Vietnam 2015-10 (Vol.28, No.03)

TUNNEL RAT: ‘I’M NOT ALONE DOWN HERE!’

BARBARA EDEN Comes out of her bottle in October 1965

1st Cav’s Air Force lifeline delivered the goods through rain and blood ORIGINAL SATELLITE TV

How the Navy Brought Bonanza to South Vietnam The First Smart Bombs and the Bridge They Finally Took Down

OCTOBER 2015

DIVERSIFY YOUR PORTFOLIO WITH PRECIOUS METALS TODAY:

GOLD AMERICAN EAGLE COINS

ly On $

128

SILVER AMERICAN EAGLE COINS

ly n O $

00 EACH

1/10-Ounce U.S. GovernmentIssued $5 Gold American Eagles

1-Ounce U.S. GovernmentIssued $1 Silver American Eagles

2000 EACH

BUY U.S. GOLD TODAY!

BUY U.S. SILVER TODAY!

Starting today, U.S. Money Reserve is offering U.S. government-issued gold coins for only $128 each—one of the best gold deals you’ll find anywhere. The gold market is currently at a level that presents a fantastic buying opportunity for these coins produced at the United States Mint. They can be yours at the special price of $128 per coin while supplies last or for up to 30 days. Stock up on gold for your portfolio today. This inventory is only available at this price for a limited time.

Our price is simply better. Get your silver today from U.S. Money Reserve while supplies remain. You can add up to 20 ounces of pure silver to your precious metals portfolio for just $20 per coin. Like the gold market, silver is currently at its most attractive price level in years. Stock up on silver coins now. Opportunities like this don’t last long. Call today to secure your order of U.S. government-issued silver coins at this special, limited-time price before it’s too late: 1-800-280-4189.

1 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coin

$128.00

5 – Gov’t-Issued Silver Coins

$100.00

5 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins

$640.00

10 – Gov’t-Issued Silver Coins

$200.00

10 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins $1,280.00

20 – Gov’t-Issued Silver Coins

$400.00

Call Toll-Free Today:

1-800-280-4189 MASTERCARD • VISA • AMEX • DISCOVER • CHECK • BANK WIRE

One of the nation’s largest distributors of U.S. Gold & Silver.

Vault Code: VT17

©2015 U.S. Money Reserve. Prices may be more or less based on current market conditions. Th e markets for coins are unregulated. Prices can rise or fall and carry some risks. The company is not affi liated with the U.S. Government and the U.S. Mint. Past performance of the coin or the market cannot predict future performance. Special offers are strictly limited to only one lifetime purchase of 10 gold coins (regardless of price paid) and 20 silver coins (regardless of price paid) per household, plus shipping and insurance ($15-$35). Minimum silver order of 5 coins. Price not valid for precious metals dealers. All calls recorded for quality assurance. Offer void where prohibited. Coins enlarged to show detail. Offer valid for up to 30 days or while supplies last. Coin dates our choice.

CONTENTS

Bonanza was a favorite of South Vietnamese viewers who watched TV programs beamed down from U.S. Navy planes.

48 FEAT URE S D E PA R T M E N T S

28

A Valley Soaked in Rain & Blood

In Operation Delaware, the Air Force kept the 1st Cavalry Division alive with its C-130 resupply missions, flown in horrendous weather. By Mike D. Shepherd

6

Editor’s Notebook

8

Feedback

36

12

Today

22

Voices

24

Homefront

26

Arsenal

62

HistoryNet Reader

Slaying the Dragon

A North Vietnamese bridge was so tough that it took a new generation of bombs to wipe it out. By Don Hollway

42

I’m Not Alone Down Here

U.S. Army tunnel rats found themselves in a tight spot searching deep underground for the enemy.

48

Are We Coming in Clear?

News and contemporary issues related to the war and Vietnam Mike Sierra, first-generation American and two tours in Vietnam September-October 1965

Soviet SA-2a Guideline missile

our sister magazines

56

64

Media Digest

72

Offerings

‘Short Road to Hell’

COVER: BETTMANN/CORBIS; COVER TOP: NBC/PHOTOFEST ABOVE: AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY

2

Readers’ comments via letters, email and Facebook

In 1965 U.S. Navy aircraft brought television to Vietnam for the first time. By Rick Fredericksen

South Vietnamese leader Nguyen Van Thieu butted heads with two U.S. presidents over his positions during peace talks. By George J. Veith

VIETNA M

Winged Warriors

On the cover Purple smoke marks the landing spot for a medevac of 1st Cavalry soldiers in the A Shau Valley in April 1968.

Short excerpts from

Newseum puts spotlight on press coverage of the war; new books about the war Left at the Wall

Visit our website today at vietnammag.com

Follow us at Facebook.com/ VietnamMag

TO HONOR YOUR VIETNAM SERVICE Exclusive Dial Features The Vietnam War Medal & Ribbon in Official Colors

PERSONALIZATION:

Veterans Commemoratives proudly honors your Vietnam War Service with an exclusive state-of-the-art Chronograph watch - A perfect representation of precision timekeeping and modern U.S. Military technology.

• Assembled & customized exclusively for Veterans Commemoratives by Pedre, an American company renowned for custom timepieces since 1944. • Case back engraved with your Initials, Service Rank and Years Served. • Vietnam Medal on reusable tin gift box.

THE WORKINGS: • The precision Chronograph movement measures 1/10th seconds on three calibrated sub-dials. • Pushbuttons for fast and easy start/stop operations. • Battery Powered quartz technology for accuracy and dependability. • Light-activated luminous hour & minute hands - plus a red second hand. • Operating instructions permanently engraved on the case back.

THE COST AND GUARANTEE: • Remarkably priced at just $149* due to exclusive quantity purchasing. Interest-Free pay plan available - see order form. • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or return within 30 days for refund or replacement Includes handsome tin gift box with Vietnam Medal

THE CASE AND BAND: • Impressive oversized 45.0 mm diameter case features a unidirectional rotating bezel with easy-to-read markers in contrasting silver/white against a gleaming black background. • Water-resistant to 3ATM - 100 FT. Scratch-resistant, optically clear crystal. • Rugged yet comfortable black flexible polyurethane band - a perfect complement to the stylish case.

Actual Size of Watch Dial is 1.75" in Diameter

YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO OWN THIS VIETNAM SERVICE CHRONOGRAPH WATCH

FREE FLAG PIN WITH EACH ORDER!

FOR FASTEST SERVICE CALL TOLL FREE TO ORDER: Monday - Friday from 9am - 5pm EST Have Credit Card ready when ordering.

OR, MAIL TO: Veterans Commemoratives™ Watch Order Center Two Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 120, Radnor, PA 19087-4599 YES. I wish to order a Vietnam Service Chronograph Watch, personalized as follows: ENGRAVING: (Print clearly) INITIALS (3): ______ ______ ______ RANK: _______________________ YEARS SERVED: ______ to ______ I WISH TO PAY AS FOLLOWS: Enclosed is my check or money order for $149* per watch payable to “Veterans Commemoratives”, OR

1-800-255-3048

CREDIT CARD: VISA MASTER CARD AMEX DISCOVER Exp._____/ _____ CC#: _____________________________________________________ CSC #____________ Signature: ________________________________ SHIPPING ADDRESS (We CANNOT ship to P.O. Boxes) Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. Name: ____________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________ City:______________________________ State:______ Zip: _________

Charge my credit card $149* per watch, OR

Phone # (_________) ________________________________________

Charge my credit card two monthly payments of $74.50* per watch.

Email: ____________________________________________________

* Plus $14.95 per watch for processing, shipping & handling. PA res. add 6% ($9.84) sales tax.

©2015 ICM

V I S I T V E T E R A N S C O M M E M O R AT I V E S ™ O N L I N E AT W W W.V E T C O M . C O M

CHRONO-VTN-0815

Michael A. Reinstein Dionisio Lucchesi William Koneval EDITOR IN CHIEF

CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER PRESIDENT ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Roger L. Vance

VIETNAM

®

Vol. 28, No. 3

Chuck Springston Kevin Johnson Art Director

EDITOR

Debra Newbold Jerry Morelock Sarah Richardson Elizabeth Howard Patty Kelly Jennifer E. Berry Jon Guttman David T. Zabecki

“INSERTION”

A signed and numbered limited edition of 200. Personalize with your battalion or division insignia, add $35.

Each highly detailed print measures 12.25”x 18.25”.

Managing Editor Senior Editor Senior Editor Copy Editor Picture Editor Senior Photo Editor Research Director Editor Emeritus

FOUNDING EDITOR Harry Summers Jr. ADVISORY BOARD

Artwork can be ordered on archival paper @ $175 or canvas @ $205, mounted, frame ready.

Contact Artist: DON FOTINE, 775-783-4268, [email protected] 1054 Aster Court, Minden, NV 89423

OCTOBER 2015

Robert H. Larson, James R. Reckner, Carl O. Schuster, Earl H. Tilford Jr., Spencer C. Tucker, Erik Villard, James H. Willbanks [email protected]

DIGITAL

Brian King Gerald Swick Barbara Justice

Director Editor Senior Graphic Designer

Prices include shipping to any U.S. destination. Check or money order only. CORPORATE

White Water Red Hot Lead A Nonfiction Story About Swift Boat Duty Vietnam 1967 and 1968 Dan Daly, the author was the Officer in Charge of PCF 76. It begins in Coronado and brings you on board their patrols out of Da Nang, Chu Lai and Cua Viet. Operating with other crews, the stories cover blistering firefights, brutal weather and the comradeship of Swift Boat duty. Tempered by humor and a touch of romance.

“Did our job well and proud of our service” Order your copy today!

whitewaterredhotlead.com

ADVERTISING

Paul Zimny Greg Ferris David Steinhafel Stephen Kamifuji Karen G. Johnson Rob Wilkins

EVP Digital

George Clark

Single Copy Sales Director

EVP Strategy Operations & Finance Creative Director Business Director Military Ambassador & Partnership Marketing Director

Karen M. Bailey Production Manager/Advertising Services

[email protected] Richard  E. Vincent National Sales Manager [email protected] Kim Goddard National Sales Manager [email protected] Rick Gower Georgia [email protected] Terry Jenkins Tenn., Ky., Miss., Ala., Fla., Mass. [email protected] Kurt Gardner Creative Services Director DIRECT RESPONSE Russell Johns Associates ADVERTISING 800-649-9800 • [email protected]

©2015 World History Group, LLC

History Repeats Now available for your iPad.® Just visit the website address below to subscribe online now. www.vietnammag.com/subscribe

Subscription Information 800-435-0715 Yearly subscriptions in U.S.: $39.95 Back Issues: 800-358-6327 List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc. 914-925-2406; [email protected] Vietnam (ISSN 1046-2902) is published bimonthly by World History Group, LLC 19300 Promenade Drive Leesburg, VA 20176-6500 703-771-9400 Periodical postage paid at Leesburg, Va., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER, send address changes to Vietnam P.O. Box 422224 Palm Coast, FL 32142-2224 Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 41342519 Canadian GST No. 821371408RT0001 The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of World History Group.

PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA

ADVERTISEMENT

How to Tell Time Like a Man Our digital-analog hybrid has two sides... tough and tougher. Get it now for an unbelievable $59!

Y

our watch shouldn’t cost more than your car. It should look and feel like a power tool and not a piece of bling. Wearing it shouldn’t make you think twice about swinging a hammer or changing a tire. A real man’s timepiece needs to be ready for anything. But that’s just my opinion. If you agree, maybe you’re ready for the Stauer Centurion Hybrid. Use your Exclusive Insider Promotional Code below and I’ll send it to you today for ONLY $59. This watch doesn’t do dainty. And neither do I. Call me old-fashioned, but I want my boots to be leather, my tires to be deeptread monsters, and my steak thick and rare. Inspiration for a man’s watch should come from things like fast cars, firefighters and power tools. And if you want to talk beauty, then let’s discuss a 428 cubic inch V8. Did I mention the $59 price tag? This is a LOT of machine for not a lot of money. The Stauer Centurion Hybrid sports a heavy-duty alloy body, chromed and detailed with a rotating bezel that allows you to track direction. The luminous hour and minute hands mean you can keep working into the night. And the dual digital displays give this watch a hybrid ability. The LCD windows displays the time, day and date, includes a stopwatch function, and features a bright green electro-luminescent backlight. We previously offered the Centurion for $199, but with the exclusive promotional code it’s yours for ONLY $59!

TAKE 70% OFF INSTANTLY! When you use your Promotional Code

No matter what, this watch can keep up. Thanks to the Stauer 30-day Money Back Guarantee, you’ve got time to prove it. If you’re not totally satisfied, return it for a full refund of the purchase price. You also get a 2-year replacement guarantee on both movements. But I have a feeling the only problem you’ll have is deciding whether to keep the Stauer Centurion on your dresser or tucked inside your toolbox.



Stauer Centurion Hybrid Watch— $199 Promotional Code Price Only $59 50 or two payments of + S&P

$29

Order now to take advantage of this fantastic low price.

1-800-333-2057 Your Insider Promotional Code: CNW401-03

“I work in the surveying and construction industry... This is my work horse watch and I am proud to wear it.” — C.S. from Fort Worth, TX

Please use this code when you order to receive your discount.

Stauer

®

Rating of A+

14101 Southcross Drive W., Dept. CNW401-03 Burnsville, Minnesota 55337 www.stauer.com

Digital-Analog Hybrid • Dual digital displays • Heavy-duty chromed body • 3 ATM Water Resistant LCD windows for time, date and day • Luminous hands • Contrast Stitch Band fits a 7 1/4"–9 1/4" wrist

Smart Luxuries—Surprising Prices™

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

America’s Winged Warriors When we talk about the U.S. airplanes of the Vietnam War, we are often talking about fighters or bombers, such as the F-105 Thunderchief, F-100 Super Sabre, A-4 Skyhawk, F-4 Phantom and A-7 Corsair II. The dramatic actions of those aircraft and their pilots are indeed on display in this issue: Don Hollway’s “Slaying the Dragon” (pg. 36) recounts a seven-year air campaign to destroy a single bridge—a bridge so strong that some described it as the latch that held the Earth together. But less flashy planes were also crucial to the war effort, in both traditional and novel ways. Among those flown on traditional missions was the C-130 Hercules cargo plane, whose name is frequently preceded by the adjective “lumbering.” The C-130s, not heavily armed initially, were big targets as they transported troops or dropped critically needed supplies. Mike D. Shepherd describes how Air Force C-130 crews resupplying the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during Operation Delaware (pg. 28) braved intense anti-aircraft fire as they maneuvered through the impossibly bad weather and treacherous terrain of the battle-scarred A Shau Valley. A strong contender for the aircraft with the most unusual—and least known—role in the Vietnam

War would be the NC-121J Super Constellation of the Blue Eagle fleet. The U.S. Navy converted three Connies, originally transports, into flying television stations that transmitted the first TV shows to South Vietnam, which did not have ground stations at the time. But as Rick Fredericksen explains, beginning on pg. 48, Project Jenny wasn’t all about entertainment. It had a military purpose as well. Our knowledgeable readers and Facebook followers are great contributors to the history of the Vietnam War that we are trying to tell in the magazine and online. They

A Navy F-4J Phantom II that took off from the carrier USS Constellation is loaded with missiles on a flight in February 1972.

often provide additional information about the people, places and events in our articles and photographs. Their letters and online posts fill gaps in the historical record and correct errors. Recognizing the importance of their contributions, we are expanding our Correspondence department and renaming it Feedback. We plan to publish more Facebook comments and photographs in the revamped department. We’re making more room for you: Join the conversation. ★ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NAVAL AVIATION, 1996.253.7274.015

6

VIETNA M

Quick and easy access to 25 Years of World War II magazine more than 12,000 carefully + Browse reproduced and formatted pages Access 25 years of exclusive World War II + content including articles, interviews, rare photography, maps, travel guides, and reviews of movies, books and video games  View digital pages exactly as you would in print  Search quickly for the articles you need  Bookmark your favorite stories from over the years—and discover new ones!

+ Get the COMPLETE ARCHIVE ON DVD-ROM:

179

+ +

Item #: W2D5 $149.99/2-DVD-ROMs

ISSUES!

To order, call: 1-800-358-6327 or go online: HistoryNetShop.com HistoryNet, PO Box 8005, Dept. VN510B, Aston, PA 19014

FEEDBACK

A reader got closure when he saw the photo of James Holt, an MIA listed as “accounted for” in the June 2015 issue.

