Caption:
Heavy traffic on waterways, especially near cities like Saigon, made Viet Cong explosive mines a constant threat. U.S. minesweepers patrolled the waters to remove mines. The Viet Cong responded by ambusing U.S. and South Vietnamese forces with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), recoilless rifles, machine guns, and landmines. The Viet Cong even swam up to vessels and attached magnetic mines to their hulls. One such mine caused devastating explosions on USS Westchester County (LST 1167) in 1968, killing twenty-five Sailors and Soliders. This photo shows a Navy minesweeping boat (MSB) on the Long Tau River in 1966. (Naval History and Heritage Command)
