“I was the OinC of this illustrious crew, I was privileged to be their Officer in Charge from March 1968 to March 1969.”
Officer In Charge Lt. Thomas Herritage, USN
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program is honored to announce that the July 2016 story of the month has been selected to honor the service of six Vietnam War era veterans who served on PCF 94. The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program had the opportunity to interview Officer In Charge Lt. Thomas Herritage, 
Boatswain's Mate Michael Demske, Coxswain and LPO James Miller, Engineman Second Class Ken Poole, Sonarman Second Class Phil Salter, and PSYOPS Officer James Adams, at the Swift Boat Sailors Association reunion in San Antonio Texas.
The interview began with Lieutenant Thomas Herritage sharing, “I was the OinC of this illustrious crew, I was privileged to be their Officer in Charge from March 1968 to March 1969.” The unique nature of this interview was that decades after serving together in Vietnam, these crew members were able to attend their reunion and share their service memories. Lt. Herritage led the interview by sharing, “starting in October of 1968
we were in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.” The crew shared their memories of the November 13th, 1968 incident when the crew of PCF 94 captured a Viet Cong flag while delivering a PSYOPS team. Upon delivering the team and capturing the VC flag, a firefight ensued. The men of PCF 94 shared with vivid detail about taking fire and the aftermath of the conflict. The strong comradery of the crew has not wavered with time and remains are strong as the days they served together.
The United States Navy Memorial Stories of Service Program honors the crew of PCF 94, Officer In Charge Lt. Thomas Herritage, Boatswain's Mate Michael Demske, Coxswain and LPO James Miller, Engineman Second Class Ken Poole, Sonarman Second Class Phil Salter, and PSYOPS Officer James Adams, featured within this series titled, Tales from the Navy Log, Story of the Month. Each month, this series honors a Veteran’s story recorded by the Stories of Service Program at the Navy Memorial. To learn more about this story and to explore the Navy Memorial Tales from the Navy Log archive, visit the Navy Memorial Stories of Service site at http://navylog.navymemorial.org/stories-of-service
To view this interview please visit the Swift Boat Vietnam Era Swift Boat Reunion Collection on the stories of service page.