Although Saigon had been ready for trouble and had taken special precautions against terrorism by the Communist Viet Cong, May Day had come and gone quietly. But at 5 the next morning, the South Vietnamese capital was jolted by a roar from the harbor. There, the 9,800-ton U.S. aircraft-transport ship Card was sinking fast it touched bottom in just 24 minutesinto the silt of the Saigon River, a 28-ft. by 3-ft. hole ripped in her starboard side. Apparently Viet Cong agents had placed plastic charges on the hull 10 ft. below the water line.
Of 73 crewmen,...
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