In 1988, the Navy frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts was tasked with escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf. Iraq and Iran were at war, a conflict often referred to as the "Tanker War." It was not Quartermaster Danny Nicholson's first deployment to the Persian Gulf, but it was, along with his 214 shipmates, a truly unforgettable voyage as he and the crew of the Roberts were put to the ultimate test when they found themselves deep in the middle of a minefield.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the now Master Chief at a VFW in Portland, Maine to listen to what happened when the Roberts hit an Iranian M08 mine and blew a twenty foot hole in the bottom of the ship. However, the story is less about the mine and more about how 215 shipmates came together in a moment of crisis, fought as a team and survived.
In 1988, the Navy frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts was tasked with escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers in and out of the Persian Gulf. Iraq and Iran were at war, a conflict often referred to as the "Tanker War." It was not Quartermaster Danny Nicholson's first deployment to the Persian Gulf, but it was, along with his 214 shipmates, a truly unforgettable voyage as he and the crew of the Roberts were put to the ultimate test when they found themselves deep in the middle of a minefield.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the now Master Chief at a VFW in Portland, Maine to listen to what happened when the Roberts hit an Iranian M08 mine and blew a twenty foot hole in the bottom of the ship. However, the story is less about the mine and more about how 215 shipmates came together in a moment of crisis, fought as a team and survived.