My Bracelet POW/MIA Accounted For Thank God my wife recently signed me up for a subscription, or I would have missed the June article “Accounted For,” about the six servicemen whose remains were brought home in 2014-15. One of the men mentioned, U.S. Army Master Sgt. James W. Holt, accounted for on Jan. 10, 2015, is an old close friend. I’ve been wearing his POW/ MIA bracelet for 36 years! I’ve never taken it off my wrist, except for medical procedures. Now, after all these years, I will have some peace of mind. On May 30, 8

VIETNA M

2015, I am going to travel to the Vietnam Memorial and finally take Sergeant Holt’s bracelet off…and leave it where his name is enshrined on the Wall. But I will never forget his name and how close we have become. — James V. Hartentt Pottsville, Pa.

Addendum: I went to the Vietnam memorial on May 30, as planned. Before I left the bracelet at the Wall, I went to a nearby vendor to purchase another POW/ MIA bracelet to take the place of Sgt. James Holt’s. I wanted someone who had been in the Army at the same time that I was in Vietnam, 1967 or ’68. There was only one bracelet available like that and I paid for it and walked away, not really looking at it. I went to the Wall and looked up James’ name; the names are arranged by date of loss so I referred to the panel for 2/7/68, the date engraved on his bracelet, and there was his name at the bottom of the Wall. I wrote a note to Sgt. Holt

and wrapped it around the bracelet and left it there. A wave of emotion swept over me. I walked away and put on my new POW bracelet and looked at the name: Daniel R. Phillips. Date of loss 2/7/68! I called my wife right away because I just couldn’t believe it. I read about Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Phillips in the information that came with the bracelet and found out that he and James Holt went missing at the exact same time, when their Special Forces camp was overrun at Lang Vei, in the northwestern corner of South Vietnam. My feeling on this is that James Holt was telling me that now that I had found him, it was time to find his buddy. — James V. Hartentt via telephone

Posted on Facebook “I learned to train [dogs] from a Vietnam War K-9 handler veteran. His stories are incredible and heart wrenching.” — Jamie Ianello

Members of the 49th Scout Dog Platoon take a break with their K-9s on May 7, 1967, on Vietnam’s Facebook page.

LEFT: U.S. ARMY; RIGHT: U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

SHOW YOUR

A Custom Designed Exclusive

ALLEGIANCE

TO THE LAND OF THE FREE Crafted in custom-washed, distressed brown leather Comfortable faux sherpa fleece lining

BACK


Custom art of stirring American landscape with proud symbols of our country on the back

FRONT

“LAND

OF THE FREE”

Men’s Leather Jacket


Antiqued star-shaped metal rivets decorate the back shoulder

From its amber waves of gold to its purple mountain majesties, it is the land that we love... indeed, the land of the free and the brave. Now you can wrap yourself in American pride and stylish comfort with our all new “Land of the Free” Men’s Leather Jacket.

Quality Construction in an Exclusive Design Feature for feature, you won’t find a jacket like this anywhere else for the price. Superbly crafted in distressed brown leather with a custom wash, this classically styled jacket proudly displays a striking printed montage of an American landscape in all its glory along with symbols of freedom, our flag and a bald eagle, and the words “Land of the Free” on the back. The superior styling and design includes two front flap pockets, two front slash pockets, an inside wallet pocket, cuffs with snaps, warm and comfortable faux sherpa fleece lining and double needle contrast stitching. The antique silver-tone metal snaps and star-shaped metal rivets above the mountains on the back add to the rugged details.

An Outstanding Value with Satisfaction Guaranteed This custom jacket is a remarkable value at $199*, and you can pay for it in 4 easy installments of $49.75. To order yours, in men’s sizes from M-XXL, backed by our unconditional 30-day guarantee, you need send no money now... just fill out and mail in your Priority Reservation today!

www.bradfordexchange.com/landofthefree ©2015 The Bradford Exchange 01-18300-001-BIR

RESERVATION APPLICATION

SEND NO MONEY NOW

9345 M i l wauk ee Avenue · N i l es, IL 60714-1 393

YES.

Please reserve the “Land of the Free” Men’s Leather Jacket for me in the size indicated below. LIMITED-TIME OFFER—PLEASE RESPOND PROMPTLY

❑ M (38-40) 01-18300-011

❑ XL (46-48) 01-18300-013

❑ L (42-44) 01-18300-012

❑ XXL (50-52) 01-18300-014

Signature Mrs. Mr. Ms. Name (Please Print Clearly)

Address City

State

Zip

Email (optional)

E39571 *Plus $17.99 shipping and service. Please allow 2 weeks after initial payment for shipment. All sales are subject to product availability and order acceptance.

FEEDBACK

Posted on Facebook

Strange Connection The story “My Eleanor Rigby Face,” by Emily Strange (August 2015), was a wonderful read. Several years ago I was able to find “my nurse” who took care of me in Vietnam. I now see her twice a month. Seeing her often has a healing effect on me. I wish more guys who remember a nurse or a Red Cross Donut Dollie could find her. — Toby C. Van Skike Benson, Ariz.

A map detailing the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970

Plane Confusion I’m sure you noticed an error on pg. 32 in “Hatchet Force” in the August issue. First flight of the F-15 was in 1972, so it couldn’t have flown in a 1967 engagement. The sentence probably was supposed to read “McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms....” — Steve Hayleck via Facebook Aussie VFW Twins In your February 2015 issue, I read a letter by a reader about not being able to join the VFW after having served in 10

VIETNA M

“I still can’t understand how an American could shoot down other Americans for protesting.” — Omar Stanley

Vietnam. I, like many other Australians who served in Vietnam, was not accepted by our RSL (Returned and Services League of Australia), which is the equivalent of your VFW. I know from experience that the World War II veterans told us that we weren’t fighting a proper war. It wasn’t until our Welcome Home parade in Sydney in 1987 that the RSL and the Australian public became more accommodating. — Col Gardner Townsville, Australia

Contributions of Navy Artists The photos and layout for “Navy Artists: A Treasure Chest on Canvas” (August 2015) are great. Unfortunately, there are a few errors in the opening text. The collection has over 20,000 pieces of artwork, and our exhibition space is within the National Museum of the U.S. Navy; however, we are a separate and distinct entity. Thanks for highlighting our collection in the magazine. — Pam Overmann Curator, Navy Art Collection

Because you put my website address (www.emilydd.com) at the end of “My Eleanor Rigby Face,” I have received several wonderful emails from guys who served. I even received an invitation to attend a reunion next year and speak about my Vietnam experience. — Emily Strange Johnson Creek, Wis.

Send letters and reunion notices:

Vietnam Editor, 19300 Promenade Drive, Leesburg, VA 20176; or to [email protected] Become a fan at facebook.com/VietnamMag

MAP: RECORDS OF THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATIVE TEAM/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Advertisement

Discovered: The Coin That Never Was!

America’s Lost Masterpiece The $100 Union

Original sketches found at the Smithsonian Imagine that you were examining artifacts in the Smithsonian Institution and you found a never-seen-before sketch for the largest and highest denomination American coin ever proposed. That’s precisely what happened when a coin expert was exploring the collection at this celebrated public institution not long ago. To his own surprise, the numismatist found the original-design concept for a one hundred dollar denomination created by George T. Morgan, arguably the greatest American coin designer. These sketches, hidden within an original sketchbook for nearly a century, represent perhaps the grandest American coin ever proposed—the $100 Union®.

This is not a reproduction… this is the first-time ever Morgan $100 Union design struck as a silver proof.

George T. Morgan will always be remembered for his most famous coin, the Morgan Silver Dollar. Until recently, the world knew nothing of Morgan’s larger and higher denomination $100 Union concept design. The secret’s out! For a limited time, you can secure the world’s first and only $100 Union Proof struck in pure .999 silver at our special price of only $99 (plus s&h). Call today!

Smithsonian®

1-800-806-1641 Offer code: MUS249-05 GovMint.com, 14101 Southcross Dr. W., Burnsville, MN 55337

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. NOTE: GovMint.com® is a private distributor of worldwide government coin and currency issues and privately issued licensed collectibles and is not affiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures deemed accurate as of March 2015. ©2015 GovMint.com.

TODAY

Defense Secretary Makes Historic Visit to Vietnam

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter meets Vietnamese naval officers at a May 31 ceremony.

Carter exchanges items from the war with defense minister Phung Quang Thanh.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made his first trip to Vietnam from May 31 to June 2. Carter is the fifth secretary of state to visit Vietnam since diplomatic relations were normalized in 1995, but he became the first to visit a Vietnamese navy base and ship. He also toured a Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel in the port of Hai Phong. During his visit, the defense secretary pledged $18 million toward purchasing patrol boats for Vietnam. Carter also discussed the possibility that the United States would ramp up its sales of defensive weapons, including those that would enhance Vietnam’s air defenses. The longstanding ban on U.S. weapons

sales to the country was partially lifted in October 2014, and Vietnam has been welcoming closer ties with the United States to counter what it sees as Chinese encroachment on its rights to islands in the South China Sea. Carter went to Vietnam after attending the 14th Asia Security Summit in Singapore, where he urged all nations in the South China Sea area to end the artificial island-building, land-reclamation efforts that are regarded as first steps in establishing military bases on that land. The most controversial and expansive are the 2,000 acres of islands China has created over the past 18 months.

Commemoration Group Appoints New Director Michael Rhodes, the Defense Department’s executive agent for the Vietnam War Commemoration, formed to honor and thank veterans and their families on behalf of the nation, named retired Army Maj. Gen. James T. Jackson the group’s new director. The appointment was effective May 4. Jackson succeeds retired Army Lt. Gen. Claude “Mick” Kicklighter, who had led the war’s 50th anniversary commemoration since July 2011. Jackson has worked with the project as a senior adviser since 2012. His 32-year Army career, which began after graduation from the ROTC program at Kent State University in 1971, included tours as commander of the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry, as well as the 3rd Ranger Battalion and 75th Ranger Regiment. He also commanded the Military District of Washington.

TOP TO BOTTOM: GLENN FAWCETT/DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; EUROPEAN PRESS PHOTO AGENCY/ALAMY; COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VIETNAM WAR COMMEMORATION

12

VIETNA M

TODAY

Seeking a Growth Spurt The Vietnamese government is trying to address malnutrition and stunted growth affecting roughly 1 in 4 Vietnamese children, Tuoi Tre News reports. Officials hope a project announced in 2011 will dramatically increase by 2030 not only the height but also the strength and stamina of Vietnamese youths. A similar growth-building project in Japan worked well, but the Vietnamese government has set ambitious goals: an increase of more than 3 centimeters (more than 1 inch) in the height of an average 18-year-old over two decades. Critics say those goals are physiologically impossible to meet in that time frame. They also say the project lacks adequate funding and administrative expertise.

PBS Documentary Looks at Latino Families During the War

Vietnam’s government is addressing conditions that cause stunted growth.

On Two Fronts: Latinos and Vietnam, an 80-minute documentary premiering September 22 on PBS, tells the stories of Latino troops and their families during the Vietnam War. The film prominently features a brother and sister, Everett and Delia Alvarez, who experienced the war from vastly different perspectives. Everett Alvarez, a Navy pilot, was the second-longest-serving prisoner of war. Delia Alvarez was a war protester. On Two Fronts also shows the war’s high death toll on the children of miners in Greenlee County, Arizona. Another story focuses on a farmworker’s son who served in the military and later, in an act of protest, resigned from a draft board. Above: Marine Antonio Santiago, center, is featured in the PBS documentary. Right: A Chicano man shown in the film protests the war. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: COURTESY ANTONIO SANTIAGO; COURTESY OSCAR CASTILIO; BLEND IMAGES/ALAMY

AMERICA REMEMBERS PRESENTS

     

          Nothing about the Vietnam War was easy. Those who were there remember the swampy grasslands, rice paddies, dense jungles, the heat and an elusive enemy; a war that took place halfway around the world in a country divided by decades of bitter history. They came from all over the country, from all walks of life, to fight for freedom on the other side of the world. They answered this call of duty with valor, courage, honor and commitment. America’s involvement in Vietnam spanned many years, far longer than most wars. As a nation we owe all of our Vietnam veterans a debt that can never be repaid.

commissioned specifically for this project by America Remembers decorate each pistol in sparkling 24-karat gold artwork with blackened patinaed highlights.

HONOR VIETNAM VETERANS

As the United States officially marks its observance of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, we are proud to honor those who WITH THIS EXCLUSIVE OFFER Reservations will be accepted in the order they are answered the call to duty. We can never repay the brave warriors who lost their lives and those who are still listed as missing in action. However, as received. Only 1,000 of the Vietnam Tribute to Valor Americans, we can come together to salute an entire generation of soldiers Pistols will ever be produced. To be sure of acquiring the who sacrificed and served with honor and courage. Tribute before the edition is fully subscribed, please place Now, to honor all those who served in the Vietnam War, America your reservation promptly. We will arrange delivery through Remembers is proud to introduce the Vietnam Tribute to Valor Pistol. the licensed firearms dealer of your choice. If for any reaIssued in an exclusive edition limit, this handsome firearm captures the son you are not completely satisfied with your Tribute, you courage and sacrifice of all those who fought for freedom in Vietnam. may return it in original, unfired condition within 30 days for a Craftsmen who designed this Tribute went all out to provide a finish unlike complete and courteous refund. All the brave Americans who served with valor in Vietnam any previous design. Once you hold the pistol in your hands you’ll be amazed at the depth of the artwork, including fine elegant scrollwork and deserve an honored place in America’s history. When the nation called, they answered. Few generations have faced a more the remarkable punch-dot background. daunting challenge than those who fought in Southeast Asia. A GRATEFUL NATION REMEMBERS They didn’t hesitate to put their lives on the line and give ALL THOSE WHO SERVED everything in defense of freedom. For this historic Tribute, America Remembers selected a working Colt® Whether you are a veteran who answered the call to duty, or Government Model® .45 caliber pistol. Born for a combat role, the Colt you wish to honor your father, husband, brother or other family .45 was the classic military firearm of the 20th century, a favorite sidearm member or friend, the Vietnam Tribute to Valor Tribute Pistol is of America’s military from World War I through Vietnam. Craftsmen sure to become a cherished addition to your collection.

HANDSOMELY DECORATED STEEL GRIPS This Tribute features solid steel grips which have been designed and produced specifically for this Tribute. Each of the custom-made grips is CNC machined and handsomely decorated with 24-karat gold and blackened patina for a spectacular new look. The extra weight from the steel also lowers the center of gravity which some believe stabilizes the sight, increasing accuracy and softening the recoil. This is the first time America Remembers has featured solid 24-karat gold decorated steel grips on a Tribute and we believe they will be extremely popular with collectors.

Within the sleek scrollwork on the grips is an emblem featuring a fierce dragon, standing ready to strike, in front of bamboo. This Extending gracefully across each side of the slide is an elaborately detailed Asian dragon, an important symbol representing the prosperity, power magnificent artwork is encompassed within and nobility of the nation. This art serves as a banner on both sides. On the left it reads, “Vietnam Tribute to Valor,” and on the right, “In Lasting bamboo text reading, “Vietnam Tribute to Memory of Unequaled Courage,” featured in a stylized bamboo text. Bamboo and dragons are so associated with Vietnam that both were Valor 50th Anniversary,” handsomely finished prominently featured on the Vietnam Service Medal, awarded to members of the Armed Forces who served in Vietnam. with 24-karat gold.

MODEL: COLT ® GOVERNMENT MODEL ® I wish to reserve ___ of the “Vietnam Tribute to Valor Pistol”, a working Colt .45 pistol, at the current issue price of $2,195.* My deposit of $195 per pistol is enclosed. I wish to pay the balance at the rate of $100 per month, no interest or carrying charges. Certificate of Authenticity included. Thirty day return privilege TCheck enclosed for $___________ .

*All orders are subject to acceptance and credit verification prior to shipment. Shipping and handling will be added to each order. Virginia residents to: please add sales tax.

TCharge payment of $ ___________ T VISA T MasterCard T AMEX T Discover

No. __________________________________________ Exp. ___________

+

CALIBER: .45 ACP

Name __________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ___________________________________________ Daytime Telephone No. ( ________ ) ________________________________

America Remembers® 10226 Timber Ridge Drive + Ashland, Virginia 23005 www.americaremembers.com To place your reservation toll-free call 1-800-682-2291

©AHL, Inc.

TODAY

Golf’s Popularity a Water Hazard

A study found that golf courses in Southeast Asia use three to five times more chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) than equivalent land areas devoted to agriculture. And because golf courses are often next to rivers and deltas, chemical-laden runoff has become a pollution threat. By the end of 2020 Vietnam will have 96 golf courses, including 19 in the Red River Delta and four in the Mekong Delta, the two primary rice-growing regions, according to Thanh Nien News.

