Brown Water Runs Red: My Year as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force, by Bob Andretta

Brown Water Runs Red: My Year as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force, by Bob Andretta

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Brown Water Runs Red: My Year as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force, by Bob Andretta

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Those heady days at the Naval Academy in Annapolis just four years earlier now seem so long ago. Here he is, lying face down in a muddy ditch on some remote and forsaken island in the Cua Dai River in Vietnam in the middle of the night. He has been blown off a boat, and is evading capture. Bullets hitting the river water near him as he desperately sought a bit of land, and now wizzing over his head keep him aware that his location is known to his tormentors. He assumes that he will momentarily be dead. He is exhausted, bleeding from wounds, and the mosquitoes seem plentiful enough to carry him away. He can hear the staccato voices of an enemy search party looking for him. He is nearly in tears, wondering if they will simply shoot him, drive a bayonet through his back, or worse, take him captive with years of torture and agony ahead. Within moments they were directly above him. As he holds his breath tightly, he cannot stop his heart from racing wildly. Can they possibly hear that?? He can now even smell them. This surely could be it.

This book recounts that night and the other 365 days that the author spent as a U.S. Navy advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force. Bob Andretta’s assignment in Vietnam turned out to be as dangerous, or even more so, than he had anticipated. For him, it was the best and the worst of experiences. It thrust him into the role more of a Marine than a naval officer. He had to scramble to try to make up for the fact that he really was not prepared or trained like a Marine, notwithstanding the six months at the advisors’ school. The combat experiences were astonishing. The violence and the danger were disconcerting. Throughout all those experiences, Bob grew to love the Vietnamese people and the activities he was able to undertake to help them. Looking back now, Bob has no idea why he was allowed to survive when so many other Americans did not come home to live out their lives. But he did, and this is the story of that most interesting, challenging, perplexing, terrifying, gratifying, life-changing year of his life.

“Bob Andretta is that rare individual who combined aggressiveness as a warrior and empathy for the Vietnamese people. As an advisor to the Vietnamese Navy in a remote and dangerous outpost he pursued the war with innovation and vigor. As a human being, he found ways to minimize the impacts of the war on non-combatants. Both qualities frequently led him into dangerous situations. While the U.S. military command was counting bodies, Bob was winning hearts and minds through his self-initiated and compassionate aid to civilians.” Doug Burgess, Officer-in-Charge, U.S. Navy Swift Boat

“Bob Andretta has combined his good humor and exceptional writing capability to create one of the great memoirs of the Vietnam War. Coming off tours as a division officer on two guided missile destroyers, he was assigned to the Vietnamese Navy's junk force as an advisor. His vivid portrayals of the pace of life on his base, the sharply defined personalities surrounding him, and the stress of combat all bring his year “in country” to life. Full of insightful, sometimes humorous, and often searing observations, this is a book for anyone interested in a little known piece of the larger Vietnam conflict. Bob’s book is a must read!” James R. Stark, RADM, USN (Ret)

“Andretta has written a genuine thriller about his 1969 tour of duty in Vietnam. His descriptions of the events and dangers of warfare on the Cua Dai River are truly memorable. Andretta’s concern for his fellow combatants and the Vietnamese people is clearly evident.” Colonel (Ret) L. Nick Lacey, USAF

Brown Water Runs Red: My Year as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force, by Bob Andretta

• Amazon Sales Rank: #733684 in eBooks
• Published on: 2015-09-10
• Released on: 2015-09-10
• Format: Kindle eBook

Brown Water Runs Red: My Year as an Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Junk Force, by Bob Andretta

About the Author

Robert Anthony Andretta was born in Brooklyn in 1942, but was raised in and around Washington, D.C. He is a 1960 graduate of St. John’s College High School in Washington, and he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1965. He has post-graduate degrees in International Relations from King’s College London and the University of Southern California, and a Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America in 1977.

After graduating from the Naval Academy, Andretta served in the United States Navy until 1972. His duty assignments were on two guided missile destroyers, a one-year tour in Vietnam as an advisor/liaison officer to a Vietnamese Navy Junk Force base and squadron, and the staff of the Commander in Chief U.S. Navy Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR) London. Andretta’s most significant awards from his naval service include two Bronze Stars with Combat “V”, two Purple Hearts, a Navy Commendation with combat “V”, a Vietnamese Medal of Honor, and two Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry medals.

After retiring from the Navy in 1972 due to combat-related disabilities, Andretta served on the presidential campaign staff of the late Senator George McGovern, followed by the next several years as a legislative aide for two congressmen, and later, a senator. After finishing law school and being admitted to the Bar of the District of Columbia, Andretta engaged in private practice, and then was named the first Chief Hearing Examiner of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation.

In 1984 Bob accepted an appointment as an Administrative Judge in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, followed by a similar appointment in the Small Business Administration. He qualified as a federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in 1989, and was appointed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While at HUD, Judge Andretta decided numerous cases involving housing discrimination, the debarment of contractors, mortgagees and mortgagors, and the imposition of civil penalties. Judge Andretta also conducted many hearings on behalf of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Board, before retiring from the bench in 2007.

Bob is married to the former Elizabeth Campbell Hain who has taught and served in two dean positions at Georgetown University for over 43 years. They raised two sons, the late David Forrest Andretta and James Russell Andretta. The family home is on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, since 1973.

