William D. Hankins

William D. Hankins was born in 1948 into a New Jersey family with a military tradition. One of his ancestors served in the state’s militia during the Revolutionary War, and another joined the 22^nd New Jersey Infantry in the Civil War.  His father had served in the navy’s submarine service during WWII, and his uncle was a guard for the Camp Evans Army Signal Corps laboratory site in Wall Township, New Jersey, during that conflict.

Hankins was attending high school in Freehold when the American military presence in Southeast Asia expanded. He recalled seeing events in Laos on the television news, as well as the assassination of President Kennedy, and the subsequent assassination of his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, on live television.

Hankins said that most high school students of his era felt that they had an obligation to do their duty for the country in military service. In his senior year, he visited a navy recruiter in Asbury Park who told him that he was eligible for the “Kiddie Cruise” program, which was based on service entry before the age of 19, and discharge before 21.

After graduation from Freehold Regional High School in 1966, Hankins enlisted in the navy and traveled by railroad to Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois for basic training. On completion of that course, he flew home for two weeks leave, and then returned to Great Lakes for advanced training as an electrician.

Hankins enjoyed his six weeks advanced training, recalling that the sailor students “were treated as adults.” Many of the instructors were former submariners who had been phased out of their jobs as the navy converted from battery-powered subs to nuclear-powered ones. They were knowledgeable and “good guys.” Hankins missed some things about home, like going hunting with friends and family, but he said military life was otherwise fine.

Given his choice of post-training assignments, Hankins chose submarine service or Vietnam, got the latter and was initially assigned to the naval support unit headquarters in Saigon. Prior to leaving for Southeast Asia, he was sent to a three-week training program involving classes on Vietnamese history and culture, and a three-day survival course which involved “camping out” and foraging for food, including digging for oysters. In the final 24 hours of the training, the students were “captured” and treated like POWs. Hankins was locked in a box for a period, and vowed he would never be captured, which was the apparent point of the exercise.

After the course, on May 27, 1967, Hankins and his fellow seamen were transported to Travis Air Force Base, where they boarded a civilian airplane to travel to Vietnam. Following several stops on the way, including Hawaii, the plane landed at Ton Son Nhut airport in Saigon. Hankins was quartered in a hotel until he was issued equipment. He was told he was going to be assigned to Nha Be, a Naval Support Activity Base on the south bank of the Song Nah Be River in the Mekong Delta, five miles downriver from Saigon. A public highway ran to Nha Be from Saigon, but the road was frequently closed due to Vietcong action. In the beginning the main gate was just a turnoff on the road. There really was no gate at all. Not even a guard shack existed.

On arrival at Nha Be, Hankins found that he would be working on PBRs (Patrol Boat River) of the “brown water navy,” repairing electrical failures like blown fuses and generators.  The boats often blew their engines as well, and the repair crew would replace them with engines rebuilt at the post. The PBR tactical task was patrolling rivers and transporting SEALS and army personnel to operations. The initial boats were essentially armed civilian craft. They were later replaced by better military designs with more armament.

For Hankins, enemy contact was limited to occasional mortar and rocket attacks, during which sailors had to man combat posts; although, there was never a direct ground attack. He liked his job and extended his tour of duty, eventually spending almost two years in Vietnam. Hankins’ expenses were minimal, and he was making his pay plus combat theater pay, all tax-free.

Hankins went to Hong Kong twice on Rest and Recuperation (R & R) trips. While there, he bought a souvenir tie tack with dragons on it, one of the few artifacts he retained from his service. His beloved aunt, who was like a mother to him, gave him a good luck coin token when he left. Hankins still carried it at the time of the interview and showed it to the interviewer.  

Hankins said he grew to think of Vietnam as his “own little world.” In the last nine or ten months of his duty, he worked on the night shift rebuilding shot-up or crashed boats and slept during the day.

The base Hankins was on was adjacent to an old French fort. Both locations were being expanded during his tour, with much of the construction work done by Filipino workers. There were new barracks, workshops, and a landing field for helicopters added, and a small USMC detachment was assigned to aid in defense. Army artillery would fire Registration and Destruction (later called Harassment and Interdiction) random fire over the camp into possible enemy sites in the Delta, and the Viet Cong slammed several rockets into the oil tanks on an Esso “fuel farm” to the North. The black smoke from the fire could be seen for almost two weeks.

There were several large explosions at Nha Be during Hankins’ tour of duty. One night a makeshift VC rocket, aimed at a ship, misfired, and ended up in the mud.  It was recovered and brought to the base, where an EOD team attempted to take it apart.  Unfortunately, it exploded and killed several men.  Hankins was on his way to the mess hall when it detonated about a hundred yards away. He said he turned and saw a massive column of fire momentarily flare into the sky.

Hankins did not have much contact with Vietnamese military or civilians, but he did see Vietnamese sailors coming to the base to take over boats, and they reminded him of Americans – “young kids horsing around.”  In his spare time, he liked to go fishing, and would catch fish that resembled American catfish that he gave away to Vietnamese civilians.  On one occasion, they traded repairing his ragged pants for fish. USO shows were not common, and they never saw the big one – Bob Hope. Hope’s annual tour was directed towards frontline fighters.

As his extended tour ended in 1969, Hankins, leaving the base for the final time, turned, looked around, saw the flag waving, turned again and boarded a bus for Saigon, where he embarked on a plane for the United States. On arrival, he was sent to Treasure Island Naval Base near San Francisco to be released from active duty. The processing out program was relaxing, save for one time when the sailors were all herded into a room and were pitched a reenlistment opportunity, which no one accepted. On June 23, Hankins flew on United Airlines back to Newark, New Jersey, then he took a bus to Freehold, and a cab ride to his home, where he was well received by his family.

Hankins was not verbally abused personally as a veteran yet was aware of such stories from other veterans. He did not join any veterans’ organizations, but did visit the New Jersey Vietnam Veteran Memorial wall, where he found the name of Tony Da Ponte listed, one of his high school friends, who was killed in action on May 28, 1968. Hankins remembered Tony as a laid-back, likeable person, and has visited his grave on several occasions.

After returning from Vietnam, Hankins spent several months loafing and then went to work for a phone company. He did not like the job, and eventually became a Freehold Township police officer, a job he enjoyed and held until his retirement. Hankins competed an AA degree program while a police officer.

Hankins concluded his interview noting that he believed the draft had been a social benefit to the country, as “everybody had to get along.” He also mentioned that the attack on the Twin Towers in New York City occurred a few days after his departure for Las Vegas. Hankins had to rent a car and drive all the way home to New Jersey. He enjoyed that trip, although he had to sleep in a hotel lobby in Utah, because all the rooms were booked for a “melon festival.”

Hankins’ last comment, as a history buff, was that he was proud to participate in riverine operations in Vietnam, as it was the first time the US Navy had participated in Riverine warfare since the Civil War.