Coffee vs. Pepper in Vietnam’s Farm Economy A prolonged drought is devastating the coffee harvest, while pepper prices are rising, prompting Vietnamese farmers to reconsider their crop choices. Vietnam is the world’s largest producer of black pepper and the largest source of robusta coffee, commonly used in instant coffee and espresso. Since the French introduced the coffee crop to Vietnam in the colonial era, the country has become the world’s second-largest exporter of coffee. But the crop depends on the right temperatures and the right amount of water. Coffee production has had so A young boy many problems that exports in May were down 40 percent from harvests last year. Meanwhile, pepper prices are rising, and the crop was pepper, which worth four times as much as coffee in May. But switching to is rising in pepper cultivation isn’t simple; the initial investment in a pepper price. crop is far more expensive than planting coffee trees.

IN BRIEF • The new Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced a new director, Army Lt. Gen. Michael Linnington, previously military deputy to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The agency, formed in January 2015, consolidates the former Joint POW/ MIA Accounting Command and the Defense POW/ Missing Personnel Office, according to Stripes.com. The two agencies were combined after complaints about poor coordination, overlapping missions and general dysfunction in recovering the remains of soldiers killed in war.

• The first federally approved monument commemorating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans was unveiled at a cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, near Chicago on Memorial Day. Three slabs of granite bear the seals of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marine. The inscription on the monument includes these words: “Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have served honorably and admirably in America’s armed forces.” Other cemeteries have statues honoring LGBT service members, but the Elwood memorial is the first in a national cemetery.

• As part of the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, the director of the National Endowment for the Humanities, William Adams, is recording an oral history of his service in Vietnam. Adams, appointed to the NEH post in 2011, had a long career in education, including 14 years as the president of Colby College. In his NEH bio, he says that as a 20-year-old combat infantry adviser in Vietnam, “I came face to face, acutely, with questions that writers, artists, philosophers and musicians examine in their work—starting with, ‘What does it mean to be human?’” CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LILY 81/THINKSTOCK; U.S. ARMY; MICHAKLOOTWIJK/THINKSTOCK; SUCCESSFUL_NICK/THINKSTOCK

16

VIETNA M

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN




A portion of the proceeds from each sale will be donated to help the families of POWs and those missing in action

Expertly crafted in solid stainless steel with black ion plating




Dramatically detailed eagle sculpture and powerful POW-MIA symbols




Inscribed on the front and inside the band with meaningful sentiments

“Never Forgotten” Men’s Ring A Fine Jewelry Exclusive from The Bradford Exchange The freedom that we so dearly cherish and fight for... comes at a cost. Now, honor the incomparable courage of our U.S. Military personnel who were taken as prisoners of war, or listed as missing in action, with the “Never Forgotten” Men’s Ring. An exclusive design, it is a powerful reminder of the heroes who will live on in our hearts forever, and will never be forgotten.

has Always been Worth fighting for,” and along both sides of the ring are classic chevron patterns and a row of stars. A distinctive tribute of remembrance that any patriot would be proud to wear, you will also be delighted to know that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each ring will be donated to help the families of POWs and those missing in action.

A Moving Achievement in Craftsmanship and Design

Exceptional Value...Immense Significance

Crafted of solid stainless steel with black ion plating, the “Never Forgotten” Men’s Ring features a dramatically sculpted dimensional eagle, its mighty wings stretched out beneath the POW-MIA logo. A sculpted banner displays the heartfelt sentiment “You Are Not Forgotten.” Inscribed inside the band are the poignant words, “Freedom

This magnificent ring can be yours for just $99*, payable in four convenient installments of $24.75. To reserve a ring in your name (available in whole and half sizes from 8-12), backed by our unconditional 120-day guarantee, send no money now. Just fill out and send in your Reservation Application today. But hurry— this is a limited time offer! ©2015 The Bradford Exchange All rights reserved 01-18947-002-BI

www.bradfordexchange.com/189472 LIMITED-TIME OFFER Reservations will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. Respond as soon as possible to reserve your ring.

RESERVATION APPLICATION

SEND NO MONEY NOW Actual size

P.O. Box 806, Morton Grove, IL 60053-0806

YES. Please reserve the “Never Forgotten” Men’s Ring for me as described in this announcement. Ring size:_____ (if known) SATISFACTION GUARANTEED To assure a proper fit, a ring sizer will be sent to you after your reservation has been accepted.

Actual size

*Plus $9.98 shipping and service. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of your jewelry after we receive your initial deposit. Sales subject to product availability and order acceptance.

Signature Mrs. Mr. Ms. Name (Please Print Clearly)

Address City

State

Zip

E-Mail (Optional)

01-18947-002-E39571

TODAY

From Cleveland to Cambodia: Napalm Girl A Hindu Statue Is Going Home Photo Sells The Cleveland Museum of Art has agreed to return a 10th-century century 800-pound sandstone statue for $12,000 of the Hindu deity Hanuman to Cambodia. During the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia, the statue was cut away from a temple platform and sold in the West. The Cleveland museum has had it on display since acquiring it in 1982. A careful study of the statue’s connection to a temple platform, however, convinced museum officials that the statue belonged to that complex and had been unlawfully removed. The return is part of the first agreement regarding cultural cooperation signed between Cambodia and the United States. Hanuman is a Hindu deity believed to ward off evil.

War photographer Nick Ut sold his most famous image, Napalm Girl, at auction for $12,000, according to VietnamNet. It was one of five Nick Ut’s napalm bombing photo won a Pulitzer. photographs he sold, netting $26,000 that will be donated to the Hieu Ve Trai Tim (Understanding the Heart) Fund, which supports education and philanthropy in Vietnam. Ut’s images of children fleeing napalm bombing won the Pulitzer Prize for spot news in 1973. The Napalm Girl photograph and another from that series were bought by Nguyen Van Hoa, chairman of the board of Thien Hoa Electronics Center, who said he wanted them as reminders of the war, which he experienced as a child. Ut, a native of Vietnam, was wounded three times while covering the war and lost his older brother, another AP photographer, in the conflict. He continues to work as a photographer in Los Angeles and stays in touch with the girl in the photo, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, now 52 and living in Canada. She was one of several children Ut took to the hospital in Saigon after taking the pictures. Phuc’s back was burned so badly by the napalm that she wasn’t expected to live. She spent more than a year in the hospital and survived, thanks to more than a dozen operations, including skin transplants.

Vietnamese Folk Traditions Rooted in Bark Threatened—and Reviving Bark from trees in Vietnam’s lush forests provide material for folk traditions of more than 50 ethnic minorities. One group, the Sedang, used the inner lining of bark from the loong phoong tree to make clothing. Today, the Sedang can no longer find any of those trees—and only 12 items of bark clothing survive. Another jeopardized folk tradition involving bark has a more positive story. Zóproject.com, a company founded by Tran Hong Nhung, a Vietnamese woman, is using an eighthcentury technique to create paper from dó tree bark, which can be formed into soft, moisture-resistant, durable sheets. The bark must be soaked in lime water for three months, then shredded, boiled and molded onto frames and dried into sheets. Zóproject has engaged rural artisans who are masters of the almost lost art of making the paper, which was used for calligraphy, folk painting and legal certificates.

A woman working at home in a village in Bac Ninh province folds paper made from bark.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: NICK UT/ASSOCIATED PRESS; TESSA BUNNEY/IN PICTURES/CORBIS; COURTESY CLEVELAND ART MUSEUM

18

VIETNA M

NE W

ly e et th th h G on or wit m f 0 . 0 es 20 LK 40 nut of TA i m ice EM pr W

ADVERTISEMENT

“My friends all hate their cell phones… I love mine!” FREE No Car t Charge o C ntrac Here’s why. r

Say good-bye to everything you hate about cell phones. Say hello to Jitterbug. “Cell phones have gotten so small, I can barely dial mine.” Not Jitterbug®, it features a larger keypad for easier dialing. It even has an oversized display so you can actually see it.

Monthly Minutes Monthly Rate Operator Assistance 911 Access Long Distance Calls

“I had to get my son to program it.” Your Jitterbug set-up process is simple. We’ll even pre-program it with your favorite numbers.

Voice Dial Nationwide Coverage Friendly Return Policy1

50

was 200 NOW 400

$14.99

$19.99

24/7

24/7

FREE

FREE

No add’l charge

No add’l charge

FREE

FREE

YES

YES

30 days

30 days

More minute plans available. Ask your Jitterbug expert for details.

“I tried my sister’s cell phone… I couldn’t hear it.” Jitterbug is designed with an improved speaker. There’s an adjustable volume control, and Jitterbug is hearing-aid compatible.

“My cell phone company wants to lock me in on a two-year contract!” Not Jitterbug, there’s no contract to sign and no penalty if you discontinue your service. “I’ll be paying for minutes I’ll never use!” Not with Jitterbug, unused minutes carry over to the next month, there’s no roaming fee and no additional charge for long distance.

“I don’t need stock quotes, Internet sites or games on my phone, I just want to talk with my family and friends.” Life is complicated enough… Jitterbug is simple. “What if I don’t remember a number?” Friendly, helpful Jitterbug operators are available 24 hours a day and will even greet you by name when you call. “I’d like a cell phone to use in an emergency, but I don’t want a high monthly bill.” Jitterbug has a plan to fit your needs… and your budget.

Available in Blue and Red.

Order now and receive a FREE Car Charger for your Jitterbug – a $24.99 value. Call now!

“My phone’s battery only lasts a couple of days.” The Jitterbug’s battery lasts for up to 25 days on standby. Enough talk. Isn’t it time you found out more about the cell phone that’s changing all the rules? Call now, Jitterbug product experts are standing by.

NEW Jitterbug5 Cell Phone Call toll free today to get your own Jitterbug5. Please mention promotional code 100245.

1-877-556-8369

www.jitterbugdirect.com 47637

We proudly accept the following credit cards.

IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: WEMTALK offer valid on 400 minute plan and applies to new GreatCall customers only. Offer valid until plan is changed or cancelled. Jitterbug is owned by GreatCall, Inc.Your invoices will come from GreatCall. All rate plans and services require the purchase of a Jitterbug phone and a one-time set up fee of $35. Coverage and service is not available everywhere. Other charges and restrictions may apply. Screen images simulated. There are no additional fees to call Jitterbug’s 24-hour U.S. Based Customer Service. However, for calls to an Operator in which a service is completed, minutes will be deducted from your monthly balance equal to the length of the call and any call connected by the Operator, plus an additional 5 minutes. Monthly minutes carry over and are available for 60 days. If you exceed the minute balance on your account, you will be billed at 35¢ for each minute used over the balance. Monthly rate plans do not include government taxes or assessment surcharges. Prices and fees subject to change. We will refund the full price of the GreatCall phone and the activation fee (or set-up fee) if it is returned within 30 days of purchase in like-new condition. We will also refund your first monthly service charge if you have less than 30 minutes of usage. If you have more than 30 minutes of usage, a per minute charge of 35 cents will be deducted from your refund for each minute over 30 minutes.You will be charged a $10 restocking fee.The shipping charges are not refundable. Jitterbug and GreatCall are registered trademarks of GreatCall, Inc. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. ©2015 Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC. ©2015 GreatCall, Inc. ©2015 firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.

TODAY

Book: Nixon, Kissinger Used Nuke Threat in Negotiations

Shortly after Richard Nixon became president, he and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger tried to devise the quickest possible exit from the Vietnam War on the most favorable terms. Those efforts are topic of Nixon’s Nuclear Specter, a book by researchers from The George Washington University’s National Security Archive, an organization of journalists and others who study declassified documents. Drawing from a trove of papers obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the authors outline how the threat of nuclear war and globespanning military operations were used

Richard Nixon meets with Henry Kissinger at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York on Nov. 26, 1972.

by the administration from Oct. 13 to 31, 1969, to convince the North Vietnamese they should agree to favorable terms for ending the war or to at least give them the impression that the South Vietnamese were carrying on the war independently. One of the documents is a secret message to North Vietnamese leaders suggesting that if no diplomatic solution was reached, the U.S. president would regretfully resort to “any means necessary” on November 1.

Agent Orange Action Benefits Air Force Vets Disability benefits are now available to Air Force veterans and reservists who served on Fairchild C-123 planes that dispensed the poisonous herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam and have symptoms pertaining to 14 conditions related to Agent Orange exposure, the Veterans Administration announced on June 18. In 2011 pilots had been denied claims because their service on the aircraft occurred after the war had ended, the Associated Press reported. But the pilots contended that the planes were still contaminated from previous routine spraying of the herbicide. The VA requested a review of the evidence by the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Academy of Sciences. The institute’s report supported the decision to expand the eligibility. Some 2,000 veterans may be eligible for benefits. (Agent Orange cases account for 1 out of 6 disability claims paid by the VA, according to the Associated Press.)

Doodle for Google Winner An eight-year-old boy is the first winner of Google’s “Doodle for Google” contest for children in Vietnam. The image features the dragon dance, apricot blossoms and a goat (2015 is the year of the goat). The art was displayed on the Google search engine in Vietnam on June 1 (International Children’s Day). Le Hieu from Dong Nai province edged out eight other finalists to appear onscreen. TOP: RICHARD CORKERY/NY DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE VIA GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM: COURTESY GOOGLE

20

VIETNA M

Sorry, Bob, but I gotta go...again.

Frequent urination is no laughing matter. As we age, our prostate enlarges creating those sudden urges to go. More often than not, they happen at the most inconvenient and embarrassing times. BP-Q MAX may help lessen those constant urges to go. Our formulas have been prescribed by over 2000 urologists and are proven to help. If you’re serious about helping maintain a healthy prostate and stop those sudden urges, read on.

%340$;LVDQHYLGHQFHEDVHGQXWUDFHXWLFDOVSHFLÀFDOO\ formulated with particular phytotherapeutic agents to support SURVWDWHKHDOWKDQGKHOSPDLQWDLQKHDOWK\XULQDU\ÁRZ and function.*

BP-Q MAX is recommended by urologists and other medical professionals.

BP-Q MAX may help to maintain a healthy prostate for men.

In over ten years, millions of doses of BP-Q MAX have been taken verifying the clinically-proven results.

Free Special Introductory Offer for First 500 Orders: Buy one and get a second bottle Free!

A 60-day supply for only $34.99 (plus $7.95 shipping and handling) Promo code: 50bp5411

Call Now! (877) 284-3976 or order BP-Q MAX online at www.farrlabs.com Men can now order the most recommended prostate solution. No prescription necessary. Urologists recommended. Developed by leading academic urologists in major medical centers worldwide. Offer Details: Offer for new customers only. Limit one per household. Try BP-Q MAX for 30 days—SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! If within 45 days, for any reason, you’re not satisfied, just return the unused portion for a full refund (less S/H); but if you love BP-Q MAX do nothing and after 60 days, and every 60 days thereafter, you’ll receive your 60-day supply (120 pills; two per day) of BP-Q MAX for the auto-ship price of only $77.93 ($69.98 + $7.95 shipping and handling) . Our auto-ship is risk-free, cancel at any time. BP-Q MAX is the natural way to healthy urinary function, better control and relief. © 2015 BP-Q MAX All Rights Reserved. *This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. The products detailed on this site are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If a medical condition exists, see your health care professional.

VOICES: MIKE SIERRA

first-generation American, Mike Sierra spent two tours in Vietnam. He joined the Texas National Guard in 1957 while in high school, became active duty after graduation, went to officer candidate school in 1964 and retired in 1990 as a colonel. He worked in the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, served as a political-military planner for the Middle East and Persian Gulf, commanded the School of the Americas in Panama (where he negotiated with dictator Manuel Noriega), was a battalion and brigade commander with the 25th Infantry Division and chaired the Army War College’s Military Strategy Department.

A

What are some positive aspects? It allowed

our Army to evolve into what was needed to protect our nation. We were doing unique things on the ground. The 1st Cav did things with helicopters that had never been done before [using them as gunships and vehicles to transport infantry troops to the battlefield]. There were very advanced tactics and sophisticated operations. Did the war change any of your views?

Education Bachelor’s degree in government, master’s

You sometimes go to war with excitement. It is the manly thing to do, and you lead brave men in fierce combat. But a realization about the brutalities of war grows on you. I remember a mission to intercept North Vietnamese troops on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. One day coming down the trail were 15 or 20 young soldiers, driven by their own motivations, just like us. We killed all of them. Mission accomplished. Cheers followed. A sobering reflection. Accepting that killing is necessary has always been the task of soldiers. Folks who have never been associated with the military can’t relate to that. But we who have been there really can.

in international economics and international relations, University of Arizona

Any song from the war years that sticks with you? A song that

Born July 26, 1941, San Antonio; parents immigrated to

Texas from Mexico during the revolution of the early 1900s. Residence Round Hill, Virginia

In Vietnam June 1965 to June 1966, platoon leader, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 372nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division; June 1968 to June 1969, company commander, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)

has a lot of emotion for me is “Leaving on a Jet Plane” [a Peter, Paul and Mary hit]. When I got ready to go on my second tour in Vietnam, my wife was at the airport with me, holding my 10-month-old son and pregnant with my daughter. “I’m leaving on a jet plane. Don’t know when I’ll be back again.” Any other thoughts on that era you would like to share?

