Customer Reviews

Troubled Water: Race, Mutiny, and Bravery on the USS Kitty Hawk

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

That is the core question surrounding this book. A mutiny conjures up the image of films like "The Caine Mutiny" and "Mutiny on the Bounty." It involves the successful violent overthrow of a ship's captain by his crew. A standard definition is "Open rebellion against constituted authority, especially rebellion of sailors against superior officers" [...]. Those have happened, of course, but they are rare. But is a riot on board a ship a mutiny?

That is the issue discussed in this elegantly written but over argued book about the October 12-13, 1972, incident aboard the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The attack carrier Kitty Hawk had been on station at Vietnam's Gulf of Tonkin for several months when this took place, and had a crew complement of 348 officers and 4,135 enlisted men aboard. Of these, 5 officers and 297 enlisted men were African American. Racial tension ran high in the U.S. at this time, and the crew, as a microcosm of the nation, reflected those tensions. A white captain and an African American executive officer (XO) played key roles in the race riot that took place on the ship overnight on this one occasion.

As Gregory A. Freeman makes clear in this well-written account, the Kitty Hawk was supposed to return home after almost six months on the line, but was turned back at Subic Bay, the Philippines, and returned to its station near Vietnam. While on shore leave there were some racially-motivated incidents and when investigated after returning to the ship this seems to have been the spark that set off a chain of events, many of them misunderstandings, leading to violence.

Like most riots, this one on the night of October 12-13 began over a minor altercation in the evening that escalated and spread to other locations. Mostly it involved fist fights, but some sailors ganged up on others, others armed themselves, and a few received serious injuries. There were two major confrontations, one on the hangar deck and the other involving a standoff in the forecastle between about 150 or so, many of whom were armed. The captain and the XO tried to control the situation, but sometimes they overreacted and exacerbated the situation. At other times they took quite effective action. The XO, for example, diffused the last major confrontation by talking with other African American sailors for about two hours, appealing to them as one African American to another. He persuaded them to put down their weapons and return to their compartments. When this broke up about 0230 ship's time, the incident aboard Kitty Hawk was essentially over.

Twenty-six sailors were charged with assault and other crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In all 47 sailors, most of whom were white, were treated for injuries and three required medical evacuation. Interestingly, the crew returned to air operations the next morning. In all, the Kitty Hawk established a record of 177 consecutive days on the line. Its officers and senior enlisted sailors also took action to ensure that such a race riot did not occur again.

So was this a mutiny? I question that it was; I believe the author seriously overstates the case. It was certainly a race riot, but it was not really aimed at taking over the ship, at least there is no evidence of serious planning to do so. The U.S. Navy, of course, does not enjoy admitting to such embarrassing and difficult events in its history, but there was a 1973 Congressional investigation that uncovered serious racial problems in the Navy that required redress. The Navy also had other racial incidents aboard other ships during the Vietnam era, and one of its official historians, John Sherwood, has written a superb account of them in "Black Sailor, White Navy: Racial Unrest in the Fleet during the Vietnam War Era" (New York University Press, 2007). I recommend Sherwood's history as definitive, and Gregory Freeman's as a dramatic recreation of the Kitty Hawk riot, but it plays too loosely with the concept of mutiny. For this reason I give this book only three stars.

Gregory A. Freeman's Troubled Water: Race, Mutiny and Bravery on the USS Kitty Hawk is one of the most riveting books I've read, perhaps ever. That a modern aircraft carrier on station off the coast of Vietnam in 1972 can have a riot occur between black and white sailors is nearly unfathomable. As a former Marine, used to following orders and respecting my officers and NCO's, the thought that a group of sailors could not only beat their shipmates but jeopardize operations in a combat zone is simply beyond understanding.

Freeman does a wonderful job with a technically difficult subject. Writing this account not only requires some understanding of the time in which they happened, but also the purpose of the Kitty Hawk as a tool of war and American policy. Interviews with participants (shall we call them survivors?) is also required, not to mention reading through the official investigation results. The author is on top of his game.

