SLV Monitor Team 1 - What Unit Is This ? ID: Sea Lords Van

[sfcollector]

Would appreciate your help with identifying what unit this patch is for. Was it made during the Vietnam War? Thank you in advance for your help

[Andrei]

I guess it could be related to the HARP project. SLV coud stands for Small Launch Vehicle. My two cents...

[Bob Hudson]

Putting together some bits and pieces from Google, it sounds like an Air Force unit which operated the Portatale VHF radio receivers that were used to pick up signals from the sensors placed along suspected VC and NVA trails. This is from http://www.vvmf.org/thewall/anClip=62320

 

"Tom designed our Team's logo & patch - "Snoopy" on a Portatale. He was a valued member of Monitor Team 7 (SLV-3) at Thuong Thoi."

[Bob Hudson]

Actually it was Navy - found this reference:

 

"Trying to locate: Fred Zimmerman

Branch of Service: Navy

Unit was: Monitor Team-7 SLV-3

Where served: Vietnam

When served: 1969 "

[Bob Hudson]

Actually it was Navy - found this reference:

 

"Trying to locate: Fred Zimmerman

Branch of Service: Navy

Unit was: Monitor Team-7 SLV-3

Where served: Vietnam

When served: 1969 "

 

 

One more reference:

 

"Tom worked with Monitor Team-7 dispersing Duffle Bag mines in enemy territory. He was accidentally killed when a Seawolf Helocopter strike was inadvertently placed on his position."

[River Patrol]

I can not associated this with the MRF (Mobile Riverine Force) of TF-117, but then again, I don't know every patch made.......I would be interested to know what your research "flushes out".

[Bob Hudson]

I can not associated this with the MRF (Mobile Riverine Force) of TF-117, but then again, I don't know every patch made.......I would be interested to know what your research "flushes out".

 

Here's some references that tie some of this together:

 

 

 

 

As for Duffle Bag Teams and Monitor teams, well I found this in

 

 

 

[River Patrol]

Very Kool.....but What is SLV?

[Bob Hudson]

Very Kool.....but What is SLV?

 

I went through two long PDF files of Historical Summaries for the river forces and could not find anything. But they from 1970-71 when the Vietnamese began taking over the duffle bag ops, so maybe SLV's was something that only existed a short time before that.

 

[Bob Hudson]

I found one account of the "Duffle Bag teams" and one line may explain why the "SLV" reference is rare:

 

"I was one of the OICs of a Navy first generation sensor unit situated at Ba Xoai (A-421). I was with the unit at Ba Xoai from late April 1969 to the second week of August 1969. My rank was LT, USN.

 

"These sensor units were also called Duffel Bag, Crusades and Igloo White. They had a fairly loose table of organization but generally consisted of one or two officers and eight to sixteen sailors most of whom were veterans of at least six months in the River Patrol Force (i.e. PBRs), Beach Jumpers and volunteers from HAL-3/VAL-4, the Sea Wolf/Black Pony air squadrons."

 

My guess would be that SLV was used informally used to designate a detachment of a Monitor Team.

[itshistory]

Reading all of the posted text and doing some other comparisons there appear to be three types of sensor arrays. So Far anything we see about SLV goes up to the numeral 3. Perhaps the SLV number is associated with the system the that Monitor Team was deploying?

 

IH

[Bob Hudson]

Reading all of the posted text and doing some other comparisons there appear to be three types of sensor arrays. So Far anything we see about SLV goes up to the numeral 3. Perhaps the SLV number is associated with the system the that Monitor Team was deploying?

 

IH

 

I have read through several of the Navy Vietnam historical reports for 69-71 and the Monitor Teams get mentioned and there are lengthy lists of the many, many units operating under the Navy in Vietnam - dozens and dozens - plus lists of operations and there is nothing that would have initials SLV, so I think it is an informal term for sure.

 

But now that I think about it, I will go back to a quote I used earlier and show a part of the quote I had edited from the earlier post:

 

 

"I was one of the OICs of a Navy first generation sensor unit situated at Ba Xoai (A-421). I was with the unit at Ba Xoai from late April 1969 to the second week of August 1969. My rank was LT, USN.

 

These sensor units were also called Duffel Bag, Crusades and Igloo White. They had a fairly loose table of organization but generally consisted of one or two officers and eight to sixteen sailors most of whom were veterans of at least six months in the River Patrol Force (i.e. PBRs), Beach Jumpers and volunteers from HAL-3/VAL-4, the Sea Wolf/Black Pony air squadrons. When, the next generation Duffel Bag vans with their personnel arrived in the autumn of 1969, many of the Duffle Bag personnel arrived directly from the United States with no prior combat experience."

 

Duffle Bag vans ?????

 

Sensor Locating Vans (or vehicles). ????

