Behold the largest living reptile on the planet! Crocodiles Mekong Delta Vietnam. 5. “When we swam in … small tributaries … a soldier or one of your group stood by with a rifle with .303 ammunition in case of attack by a small type of crocodile called a mugger,” jungle warfare veteran Lt. Col. William Albert Weightman told the Imperial War Museum in a 1990 interview about his time in the 1943-1945 Burma campaign. Saltwater crocodiles would have been nearly extinct in Vietnam by the time the war started, but there were still a small number around the Rung Sat Swamp (modern-day Can Gio) and U Minh Thuong, but they would have been rare and individuals large enough … With World War II nearing its end, hundreds of Japanese soldiers perished during the Ramree Island crocodile attack, the deadliest in recorded history. Wikimedia Commons British Marines landing on Ramree Island in January 1945 at the beginning of the six-week battle. There WERE crocodiles in Vietnam...both the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis). The Battle of Ramree Island (also Operation Matador) was fought in January and February 1945, during the Second World War, as part of the XV Indian Corps offensive on the Southern Front in the Burma campaign. History of the 119th Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam. ... Take the case of Robert L. Pollock, a crew member on C-130 cargo aircraft during the Vietnam War. They were known as Alligators and Crocodiles Looking for information on this and other units that served or supported the Air War in SEA. They were nice old fashioned gentlemen.They didn’t really want to talk about the war, but they said, “Try to imagine it, you’re 18 years old, and you’ve only ever lived on a farm, and suddenly you’re in a war zone in the jungle.” This was Cat Tien National Park, in south Vietnam.. Now you may remember, if you have been following these travel posts since October that we planned to take the train from the UK all the way to Ho Chi Minh City {Saigon}, Vietnam. The Can Gio Biosphere mangrove region (formerly known as Rung Sat Swamp) near Ho Chi Min City were heavily decimated by American herbicides during the Vietnam War, although during a late 1960s a large crocodile was sighted along the shore in a defoliated region (Orlans and Pfeiffer 1970). Don’t worry too much about Vietnam’s wild crocodiles, tigers and bears because they’re being rapidly ground into bone-flavored placeboes and handbags. Mekong Delta Vietnam Vietnam War Navy Military Crocodiles American History United States Travel Viajes Crocodile. Yep, the monstrous saltwater crocodile is like something plucked straight out of the age of the dinosaurs. Saved by Clare Blackwell. Crocodiles Cut Open, Skinned in Vietnam for Leather Bags . STD’s a problem in Vietnam? 10 The U-28 Sea Crocodile. Image courtesy of International Wildlife Bond. Image by ash6ee from Pixabay. London to Saigon by train. Homo Sapiens are the only things that will travel halfway across the world just to shoot you in the head for your septum. From: “Striking Eight Bells: A Vietnam Memoir.” “Another story on what most Americans don’t know about the Navy’s role in the Vietnam War?” For the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, 1972 would prove to be a busy year of conducting numerous and dangerous combat operations. Saltwater crocodile – the biggest of the crocodiles in Vietnam! Mekong Delta Vietnam. USS Rich (DD 820) docked early in the morning on November… Photo via Wikipedia. Oh, you betcha. Mekong Delta, 1969, I was in an infantry company stationed at a small firebase, Tan Tru.