ABOVE: Jon Rackley holds pieces of shrapnel gathered from a rocket attack similar to the largest attack on the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, which killed 22 sailors. The servicemen impacted by the incident are being honored with a Declaration of Congress this Saturday at the Veterans Picnic at Gomsrud Park in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – A Declaration of Congress, presented by Brad Finstad, recognizing the deadliest attack on the American Navy in the Vietnam War, will be held at the Veteran’s Picnic at Gomsrud Park this Saturday.

The attack occurred on Feb. 27, 1969, on the Naval Support Activities group in Da Nang. Rockets fired by the Viet Cong destroyed ships LCU-1500 and YFY-78. Overall, 22 sailors died and 38 were injured.

One of those injured, Steve Chase, will receive an American flag flown from the U.S. Capitol on behalf of those honored. Both he and Jon Rackley were born and raised in Fairmont, on opposite sides of George Lake. Chase and Rackley were backup guys, with Chase being a sniper-qualified shooter and Rackley a specially-trained diver.

“The Americans owned Vietnam during the day,” Chase said. “The Vietnamese owned it at night. We’d get attacked at night, especially on full moon nights, and they’d lob in rockets.”

From one of these attacks which killed four people, Rackley found and collected pieces of shrapnel, which he still has to this day.

Regarding what happened February 27, Rackley said it was so devastating it was hard to believe a hit of that magnitude on a concentrated target had occurred.

“The Viet Cong had 122 millimeter rockets that were about six feet long,” he said. “I’ve seen pictures of them where they’d prop them up on two sticks like a bipod out in a jungle or out in a bush someplace. They’d launch these rockets from up to 20 miles away and drop them into the Air Force base that was there. That was a primary target, and our side was a target quite often.”

What Rackley said he remembered most about the men who died or were medevaced out was the time they had spent together.

“These are guys that we used to drink with in the enlisted men’s club regularly,”

he said. “Most of them, you didn’t know their names. If you did know their name, you knew their nickname.”

Chase said they had wanted acknowledgment and recognition for those who died and were injured since they had gotten back from Vietnam. American Legion Post 36 Commander and Vietnam Veteran Steven Fosness said concentrated efforts started last year through his position as Congressional Liaison for Brad Finstad, who is on the Armed Services Committee.

It was during an event for the Bravo Zulu House when Chase, who’s an advisor there, was told by Fosness 10 minutes before giving a speech that the Declaration of Congress would be given.

“My hair, if I talk about Vietnam it stands on end,” Chase said. “Now I got to give a speech to everybody, and I’m all choked up. It was hard, and it’s emotional, but these are real people. They’re real lives. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there.”

Rackley said he is looking forward to service members receiving the recognition they did not get when they got home.

“We came back from Vietnam, nobody wanted to talk to us,” he said. “They treated us very badly to put the least. These people who died serving their country are just forgotten with no recognition or anything. One time I was out at the VA here, and they said, ‘Guys like you that have been through this; if you don’t tell your story, how’s anybody going to know?'”

Dignitaries, NSA Personnel, American Legion, VFW and DAV representatives will be participating in the acknowledgment at the picnic, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A 102-year-old WWII Veteran will be in attendance and recognized as well.

After the event, Chase is looking to have the flag bestowed to him at the event displayed at a national museum for permanent commemoration of the event and service members involved.