USNS Pililaau carries Marines, memories [Image 3 of 9]

AT SEA

02.10.2015

Courtesy Photo

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

Marine veteran, Byron H. Coates, left, an ordnance mechanic on the Maritime Prepositioning Force ship, USNS Pililaau, stands with a Marine at a fire base in Vietnam in 1969. The Marine pictured with Coates was due to rotate and Byron was his relief. “I was so skinny,” Coates said. “I drank some bad water. I didn't want to put the purification tablets in my canteen so I just dipped it into the stream and drank it. That night, it was not a good night.” (Courtesy Photo/Released)

• Date Taken: 02.10.2015
• Date Posted: 02.10.2015 09:15
• Photo ID: 1760959
• VIRIN: 150204-M-MH123-006
• Resolution: 1813x1431
• Size: 220.98 KB
• Location: AT SEA