The Navy apparently doesn't want to use the term mutiny for obvious reasons. Mutiny is a legal term that conjures out of control crews taking a ship and killing the captain and his loyal subordinates. Of course, that didn't happen in this case, so technically I suppose the Navy's boast of a mutiny never occurring on an American naval vessel is in tact. However, this incident, and a later incident on the USS Constellation certainly comes awfully close. Participants were tried and many convicted

Freeman also looks into some of the complaints that the black crewman had that they used to justify their actions. The captain of the Kitty Hawk, Capt. Marland W. `Doc' Townsend, and the XO, Benjamin W. Cloud, himself an African-American, both felt that the rampaging sailors never attempted to use a grievance system in place and working before this happened. Townsend felt that the riot on the ship was planned and premeditated by outside factions, either related to the racial unrest at home or related to the antiwar movement.

That the rioting ruined careers is a fact. The Navy has learned from both the Kitty Hawk and Constellation incidences and initiated change. Hopefully this will prevent future incidences.

Troubled Water is a page turner and burner. It will also be a puzzling read for anyone who has served in the military, especially the Navy/Marine family.

I was there on the Kitty Hawk during this incident. I would have to say, reading this book gave me a bit of closure on some of the events of that horrific night. The author did an excellent job giving the this reader accurate details. It is an easy read and I would suggest those that want to know what really happened, this book will give the reader the view from those that were there...not the "government'" side of the story.

Gregory Freeman's "Troubled Water: Race, Mutiny and Bravery on the USS Kitty Hawk" delves deeply into a largely forgotten 1972 incident: a racially-charged riot aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. The author has interviewed many of the people, both black and white, who were caught up in the event, including the Kitty Hawk's white commander and her black executive officer, and numerous sailors who were directly involved in the fighting as victim or as aggressor.

The narrative is vivid and fragmented, but appropriately so, because that is how the incident unfolded in the course of a confused and violent night aboard the huge ship -- people literally did not know what was happening beyond the next bulkhead.

It is often too easy to forget the level of intense racial animosity that existed in the United States in 1972, especially in the Armed Forces, and how that animosity broke out in unforeseen and seemingly irrational violence, involving persons who through no fault of their own found themselves being beaten or among the beaters, simply because of skin color.

There are no real villains in Freeman's story, but there certainly are heroes, especially the ship's commander and executive officer, two fine naval officers whose careers were effectively ruined by the event, despite their best -- and successful -- efforts to contain and subdue the unrest.

The US Navy to this day denies that the Kitty Hawk incident was a "mutiny", but that seems mostly a matter of semantics when you have had mass violence and disobediance of orders aboard a ship on active combat duty.

While Troubled Water graphically described a relatively small but violent race riot that broke out aboard the USS Kitty Hawk in 1972, really the aircraft carrier is but a backdrop for a much larger story. If one was to read the book and conclude that the author, Gregory Freeman, presented a microcosm of race relations as they then existed in the armed forces, one would have missed the point of the story. Really, and Freeman made the point, Troubled Water described the consequences of the Defense Department's Project 100,000, a program "set out to recruit primarily inner-city youths who were previously considered ineligible for military service because of low test scores," past drug use, and criminal convictions.

Implemented by President Johnson in 1966 as part of the War on Poverty, Project 100,000 set a of goal of recruiting 40,000 previously unqualified applicants for entry into the armed forces. Thereafter, 100,000 recruits per annum would be accepted with the goal being to use the military as a catalyst to elevate people, primarily minorities, out of poverty. The Project ended in 1971 after 354,000 men had entered the armed forces under the less rigorous standards. According to Freeman, the Navy found "that many Project 100,000 recruits . . . were not useful assets" and that there was "no evidence to support the hypothesis that military service offer[ed] a `leg up'" to disadvantaged youth who lacked the necessary intellectual capacities to perform within military environments. The Project, said Freeman, "was one reason why the Kitty Hawk was staffed with plenty of disgruntled black sailors who had little to lose by disobeying orders or performing poorly."

Just as the Kitty Hawk provided the backdrop for the racial tensions that resulted from the Project's stated goal of social reengineering, Terry Avinger, a sailor aboard the carrier and one of the riot's primary protagonists, exemplified the type of individual that entered the military under the program. Poorly educated and a gang member and drug user, Avinger was going to be separated while still in basic training but the military gave him a second chance. After being assigned to the Kitty Hawk, Avinger assaulted another sailor and was confined to the brig. While in confinement, he wrote a letter to the ship's commander and asked for another chance. Moved, the captain granted his request and enrolled him in jet maintenance to hopefully keep him more "focused and motivated." Avinger then rewarded the Navy and his commander for placing their trust and confidence in him - he started a race riot.