 

It did require a receiving station to monitor these sensors and a mobile station made sense in some circumstances.

[Bearmon]

When stationed at FLTCORGRU (Beach jumper follow on command) we called all of our shelters Vans. They didn't have wheels and weren't self propelled they were basically conex boxes stuffed with electronics. I did find a definition for SLV survivabilty lethality and vulnerability Don't know if it applies....

[Bob Hudson]

When stationed at FLTCORGRU (Beach jumper follow on command) we called all of our shelters Vans. They didn't have wheels and weren't self propelled they were basically conex boxes stuffed with electronics.

 

I had wondered just that: maybe something they could place on a barge, a landing craft or shoreside.

[abe1947]

SLV II was a dufflebag unit located at Baxoai. I was in the unit. SLV stood for Sea Lords Van and ours was unit 2(II). A member of our team( 2 officers and 10 enlisted) designed the patch(David Jones), I think. We were at Baxoai from August 69 until Jan. 70 when our bunker was destroyed in a large attack. During that time we maintained 2 man units at Ha Tien, and Vihn Gai. After the attack we moved our main group to Ten Bien, but maintained the others. We were beginning to turnover to Vietnam Navy the last few months I was in country. I left Vietnam and returned to the "real world" in august of 70. I remember my months at Baxoai(camp 421-A) with the Army Special Forces, with great pride. They were the best. My name is David Voils. I was a radarman second class. I live in Russell Springs, KY. My e-mail is [email protected]. I'm a retired middle school principal. Love to hear from anyone that served in my area in Vietnam. We worked along the Vihn Te canal.

[abe1947]

Monitor Team 1 (BaXaoi, RVN) Known Present 14 Jan, 1970 during attack.

 

 

 

 

 

Last Name First MI Remarks

 

 

 

Frey Michael L Ltjg

 

Wilson Kenneth M IC1

 

Gibson L GMG1, (Lonnie?)

 

McDonnell J R BM1

 

Larkin Jerry L EN2

 

Buchanan J R GMG3

 

Crabtree F R GMG3

 

Mullins Barry M RDSN

 

Patterson David C SN

 

Kbihl C L FN

 

Martin C L FN

 

 

 

 

 

Other Team Members

 

 

 

Donovan Patrick J LTjg (KIA, 11/5/69. Home was Trinidad, CO)

 

Jones David SN?

 

Brown John ET2?

 

Voils William David RM2?

 

Martin Ralph Hamilton Ltjg

 

 

 

 

 

Special Forces Camp A421 at BaXaoi, received more than 200 rounds of mortar, rocket and rocket propelled grenade during this attack. Attack was made by a company sized unit.

[abe1947]

We trained at Mare Island, CA. Went to SERE training at Whidby Island, WA. They trained 3 teams. Each had 2 officers and 10 enlisted. Each had 2 "vans". One van was sleeping quarter, and repair, etc. Other van was all the monitors and communication equipment. Design for 6 people on watch and 6 off, sleeping/eating 24/7. We would go out during day and locate areas of activity. Bury sensors, then monitor them nights. If activity detected, we would call in artillery/PBR's/gunships, etc. I was lucky and had just gone to our site at Vinh Gia a day or so before the large attack. Our LTjg Donovan had already been KIA in November while out on Nui Goto with the army special forces.

[all-bull]

Your information is invaluable not only to this forum and the collectors reading this, but also to the patch you wore. Thank you so much for your contribution and service.

 

We trained at Mare Island, CA. Went to SERE training at Whidby Island, WA. They trained 3 teams. Each had 2 officers and 10 enlisted. Each had 2 "vans". One van was sleeping quarter, and repair, etc. Other van was all the monitors and communication equipment. Design for 6 people on watch and 6 off, sleeping/eating 24/7. We would go out during day and locate areas of activity. Bury sensors, then monitor them nights. If activity detected, we would call in artillery/PBR's/gunships, etc. I was lucky and had just gone to our site at Vinh Gia a day or so before the large attack. Our LTjg Donovan had already been KIA in November while out on Nui Goto with the army special forces.

[River Patrol]

abe1947

 

Thank you for the great information concerning the SLV Monitor patch, and thank you for your service.

 

Can you tell us if you wore this patch, and if so, where on the uniform? Or were the patches made but never worn?

 

Thanks again,

Steve

[Bearmon]

Possibly another Monitor patch

 

[Bearmon]

Possibly another Monitor patch

 

 

should have said probably the patch mentioned in post #3 above

[Bearmon]

I will bring this one back up to the top to post the Dufflebag patch I just purchased, I have only ever seen one other. And because it is a very intersecting patch

Sellers picture

[Bearmon]

This should probably be moved to the Navy section.

[Salvage Sailor]

Done

 

Welcome Aboard - Summer 1970