FLAGSHIPNEWS.COM | JUN 11, 2015 | THE FLAGSHIP | A5
COURTESY PHOTO OPERATION “MACARTHUR” An UH-1B[D] helicopter prepares for a resupply mission for Co B, 1st Bn, 8th Inf, 4th Inf Div, during the operation conducted 20 miles southwest of Dak To. 10-16 December 1967
1955
T start of The tthe Vietnam War
U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam
1968
1965
20 YEARS IN VIETNAM: THE ARMY STORY BY CARRIE ANDERSON While official sources record 1965 as the year official U.S. involvement started in the ongoing conflict in Vietnam, the Army had boots on the ground as early as 1955. More than 300 Army personnel served on the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Vietnam to train and organize an army comprised of residents of South Vietnam to resist an invasion from the North. The South Vietnamese Army of 150,000 was also equipped with standard Army equipment and given the mission of delaying the advance of any invasion force until the arrival of American reinforcements. In February 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff established the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) and appointed General Paul D. Harkins the first commander while U.S. military strength in South Vietnam increased to 23,000 by the end of 1964. Of these, about 15,000 were Army personnel. Key to U.S. military strategy in the early years was the use of Army Special Forces Units to organize and lead the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) made up of South Vietnamese citizens. Within a few years of the start of the program, the Special Forces Units had organized 60,000 South Vietnamese into guerillalike fighting units. These units were responsible for activities ranging from village defense programs to offensive guerrilla activities and border surveillance
and control measures. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson officially began sending U.S. ground troops to help the South Vietnamese Army. At first, Army combat units played a solely defensive role, protecting Saigon and other important cities and bases. The president authorized the Army to send 20,000 support troops to establish a supply network that had to be built from the ground up. However, in October of that year, three Viet Cong regiments, totaling 6,000 men attacked a CIDG - U.S. Special Forces unit at Plei Me, near the entrance to the Ia Drang Valley, in what was believed to be the start of a movement to cut the country in half. With the assistance of massive air strikes, elements of the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division defeated the Viet Cong in a battle that lasted nearly a month. Following that victory and through 1966, the Army maintained its mission to keep the North Vietnamese guessing while continuing to build up the infrastructure needed to maintain the war effort, such as base camps and logistical installations. This required units to engage in search and destroy operations to protect the construction along the coast and in the provinces near Saigon. Beginning in mid-1966, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that, going forward, American military objectives would be to cause North Vietnam to cease its control and support of the insurgency in South Vietnam and Laos and to assist South Vietnam
COURTESY PHOTO OPERATION “MACARTHUR” Members of the 3rd Bn, 8th Inf, 4th Inf Div, prepare to sing a hymn during church services. 28 November 1967
COURTESY PHOTO OPERATION “MACARTHUR” Members of Co. C, 1st Bn, 8th Inf, 1st Bde, 4th Inf Div, descend the side of Hill 742, located five miles northwest of Dak To. 14-17 November 1967
TELL US YOUR STORY If you have a story or photos you would like to share, please contact Carrie Anderson at carrie.anderson@militarynews.com or 757-222-3983.
540,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam
The end of the Vietnam War
1975
Key to U.S. military strategy in the early years was the use of Army Special Forces Units in defeating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam. Additionally, U.S. forces would assist South Vietnam in extending governmental control over its territory. All of the Army’s activity in country would be to support those missions. That all changed in January, 1968. On January 31, North Vietnamese forces launched the Tet Offensive during what was traditionally a cease fire held to honor the lunar new year. U.S. Army units helped to repel Viet Cong attacks at Saigon and other South Vietnamese cities. The fiercest battle occurred around Hue, where soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division and the 101st Airborne Division helped U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese forces defeat North Vietnamese regulars. Although a tactical victory, Tet signaled a change in U.S. policy in Vietnam and peace negotiations took on a new importance. The following year, President Richard Nixon formally began a program to ease the U.S. out of active combat roles in Vietnam while turning command and control over to the South Vietnamese Army. The MACV began to draw down the half a million U.S. forces still in Vietnam during this time. The Army’s role in the Vietnam War officially ended on March 29, 1973, with a ceremony marking the deactivation of MACV.