afloat while those on board jettisoned all excess weight. It gradually sank, but fortunately not before all men had safely left the craft. Within a mile of the accident Thomaston dispatched two boats to the scene and recovered not only four of the passengers and crew of the CH-46 (the remainder were picked up by helicopter) but the crew from one of Valley Forge'''s boats which had capsized upon launching. Later, on 2 June and again while in the vicinity of Valley Forge, Thomaston picked up men from the carrier who had jumped overboard to escape flames from a flight deck fire.Thomaston next participated in Badger Catch III, the withdrawal of the Special Landing Force from the Cua Viet River area bordering on the extreme southern edge of the DMZ. Subsequently, Thomaston and her embarked SLF participated in a swift succession of operations against Communist ground forces. Operation Swift Sabre plunged into Viet Cong-contested areas of the western shore of Da Nang harbor on 8 June 1968. Following Exercise Hilltop XX in Subic Bay, Thomaston participated in Eager Yankee which landed elements of the SLF in Quảng Trị Province near Cua Tu Hien on 9 July before engaging, 13 days later, in Swift Play in the coastal area south of Da Nang. These operations resulted in the capture of significant numbers of weapons and stores and the destruction of operating bases and installations from which the enemy had launched attacks against other "friendly forces". During "Swift Play", Thomaston came under shore battery fire for a brief time. 1969–1974 For the next five years, Thomaston actively supported the war effort in Vietnam, conducted troop and cargo lifts, and participated in amphibious operations. The tide of war, however, was running against the South Vietnamese; and, by the spring of 1975, concentrated efforts on the part of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops put pressure on the crumbling South Vietnamese government. 1975 The end for South Vietnam came during Thomastons 15th WestPac deployment. The beginning of the year 1975 found the landing ship at Subic Bay, undergoing a needed availability. She departed Subic Bay on 2 February, bound for Singapore where she stayed until 13 February. As a member of Task Group (TG) 76.4 Thomaston later returned to port at Subic Bay on 25 February. Her anticipated upkeep period, however, was cut short when the ship was directed to return to sea with