Capturing Skunk Alpha: A Barrio Sailor's Journey in Vietnam

On the evening of July 11, 1967, a Navy surveillance aircraft spotted a suspicious trawler in international waters heading toward the Quang Ngai coast of South Vietnam. While the ship tried to appear innocuous on its deck, Saigon quickly identified it as an enemy gunrunner, codenamed
Skunk Alpha.

A four-seaborne intercept task force was established and formed a barrier inside South Vietnam's twelve-mile territorial boundary. As the enemy ship ignored all orders to surrender and neared the Sa...