Today President and CEO, The Ventura Group Inc., founded

1995; provides federal agencies with information technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity services; 170 employees How do you see the Vietnam War now? It was initiated with

the best intentions, as perceived at that time—to contain the spread of communism. But we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do. As much as you want to look at a lot of positive aspects, the war was a failed effort from an American perspective.

22

VIETNA M

When I look at the Vietnam memorial and see the names of the people who died, it fills me with emotion. Did we do the right thing? Should we have been there? But when I get together with the guys I served with, I think about the things battle can bring you: the bonds, the ties, the friendships that are inescapable and unexplainable to other folks. ★ During the Vietnam War’s 50th anniversary, Vietnam is interviewing people whose lives are intertwined with the war and asking for their reflections on that era in American history. You can read more of this interview at www.historynet.com/mike-sierra-interview.htm.

ILLUSTRATION: DAN WILLIAMS

THE GAME CHANGER... 1/10TH SCALE METAL MODELS THAT CAN FIGHT AT OVER 250 YARDS! A world first... The Battletrax range has been developed to meet a need for the serious RC modeller to engage in tank v tank fire fights at scale ranges of over 2,500 yards with realistic outcomes. 1/10th scale metal models are combined with a GPS aided battle system to provide a synergistic experience that is second-to-none. Historically there have been tank models and there have been computer games. Battletrax offers a micro-processor supported combat system to use in combination with your exhibition standard model tanks - the best of both worlds and a genuine game changer.

GIANT 1/10TH SCALE.

Why 1/10th scale...

1/16th Scale

Not too big, and not too small, 1/10th scale delivers a model powerful enough to handle cross-country terrain yet is easy to transport and perfect for display. Above all our combat system operates prototypically. The WWII tank commander was required to provide a range estimate to his gunner. We figured it would be easier for a player to estimate his range initially in 1:1 scale e.g. 120 yards and then simply add a zero to produce the range in scale yards. Self-evidently no other scale offers this simplicity.

1/10th Scale

COMBAT SYSTEM... BATTLETRAX THE WORLD’S MOST REALISTIC BATTLE SYSTEM....

Stock available soon... We are now entering our kit production stage with an initial stock delivery of just 50 Tigers due in October 2015. Order reservations will be accepted on a first come, first served, basis. To avoid disappointment we recommend you place a no deposit order reservation now. This is a no obligation expression of interest and gives you a first refusal opportunity when we invite your payment in advance of model delivery. Send no money now.

See website for full details. PLACE YOUR NO DEPOSIT ORDER RESERVATION NOW!

This is, without doubt, the most realistic

Fully machined kit

• Metal construction • 12v drive motors • Turret turn • Gun elevation • Smoke generator

• Fully machined kit • Torsion bar suspension • Recoil • Sound • Weight 55lbs

Up to 20 players a side can fight their models at realistic scale ranges of 2500yds + . The independent mesh radio system uses model based GPS and micro-processors to determine outcomes in real time and your model can represent any one of over 100 different tank types. Relative firepower and armor resistance is recognised.

TIGER TANK PRICING SUMMARY SPECIFICATIONS

Over 250yds range!

$2495.00

Motors, sound, smoke

$595.00

Combat system

$495.00

combat simulator using models available. Battletrax is a brand of Silver Crest Models Ltd and is available only from us.

On board compass determines angle of strike..

FOR FULL DETAILS GO TO: WWW.BATTLETRAX.CO.UK Silver Crest Models Ltd, Wroxton Business Centre, Welton Road, Braunston, Northamptonshire, NN11 7JG. UK Tel: +44 (0)1327 871 437 E-mail: [email protected] Registered no. 7425348

HOMEFRONT 1965

SEPTEMBER – O A TASTE OF HONEY is another hit song for Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, whose popularity had grown enormously in the two years since his admirers started shouting “Olé” for “The Lonely Bull.”

ANTIWAR DEMONSTRATIONS are held in about 40 U.S. cities and other places around the world, the first in what will be a series of international protests against the Vietnam War.

NEW BIKE IN TOWN With its “banana” seat and hi-rise handlebars, the “Stingray” bicycle design transforms the average 20-inch bike into a kid’s roadster.

CAPTAIN AND THE GENIE Astronaut Tony Nelson frequently finds himself in a pickle as he contends with a genie in a bottle who has fallen in love with him in the TV series I Dream of Jeannie.

24

VIETNA M

PAUL VI IN NEW YORK The first pope to visit the Western Hemisphere, Paul VI meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson on Oct. 10, delivers an appeal for peace at the United Nations and ends the day with Mass at Yankee Stadium.

HELMET: DOUG STELEY/ALAMY; HURRICANE: NOAA SPACE COLLECTION; ARCH: AGE FOTOSTOCK/ALAMY; POPE VISIT: HERITAGE AUCTIONS, DALLAS; STINGRAY: COURTESY OF BOB SMITH; TELEVISION: CLASSICSTOCK/ALAMY; INSET: AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY

CTOBER HURRICANE BETSY, which had tracked through the Bahamas, makes landfall in Key Largo, Florida, on Sept. 8, knocking down telephone poles along Highway 1 and preventing land access to the mainland. It caused $1 billion in damages and was the most deadly hurricane in New Orleans before Katrina.

BATTLEFRONT 1965 SEPT 7–10

The 7th Marine Regiment, supported by South Vietnamese troops, conducts Operation Piranha against the 1st Viet Cong Regiment on Batangan Peninsula south of Chu Lai. Two Marines and five South Vietnamese are killed; the VC lose 178 killed.

SEPT 14

Sergeant Alistair Don and Bombardier Robert “Jock” White become the first New Zealanders killed in the war when the VC destroy their vehicle with a command-detonated mine near Ben Cat in Binh Duong province.

SEPT 20

There are 29,000 people in the ballpark and a million butterflies….I would think that the mound at Dodger Stadium right now is the loneliest place in the world. — Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully calling the ninth inning of pitcher Sandy Koufax’s perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 9. Koufax struck out the final six batters in the 1-0 victory. In October, he would pitch a shutout in Game 7 of the World Series as the Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0.

THE GATEWAY ARCH IN ST. LOUIS, designed by Eero Saarinen and clad in stainless steel, is completed Oct. 28. The tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere, at 630 feet, its inverted weighted catenary arch symbolizes America’s westward expansion.

The main body of 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), the first full Army division to arrive in Vietnam, completes its deployment, which began with an advance party on Aug. 11.

OCT 17

Five Navy planes (an A-6 Intruder and four A-4E Skyhawks) flying off the carrier USS Independence destroy a surface-to-air missile site 37 miles north of Hanoi in the first successful strike on a SAM site in the war.

OCT 19–25

Two North Vietnamese Army regiments besiege the Special Forces camp at Plei Me in the Central Highlands. The siege is lifted by a South Vietnamese relief force and U.S. airstrikes. General William Westmoreland orders the 1st Air Cav to pursue retreating North Vietnamese, which precipitates the Nov. 14-18 Battle of Ia Drang.

OCT 31

The first two Navy Patrol Craft Fast, or “Swift Boats,” arrive in Vietnam. The 50-foot-long, aluminum-hulled boats, crewed by an officer and four to five sailors, have a top speed of 32 knots and are armed with three .50-caliber machine guns and one 81mm trigger-fired mortar.

ARSENAL

By Carl O. Schuster

NOT QUITE STATE OF THE ART

LIMITED ROOM TO MANEUVER

The P-12 and PRV-10 radars were connected to the firecontrol van by landline, where their data was integrated to guide the narrow-beamed RNSA-75 radar (NATO designation Fan Song) onto the target.

The SA-2 missile, designed to engage high-level, comparatively sluggish strategic bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, could not keep up with a rapidly maneuvering target. North Vietnam responded by engaging American planes near antiaircraft artillery sites, driving the planes down into their range.

TELLTALE TRAILS

TRIPLE THREAT

A van controlled three batteries simultaneously using Soviet 1950s analog computers.

Because American pilots did not initially have radar-warning equipment, they had to watch for the missile’s contrails to warn of an engagement and then do a “SAM break,” a high-speed rollover and dive, generally dropping their bomb load to achieve the maneuver.

Soviet SA-2a Guideline Surface-to-Air Missile

A

four-plane flight of F-4C Phantoms providing combat escort to F-105D Thunderchiefs northwest of Hanoi on July 24, 1965, heard a SAM-launch warning. Seconds later, a Soviet-built SA-2a surface-to-air missile struck a Phantom crewed by Captains Roscoe H. Fobair and Richard P. Keirn, who ejected and were captured. (Keirn was later released; Fobair’s fate remains unknown.) The other F-4Cs were damaged but able to fly home. After months of building and linking more than 44 SAM sites and a related air-defense network, North Vietnam had launched its first guided missile against Operation Rolling Thunder. During those initial attacks American aviators lacked installed radar warning systems or countermeasures. Additionally, they were denied permission to strike SAM sites under construction. The SA-2 Guideline, the NATO designation for the Soviet Union’s S-75 Dvina missile, was rooted in concerns about American atomic bomber strikes in the USSR. Development of the SA-2 began in 1953. The designers decided on a radar-guided missile and adopted three radars already in development—a P-12 air-search radar, a PRV-10 height-finding radar and the RNSA-75 fire control radar. Early testing went well since the designers focused on achieving what

26

VIETNA M

they could with the available technology. The first three-battery regiment stood up on Dec. 11, 1957. The early model’s inability to engage American U-2 flights led in 1959 to SA-2a with increased maximum range and engagement altitude. Ironically, a Chinese SA-2a garnered the missile’s first success, downing a Taiwanese RB-57D on Oct. 7, 1959. The now-famous Soviet downing of Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 on May 1, 1960, was the SA-2’s second success. The Guideline’s early victories in Vietnam hid its shortcomings (45 percent of launches failed). Meanwhile, U.S. forces developed specialized units, tactics and weapons, such as anti-radiation missiles and airdefense suppression aircraft. North Vietnam responded with random radar-activations, deception sites and alternating manual-to-automatic missile control. By 1972 the United States had penetrated the missiles’ guidance system and, with the introduction of realistic rules of engagement, destroyed 68 of 95 SAM sites. Although the SA-2 was responsible for less than 6 percent of U.S. aerial losses over North Vietnam, its impact on bombing missions has shaped American air-campaign planning, procedures, tactics and technology to this day. The missile is still used by more than a dozen former Soviet client states. +

Length 35.1 ft. Weight 5,040 lbs. Launcher Single missile Battery 6 launchers Setup time 30 min. Reload time 10-15 min. Missile speed Mach 3.0 Max. range 16 nautical miles Max. engagement ceiling 83,765 ft.

GREGORY PROCH

Told By Cameramen Who Were There And Took The Film Footage. Includes More Than 4-Hours Of Film Footage Shot In VVietnam Two-DVD Set ($49.90) Includes: • TET 1968: Saigon, New Port Bridge, Widows Village • Training: School, Camera Equipment, Techniques • FSB Ripcord: With The 101st In The A Shau Valley • Dak To: With 173rd AB & 4th Infantry Division • Home Away From Home: Life In Saigon & Long Binh • Attack On Long Binh: TET 1969, 11th Armored Cavalry • Art Of Combat Photography • Ia Drang Valley: 7th Cavalry, Landing Zone X-Ray • Incident On Route 9: Invasion Of Laos & Lam Son 719 • KIA: Cameramen Killed In Action, Courage Under Fire • In The Field: Mekong Delta, With APC Convoy • Mini TET: Battle At The Y Bridge, Cholon

“Well done! You uncovered footage and images I never dreamed existed and told our stories so extensively and with such a measured, honest pace. I think you largely succeeded by letting so much of the story be told by Us – in our own uncompressed words”.”

Additional DVDs Purchased With This Set, Only $19.95 Each

2 DVDs

More Than 4 Hours

Paul Berkowitz Army Combat Cameraman,221st Signal Co.

1-760-765-1283 To Talk To A Live Person, Or Order Online At MilitaryVideo.com More Videos For Vietnam Veterans Serving The Vietnam Veteran For More Than 20 years, We’ve Amassed A Huge Collection Of Vietnam War Footage! Newer Releases Air Force In Vietnam • Dong Ha Base & $LU¿HOG 1966-68, 50 min. • F-4 Phantom In Combat, 60 min. • B-57 Canberra at Phan Rang, Bien Hoa, Danang, 60 min. • C-130 Operations In Vietnam, 81 min. • C-7 Caribou In Vietnam, 70 min. • Jolly & Super Jolly Green Giants, 85 min. • Tactical Air Recon With RF-4, RF-101, 90 min. • Tet: Attack on Tan Son Nhut AB, 60 min. • C-47, EC-47 & AC-47 Vietnam, 80 min. • Close Air Support & Forward Air Controllers, 100 min. • F-105 Wild Weasel at Korat AB 1966, 20 min. • F-105 Thunderchief In Combat, 75 min. • AC-119 Gunships, 100 min. • B-52 at Utapao Airbase, 70 min.

Hard To Find Video Titles!

• Assault on Long Binh Tet 1969, 60 min. • Takhli AB 1964-1970, 110 min. • An Khe, 1965-67, 75 min. SCENES FROM • Long Binh 1967-72, 60 min. • Cu Chi 1967-70, 50 min. IN-COUNTRY • Phu Bai 1968-71, 60 min. BASES: • Bien Hoa AB 1964-69, 80 min. • Phu Cat AB 1966-68, 70 min. • Chu Lai AB 1965-68, 75 min. • Camp Eagle 1971, 35 min. • Tuy Hoa AB 1966-1968, 75 min. • Dong Tam Base 1967-1969, 45 min. • Phan Rang AB 1965-70, 60 min. • Cam Ranh Bay AB 1966-68, 70 min. • Lai Khe, Di An & Phu Loi 1966-1970, 80 min. • Da Nang AB/USMC 1965-1970, 100 min. • Camp Enari (Dragon Mtn) 1968-1969, 30 min. • Ubon & Udorn, Thailand 1966-69, 60 min. • Dau Tieng Base & $LU¿HOG 1965-70, 45 min.

• 101st Airborne Div: Search/Destroy Missions, 50 min. • 173rd Airborne Div: Search/Destroy Missions, 55 min. • Bangkok, Thailand R&R In The 1960s, 50 min. • National Route 9, A Journey along Route 9 near the DMZ., 60 min. • “Rocket City”: Attacks On Da Nang AB, 70 min. • 1st Aviation Brigade In Vietnam, 60 min. • Op. Pershing, 1st Air Cav., May 1967, 60 min. • Destroyers In The Vietnam War, 65 min. • 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne In Vietnam, 60 min. • 5th Special Forces Group Vietnam, 55 min. • African Americans In Vietnam, 60 min. • Op. MacArthur, 4th Inf. Div. in the Battle Of Dak To 1967, 60 min. • 1st Air Cavalry, 1965-1967, 60 min. • Southern Man: The Road To Vietnam Training at Forts Jackson, Campbell, & Gordon in the 1960s, 70 min.