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Most helpful customer reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An author with a different perspective By Doug B I loved this book. It’s a war story with vivid, exciting accounts of ground and naval combat that make it a great addition to my collection of Vietnam War books. The reader will find descriptions of firefights in which the enemy is never seen, close combat in which Andretta killed two enemy soldiers at point blank range, effective use of air power to support ground operations, an encounter with a Bouncing Betty landmine, the sinking of a Swift Boat and Andretta’s subsequent narrow escape from capture, etc. But this book is different from others in my collection in that it addresses fascinating non-combat aspects of the author’s year in Viet Nam – American/Vietnamese cultural differences, life for non-combatants in a war zone, US and Vietcong military strategy and tactics, the US’s “hearts and minds” campaign, use of Agent Orange, racism in the US ranks, the shock of losing friends and colleagues in combat, etc. Andretta’s accounts of medical aid he rendered to Vietnamese civilians left this squeamish reader amazed, appalled and full of respect for Andretta who accomplished such things without medical training or supplies.Andretta was a happy warrior for most of his tour. However, as his year in country came to a close he began to have misgivings about the conduct of the war, US objectives and strategy, free fire zones, a lack of respect among the many US troops for their Vietnamese counterparts, support and medical care provided to veterans, etc. He states the reasons for his change of heart clearly.Andretta came home from the war with three Purple Hearts, a boundless compassion and affection for the Vietnamese people and the conviction that the war was wrong. That improbable combination makes Andretta’s book compelling reading. Two minor issues – I found Andretta’s self-deprecating sense of humor and his occasional practice of directly addressing the reader appealing but not everyone will. And I found the book’s unusually high number of typographical errors distracting. These are minor issues. This book is highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Classic War-time Saga of Daring and Resourcefulness By Dan Pence Brown Water Runs Red by Bob Andretta is a terrific narrative of his action-packed river patrol experiences with a compassionate view of the plight of the Vietnamese people. Having served a tour aboard a destroyer in the classical blue water navy, Andretta’s next tour, naval advisory duty in Vietnam, was as different as night is from day. Classical shipboard life offered three square meals per day, a hot shower, and a clean bunk. Advisory duty at a remote Vietnamese coastal group base promised nothing, not even a reliable source of safe drinking water. The one thing he could count on was that hostile automatic weapons fire could be expected anywhere along the river network that he and his Vietnamese companions were assigned to patrol in their slow, wooden junks. This book is filled with accounts of engagement with Viet Cong forces, many of which will leave the reader on the edge of his or her seat. In some cases, Andretta wonders if it is possible to get any lower to the ground, and in others he is just plain angry as he stands on the deck of a junk oblivious to the bullets winging past. On the lighter side, Andretta recounts his immersion in various facets of Vietnamese culture, including language, dress, diet, etiquette, religion, family life, childbirth, and hygiene. He depicts the satisfaction and fulfillment of advisory duty and the strong bond that developed between him and his Vietnamese counterpart, but he also lays bare the concerns, such as the vulnerability of the base to being overrun during the night with no avenue of escape, the challenge of getting safe drinking water, food, ammunition, supplies and spare parts, and the uncertainty whether you are trusted and kept fully informed by your Vietnamese counterpart. He conveys the importance of establishing relationships with other nearby Americans, such as USN swift boat drivers, USMC CAP teams, USMC artillery fire base personnel, US Army forward air controllers, US Army sector advisors, USN SEAL teams, and medical staff in Danang. He also describes his efforts to bring rudimentary medical care to the local villagers, especially with regard to the needs of women giving birth in primitive conditions, illustrating how much can be accomplished when working without chain-of-command authority or funding. He explains how peasants, who only wanted to be left alone to work their rice paddies, could be driven to support the Viet Cong because of insensitive or reckless, deadly actions by supposedly friendly US, South Vietnamese, or South Korean military forces. This book is a "must read" for anyone who served as an advisor to the South Vietnamese military, wants to gain a better understanding of what advisory life was like, or admires the daring and resourcefulness of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. This 408-page book is written in a clear, approachable manner, and it includes a glossary to help explain location names and the unavoidable US Navy jargon and Vietnamese language terminology that is sprinkled throughout.Dan PenceFormer LT, USN and Senior Naval AdvisorCoastal Group 14, August 1970 - June 1971

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Possibly THE best book on the Vietnam War! By Physics dude There are now several excellent memoirs of the Vietnam War written by those who served in that ongoing conflict. This superb addition to that genre is perhaps the best of the best. The author exhibits amazing recall of an entire series of scenarios in which he found himself as an American advisor to the Vietnamese navy(aided by the fact that he wrote short essays on some of the events 15 years ago). The book is a highly satisfying blend of stories beginning with his arrival (for which he has received no practical training) being essentially dumped into neck-deep water off the base to which he was being sent) to dramatic battle scenes from which he barely escapes. He finds precious little administrative support and has to learn how to cope with the South Vietnamese who may, or may not, be all on the U.S. side and the weather and incoming fire in the middle of nearly every night. However, what I enjoyed most was Andretta's keen insight into the Vietnamese culture and his interaction with the civilians in the villages and hamlets surrounding his remote base. His wit comes through on every page (he refers to one of his superior officers as "Colonel Starch"). There are numerous photos with captions throughout the book to assist the reader in imagining the locales and people with which he is operating (can you picture what a "hooch" looks like? Bottom line: This book fills an important niche in our ability to understand this contentious, and undeclared, war and the personnel who ended up in a desperate fight for survival. Winning was never an option. After reading this book, you will understand why. You will have a greater appreciation of everyone who fought there on both sides. Brown Water Runs Red is far more informative than any textbook on the Vietnam War, and a lot more enjoyable. Read this book!!!

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