabel, EN2 Glenn Dohrmann, GMG3 Gary Carpenter, and RDSN David Stevenson. In addition to extraordinary accounts of service on the Swift Boat PCF 35, the Veterans provided personal photographs which further illustrated their service in South East Asia and their commitment to their Nation and each other.

Each story shared focused on the specific operations and engagements of the PCF 35 that each Veteran had participated in. The interview began with, LTJG Charles Rabel sharing, "we were the lead boat, the ops people were telling us we are going to come in under the cover of darkness, the next thing I know, I'm back in the cabin from a B-40 rocket hit and the cabin window was blown out.” LTJG Rabel and his crew would recount the adversity faced in the waterways of South Vietnam and how they crew of PCF 35 would overcome these challenges to meet their objectives.

The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program honors Crew of PCF 35, LTJG Charles Rabel, EN2 Glenn Dohrmann, GMG3 Gary Carpenter, and RDSN David Stevenson, featured within this series titled, Stories of Service, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial.