Don Ehrhart: An Unexpected Story

Don Ehrhart was raised in Evergreen Park, Illinois,  moving there with his parents, George and Dorothy in 1954.  Don completed grade school and graduated from Evergreen Park Community High School in 1968.  

Upon graduating from high school, Don visited his local Navy recruiter and enlisted in July, 1968, deferring his reporting day to October.  During the interim, Don worked with his father who had a construction business and completed his testing and the required physical examination.  Don recalled that shortly after he signed up, he came home and his mother, Dorothy asked him, “What did you do today?”  Don totally caught her off guard and said he enlisted in the Navy!  She was speechless and did not know what to say. It became a family story that was repeated for years at family gatherings.

Don reported to boot camp in October of 1968 at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois.  Boot camp was OK, and Don acclimated well and completed without any trouble, besides all the yelling from the drill instructors.  Don related a boot camp requirement that a recruit had to prove that they could swim.  “They would lead the recruits to the top of a 15-foot tower and would tell them to jump, and if they procrastinated or said they couldn’t swim, they would get pushed off the tower and into the pool!  If the recruit really couldn’t swim after entering the pool and began to sink, a Navy lifeguard would use a long pole to bring the recruit to the side of the pool.  “A recruit had three chances to pass. If they didn’t pass, they would be required to attend swimming classes.  “I made it the first time, as I was used to jumping from a high dive at the local pool when I was growing up,” Don related. 

Completing boot camp, Don and others in his class were marched across the base to begin “A” school.  Don was assigned to radar training and electronics for his advanced training.  Completing his radar training right before Christmas, and after a short leave home, Don was flown to Travis Air Force Base in California and received his orders to report to his ship, the U.S.S. Catskill, (MCS-1).  The Catskill was a landing ship built during WWII for the Navy and was subsequently reclassified as a mine countermeasures support ship.  Boarding the Catskill, Don and his crew members would provide support consisting of food, water, fuel, and other necessities for both coastal and ocean going minesweepers.  Don said that the minesweepers were much smaller boats that would locate mines placed off-shore by the NVA, and once found, they would detonated the mines by different means to render them harmless.”  

Completing his first tour in Vietnam, the Catskill returned to Long Beach.  “We were with a group of other minesweepers and support ships that were returning to the States, and it was a long, slow trip across the Pacific, never going over eight knots” Don related.  The trip, according to Don took thirty-seven days total, twenty-seven days to reach Hawaii, and then another ten days before they arrived at Long Beach.  Arriving at Long Beach, they were informed that the Catskill was going to be decommissioned, but before decommissioning, the Navy wanted to ship to be painted.  “I think the Navy just wanted to keep us busy, but it wasn’t too bad. As I was a radarman, I had to climb to the top of the mast to paint the radar equipment where we were left alone to work.”  

Completing his tour on the U.S.S. Catskill, Don returned home on leave a day before Thanksgiving.  His parents, George and Dorothy, picked him up from O’Hare Airport upon his arrival. His father George, though happy to see his son, commented that it figured that the Navy gave Don leave on the worst traffic day in Chicago, the day before Thanksgiving!  Don enjoyed his leave and was able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas at home with his family and friends. 

Don then flew to San Diego and reported to his new assigned ship, the U.S.S. Buchanan, a guided missile destroyer, in January of 1972.  Leaving shortly after his arrival, the Buchanan set sail across the Pacific to Vietnam.  “This time it only took us six days to cross the Pacific,” Don stated, adding that they escorted the carrier, Kitty Hawk and the Evertt F. Larson, another destroyer, to Subic Bay in the Philippines.   

After a short stay in the Philippines, the Buchanan was ordered to Vietnam in March, 1972.  There, the Buchanan reported to the “gun line” along the DMZ to fire artillery shells into North Vietnam.  “It was “harassment and interdiction’ shelling,” Don explained. The shelling would typically take place at night upon coordinates received by Marine spotters on the ground.  “We were about 1,000 yards off-shore and would fire our five inch guns.”  He also remembered that when the guns were fired, the whole ship would shake and any dust that collected inside the ship would be dislodged.  

On March 30, 1972, The Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched the “Easter Offensive.”  Being a very aggressive campaign, the PAVN began to cross the Cua Viet River, south of the DMZ.  The PAVN were overrunning the Marines and Marine spotters were calling for more and more fire from the Buchanan and other destroyers located off-shore and also called for air support. “It was a very chaotic time, with the Marines calling for artillery fire.”  Don recalled that while they were firing upon a major bridge to slow the advancing enemy troops, a Marine officer spotted four enemy tanks moving over the Cam Lo riverbank.  Calling in the coordinates, the Buchanan, along with other destroyers, fired upon the enemy tanks and destroyed the four tanks in short order. 