While Freeman's recitation of the riot was completely absorbing, the actions of the Kitty Hawk's commander, Captain Marland W. "Doc" Townsend and her executive officer, Commander Benjamin W. Cloud, are extraordinary to consider. Upon reporting to the Kitty Hawk, Cloud became the first black person assigned to the command structure of a supercarrier. When the riot broke out, Townsend walked from one end of the carrier to the other issuing orders to cease and desist. Cloud tried to mediate by rendering black power salutes and empathizing with the rioters. While one may agree or disagree with their approaches, both clearly did the best they could under the circumstances. Townsend did what he was supposed to do - he commanded. Cloud employed empathy and sympathy in order to quell the disturbance, a common method used in conflict resolution. While Townsend was nonplused by Cloud's actions, to his credit, he eventually understood them, although he may still have disagreed. The actions of both are worth studying and analyzing, particularly for anyone in a supervisory or command position.

The only deficiency in the book pertained to the epilogue. A race riot had broken out on an American warship operating in a war zone. One would have to assume that there were consequences, or perhaps there were not, with the Navy sidestepping the issue to assuage racial tensions. It was not clear. Freeman simply alluded to some criminal charges, some of which were eventually dropped, but the specifics were not presented. Such information would have been important to the complete telling of the story and as it was, it ended prematurely.

In writing Troubled Waters, Freeman created a seminal work in which there is a dearth of information. The book would be extremely valuable to anyone studying the methodologies and consequences of using the military or any other hierarchical organization as an instrument of social change. And for the history student studying the Viet Nam era, the draft, military policies, race relations, and the like, Troubled Waters is a must read.

I know first hand that there was race trouble in the military during the Vietnam War. What I saw is mostly what author Gregory Freeman describes as voluntary segregation. Many young black Americans servicemen stuck with each other and, while pros on the job, were unfriendly to white American servicemen.

While the story of what happened on the Kitty Hawk is awful and astonishing, Gregory's explanation of the underlying problems makes this fine book doubly valuable. The services lowered their standards during the Vietnam War.

Many young Americans volunteered for the service to avoid the draft and the rice paddies in Vietnam that being drafted almost always led to. But many young black volunteers came from difficult backgrounds and circumstances; they often scored poorly on the entrance tests and often ended in dead end, unskilled jobs, with no prospect for advancement. Already angry at their poor treatment by "the man" (and the poor treatment suffered by their fathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers, and on), these young black American servicemen found their lot little-changed on, for instance, the USS Kitty Hawk. Their white shipmates, for the most part young men who paid no attention to race were in a different world. They didn't understand the hostility and for the most part just ignored it (this was my experience, as well). Young men who are white and young men who are black grow up with different views of what is possible, a result of generations of conditioning.

Mr. Freeman sets all of this up so well that a reader is left with a sad sense of inevitability as the night of riots approaches and then sweeps over the ship.

The skipper and exec are fine men. Their stories that night should make the country proud of them. And the story of the crew of the Kitty Hawk should also evoke pride for many of them, and remorse for the rest. While I could never forgive a shipmate who turned on me the way so many black sailors did that night to their white shipmates--with pipes and wrenches and boots--I deeply regret the roots of their rage.

Bought this as a gift for someone on the Kitty Hawk when this incident occured. He stated that the book was very informative and thought it was a good representation of the occurance.

Mutiny or riot? That is the core question surrounding the events of October 12, 1972 aboard the USS Kitty Hawk. Mr. Freeman has provided us with a well-written account of the disturbance as recalled by some of the Navy personnel that were actually there and lived through it.

This is not the type of book that I normally read, but once I started it I found it compelling enough to continue it. If you are a Naval history buff,you'll want to add this to your collection. If you're "Navy" (or family)...past or present... you'll find yourself alternately nodding in agreement and shaking your head in amazement at this behind-the-scenes look at the disturbance that wrecked lives and careers forever.