• Marine Tankers In Vietnam, 60 min. • 101st Airborne A Shau Valley 1969-71, 60 min. • Road Warriors: Truckers Vietnam, 60 min. • 101st Airborne Div. In Vietnam, 90 min. • American POWs in Vietnam, 60 min. Army • 5th Infantry Div. Vietnam 1968-70, 45 min. • USMC Camp Reasoner, Hill 510, 3rd MAF, 45 min. In • 1st Inf. Div: Vietnam & Germany, 102 min. NSA Da Nang, Camp Tien Sha, 60 min. • Da Nang Outer Limits: Dog Patch, Danang 500, 60 min. • 196th Light Infantry Brigade, 52 min. Vietnam • Camp Evans & Op. Delaware 1968, 60 min. • 1st Air Cav. Div. Battle For Ia Drang Valley, 70 min. • 198th Light Infantry Brigade, 60 min. • Nha Trang/Camp McDermott 1965-69, 60 min. • 25th Inf. Div. Search & Destroy Missions, 45 min. • 173rd Airborne Battle for Dak To, 50 min. • U-Tapao, Thailand 1967-72, 60 min. • 4th Infantry Division Search & Destroy Missions, 45 min. • Military Police (MPs) Vietnam, 70 min. • Korat AB, Thailand 1965-1970, 70 min. • 11th Armored Cavalry, Black Horse Regiment, 80 min. • 9th Infantry Division In Vietnam, 60 min. • Tan Son Nhut AB 1965-1968, 60 min. • Army Engineers In Vietnam, 110 min. • Huey UH-1: Training to Vietnam, 115 min. • Camp Carroll & Rock Pile, 30 min. • Operation Pegasus: Khe Sanh Rescue 1968, 45 min. • Army Helicopter Units Vietnam, 90 min. • Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai AFB, NKP, 60 min. • Andersen AFB, Guam 1965-75, 70 min. • 1st Div. Search/Destroy Missions, 60 min. • Binh Thuy Naval Base, Vietnam War, 50 min. • 9th Inf. Division Search & Destroy Missions, 50 min. • 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, 60 min. • 11th Light Infantry Brigade Vietnam, 60 min. Marines In Vietnam • Army Artillerymen in Vietnam: Fire • Combat Trackers & Their Dogs 45 min. • Marines 1965/ Ops Starlite/Harvest Moon, 90 min. • Con Thien & Op. Buffalo, 60 min. Support & Fire Support Bases, 80 min. • Combat Inf. Soldier: Life In Field, 60 min. • Army Basic at Fort Ord & Advanced • Far From Home: Combat Infantry Sights/Sounds, 55 min. • Marines 1966, Ops Macon/Hastings/Prairie, 70 min. • Battle for Hue City, 45 min. Training 1960s, 90 minutes • Marines 1967 with Op Independence, 90 min. • Marine Aviation: 1st MAW, 90 min. • Dogs of the Vietnam War: Scout, Sentry, Patrol, 100 min. • 199th Light Inf. Bde 1967-70, 60 min. • Marines 1968, Op. Baxter Gardens, 80 min. • Siege Khe Sanh & USAF, 45 min. • Op. Deckhouse 5, 9th Marines & USS Iwo Jima, 45 min. • San Diego Boot Camp ‘69 & 73, 45 min. • 23rd Infantry Div. “Americal” In Vietnam, 80 min. Questions? Call Us Because All Sales Are Final • Parris Island Boot Camp 1960s, 45 min. • NVA Easter Offensive Of 1972, 60 min. • Marine Staging Battalion, Camp Pendleton, 30 min. • Special Forces With Montagnard Training, 100 min. First DVD • Khe Sanh Base with 1st Marines, 45 min. • Special Forces in Vietnam: Early Years, 60 min. Navy In Vietnam: Each Title is Different! Additional DVDs In The Same Order Are $19.95 ea. • Small Boat Warfare, 90 minutes • USS America (CVA-66) 1965-68, 60 min. • USS Coral Sea (CVA-43) 1965-70, 50 min. FREE SHIPPING USA $15 International • USS Oriskany Fire Off Vietnam 1966, 60 min. • USS Midway (CVA-41) 1945-70, 60 min. • USS Intrepid (CV-11) Off Vietnam, 60 min. • USS Oriskany Off Coast of Vietnam, 40 min. • USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) 1961-79, 75 min. • USS Yorktown (CV-10) Vietnam, 45 min. Call With Credit Card • USS Forrestal 1967 Fire Off Vietnam, 70 min. • USS Constellation (CVA-64) 1964-70, 45 min. • USS Bon Homme Richard 1950s-60s, 45 min. • USS Forrestal (CV-59) 1950s-60s, 90 min. • USS Independence (CVA-62) 1960s, 90 min. • USS Franklin D. Roosevelt 1960s, 85 min. Send Check/MO To: • USS Enterprise Fire Off Hawaii, 1969, 45 min. • USS Princeton (CV-37) 1950s-60s, 80 min. • USS Repose & Corpsmen, 60 min. Traditions Military Videos Dept V • USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) 1960-70, 90 min. • USS Shangri-La (CV-38) 1944-1968, 45 min. • USS Ticonderoga, 60 min. PO Box 656 Julian CA 92036

$29.95

1-760-765-1283

A VALLEY SOAKED IN

RAIN & BLOOD

The 1st Cav troops and Air Force planes of Operation Delaware go up against North Vietnamese guns and violent storms in the A Shau Valley By Mike D. Shepherd

Members of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) build a mortar base after clearing a landing zone on April 25, 1968, when the weather finally cleared in the A Shau Valley. BETTMAN/CORBIS

P

erhaps no other battleground in Vietnam defined “war of attrition” better than A Shau Valley in the northernmost part of South Vietnam. The milewide, 25-mile-long bottomland running northsouth along the Laotian border was a conduit for the Ho Chi Minh Trail as it bypassed the Demilitarized Zone. Containing an estimated 20,000 Communist troops by 1967 and a massive store of war supplies, A Shau was a painful thorn in the side of South Vietnam. The enemy used the steep mountainous terrain surrounding the valley to launch battles against every major allied position in the south during the 1968 Tet Offensive. In his book Hamburger Hill, Samuel Zaffiri wrote that General William C. Westmoreland, commander of U.S. Forces in South Vietnam, was angry that the press had widely portrayed Tet as a victory for the Communists, even though the Viet Cong had been decimated as a fighting force. But the North Vietnamese Army, secure in its jungle camps along the Cambodian and Laotian borders, remained viable. It was from those NVA base camps that the VC had drawn the weapons and ammunition they used for the Tet attacks. The NVA had seized the A Shau Valley, just 30 miles south of Khe Sanh combat base, in March 1966 after overrunning an isolated Special Forces camp there. The sparsely populated valley, bisected lengthwise by Route 548, had been fortified by the North Vietnamese with underground bunkers and tunnels

and defended by powerful 37mm anti-aircraft cannons, some of them radar controlled. They also had rapid-firing twin-barrel 23mm cannons, 12.7mm heavy machine guns and even tanks. Because of their strength on the ground, the North Vietnamese were essentially left alone excerpt for jet attacks, but given the mountainous terrain—often cloaked by clouds and prone to sudden, violent changes in weather—airstrikes were few. Westmoreland was convinced that the valley had to be hit, and hit hard, and in January 1968 he had ordered the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) to move north from the Central Highlands to support the Marines who were there. General Earle Wheeler, U.S. Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supported Westmoreland’s strategy. The division, with 20,000 men, had the most firepower and, with nearly 500 helicopters, five times the airmobility of any division-size unit in Vietnam. Westmoreland believed that if anyone could break the enemy stranglehold on the valley, it was the 1st Air Cav. And he was right. The Cav repulsed three regiments that were trying to reinforce and resupply their comrades in Hue. Then, on January 31, it launched an attack west of Quang Tri City, shattering enemy forces laying siege to the Marine base at Khe Sanh. At the time, I was a reporter for the Seventh Air Force Combat Radio News Unit in Da Nang and would frequently fly into hot zones to interview ground forces on the importance of Air Force resupply missions and tactical air support. The interviews would go to the media department of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, the organization in charge of U.S. combat forces, and be distributed to the interviewees’ hometown radio stations and outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. I had flown into Khe Sanh to report on the siege. What I remember most is seeing the burned wreckage of Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo planes strung along the runway—a disturbing sight considering that I was flying on one. When I enlisted in the Air Force in 1966, I was selected to go to the Armed Forces Journalism School in Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, and out of a class of 50 I was the only one with orders for Vietnam. The Tet Offensive and Khe Sanh had cost the NVA nearly 20,000 men, but they were still pouring into northern South Vietnam. The 1st Air Cav was fully engaged with the NVA at Khe Sanh when its commander, Maj. Gen. John J. Tolson, unveiled plans for Operation Delaware, a massive air assault into the A Shau Valley. Tolson hoped to defeat the NVA there MAP: BAKER VAIL; OPPOSITE: EDDIE ADAMS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

30

VIETNA M

before the coming rainy season hampered The 1st Cav uses a B-52 air support and socked in his troops. Beginning the operation on April 19, the bomb crater as a firing pit 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Bri- in the muddy gade, assaulted into a landing zone near the A Shau Valley. abandoned South Vietnamese Special Forces camp and an old French airstrip at A Luoi, on the northwest end of the A Shau Valley. Intense flak and machine gun fire over the central valley, however, forced Tolson at the last minute to pick a new landing zone astride a large North Vietnamese road connecting the northern valley with Laos. The 1st Battalion entered the northwest end of the valley. Although the first lift-ships managed to land safely beside the road, subsequent ones encountered heavy fire. The NVA’s anti-aircraft guns and 37mm weapons could blow a helicopter or jet from the sky at 25,000 feet. In a matter of hours, enemy gunners shot down 10 helicopters and severely damaged 23 others, according to Zaffiri in Hamburger Hill. Most of the 1st Battalion’s troops managed to get on the ground, but were soon pinned down by NVA fire and burdened by a large number of dead and wounded. Surrounding them were the burnt-out hulks of helicopters with rotors twisted in grotesque shapes. Meanwhile the 7th Cavalry’s 5th Battalion began arriving and came under fire from NVA artillery just across the border in Laos. After a few hours, the 1st Battalion consolidated its position

and was able to carve out a firebase in the valley floor. In bad weather, engineers with chainsaws worked frantically cutting down trees, and infantrymen with machetes hacked away at the bamboo and elephant grass, clearing fields of fire. Then Boeing CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters arrived, hauling 105mm howitzers in slings, large pallets of ammo and artillerymen, who quickly laid in their guns and minutes later began firing back at the NVA gunners in the mountains.

T

he next morning, the 1st Battalion attacked to the southeast toward the A Luoi airstrip, and the 5th Battalion moved down the highway toward Laos. The 1st Battalion ran into stiff resistance. Snipers perched high in treetops, hidden in caves or lodged behind huge rocks dropped the Americans one at a time. A steady stream of choppers moved in and out of the valley to deal with the wounded and dead. Many of the medevacs loaded with wounded were shot out of the sky or so riddled with bullets that they were forced to crash-land. The bad weather got worse on April 21. To keep the troops on the ground supplied, helicopter pilots flew missions in the fog, landing and taking off using only their instruments. The next day a violent thunderstorm shook the valley. Heavy rain turned the valley floor into a quagmire, and operations slowed to a crawl. Still the Air Cav made progress. At the original landing zone in the northern valley, the 3rd Brigade continued to bring in O C T O B E R 2015

31

C-130. Within 5 miles to the south of the airstrip are 6,800-foot peaks. The terrain to the north rises some 5,800 feet, and immediately northwest of the runway it rises to 4,000 feet. They couldn’t drop suddenly through the overcast like choppers could. They had to come in under it and then coast for miles just above the ground before they landed, while enemy gunners fired down on them the entire way.

B

supplies, and the artillerymen kept their guns Maj. Gen. hot, lobbing shells up at the enemy gun po- John Tolson sitions on the mountains. At the same time, confers with Vietnamese the 1st Battalion slogged steadily through the officers in ankle-deep mud toward A Luoi. April 1968. As Operation Delaware continued, helicopters could not keep pace with the 3rd Brigade’s demands in the valley. Tolson knew he would have to bring in bigger loads of ammunition and equipment, and that meant he needed to reopen the A Luoi airstrip so that the Air Force could set up drop zones for their C-130s. It stopped raining around April 23. On the 24th, Tolson launched the main attack to capture and set up a base at the airstrip. The 1st Battalion reached A Luoi, and Tolson called in the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Cavalry, 3rd Brigade. The 1st Brigade of the 1st Air Cav landed on April 25 and secured the runway. Engineering detachments arrived and worked throughout the night and into the next day to get the old French airstrip ready to accept Air Force cargo planes for the first time in two years. The weather got worse on the morning of the 26th, when Army Chinooks brought an Air Force airlift control team into A Luoi to set up drop zones adjacent to the runway until the airfield could be prepared for the landings. Twelve Air Force C-130 missions were to begin the supply drops. Three C-130As and five C-130Es would load at Cam Ranh, and four C-130Bs would come out of Bien Hoa near Saigon. By noon, each of the 12 C-130s had dropped, while some had made second drops and some were on the ground in Da Nang to refuel and reload for second missions. With a low ceiling of dense clouds, flying was difficult for helicopters, but it was downright treacherous for the lumbering C-130 cargo planes. The planes were to approach from the northwest, fly down the center of the valley to the drop zone and then depart with a climbing right-hand turn, according to an account by Sam McGowan in Trash Haulers: The Story of the

y early afternoon, the Air Force C-130s were scheduled to begin landing and delivering the hundreds of tons of material that U.S. troops would need as they continued the A Shau Valley operation. This was a big Air Force story, and I was ordered to be on the first cargo plane to land at the A Luoi airstrip so I could interview the 1st Cav troopers about the importance of the Air Force resupply missions and tactical air support. I left Da Nang around noon bound for the C-130, but on the way to the terminal I realized that I had forgotten the hometown interview consent forms, which the soldiers had to sign giving me permission to use their names in radio broadcasts. I went back to the office to get them and missed the flight. Sergeant Joe Olexa, my boss, told me to get the next C-130, due to depart in a few hours. We received word in Da Nang two hours later that the first plane scheduled to land in the A Shau Valley—the one I missed—had been shot down. All six crew members and two Air Force combat photographers, who were also sent to document the mission, perished. Around 3 p.m., I was on another C-130 bound for the A Shau. As the plane descended steeply into the valley, periodically visible through an occasional hole in the overcast, I couldn’t help but think about the doomed flight I had missed by mere minutes and was greatly relieved when we landed safely. That gave me a burst of energy, and I immediately went in search of a 1st Air Cav trooper to interview. I came across one sitting on a bunker holding a small mirror while shaving with water from his helmet. I startled him as I approached, causing him to nick his chin. “Damn,” he said. “Sorry, man.” I introduced myself and asked, “Would you be interested in taping an interview for the radio stations back in your hometown?” “Sure.” As soon as I put the microphone to his mouth, he began to talk freely about the C-130 that had been shot down. He said that the 1st Air Cav had mounted an assault against the Ap Bia Mountain positions that had downed the plane, and after several hours of close combat they had captured the anti-aircraft guns. “Otherwise,” he said, “the plane you came in on today might have SSG LUIS DACURRO/U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE: PFC ROBERT F. FROMM/U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

32

VIETNA M

1st Cav Division (Airmobile) NICKNAME

“First Team” VIETNAM WAR SERVICE

1965-1972: The first full division deployed to Vietnam and the longest-serving division-size unit STRENGTH

About 16,000; Exact number varied CASUALTIES

• Most of any Army division • Killed: 5,464 (14% of U.S. Army deaths) • Wounded: 26,592 NOTABLE WEAPON SYSTEMS

• Artillery: 105mm howitzer (division artillery); 155mm howitzer (when attached) • Aerial Rocket Artillery: 2.75mm rockets (helicopter mounted) • Attack Helicopters: UH-1 gunships (machine guns, rockets); Bell AH-1 Cobra gunships (machine guns, rockets, grenade launcher) ORGANIZATION

• Airmobile Infantry Brigades: Three brigades, each with several battalions • Division Artillery: Observation helicopter battalion, aerial rocket artillery battalion, three 105mm howitzer battalions • Aviation Group: Two Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” assault helicopter battalions; one Boeing CH-47 Chinook assault support helicopter battalion • Division Support: Signal, maintenance, medical, admin, etc., in five battalions and two companies • Division Troops: Engineers, military police, military intelligence, etc., in two battalions, two companies and one detachment

CH-47 Chinooks haul artillery pieces and ammo to firebases in the valley.

AUG.

FEB.

Advance party arrives in Vietnam

Operation Pershing

JAN.-FEB.

MARCH

APRIL-MAY

Tet Offensive

The division departs for Fort Hood, Texas (minus 3rd Brigade)

NVA’s Easter Offensive (3rd Brigade)

APRIL

Operation Pegasus

SEPT.

Main body arrives in Vietnam

APRIL-MAY

Operation Delaware

NOV.

Battle of Ia Drang

1965

1966

1967

1968

JUNE

3rd Brigade departs (minus Task Force Garry Owen, 1st Battalion, 7th Cav)

MAY-JUNE

Cambodian incursion

1969

AUG.

Garry Owen departs Vietnam

1970

1971

1972 O C T O B E R 2015

33

been shot down too.” I never mentioned to him that, but for some forgotten paperwork, I would have been on the downed C-130. Next, I sought out an officer who might provide an overall perspective on Operation Delaware. The 1st Cav—with assistance from the 101st Airborne Division, the 196th Light Infantry Brigade and Army of the Republic of Vietnam troops—had succeeded in retaking the valley. I spoke with someone more than willing to talk about the operation, Captain Rod Grannemann of New Haven, Missouri, commander of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, another 1st Air Cav unit involved in Operation Delaware. “We’ve been quite successful in digging up caches, finding probably the biggest arms and weapons cache in the Vietnam War,” he said, referring to speculation that the NVA had been stockpiling weapons in the A Shau Valley for a planned invasion of the south. “It consisted of something like over 1,500 rifles, 20 or 30 kinds of ammunition, several 37mm anti-aircraft guns.” The 1st Cav troops also found food, clothing, medicine, petroleum storage areas and a small fleet of Soviet-made trucks. Grannemann added that “about half of the rifles were Soviet-made.” The die-hard NVA fighters still in A Shau were wellentrenched, and dislodging them took a closely coordinated effort between tactical air, infantry and artillery. “The teamwork here in A Shau Valley is probably the best I’ve seen in my tour of Vietnam,” Grannemann said. “The support from the tactical air, the close support we’ve been getting from our own organic artillery, plus the resupply missions dropped by the C-130s have really kept us alive out here. Most of the artillery ammunition has been coming in by air drop.” He explained the plan that was used to root out the enemy fighters with minimum of casualties and take the weapons they were guarding. “Initially, of course, we rely on our artillery,” Grannemann said, “because it’s really responsive—30 seconds to a minute we can have artillery fire out there. But of course the light artillery,

the 105 to 155 that we’re operating with here in the valley, cannot begin to penetrate this bunker entrenchment work that the enemy has dug in around this place.” To finish the job, fighter planes with 500-, 750- and 2,000pound bombs were needed, he said, adding, “These guys have been just outstanding in their support. They’ve dropped it right where we wanted it… and as a result casualties were reduced to a very, very minimum.” If the 1st Cav ran into a large enemy force, it would pull back, call in more airstrikes and then go back in and try to take the territory, Grannemann said. For example, the big arms and weapons cache had been guarded by a security force, so “we got airstrike after airstrike in there from F-100s, F-4Cs,” he said. “These guys really put the eggs right where we wanted them, and when we went back in there about four days later we met no resistance whatsoever.” Grannemann looked at a row of makeshift white wooden crosses representing the fallen cavalrymen of his company, and he expressed admiration for the esprit de corps of those who had carried out Operation Delaware, contradicting what the pundits were saying about the low morale of American fighters, particularly after the Tet Offensive, which they characterized as a moral victory for Communist forces. “I’m an old artilleryman, and I transferred to the infantry about seven months ago,” Grannemann continued. “Since I’ve been a company commander, my respect for ‘Joe Snuffy,’ the PFC with the rifle, the guy that really takes the brunt of the war and takes the most casualties, has just grown something tremendously. This man goes out there and plods along day after day, after day, after day, he’s laying his life on the line 24 hours a day.” He continued: “I’ve got kids in my company from every walk of life back in the States. I’ve got a kid who can’t read or write, I’ve got some rich kids, I’ve got some hippies, you know, the free love and free society type from California, but when it comes to Under blue skies on April 24, 1968, choppers fly to an A Shau landing zone.

BETTMAN/CORBIS; OPPOSITE: PFC ROBERT F. FROMM/U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

34

VIETNA M

teamwork these guys have one thing in mind and that’s to accomplish the mission of the company and get out of this thing alive.”

A

s night fell, along with more rain, I curled up on the ground to sleep outside a bunker that was filled to capacity. It was the first time I had been cold in Vietnam. In the middle of the night someone placed a rain poncho over me, and I was able to sleep off and on. The next morning, the air drops resumed when the rain stopped for a while, and I flew out of the valley on a chopper to Da Nang. The weather improved over the next few days, allowing 100 air drops to be made. Then on May 9, torrential rain with thunder and lightning returned, forcing Tolson to temporarily halt operations in the valley. His troopers hunkered down under any cover they could find, and the A Luoi airstrip slowly began to wash away in the hard rain. Engineers worked frantically to keep the strip open, but it was an impossible job. On May 11, after another day of heavy rain, Tolson ended Operation Delaware and ordered a withdrawal. Although Westmoreland considered the operation a success, some might question the wisdom of launching an offensive that required substantial air support at the onset of the rainy season when landing cargo planes through an overcast sky onto a dirt airstrip would be difficult. Perhaps the powers that be felt that the 1st Air Cav, with its ability to conduct lightning assaults, could get the job done before the rains came—and its troopers did, for the most part. They captured tons of enemy war materiel and killed 739 NVA soldiers. But they also suffered 130 of the 142 U.S. and South Vietnamese deaths in the operation, as well as 530 wounded. Helicopter losses totaled two dozen Hueys, two Chinooks and a Sikorsky CH-54 Skycrane. It could be said that Operation Delaware set the enemy back enough in the A Shau Valley that American and South Vietnamese forces were able to defeat them there nearly one year later in the bloody, meat-grinder battle on Ap Bia, which became known as Hamburger Hill. After that costly victory, Maj. Gen. John Wright, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, the unit primarily involved in taking it, contended that there was nothing to be gained by occupying the hill and tying down a battalion in a defensive role. He ordered U.S. forces to withdraw, and the NVA became entrenched on Ap Bia once again as the frustrating war of attrition continued in A Shau Valley. ★

To listen to Mike Shepherd’s radio interviews with 1st Cav troopers, go to www.historynet.com/vietnam. Mike D. Shepherd was a reporter with the Seventh Air Force Combat News Unit in Da Nang. He now writes about his time in Southeast Asia during the war.

A rare aerial view of the valley reveals hundreds of craters in the 25-mile-long bottomland.

O C T O B E R 2015

35

A Navy F-4B Phantom of fighter squadron VF-21, from the carrier Midway, drops Mark 82 bombs over Vietnam in 1965. Its missions included attacks on the Dragon’s Jaw bridge at Thanh Hoa.

For most of the Vietnam War, U.S. planes failed to destroy a key bridge at Thanh Hoa. Then came the smart bomb. by Don Hollway

SLAYING THE

DRAGON O

peration Rolling Thunder. Its very name evoked, no shoot the missile, and then you guide it.” doubt intentionally, waves of U.S. carpet-bombers Because the pilot had to steer each missile, he could fire obliterating the cities of World War II Germany only one round at a time. Returning to fire again gave enemy and Japan. But the tactical air campaign against anti-aircraft artillery another shot. As Smith put it: “Rule North Vietnam, beginning in March 1965, required number one is, you never go back for a second time around.” pinpoint accuracy against enemy infrastructure: “Communist Risner had learned that the hard way on March 22 when he concrete and steel,” said President Lyndon B. Johnson, “not circled back to check on a gun emplacement he thought he had human lives.” On April 3 more than 80 American jet fighters, knocked out, and his plane was hit. Risner was forced to ditch bombers, tankers and camera planes attacked one bridge, 80 it in the Gulf of Tonkin. (“You never get good enough,” he told miles south of Hanoi, carrying enemy troops, supplies, trains Time magazine. “A complacent pilot gets killed.”) On April 3, and vehicles over the Ma River, at the village of Thanh Hoa. as Risner pulled out of his second run of the day over Thanh Eight-victory Korean War ace Lt. Col. Robinson Risner, Hoa, his Thunderchief took a hit. His plane leaking fuel, the commanding Republic F-105D Thunderchiefs of the 67th cockpit full of smoke, unable to reach Korat, Risner managed to Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Korat, Thailand, planned to nurse the crippled Thud south across the Demilitarized Zone to apply almost 100 tons of high explosive to the bridge. Thirty Da Nang. Two other pilots weren’t so lucky. A North American F-105s each carried eight 750-pound M117 bombs, the largest F-100D Super Sabre flown by 1st Lt. George C. Smith was lost to then available in theater, and 16 carried secret weapons: a pair anti-aircraft fire, and he went missing in action. Captain Herschel S. of the new AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground guided missiles. Morgan’s McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo also was hit but made it 75 The Bullpup packed only a 250-pound charge miles southwest of Thanh Hoa before going down. but could apply it precisely on target, even when Morgan would spend the rest of the war as a prisoner. Hanoi fired from 12,000 feet. On schedule at 2 p.m. local It was all for nothing. Many of the free-fall bombs Thanh time on April 3, Risner launched his No. 1 missile. had missed the bridge altogether. Risner’s third in Hoa Bridge The Bullpup was a guided missile, but not a command, Captain Bill Meyerholt, confirmed that Gulf of Tonkin self-guided missile. “The worst part about [the his own Bullpup made a direct hit but with no result. AGM-12] is you got to stay with it,” said Lieutenant Sheer brute force—250 pounds of explosive, 750 (later Admiral) Leighton “Snuffy” Smith, of attack pounds of explosive, 100 tons of explosive—wasn’t squadron VA-22 from the carrier USS Coral Sea, enough to drop the Thanh Hoa Bridge. DMZ who recalled firing a Bullpup at a bridge on his The seemingly indestructible structure was Da Nang first mission over Vietnam. “In other words, you erected by the Chinese after the original bridge, built NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NAVAL AVIATION, 1996.253.7262.007; MAP: KEVIN JOHNSON

O C T O B E R 2015

37

by the French colonial government, was destroyed in 1945 when Viet Minh Communist rebels rammed two explosive-packed locomotives head-on, midspan. The replacement bridge, dedicated in 1964 by no less than North Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, held psychological as well as military importance. The steel span, 540 feet long and 56 feet wide, was supported by a central concrete pier 16 feet thick. It had a 12-foot center strip for the 1-meter-gauge Rail Line No. 4 and 22-foot roadways on each side of the tracks for Highway 1A. Hills at both ends, Mount Dragon and Jade Mountain, not only provided the span with solid-rock anchors but also channeled attacking planes into predictable paths. Locals called the bridge Ham Rong, the Dragon’s Jaw. American pilots would learn that it was full of teeth and fire.

A

that Le and two wingmen were lost in a valiant dogfight, but the Americans claimed no kills and the MiGs likely fell to their own flak around Thanh Hoa. Of 27 bridges targeted in Rolling Thunder, 26 were down by mid-May. Despite 300 more bombs dropped on it and holes blown through it, with pulverized approaches around it and sagging beams beneath it, the Dragon’s Jaw—overbuilt and repaired around the clock—was still operational. The Air Force planned to employ 3,000-pound M118 demolition bombs and an enlarged “Big Bullpup” with a 1,000-pound warhead to take out the Thanh Hoa Bridge. But those plans were interrupted in November with the formation of a route package system for the air war. This set up a half-dozen bombing zones in North Vietnam, divided between the Air Force and Navy. The Dragon’s Jaw, in Route Pack 4, became the Navy’s problem.

t 11 a.m. on April 4 the F-105s were headed back to Thanh Hoa—48 of them with eight M117 bombs apiece. (They left the ineffective Bullpups at home.) Low clouds and haze ver the summer of 1965, 19 pilots went down on misdictated bomb runs on a heading of 300 degrees, east to west, sions around Thanh Hoa. On September 9 Commander which meant egress over hostile ground rather than the sea. This (later Vice Adm.) James Stockdale flew a Douglas A-4E time Risner stayed high to observe the enemy’s response. His No. 3, Skyhawk against the bridge. Finding that target socked in by rain Captain Carlyle Harris, led the way down and released his war clouds, he decided to attack a railway siding about 5 miles west load at approximately 4,000 feet, but before he could pull out, of Highway 1. Stockdale was shot down, and the next evening the fast-diving Thud was at 1,000, an easy target. Unknown to he got a unique view of the bridge when he was trucked across the Americans, the North Vietnamese had brought heavy 57mm it as a captive. “It was the Dragon’s Jaw for sure, the one I had guns to Thanh Hoa during the night. left the [aircraft carrier] Oriskany the Harris’ F-105 was hit in the tail and was day before to knock down,” Stockdale The Dragon’s Jaw, last seen trailing flame as it disappeared said. “There were signalmen, and all pasaccording to local lore, into the low clouds. Harris survived but sage was single-file due to cumulative would be held prisoner for eight years. bombing damage. I could look up in the “was the latch that held As the four bomb-laden Thuds in reflected light and see that the girders [the Earth] together.” Major Frank E. Bennett’s flight orbited had been twisted and bent by impacts, the strike zone waiting their turn to atprobably 500-pounders.” tack, four MiG-17 “Frescos” burst from the clouds onto their tails. Just a week later, as part of the joint Navy–Air Force “Iron MiG pilot Tran Hanh of the 1st Company, 921st Fighter Hand” campaign to attack surface-to-air missiles, Risner learned Regiment, Vietnam People’s Air Force, told the Vietnam Cou- firsthand how thick the anti-aircraft artillery had become around rier in April 1965, “I immediately gave orders to attack the Thanh Hoa. Hit 10 miles northeast of the bridge, he ejected first F-105 which I believed was the leader.” He cut loose on into the midst of battle. “I had never heard such a thunder of Captain James A. Magnusson’s Thud, part of Bennett’s flight, gunfire in my life,” he said. “It was a constant, awesome roar.” with cannon fire from just 1,500 feet. “The U.S. plane reeled Risner would spend seven years as a POW. and nosed downward into the fog,” Tran explained. “When By May 1966 Carrier Task Force 77—operating from Yankee I zoomed [by] I clearly saw the white cap of the pilot in the Station, an area in the Gulf of Tonkin used as a staging area for cockpit before the plane crashed headlong on the ground.” Navy airstrikes in North Vietnam—had targeted the Thanh Leading the second pair of MiGs, Le Minh Huan closed Hoa Bridge two dozen times, using 65 aircraft and almost 130 to within a few hundred feet of Bennett’s F-105 before firing. tons of bombs. Attack squadron VA-146 Commander (later “Hardly had a few seconds elapsed when a flare was seen at its Vice Adm.) Robert F. Dunn remembered the Dragon’s Jaw as tail,” Tran reported. “Ten seconds after, the U.S. plane belched “a big trestle bridge that stood out from everything else so out a red flame followed with smoke and dived into the fog.” well that we felt we just had to get it. After a while it became a Bennett fought his flaming Thud around, headed out to sea symbol, to both the Vietnamese and us. The approaches to the and ditched, but drowned. F-100 Super Sabres of the 416th bridge looked like the craters of the moon, and there was an Tactical Fighter Squadron sent two Sidewinder missiles and a inordinate amount of [anti-aircraft artillery] in the vicinity.” stream of 20mm shells after the fleeing MiGs. Tran declared If the American bombers ever did succeed in blowing up the

38

VIETNA M

O

Dragon’s Jaw, according to local lore recalled by Snuffy Smith, the lieutenant with VA-22, “the Earth would open up and fall apart, because this was the latch that held it together.” Finally, the Air Force Armament Development and Test Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida offered a key: Project 1559, a 4,000-pound “mass focus” mine, which resembled a hockey puck 8 feet across and almost 3 feet thick—so big it required a transport plane to deploy it. The bomb, dropped upstream, was intended to float down the river until set off under the bridge by a magnetic fuze. The shaped charge was designed to focus the explosion straight up. Based on the tests at Eglin, there would be a 1-kiloton blast effect 20 to 30 feet above the point of detonation. In May 1966, 10 of those mines, loaded onto two C-130E Hercules transports, were sent to Vietnam under the code name “Carolina Moon.” Major Richard T. Remers took off from Da Nang at 12:25 a.m. on May 30, flying his Hercules up the coast at just 100 feet above the ocean to avoid detection. As he turned inland for the 17-minute run over hostile territory, a Douglas EB-66 Destroyer, an electronic warfare aircraft, jammed enemy radars,

Battle of the Bridge Mark 82

Mark 84

M117

and four McDonnell F-4C Phantoms conducted a diversionary attack 15 miles south of the bridge. At the drop point 7,000 feet upriver, Remers slowed to 150 mph and popped up to 400 feet. His crew slid five mines off the rear ramp, each slowed by a pair of 64-foot parachutes, and then the Hercules ran for Tonkin at treetop level. Dawn reconnaissance runs, however, revealed no trace of the mines or any damage to the bridge. Believing the river level was low and the bombs had run aground short of the target, mission planners decided to try again the following night. Major Thomas F. Case flew the backup Hercules, assisted by navigator 1st Lt. William “Rocky” Edmondson, a veteran of the first attack. They took off at 1:10 a.m. and were never seen again. The crew from one accompanying Phantom reported seeing heavy anti-aircraft fire near the bridge, followed by a bright flash. Another F-4 on the mission was shot down. Come daylight, reconnaissance and rescue planes found no bridge damage, no Hercules and no Phantom. Presumably, one plane sank in the river and the other in the Gulf. Project Carolina Moon, which cost $600,000, was quietly shelved.

These aircraft and bombs were involved in Thanh Hoa Bridge battle from April 3, 1965, to Oct. 6, 1972, when the bridge fell.

M118

TYPE

TYPE

TYPE

TYPE

Generalpurpose bomb (unguided)

Generalpurpose bomb (unguided)

Generalpurpose bomb (unguided)

Generalpurpose bomb (unguided)

AGM-12 Bullpup

AGM-62 Walleye I

TYPE

TYPE

TYPE

Air-to-ground missile (manual)

Glide bomb (TV guided)

Glide bomb (TV guided)

MK 5 Walleye II

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

WEIGHT

500 lbs.

2,000 lbs.

750 lbs.

3,000 lbs.

1,800 lbs.

1,125 lbs.

2,340 lbs.

CHARGE

CHARGE

CHARGE

CHARGE

CHARGE

CHARGE

CHARGE

192 lbs.

945 lbs.

400 lbs.

1,975 lbs.

250 lbs.

825 lbs.

2,000 lbs.

A-4E Skyhawk, “Scooter”

F-100D Super Sabre, “Hun”

F-105D Thunderchief, “Thud”

F-4C Phantom II, “Rhino”

A-6 Intruder, “Tadpole”

A-7 Corsair II, “Sluf”

MiG-17, “Fresco”

TYPE

TYPE

TYPE

TYPE

Interceptor/ fighter-bomber CREW 2

Medium attack bomber CREW 2

Light attack bomber CREW 1

North Vietnam’s fighter aircraft CREW 1

TYPE

TYPE

Light attack bomber CREW 1

Fighter CREW 1

MAX. SPEED

Mach 1.3

MAX. SPEED

MAX. SPEED

MAX. SPEED

MAX. SPEED

MAX. SPEED

Mach .88

ARMAMENT

Mach 2.08

Mach 2.2

Mach .84

Mach .9

Mach .93

ARMAMENT

Four 20mm cannons, up to 7,000 lbs. of bombs and missiles

ARMAMENT

ARMAMENT

ARMAMENT

ARMAMENT

ARMAMENT

One 20mm cannon, up to 14,000 lbs. of bombs and missiles

Up to 18,650 lbs. of bombs and missiles MISSILES

Up to 18,000 lbs. of bombs and missiles

Mark 84, M117, Bullpup, Walleye II

One 20mm cannon, up to 15,000 lbs. of bombs and missiles

Mark 82 and 84, M118, Walleye I

One 37mm cannon, two 23mm cannons, up to 1,100 lbs. of bombs and missiles

Two 20mm cannons, up to 9,900 lbs. of bombs and missiles MISSILES

Mark 82 and 84, Walleye I and II

SILHOUETTES: KEVIN JOHNSON

MAX. SPEED

MISSILES

Mark 82 and 84, M117, M118, Walleye I

TYPE

Fighter-bomber CREW 1

MISSILES

Mark 82 and 84, M117, M118, Bullpup, Walleye II

MISSILES

MISSILES

Mark 82 and 84, M117, Bullpup, Walleye I and II

O C T O B E R 2015

39

An American airstrike targets the Thanh Hoa Bridge in May 1967.

The Naval Ordnance Test Center at China Lake, California, where the heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile was invented, came up with other technology to target and destroy a specific point: a TV camera in the nose of the AGM-62 Walleye glide bomb, enabling the weapon to “see” and lock on to a spot designated from a cockpit screen. The glide bomb could be released from up to 16 miles away. On March 12, 1967, A-4E Skyhawks of VA-21 from USS Bon Homme Richard dropped three 1,100-pound Walleyes over Thanh Hoa. All three struck within 5 feet of the designated aim point, yet they failed to drop the Dragon’s Jaw. By November 1968 almost 700 sorties had been flown against the bridge, to no avail. That month Rolling Thunder was discontinued to encourage the North Vietnamese to negotiate. They instead used the lull to rebuild their infrastructure, including the Dragon’s Jaw, strengthening it with additional concrete piers. The American military-industrial complex, meanwhile, continued working just as hard to devise ways to blow it up. The Armament Development lab at Eglin and Texas Instruments Inc. were exploring military uses for laser beams. In April 1965, the same month attacks began on the Thanh Hoa, they attached to an M117 bomb a new guidance system called “precision avionics vectoring equipment,” or a Pave set: canard steering fins, flick-out rear stabilizer wings and a laser-seeker on the bomb’s nose. During a U.S. airstrike, a plane operating from a safe distance would use a laser to “paint” an impact point on a target. A “Paveway” bomb could then home on the reflected light. Pave, which included a TV-guided Paveway 2 version, was a relatively cheap guidance system that could turn any free-fall munition into a self-guiding smart bomb. But 40

VIETNA M

with the bombing restrictions imposed after Rolling Thunder ended, Paveway was a system with few targets.

O

n March 30, 1972, the North Vietnamese Army launched what came to be known as the Easter Offensive, an attack on the northern and central sections of South Vietnam with 200,000 to 300,000 troops. At noon about 30,000 NVA soldiers poured across the Demilitarized Zone, backed by heavy armor and artillery, much of which had crossed over the Thanh Hoa Bridge. In response, U.S. forces instituted a new full-scale bombing campaign, Operation Linebacker. By then, the United States retained only half the aircraft it had in Vietnam in 1968, but they were much improved, the Air Force’s F-100 and F-105 having been largely superseded by the F-4, and the Navy’s A-4 by the Grumman A-6 Intruder and Ling-Temco-Vought A-7 Corsair II. On April 27, seven years after the Dragon’s Jaw was first bombed, Phantoms of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing from Ubon, Thailand, attacked the bridge. Although weather over Thanh Hoa blocked laser use, they hit it with five 2,000-pound TV-guided Paveway 2 bombs. Though still standing, the bridge could bear no more than foot traffic. The Phantoms returned on May 13 with 48 500-pound conventional bombs, plus 15 2,000-pound and nine 3,000-pound laser Paveways. The guided bombs didn’t just strike the bridge; they all struck the same point on the bridge. When the smoke cleared, its western end had been blown completely off its abutment. Through the summer of 1972 the North Vietnamese worked frantically to maintain their lifeline to the South, while the United States kept bringing down the hammer. After six years Snuffy Smith returned as a lieutenant commander with VA-82 LT J.G. HART/U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE: U.S. AIR FORCE/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Air Force F-4C Phantom II fighter-bombers blast the Thanh Hoa Bridge in May 1972 with conventional and laser-guided bombs, knocking down the western section.

aboard USS America to find that the Dragon’s Jaw still had not been taken out. “One of the ends of the bridges had been knocked down, and it was literally settled out, but the bridge was still up,” Smith said. “I mean, you take a picture of it, and there’s a bridge there, and the intel guys said, ‘They’re still using the bridge.’ So we continued to try and knock it down.” His first attempt, with A-7s and Walleyes on Oct. 4, 1972, didn’t go as planned. “When we rolled in,” Smith recalled, “my weapon came off but it got hit by a 30mm shell. It disintegrated as soon as it left my airplane, or at least became stupid.” Two days later Smith and his wingman, Lt. j.g. Marv Baldwin, each packed a pair of 2,000-pound “Fat Albert” Walleye IIs, developed especially for tough targets like the Dragon’s Jaw. “We rolled in simultaneously,” recalled Smith. “Pulled the power back, popped the speed brakes, and we got our scopes locked on to the bridge and I said, ‘lock-on.’ Once everyone confirmed that they had locked-on, I counted ‘three, two, one, launch,’ and Marv and I both pickled them at the same time.” Squadron commanding officer Don Sumner and Lt. j.g. Jim Brewster followed up, each with a pair of one-ton Mark 84 general-purpose bombs. “They hit the bridge on the west side of the center piling, and that’s where it broke in half,” Smith said. “In fact there was so much smoke and crap around there, we didn’t know whether we’d hit it and done any damage or not. Later that afternoon, [a North American] RA-5 Vigilante came through and took a picture, and when we looked at [it], we finally knew that the bridge was down for good.” Even with its western span lying in the river, nobody seemed able to believe that the Dragon’s Jaw had finally been broken. “I got assigned to Thanh Hoa Bridge about three days later,

because it happened to show up on the target list,” Smith remembered. “I said, ‘What in the living hell are you guys doing? I mean, how many airplanes do you want to lose? This thing is in the water. Look at this picture. Read my lips: We don’t want to go back.’ And they said, ‘Well, that’s because it’s on the target list; and they may be trying to build it back.’ I said, ‘Come on, you know, they’re going to take years to build this thing back.’” The United States was effectively out of the war when the Thanh Hoa Bridge reopened in 1973. In early 1975 much of the North’s invasion force flowed over it on the way to finally conquering the South. Today the bridge, still a vital link between north and south Vietnam, is the site of a national historical park. Contrary to legend, the world hadn’t come apart with the breaking of the Dragon’s Jaw, but the nature of air combat changed forever. A total of 104 American pilots had been shot down within 75 square miles of the Thanh Hoa Bridge before a handful of smart bombs put it out of business. An Air Force historian called Operation Linebacker, which ran from May to October 1972, “the first modern aerial campaign in which precision guided munitions changed the way in which air power was used.” Superseded by the AGM-65 Maverick missile, the Walleye glide bomb was retired shortly after Operation Desert Storm in 1991, but the Paveway system soldiers on with more than a dozen Western militaries. Those American pilots taking out buildings and bridges around Baghdad and plinking individual Iraqi tanks with 500-pound bombs owed something to their fathers, who led the way in the skies over Thanh Hoa. ★ Don Hollway is an author and historian who has written for several World History Group magazines. O C T O B E R 2015

41

I’M NOT ALONE DOWN HERE! A TUNNEL RAT’S WORST FEAR was coming face to face with Viet Cong fighters in one of the underground structures dug by the enemy to conceal weapons, supplies and soldiers preparing for attacks on U.S. troops. The tunnels contained sleeping quarters, kitchens, hospitals, training centers, communications equipment, planning areas and other facilities to support Viet Cong operations. Often the dead were hidden in tunnel graves to distort the U.S. count of enemy casualties. The largest complex of tunnels, covering about 125 miles, was in the Saigon area. When U.S. troops found a tunnel entrance, a specially trained team of volunteers, known as “tunnel exploration personnel,” were lowered into the hole to search for enemy supplies and soldiers. A tunnel rat often carried only a flashlight, knife and pistol. Sometimes when a tunnel rat discovered he was not alone, the only way out was victory in fierce hand-to-hand combat. 42

V IETN A M

SSG ROBERT R. ELLIS/U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Climbing back to a tunnel entrance after seeing a suspected Viet Cong below, Pfc. James P. Laurie, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), asks for an M16 rifle during Operation Pershing near An Khe in March 1967.

Right: Goodson talks with members of the recon section who are searching inside the tunnel. Next to him is Staff Sgt. John Bohannon.

44

V IETN A M

SSG ROBERT R. ELLIS/U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES (2); OPPOSITE: U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Above: Sticking his head into a Viet Cong tunnel, Spc. 4 Robert Martin looks for booby traps as Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Goodson adds another pair of eyes. The two men are tunnel rats in the S-2 Reconnaissance Section of the 168th Engineer Battalion (Combat), participating in Operation Cedar Falls in the Iron Triangle northwest of Saigon in January 1967.

Deep down in a Viet Cong tunnel complex in the Iron Triangle near Saigon, Spc. 4 Gary Cebula, an engineer in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, comes across the remains of a campfire in 1967.

In August 1965, a member of the 3rd Marine Division demonstrates the use of a Viet Cong tunnel that was connected to a village.

46

VIETNA V IETN AM M

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; PAUL STEPHANUS; U.S. MARINE CORPS/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

A tunnel rat of the 173rd Airborne Brigade wears a mask that helps to filter air far below the surface during a 1967 mission.

A soldier who volunteered to be a tunnel rat goes through training at a mock tunnel in Da Nang.

William Padgett, a chief aviation electronics technician, adjusts the video controls on a Lockheed Super Constellation, one of the Navy’s Blue Eagle aircraft, broadcasting in the Mekong Delta on Oct. 30, 1967.

ARE WE

COMING

IN

?

CLEAR

Flying radio and TV stations make broadcast history in Vietnam during the Navy’s Project Jenny By Rick Fredericksen

S

even months after Marines hit the ground in Da Nang in March 1965, officially becoming the first U.S. ground combat forces in the Vietnam War, a lone Navy aircraft departed Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon with a surprise, nonlethal weapon. It would bring immediate support to the American buildup and, over the coming months, would transform Vietnamese culture on both sides of the conflict. Fifty years ago, on October 6, a Lockheed NC-121J Super Constellation turned loose its payload: a live radio broadcast of the 1965 World Series. Anyone within range could tune in a receiver, even a cheap transistor radio, and listen to the opening game between Los Angeles and Minnesota; the Dodgers’ Don Drysdale versus the Twins’ Jim “Mudcat” Grant. The NBC broadcast, announced by Joe Garagiola and Byrum “By” Saam, came from Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. The signal was relayed around the globe and intercepted by airborne technicians who retransmitted the program

OPPOSITE: PH1 R.E. WOODS/U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; ABOVE: HERITAGE AUCTIONS, DALLAS

A 1965 World Series game was broadcast to Vietnam via an airborne radio station.

over AM and shortwave radio to eager fans below listening in Vietnam and at sea. The play-by-play broadcast was a breakthrough success for the Navy program code-named Project Jenny, and it was only a sneak preview of what the military had in mind. The World Series broadcast was designed to test the concept of a fully functioning flying radio station, complete with built-in transmitters and antennas. Radio was already available in Vietnam via traditional ground stations operated by American Forces Radio Saigon, but there had never been a sustained live aerial broadcast like that historic ballgame, which lasted two hours and 29 minutes before the Twins prevailed 8-2. But there was a broader vision for Project Jenny that was mind-boggling and nothing short of revolutionary: U.S. military planes would introduce television service to Vietnam, a country with no TV stations. Project Jenny began an experimental venture and became part of the Oceanographic Air Survey Unit, which was established in the summer of 1965 at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland O C T O B E R 2015

49

I

A Blue Eagle as a collection of technology-oriented programs n late 1964 Navy Captain George Dixon, a World circles above with novel missions. War II veteran, was recalled to active duty to head Saigon in Military leaders, however, had more in mind Project Jenny. Dixon had been vice president of January 1967, than making The Beverly Hillbillies available to the Technical Materiel Corp., a defense contractor spegoing on the audience in South Vietnam. “Previous studies and cializing in communications systems. He would air from the research,” according to the written history of the become known as “the father of Project Jenny.” air for several hours during air survey unit, concluded that “television would Dixon explained in 1966 that the project was “being the evening. significantly contribute to the U.S. policy objectives designed to fight the enemy with ‘show and tell’… of rural pacification, urban stability, national unity, instead of bullets and men.” free world support and U.S. prestige in Vietnam.” Radio Corporation of America, a leading invenThe U.S. government had been researching tor and manufacturer in the expanding television airborne telecasting since the early 1960s, when industry, agreed to provide the equipment and the initial target was Communist Cuba. The Navy technical expertise for Project Jenny despite resbegan installing radio and TV equipment on two ervations about its feasibility. There were indeed prototype Douglas C-118 aircraft for many challenges, including the weight that mission, but the planes were not of the equipment and the difficulty of Armed Forces Vietnam outfitted in time to be deployed during fitting it all into such a small space. the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. As the The Navy assigned three NC-121J Network provided the on-air Vietnam War was ramping up, broadSuper Constellations to the project. talent to read live newscasts Technicians and mechanics immediately cast operations became a priority, not only for entertaining and informing U.S. from a small onboard studio. began to convert the 1950s-era transport troops, but also for psychological waraircraft into hi-tech radio and television fare campaigns using propaganda and stations. The aircraft became known as disinformation to deceive the enemy or encourage Blue Eagle I, Blue Eagle II and Blue Eagle III. Blue some to switch sides. Eagle I was deployed for the World Series broadcast The Project Jenny team planned to roll out TV and would remain radio-only. The other two Blue as a bilingual venture, with separate channels for Eagles would become TV birds, but they were capable English and Vietnamese speakers, while maintaining of simultaneously transmitting radio. capabilities for multiple radio missions. The airborne Working on Blue Eagles at Andrews Air Force TV mission was seen as temporary. It would end Base in Maryland, John Lucas, the senior technionce ground stations were up and running. cian for Project Jenny, had to dismember essential

50

VIETNA M

U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; OPPOSITE: PH3 REYNOLDS/U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

components of TV broadcasting equipment and retrofit them so they could be squeezed inside the Super Connies. “The challenge was to break it down so I could get two transmitters in there, get a whole television studio in there, get all the stuff that feeds videotape machines, film chains and all that stuff, get it packed in there so we could operate it and still be able to do any maintenance,” Lucas recalled. When Blue Eagle II was ready for an aerial performance check, Dixon, Lucas and an RCA engineer were all on board. “Aviation people said they refused to fly because the thing was overweight,” Lucas said. The crucial test flight took place in late 1965 above Washington, D.C. Lucas asked his wife to watch a specified channel at midnight when engineers would use a “function generator” to create a false signal sent to that channel. “We literally wiped out a broadcast station on the ground by jamming their signal,” Lucas said. “My wife saw squiggles on the screen. That was the intent; hands down it was a success.” The technicians then started work on Blue Eagle III, as an advance party arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base to establish Detachment Westpac, the Oceanographic Air Survey Unit’s operations center in Vietnam. The unit annexed an open space near the flight line and hastily built an improvised facility with tents, scrap lumber and shipping crates. “They wanted it on the air now,” said Jean LeRoy, an Air Force announcer on some 50 TV flights. “They

A video console, receivers, monitors and a small studio were squeezed inside the NC-121J Super Constellation.

wanted to show this presence. It was to let people know we were there.”

