On March 30th 1972 the military forces of North Vietnam launched a major invasion of the South. During the preceding months the process of Vietnamization initiated by the Nixon administration had resulted in there being only about 6,000 U.S. ground forces in country at the time of this invasion. Support of the South Vietnamese forces resisting this invasion fell to the U.S. Air Force and the ships of the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Since even these forces weren't enough to provide adequate assistance orders went out for a major redeployment of naval ships. Within days of the invasion ships were leaving their homeports on both Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The USS Newport News, seen in the photograph here was normally the flagship of the Commander, Second Fleet with additional tasking as the flagship for commander of NATO’s Striking Fleet, Atlantic. Yet by the first week in May she had sailed from Norfolk Virginia through the Panama Canal and on to the Tonkin Gulf to add her 8-inch naval guns to the growing amount of striking force being brought to bear against North Vietnamese targets.

This site seeks to present the history of the ships and crews that participated in this final naval operation of the war. Our goal is to not only document the individual actions that made up the surface navy’s contribution to Operations Freedom Train, Linebacker I and Linebacker II but to do so by using the words of sailors and marines who actually fought these actions.

Go to the Operations section to read about the battles. Visit the Ships section for information about individual ships with links to their reunion associations. If you have a story you want to share begin the process by completing the on-line interview.

Thank you for visiting and now relive the Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club’s Farewell Regatta.