When it comes to the Vietnam War, you often think of Huey helicopters and bloody jungle fighting. But there was a naval aspect to the conflict as well. The Iowa-class battleship USS New Jersey was recalled to serve off the coast of South Vietnam in 1968 at the end of the Tet Offensive – the surprise attacks carried out by the Communist-led insurgency. The battleship’s mission was simple: Stay close to shore and bomb the enemy into the Stone Age.
The USS New Jersey continued to blast targets until April 1969. It did not disappoint. In all, the New Jersey fired an unbelievable 12 million pounds of munitions against the enemy in less than a year. That means it lobbed 5,866 sixteen-inch shells and 14,891 five-inch shells.
You wouldn’t believe how many targets the New Jersey destroyed or damaged in Vietnam. The numbers are simply too high, and the nature of the targets too diverse, to fully list in this article. You can see all the statistics on BattleshipNewJersey.org.
The ship’s main battery and secondary battery caused inordinate damages. Enemy body count was not particularly high, but the New Jersey specialized in taking out Communist infrastructure such as buildings, bunkers, artillery sites, mortars, anti-aircraft systems, roads, trenches, tunnels, and caves. The greatest damage was done to enemy bunkers, as the main battery destroyed 596 of these emplacements. The secondary battery knocked out 92 structures. You can see video of the New Jersey firing its guns here.
The New Jersey, known as the “Big J,” is now a museum ship that you can tour in Camden, New Jersey. The vessel is 887 feet long and displaces 45,000 tons. When in service, it had a top speed of 33 knots. It has nine 16-inch guns. The Big J was upgraded with missile tubes and a helicopter pad during the Cold War build-up of the 1980s, and it shelled Syrian targets in Lebanon from 1983 to 1984, during the crisis in that country. The New Jersey is the most decorated ship in the history of the U.S. Navy. It was initially designed in 1938 and commissioned in 1943, and it served until 1991.
An oral history from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs featured Gary Loers, who served on the New Jersey during the Vietnam War. Loers cannot forget the awesome power of its guns. “It was an honor to get to walk on her decks and see the 16-inch guns. A person is quite proud to be an American when you see a ship like her,” he said.
Why didn’t the USS New Jersey have a longer mission during the Vietnam War? It only operated there from the autumn of 1968 until the spring of 1969. I can only speculate that it was expensive to operate and keep the crew supplied with ammunition, food, and other needs. We are talking about a huge crew, after all, and the New Jersey was the only Iowa-class battleship called up during Vietnam.
There were also strategic aspects to consider. The Navy depended on carrier power during the long war. It was probably more of a priority to use carrier-launched aircraft to bomb North Vietnam and take out targets closer to Hanoi, and then conduct bombardments that regular Army or Marine Corps artillery could carry out.
Nevertheless, the USS New Jersey was quite active during Vietnam for a short period. It destroyed and damaged hundreds of targets with millions of pounds of ordnance – not bad for a ship that was commissioned in 1943. The battleship’s mission of shore bombardment certainly saved the lives of many American grunts fighting a tough enemy in difficult jungle terrain.
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer.
Main Image is from Shutterstock. The intext image is Creative Commons.
Prosecutors last week entered piles of cash and 13 gold bars into evidence in the federal corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez, who is accused along with his wife Nadine of accepting bribes from a trio of New Jersey businessmen. Canva for NJ.com
The FBI agents stepped quietly inside U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s modest white house tucked in an upscale neighborhood along New Jersey’s scenic Palisades one morning in June 2022, creeping in through the garage.
They were directed to move discreetly, none of the shock and awe of a pre-dawn raid and perp walk. Nobody was even home.
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S.P. Sullivan
Sean Sullivan is a senior reporter on NJ Advance Media’s news team, covering criminal justice issues and government corruption in New Jersey for over a decade. He is chronicling the federal trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez for NJ.com and its affiliated newspapers. He does not invest in gold.
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HADDONFIELD, N.J. (CBS) — A man from Haddon Township was arrested and charged Friday in connection with an arson incident in South Jersey last October and other incidents of criminal mischief, harassment and stalking in Haddonfield and Medford Township.
The Camden County prosecutor, Haddonfield police chief and Medford Township police chief announced the arrest on Saturday.
