"Dear Mom, Dad, and 'Sis'; Today was our 1st day on the gunline. They got us up at 3:30AM in the morning to load 1400 rounds of powder which took about 3 hours. Then we had to refuel. I had the noon to 6 o'clock watch. We fired 89 rounds on 2 separate missions. I pulled the trigger the 1st time to start the war for the Mullinnix...On our first mission they shot back at us. It landed about 300 feet away; we got the hell out of there fast. About a half-hour later there were 2 radars locked onto us, but no missiles were fired. About an hour later we spotted a gunboat, but it turned out to be South Vietnamese. We have 4 marines on board to operate missiles we loaded on board. They fire them from their shoulder like a bazooka. We'll use them against MiGs as they are heat seeking - going up the exhaust system. We are supposed to (the gunline) leave 4 June. But more than likely we'll be here at least a month and a half. That's just the 1st line period. We'll probably get about 4 or 5 periods after that. Well, I've got the midnight to 6AM watch. So I'd better go to bed - were standing six on/six off. Love, Frank"
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, at times."
Daryl Wright n 1972, the USS Mullinnix DD-944 made her 3rd trip to the gun-line off Vietnam. The Mullinnix deployed from Norfolk, Virginia on 96 hours notice along with 3 other destroyers. This was part of President Nixon's actions in response to the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive of 30 March 1972. He ordered the mining of North Vietnamese ports. He also augmented the already considerable Naval forces in Vietnam with additional 5 aircraft carriers, 1 heavy cruiser (USS Newport News), 4 cruisers, and 44 destroyers. She arrived off the coast with one twin-barrel 3-inch/50-caliber gun and three modern single-barrel 5-inch/54-caliber guns. During the cruise she adopted the DOORS song, "Riders on the Storm", due to the fact the Mullinnix had to deal with several typhoons. ullinnix participated in the campaign to retake Quang Tri and the campaign to defend Hue. These campaigns involved the largest assembly of gunfire support ships in the Vietnam War and the largest amphibious landing since Inchon and Wonsan in the Korean War. In support of Vietnamese Marines, U.S. ships fired 289,963 rounds, at the highest monthly rate since 1968.