“The firing of artillery was so intense that we burned out an artillery barrel on our front gun during that battle,” Don stated.  Having to leave the gun line, the Buchanan traveled to Da Nang Harbor to have the gun barrel replaced.  Don stated that even though Da Nang Harbor was in friendly hands, “the ship would always be worried about NVA sappers.”  Sappers, Don explained, were NVA’s who would swim out and attach explosives to our ships while anchored.   “One of my best friends on the Buchanan would be assigned to randomly throw out concussion satchels off the side of the boat to ward off potential sappers.”  He related that even though the repairs only took a few days, the Buchanan would leave the harbor each night and return in the morning due to the risks of the sappers during the darkness.  

With the gun repairs being completed, the Buchanan returned to combat. Don related that they would sail up and down the coast of North Vietnam firing at targets, stating that the Buchanan was the first Navy ship to fire upon North Vietnam.  Don said they would fire upon PAVN supply lines, troops and SAM (Surface to Air Missile) sites.  “We traveled slowly up and down the coastline,” Don explained and said the firing was relentless.  Don also related it wasn’t only one-sided firing, as the enemy was returning fire from the North Vietnam shoreline.  

On April 17, the Buchanan was hit.  A shell fired from shore struck the Buchanan in the aft deck.  The shell exploded downward into the ship and left a two-and a-half foot hole on the deck.  Exploding downward, the explosion killed one sailor and left six wounded.  “I was in the radar room near where the shell hit.  If the shell had been fired two or three seconds earlier, with the ship movement, that shell could have exploded on top of the radar room.”

Don recalled the helicopters arriving shortly thereafter to remove the wounded and the sailor KIA.  Don stated that the Buchanan regrouped quickly and they were back in action that evening shelling the North.  The following day, repairs were made to the Buchanan at Da Nang Harbor in short order and returned to the combat zone. 

On May 9, 1972, the Buchanan and other ships formed the largest strike force since WWII, in an all-out effort against the Haiphong Harbor complex in North Vietnam.  The Buchanan, with Don on board, was the only Navy ship to participate in all four strikes that took place in that area of North Vietnam.  On May 16, 1972, and after 63 continuous days of combat, the Buchanan was relieved by the USS Waddell and order to return to Subic Bay.

Don recalled the 63 days of combat.  “The shelling upon our ship was non-stop. We would stand-down, only to be recalled to battle stations with incoming shore-fire.”  Don stated that the combat was intense and frightening.  “We were all so tired and exhausted that we began to accept our fate if the Buchanan was severely hit.  On occasion, we didn’t even return to our bunks in the lower part of the ship.  Instead, we would use a life preserver as a pillow and sleep behind our radar equipment when we could.”  Don, in recalling his combat duty, said that he commented to another sailor when attacked on June 25, “that I came into this life on the 25th and I might leave this life on the 25th!”

Upon his return to Subic Bay, Don was informed that his application was accepted to attend Moraine Valley Community College.  Being accepted into college, the Navy granted Don an early out of his four-year commitment, which was two months shy of his four years.  From the Buchanan to Clark AFB, he left for home.  Don liked his few days at Clark AFB, as it was the first time he was able to have bacon and eggs cooked to order and he ate off of a plate instead of a Navy tray aboard ship!  

Returning to San Diego, Don was discharged and returned to Chicago.  “I bought a car when I was in California before leaving for Vietnam, so I drove home without telling my parents in order to surprise them. However, the surprise was on me when I got home as no one was at home!”

Don started college and also worked with his father as a carpenter.  Leaving Moraine Valley, he completed his degree in Special Education at Illinois State University.  Don was then employed by South Suburban College as an instructor in construction technology.  With the experience he gained with working with his father in the construction business, Don was able to build 18 new homes in the south suburban area with grant awards while working for the college. 

Don is now retired and enjoys his time at home with his faithful dogs, and he volunteers at the local animal shelter.  Don has been a volunteer for Honor Flight Chicago for a number of years and is now able to fly to as an Honor Flight Veteran.

Thank you, Petty Officer Third Class, Donald Ehrhart , United States Navy, for your dedicated service to our country and for your years of volunteering with Honor Flight Chicago.  Enjoy your well-deserved Honor Flight with your fellow veterans!