Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Thomas Stiller (Tom) was inspired by President John F. Kennedy. The late President commanded a Patrol Torpedo boat (PT boat) in the Pacific during WWII. The pictures and stories of that piece of history stuck with this young man from Indiana. When the age and opportunity came along, he joined the Navy.

Boot camp was at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago, IL. After the bus ride to get there, he was dropped off right at the military facility where the greeting committee provided quick, loud instructions about his immediate future. His primary instructor was a First Class Petty Officer named Clemmons. Tom said the man's appearance reminded him of Popeye. Big and tough and one nobody messed with. Boot camp was challenging but Tom had no problem getting through it.

While still at the Great Lakes Naval training Center, Tom entered "A School". The advanced training for him was Gunnery School. It was located across the same Navy base. Due to the number of trainees in this field, the Navy Instructors provided a daytime class and a night time class. Tom was in the latter. He had no difficulty getting through this particular field of study.

He was off next to the Navy's Training Station at Coronado, CA. The US Navy SEALS train there now. While Tom was there, he learned the functions of the Patrol Boat, River (PBR) (not the beer). This was the ubiquitous workhorse of the River Patrol Force. It had a crew of four sailors: a boat Commander, driver/radio man, a forward-gunner, and a rear-gunner. The forward-gunner manned twin fifty-caliber machine guns. The rear-gunner had one fifty cal machine gun. This gun was called an "organ grinder" that shot 40 cal grenades. On the port and starboard side were M-60 machine guns and grenade launchers.

The training would consist of operation of the watercraft as well as learning about each position on the boat in case one might have to work it due to injury or damage. Survival school was on the agenda as well. Much time in training was centered on the weapons. The sailor had to be more than adept on each of the guns. He had to know the disassembly and assembly of the M-2 and M-60. During this training, the student would also have to have known that he was headed to South Viet Nam.

Tom graduated from this training as well and was soon on his way across the ocean. The flight was pretty cool because he was in first class seating! On arrival, one of his first sights was the large number of dead soldiers in body bags, waiting shipment. Tom ultimately was a member of PBR 512. The PBR's patrolled the inland waterways off the Mekong Delta. The kind of warfare waged was usually pitched battles with the enemy at ranges of mere feet. The guys assigned to the River Patrol Force became part of the "Brown Water Navy". They were "River Rats".

The actual work was moving about the waterways looking for enemy activity. At the end of a patrol, his group went to the "Jennings County" a Landing Ship, Troops (LST) situated in the Delta. There the men ate and slept. The LST was crowded...packing men in bunks that were stacked three high.

They took on the enemy in the enemy's own territory, in short range and beat them. This group became a force without precedence in the history of the US Navy. The boats often logged up to 70K patrol hours in a month including 80 firefights -as a matter of record. During the overall period of the Vietnam War, one out of three PBR sailors were either killed or wounded. Those numbers are now even higher because of Agent Orange. This defoliant was heavily used in the thick forests of this area. Contact with this deadly product was unavoidable. Its' effects then and later (including now) were devastating.

As a forward gunner was the first one the enemy shot at. He was hit in the right arm and often nicked. Tom said that the guns worked well without miss-firing. He kept a spare barrel close by so that when one over-heated, he could replace it quickly and keep in the fight. The hot shell casings being ejected by the machine gun were capable of burning the men's legs. The uniform of the day was often gym shorts, boots, a helmet and dog tags.

An interesting story involved a Lt Commander. The report showed a photo of the LTCdr holding a bow, getting ready to shoot a flaming arrow at a bamboo hut. The story was widely told and shown, but Tom was on the boat when the pic was taken. A sailor with a flame thrower was actually starting the fires, not the LtCdr. The coverage was bogus.

In another instance, after a long, 16 hr patrol, the men were ready to head back to the LST. LtCdr Sheppard told the men to stand by,"just in case". Tom's crew agreed to beach their boat so they could get out and rest but still be available if needed. They rested in front of a friendly outpost. The LtCdr had a photographer with him, and other members of the media. The helicopters that flew in the media were on the ground, near Tom's crew. All of a sudden, the LtCdr radioed for help.

Tom noticed the helicopters weren't ready so he ran toward them to alert them of the fight. He had to go over a rock wall. As he cleared the wall, he landed in a punji pit. (Punji pits contained sticks with pointed ends that were covered with human waste and animal waste. They were placed in the ground in an upright position. They were in a hole in the ground that was filled with putrid water. Human contact was usually by falling onto these pits resulting in terrible injuries and/or death.) The helicopter crew saw that Tom was in trouble and immediately tried to get him out of the pit. They got him out and hustled him to a helicopter. Tom became nauseous and remembers the pilot crabbing at him for messing up the floor of his chopper!

Tom's injuries were substantial. The right side of his face was paralyzed. He was taken to an Army base for hospitalization. While there, he became delirious. He walked out of the hospital and off the base. The staff couldn't find him. His father was notified his son was missing in action.

Tom was finally found (by a soldier who had gone to high school with Tom!) and soon transported with several other injured men back to the US. He was on his back the whole flight and bus ride to Great Lakes Naval Station. Tom had found a way to secrete an SKS rifle and some dishes under the blankets covering him. He did get away with this!

Tom also sustained an injury to his right arm. He was medically evacuated off the PBR. The wound atrophied and got worse. This was treated at Great Lakes as well. Tom still does not have full use of his right arm. The numbness on the right side of his face subsided, but terrific pain started on the left side of his face. The pain was so intense, surgery was called for. The work involved cutting into the left side of his skull. The pain was stopped but the surgery was botched leaving Tom paralyzed on the left side of his face for the rest of his life.

Tom was medically discharged from the US Navy in August of 1970. He earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Viet Nam Service Medal, the Viet Nam Campaign Medal the Navy Combat Action Ribbon and two Presidential Unit Citations. There was no Purple Heart or a Bronze Star Medal. Tom suffered a stroke recently and is a current resident at the VAMC in Cheyenne, WY.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Tom Stiller, you're a brave, courageous man and you did a heckofa job! Thank you for your service!