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by Steven J. Temple (Author)
I came on board the U.S.S. Rainier AE-5 in October of 1967 and was one of the last crew men to walk her decks after her engines failed, during sea trials prior to returning to Vietnam in July of 1970. She was decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Repair Facility in Vailejo, California in August of 1970 and Rainier slipped into naval history. Her crew truly lived up to the code of, Honor, Duty and Country and Rainier''s history became a large part of a select few who walked her decks while enduring the depravation from loved ones, the exhausting work, the severe living conditions and the fear of ridding into battle on 500 tons of live ammunition. During her deployment to Vietnam the Rainier was awarded the Vietnamese Service Medal, the Vietnamese Combat Medal (with four bronze combat stars), the Meritorious Unit Citation, two Battle Efficiency Citations and the Vietnam Navy/Marine Combat Action Medal. Her crew was also recognized by COMSERVPAC 7(l) Fleet for outstanding achievement during Operational Readiness Training before each of her two 11 month deployments to the gun lines of Vietnam. The crew T spent 22 months in Vietnam with may not have been the most naval appearing crew in the fleet and the Rainier may not have been the most sleek looking naval vessel in Vietnam, but we did live up to the motto, We Deliver You Fire! We also set the standard for all AE sailors in the fleet for the future of naval operations. We were truly a Band of Brothers doing our best for Honor, Duty and Country, This book is dedicated to those who walked Rainier''s decks before me while setting the standards and to those sailors I served with who Continued ttic tradition. Special thanks to William Freeman, QM-3, for starting the Rainier web site at www.fainier.com.