Gregory M. Freeman's "Troubled Water: Race, Mutiny and Bravery on the USS Kitty Hawk" tells the story of a race riot which occurred onboard the ship in October 1972 during the Vietnam War. The story is quite gripping, and Freeman's prose makes it an easy and fast read. What made the story interesting for me was that I had not heard of this incident before reading this book despite being a ten year U.S. Navy veteran who served in the `80s and `90s. Readers who were in the Navy or are familiar with the Navy's terminology will appreciate some of the language and "lingo" the author uses. Others might have to look-up a term or two (for example, being a 4.0 sailor is a good thing).

Early on in "Troubled Water," the reader learns the background of most of the major characters in the story, like Captain Marland Townsend, the Commanding Officer, and Captain Ben Cloud, the Executive Officer, as well as many of the enlisted personnel who played a role in the subsequent riot. Freeman does well to give the reader sufficient information without getting bogged down in minute details. Much of this background came directly from the participants themselves rather than secondary sources.

As the story develops, the reader gets a true sense of how events unfolded and the ways seemingly disparate events came together to cause a violent outcome. Freeman does discuss how black sailors believed themselves to be treated as second-class citizens. Furthermore, he also talks about the Navy's poor recruiting methods and its eagerness to enlist unqualified men who would never have the capacity to advance to higher ranks. Freeman also highlights the glaringly obvious issue of racial segregation onboard the ship's enlisted berthing areas, which, for whatever reason, the Navy allowed.

What Freeman doesn't accurately describe is the size and scope of the riot. The reader is lead to believe that the entire ship, save for a few isolated areas, was engulfed in rioting. According to later testimony before a House subcommittee, approximately 100 of the ship's 5,000 men were involved in the actual fighting. Undoubtedly, those involved perpetrated a tremendous amount of destruction and mayhem, yet it wasn't so much that the ship couldn't continue its normal operations the next morning. Further, the storyline gets choppy in some areas. For example, the CO seemed to be wandering throughout the ship while the riot was ongoing, yet the author doesn't give the reader an adequate appraisal of what he was doing during the times he was unaccounted for. Considering he interviewed Captain Townsend for the book, it would have helped the reader to know what he was doing. Also, the Marine detachment played a significant role early in the riot, but at a certain point their whereabouts were not identified and they disappeared from the story.

Another criticism of "Troubled Water" is the use of the word mutiny. The Navy has never identified this as a mutiny, although several of the participants, especially the enlisted men, have called it one. Through the information provided by the participants, there was a claim that this was a concerted effort that was to bring about the return of the ship to San Diego (the ship had been on an extended deployment to Vietnam). Although a conspiracy was alluded to several times, the author didn't present any evidence to verify this. According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Article 94, a mutiny occurs "...with intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuses, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise do his duty or creates any violence or disturbance is guilty of mutiny...." Although the rioters may have been in concert with one another, the author does not offer any evidence to back this up; therefore, a mutiny didn't occur. Further, and most important, there were ample opportunities for the rioters to capture Captain Townsend and either kill him or make him a hostage, neither of which occurred.

Finally, although Freeman spoke with several participants for the book, he only used the first hand accounts of eleven of the ship's crew members, two of which were the CO and XO. For a riot of the size and scope that Freeman presents, more should have been interviewed for this book. Perhaps these were the only men who could be found. If so, Freeman should have mentioned that. He also relied on newspaper and magazine articles and government transcripts from hearings that were published months after the riot took place. Further, he used books that were published within the past several years as source material. From the perspective of an historian, it is important for an author to use as much primary material as possible to convey what truly happened during an event. That is the difference between a story based in truth, as "Troubled Water" is, and a scholarly monograph, which this could have been.

"Troubled Water" is an excellent story about an actual event that occurred onboard the USS Kitty Hawk. Those interested in the U.S. Navy and race relations in the 1970s will find it interesting and thought provoking. Despite several shortcomings, Gregory A. Freeman did an excellent job portraying the intensity of the situation that will have the reader not wanting to put the book down.

Like many, apparently, I had only heard a peripheral account of the events on the USS Kitty Hawk. Being a young teen at the time, I understood little of what had gone on. How could you have a riot on a US Naval vessel? The author describes the incident in great detail, mostly chronological, and examines the command structure and its reactions as well as examining the root causes and people involved in the disturbances themselves.

Well-written, this ties together official accounts and recollections of many who were there, and has a brief treatment of where some of the interviewees are now in life. Like it or not, this is a part of the history of the US Navy and a story that needs to be told.