Haddonfield police said Michael McNeely, 42, was charged with second-degree aggravated arson and third-degree criminal mischief in connection with an arson in October 2023 where a car was intentionally set on fire. McNeely was also charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for a June 2019 incident. Both incidents happened in Haddonfield.
McNeely was additionally charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief and harassment for an incident on Nov. 9, 2023, in Medford Township where police said a bench was vandalized with spray paint on High Point Drive. The 42-year-old was also charged with fourth-degree stalking on multiple occasions from 2019 to 2023 in Haddonfield and Medford Township, according to the news release.
McNeely is in custody at the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a court date.
The news release said Haddonfield officers responded to a report of a car on fire on the 1000 block of Concord Circle on Oct. 21 and surveillance video showed a suspect pouring gasoline onto the car and lighting it on fire.
Authorities said officers previously responded to two car fires at the same home on Concord Circle on June 25, 2021, and Oct. 18, 2017. Investigators also mentioned they responded to the same house after a concrete block was thrown through a window on June 20, 2019. The two car fires at the residence are still under investigation.
Detectives said they identified McNeely as a suspect through digital evidence.
“I’m very proud of and grateful to our detective bureau, and for the collaboration between our detectives, CCPO, and the Medford Twp PD that helped bring this case to a positive resolution,” Haddonfield Police Chief Jason Cutler said in the release.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call Detective Jason Roland of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 856-225-5125, Detective Corporal Kristin O’Neill of the Haddonfield Police Department at 856-429-3000 or Detective Mark Hunsinger of the Medford Township Police Department at 609-654-7511.
Tips can also be sent anonymously through CAMDEN.TIPS.
When Ben Chrnelich was thinking about what he wanted Real Central New Jersey’s outfit in the Women’s Premier Soccer League to look like this is it.
A strong team capable of winning a division title that is bolstered largely by local players from the soccer-tradition rich Greater Trenton area.
“Our mission is to continue providing a professionally run soccer organization program to the highest caliber and most committed players in the area,” said Chrnelich, who serves as Sporting Director for the women’s team. “We enjoy seeing players who have competed against each other in high school and academy leagues join together at RCNJ to represent our area.”
Season number four for RCNJ gets underway on Sunday night when it hosts West Mont United at 7 p.m. on the turf at Rider University’s Ben Cohen Field.
RCNJ will compete in the Colonial Division of the Mid-Atlantic Conference alongside Delaware Ospreys, Fever SC, Penn Fusion, Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, SJEB FC and West Mont United.
SJEB and Penn Fusion are both ranked in the preseason top-25.
The 10-game schedule begins on Sunday and runs through June 30, with playoffs to follow as teams compete for the Jerry Zanelli Cup. Rosters consist of collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep athletes.
“The club has experienced significant growth in the programs offered, fan interest and community support,” Chrnelich said, pointing to increased attendance since moving from Mercer CC to Rider University for home games last season.
“In additional to the Women’s team being consistently a top ranked WPSL team, the club has seen notable success with its youth teams (U13, U15 & U18) competing at the USL Academy Cup. Our attendance has grown every year with the WPSL games seeing over 250 supporters in attendance, plus many more watching the live stream. Our focus on a player centric environment continues to attract top players to our program and recommendations from collegiate coaches to play and train with Real Central NJ in preparation for the fall college season.”
The roster is highlighted by familiar names.
It includes former CVC Player of the Year Sophia Lis (Lehigh University/ Princeton High) and this fall’s Prep and Area Co-Player of the Year Morgan Kotch (Villanova University/ Pennington School).
Some other notable players include captains Ava Curtis (TCNJ/ Hillsborough High) and Stella Kahn (La Salle University/ Eastern Regional High), Brooke Steel (American University/ Shawnee High), Riley Hayes (Bucknell University/ Hun School), Kirsten Ruf (Rice University/ Princeton Day) and Nicola Mosionek (Rider University/ Hopewell Valley) among others.
Brian Thomson returns as head coach for his fourth season, and he’ll be assisted by Jamie Skarupsky, a former goalkeeper for the team, and Allentown High head coach Kim Maurer.
“Trenton’s soccer roots are deep and we are proud to play our part in continuing to ensure players can stay local while competing against the best talent up and down the East Coast,” Chrnelich said.
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