{"product_id":"capturing-skunk-alpha-a-barrio-sailors-journey-in-vietnam-9781682831731","title":"Capturing Skunk Alpha: A Barrio Sailor's Journey in Vietnam","description":"On the evening of July 11, 1967, a Navy surveillance\u003cbr\u003eaircraft spotted a suspicious trawler in international waters heading toward\u003cbr\u003ethe Quang Ngai coast of South Vietnam. While the ship tried to appear innocuous\u003cbr\u003eon its deck, Saigon quickly identified it as an enemy gunrunner, codenamed\u003cbr\u003eSkunk Alpha.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA four-seaborne intercept task force was established and\u003cbr\u003eformed a barrier inside South Vietnam's twelve-mile territorial boundary. As the\u003cbr\u003eenemy ship ignored all orders to surrender and neared the Sa Ky River at the\u003cbr\u003etip of the Batangan Peninsula, Swift Boat PCF-79 was ordered to take the\u003cbr\u003etrawler under fire. What followed was ship-to-ship combat action not seen since\u003cbr\u003eWorld War II. \u003ci\u003eCapturing Skunk Alpha\u003c\/i\u003e relates\u003cbr\u003ethat breathtaking military encounter to readers for the first time.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut \u003ci\u003eCapturing Skunk\u003cbr\u003eAlpha\u003c\/i\u003e is also the tale of one sailor's journey to the deck of PCF-79. Two\u003cbr\u003eyears earlier, Raúl Herrera was growing up on the west side of San Antonio, Texas, \u003cbr\u003ewhen he answered the call to duty and joined the US Navy. Raúl was assigned to\u003cbr\u003ePCF Crew Training and joined a ragtag six-man Swift Boat crew with a mission to\u003cbr\u003eprevent the infiltration of resupply ships from North Vietnam.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe brave sailors who\u003cbr\u003esteered into harm's way in war-torn Vietnam would keep more than ninety tons of\u003cbr\u003eammunition and supplies from the Viet Cong and NVA forces. The Viet Cong would\u003cbr\u003epost a bounty on PCF-79; Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and Chief of State Nguyễn Văn\u003cbr\u003eThiệu would congratulate and decorate them for their heroism. \u003ci\u003eCapturing Skunk Alpha\u003c\/i\u003e provides an\u003cbr\u003eeyewitness account of a pivotal moment in Navy operations while also\u003cbr\u003echronicling one sailor's unlikely journey from barrio adolescence to perilous\u003cbr\u003ecombat action on the high seas.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Texas Tech University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50661019287826,"sku":"9781682831731","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0c1ea805-43a7-4bd0-8166-73e83fc43938.jpg?v=1733483640","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/capturing-skunk-alpha-a-barrio-sailors-journey-in-vietnam-9781682831731","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}