B

y January 1966, the two TV birds had joined Blue Eagle I in Saigon. South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky, U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge and General William Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, were all beaming for the dedication ceremony at the airport terminal, and of course, it was recorded for later broadcast. LeRoy was attached to American Forces Vietnam Network, which provided radio and TV shows to the troops, and ran the camera. “We had a full-size studio camera and had run cables into the airplane because that was the only place we had a VTR [videotape recorder],” he said. The “official” beginning of television in Vietnam was Feb. 6, 1966, with the premiere of regularly scheduled programs in two languages. AFVN was responsible for the English-language programming, which ran on Channel 11. Its staff would gather the films and videotapes for the night’s schedule. AFVN also provided the on-air talent to read live newscasts and announcements from a small onboard studio. The Vietnamese-language station, THVN, was broadcast on Channel 9. THVN provided Vietnamese news, entertainment and some chieu hoi, or “open arms,” programs to encourage Viet Cong defections. Air Force Master Sgt. Erich “Shelly” Blunt described that historic first night to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service newsletter: “Just for kicks, a few of O C T O B E R 2015

51

The television signals could be picked up by “rabbit ears” throughout the capital region.

Super Duper Blooper A psy-ops mistake nearly downs a Blue Eagle

Blunders are just part of the

tape recording meant for

Blue Eagle veteran, Jim Eanes,

business in live television.

Vietnamese radio.

was told that it was a psy-ops

Most of the fluffs and faux

when technicians, using a

enemy. Meanwhile, “the South

humorous, but an innocent

“humongous patch panel,”

Vietnamese air force thought

gaffe made by a Blue Eagle

were pumping music into

the Viet Cong had taken over

technician in 1968 had the

the plane’s internal speakers

the Blue Eagle and scrambled

potential to escalate into a

for the crew to listen to,

a couple F-5s.”

diplomatic kerfuffle. It was

according to Lt. j.g. Ralph

right after the Communists’

Koozer, who was in charge

through the squadron back in

Tet Offensive, a sensitive

of the broadcast technicians

the States, where Eanes heard

time with civilians and

on that flight. “It was a big

how the technical difficulty

the military still on edge.

brouhaha when we landed.

was resolved: “The American

Prime-time viewers were

I heard the skipper say the

crew was able to convince the

watching a Vietnamese-

Vietnamese were hopping

fighter pilots that it was an

language program when

mad and wanted to come up

unintended blooper. They’ve

the soundtrack was

and shoot down the plane.”

fixed it, and the correct audio

TV audience heard a

VIETNA M

broadcast intended for the

pas are harmless, often

mismatched, and a startled

52

The mix-up happened

Exactly what the audience heard is not clear, but another

The story circulated

was now going out.” —Rick Fredericksen

STEVE SHERMAN COLLECTION/THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE/TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, VAS056560; OPPOSITE, TOP TO BOTTOM: MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD/ALAMY; NBC/PHOTOFEST; MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD/ALAMY

us patrolled the area to see how TV was being received. The large round-about near the Brinks [Hotel] with the small park in the center was jam-packed with citizens like crazy, to see and hear. They placed two receivers on a platform about seven feet above the ground… it kind of reminded me of sitting in the last row at the Hollywood Bowl and trying to see the color of the eyes of the performer! In another place, this time in a bar not far from the Brinks, we noticed a large crowd of people on the street, seemingly hypnotized at what was going on inside.” For several hours every evening, the twin Constellations—flying on alternating nights—went on the air, from the air, circling the Saigon area, showering news and entertainment programs on viewers 10,000 to 12,000 feet below. “We’d fly a racetrack pattern, fly a leg, make a turn, and fly back,” said radio operator Dave Tice, recalling his time perched behind a Blue Eagle pilot in 1966. The signals could be picked up by “rabbit ears” antennas throughout the capital region. The black-and-white images seen in Saigon were wavy and rudimentary. Even SHOW: Bonanza ACTOR: Michael Landon so, viewers found them captivating. And WESTERN: 1959-73 the reception could be improved with better antennas set up by AFVN engineers. “Our engineers would make TV antennas, and I would trade those for all kinds of silly things,” LeRoy said. “Lobsters from the Navy, steaks from the Army, and we would have parties with all that stuff. The engineers knew exactly how to tune that antenna so it got that signal perfectly.” The Vietnamese and American chanSHOW: Laugh-In nels were telecast simultaneously, and the ACTRESS: Ruth Buzzi South Vietnamese government provided COMEDY, MUSIC: 1967-73 its own programs, but for locals and expatriates alike, American blockbusters such as Bonanza and Combat were among the favorites. The U.S. government distributed TV sets “for less than the cost of one load of bombs,” said U.S. Rep. Charles Chamberlain, a Michigan Republican. He considered television “a potent weapon,” that would help defeat the Viet Cong. “We SHOW: Combat were very proud to be over there,” said ACTOR: Vic Morrow ACTION, DRAMA: 1962-67 Jim Hicks, who flew on Blue Eagles in 1967 and 1968 and manages a website for

Project Jenny veterans, www.blueeaglesofvietnam. com. “I was especially very proud of trying to keep people alive instead of trying to kill people.” By the end of 1966, TV Guide reported that 46,000 receivers had been sold at post exchanges around Saigon. At one time, the PXs imported 10,000 sets a month and usually sold out. Television in Vietnam was becoming a hot commodity, but not everyone liked it. Two months after the telecasts began, the Viet Cong mortared Tan Son Nhut, where the Blue Eagles parked after their nightly telecasts. Senior Tech Lucas was still aboard Blue Eagle II when it sustained a direct hit. “I was inside cleaning up,” he said. “There was only one thing between me and the mortar [round], and that was the air conditioner.” The cooling unit, installed to keep the television equipment from overheating, saved his life, but the Eagles were damaged. Blue Eagle II was in bad shape; the others returned to service quickly. The nightly television schedule had to be scaled back for a month while Blue Eagle II underwent major repairs, including fixing a 2-foot gash in the fuselage. A couple of months later, Project Jenny was bolstered with the arrival of a third flying TV station, Blue Eagle VI. During the fall of 1966, the U.S. military started implementing plans to replace the aerial broadcast platforms with land-based facilities. In September, Westmoreland attended the ribbon-cutting to christen AFVN’s first ground station at Qui Nhon, a coastal town in central South Vietnam. He brandished a samurai sword and sliced through a videotape to inaugurate the station. The next station was in Da Nang, and in October AFVN’s new headquarters opened in Saigon near the U.S. Embassy, adjacent to a THVN-TV facility, which would soon be broadcasting in Vietnamese. The 300-foot tower was the tallest structure in Saigon and provided excellent TV coverage. With ground stations in several urban areas, the Blue Eagles could concentrate on the Vietnamese-speaking rural population in the Mekong Delta. “The State Department put generators and TVs in

Brought to you by the U.S. Navy

O C T O B E R 2015

53

the strategic hamlets and the larger cities,” said Jim Eanes, who was a 23-year-old ensign supervising the Blue Eagle technicians broadcasting the Vietnamese programs. “I’m sure it was all propaganda. It was entertainment and news for the government. They obviously were trying to win the hearts and minds of the population.”

T

he four-prop Constellations not only were bursting with TV equipment but also had to carry extra fuel for the generator that ran the broadcast electronics. The planes were always over takeoff weight, so they were equipped with four of the most powerful Wright 18-cylinder engines. “Some of the pilots commented the aircraft was a big, lumbering beast,” said technician Hicks. But radio-only plane Blue Eagle I, free of the heavy video gear and external TV antennas, “flew just fine,” said Navy pilot Chuck Monroe. Monroe was in control of the cockpit in 1968 when Blue Eagle I, based in Da Nang, flew “black radio” missions—special operations—originating off the coast of North Vietnam. “One night we heard radio chatter that MiGs were in the air,” the former lieutenant commander said. “A few minutes later we saw some unidentified aircraft whipping by, thought the worst and shagged ass out of there.” But the plane could have been an American aircraft, and the next day Monroe reminded the Special Operations Group that Blue Eagle I dragged a 1,000-foot-long antenna cable

Tan Son Nhut Air Base, just outside Saigon, was the operations center for the Blue Eagles.

through the air for broadcasting radio. “That could easily cut a wing off a jet, and it would be best to stay away from us,” Monroe cautioned his colleagues. His crew “did not see any more aircraft come close to us.” Blue Eagle I’s mission was the most mysterious of the Project Jenny Constellations. “One part of the mission was completely classified, and the other part was psy-ops,” Hicks said. Occasionally a “spook” accompanied the broadcast crew. “That person came aboard to operate radio equipment in the back of the aircraft behind a curtain,” Hicks said. Sometimes a Vietnamese public relations officer would join the flight. “He would listen to the news from Hanoi and take voluminous notes,” Hicks remembered. “As soon as that show was over, we would come up on the air, with our superior altitude, and override their program, and [he would] give the South Vietnamese version of the news, on their frequency.” As with any other television station, technical snafus sometimes interfered with programming. The constant vibrations of the big planes began to take a toll on broadcast equipment. A report in the files at AFVN states: “One evening, no less than five soldered connections in one tape recorder shook loose. Added to this, the rainy season with its turbulent air currents came along.” Entries in the program logs noted broadcast interruptions caused by a variety of problems: “Transmitter failure,” “probably bad amplifier,” “lost audio,” and “videotape machine kaput.” The most alarming log notation was a near

LEFT: ROBERT F. WITOWSKI/U.S. AIR FORCE/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; RIGHT: W1 G.A. MARSHALL/U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

54

VIETNA M

disaster: “At 19:15 a fire broke out in #4 engine. The small screen in darkened living rooms. On the streets supercharger blew smoke into the fuselage. So smoky of Saigon, young American military newscasters were the pilots couldn’t read instruments. At low altitude celebrities. Servicemen bought portable sets for their hatches open and smoke cleared.” The unidentified hooches, and the South Vietnamese government was writer concludes, “This was the closest a Blue Eagle learning how to spin its own news for the Vietnamese aircraft ever came to an actual ditching.” population, both friend and foe. The several hundred Lightning worried technician Eanes. “If you American military men who kept the Blue Eagles in the air had made television into Vietnam’s “social got hit on the nose of the aircraft there was this big media” of the ’60s. During Project Jenny’s first four blue ball of energy that would roll back through the years of operation, the TV squadron had logged an plane, and miraculously it hardly ever knocked out estimated 10,000 broadcast hours. any of the equipment,” he said. Five years after the World Series Aircraft electrician Ken Hassebroek, broadcast, Project Jenny’s final TV miswho took some choppy rides during the The men who kept the Blue sion was flown on Sept. 30, 1970, and rainy season, reported that “the Super Eagles in the air had made the entire project was wound down by Connie was a rugged aircraft through the end of the year. A network of reliable storms and through monsoons. It’s really television into Vietnam’s ground stations was providing a full aerodynamic with the three tails.” “social media” of the ’60s. schedule of programming over a wider There were other nerve-racking exreception area, with more sophisticated periences. Blue Eagle II was raked by a production techniques, live news, sports and specials .50-caliber machine gun during takeoff from Saigon than could ever be broadcast from an airplane. near the end of the Communists’ 1968 Tet Offensive. As primitive as the Blue Eagles might seem today, When AFVN’s ground station in Hue was overrun in one respect they were ahead of their time. Millions and knocked off the air during Tet, Project Jenny came of viewers still receive their television from platforms to the rescue. According to a detachment fact sheet, The Viet Cong hit Tan Son in the sky—except today, we call them satellites. ★ northern AFVN and THVN operations were rapidly Nhut during replaced by airborne telecasts from Blue Eagle flights. the 1968 Tet Rick Fredericksen, a Marine veteran, was an editor By the late 1960s television had become deeply Offensive, and and newscaster for American Forces Vietnam network rooted in South Vietnam’s everyday life. A growing Navy planes in Saigon in 1969-70 and a civilian reporter in Asia audience was watching the news, cultural programs fired back with rockets. and the Pacific for 13 years. and even Laugh-In, while gathered around a flickering

O C T O B E R 2015

55

‘SHORT ROAD TO HELL’

FOR SOUTH VIETNAM

South Vietnamese President Thieu feared that agreements in the Paris peace negotiations would end in a Communist takeover of his country By George J. Veith

56

VIETNA M

South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, here in a 1966 photo, took positions during the peace talks that led to public feuds with the Johnson administration.

O

n Jan. 27, 1973, after nearly five years of acrimoHanoi undertake some reciprocal action to prove it would nious negotiations, the signing of the Paris Peace not take advantage of the bombing halt. The Politburo of the Accords on Ending the Vietnam War provided Communist Party of Vietnam rejected the demand, and then a diplomatic end to an almost 30-year conflict. in late January 1968 it launched the massive Tet Offensive in The accords, however, didn’t completely satisfy South Vietnam. any of the contending parties, and most of their stipulations Although U.S. and South Vietnamese troops succeeded in were never fulfilled. North Vietnam quickly violated the agreerepelling the countrywide assault, in March 1968 President ment, and South Vietnam was also guilty of some breaches. Lyndon Johnson announced a bombing cessation over part of Two years later North Vietnamese troops launched a massive North Vietnam and offered Hanoi direct peace negotiations with military assault that conquered South Vietnam in just two the United States. This time Hanoi agreed to meet American months. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell. negotiators in Paris in May. The discussions immediately stalePresident Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry mated over procedural quirks and a host of other issues. Still, Kissinger both later wrote vigorous defenses of their efforts by October 1968 both sides were finally nearing agreement on to attain a peaceful resolution to the war. American historians a complete bombing halt by the United States in exchange for subsequently published widely divergent criticisms of the negotiations among all the combatants. While Hanoi agreed to motivations and policies of these men. One claims that they include the GVN in the Paris meetings, it now would acquiesce wanted only a “decent interval” between the American withonly if the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) also partook. drawal and a secretly anticipated South Vietnamese collapse; Here is where Thieu first balked. Just as Hanoi had snubbed the another that the Nixon administration deliberately designed an GVN, Saigon refused to recognize the NLF. When rumors surfaced unworkable peace plan, seeking to maintain “permanent war.” that the Unites States had agreed to NLF participation, Thieu Although recently translated Communist primary sources fired his first public warning shot at Washington. In a speech to and memoirs have shed some light on the South Vietnamese National AssemHanoi’s goals, only a handful of South bly on Oct. 7, 1968, Thieu insisted that Vietnamese senior officials have written if the NLF was to attend, it must be as Thieu said if Hanoi about President Nguyen Van Thieu’s part of the North Vietnamese delegation was serious about peace, deliberations during this period, and and not as a separate entity. He believed his internal and external policies to it must halt further attacks that allowing the NLF to participate on prepare for a settlement have been equal footing with the GVN would lead and engage in direct talks inexorably to a coalition government. largely unexplored. Thieu wanted the DRV to speak directly with Saigon. with the GVN and not through Amerhen it became clear after the ican intermediaries. Hanoi, of course, 1968 Tet Offensive that the rejected Thieu’s conditions. Americans were seeking a neThe Politburo viewed the talks merely as a stepping-stone gotiated end to the war, Thieu began to prepare his compatriots for to a “decisive victory,” which it would achieve either through a a peace that would include some form of national elections. Finding new military offensive planned for February 1969 or through common ground with the Communists seemed implausible, as a forced coalition. A briefing to the Politburo on Aug. 29, 1968, the differences between the two sides over a future governmental elucidated the DRV policy: structure in South Vietnam appeared insurmountable. Initially, “As for our side, we are using the talks to conceal our prepathe Communists refused to talk at all with the Government of rations to make powerful attacks in South Vietnam….The [South] Vietnam, calling it a “puppet” of the United States. They talks in Paris will have to be prolonged in order to support demanded that the existing Saigon government be replaced with a coalition consisting mostly of their followers before they would negotiate. The GVN, of course, refused. From New Perceptions of the Vietnam War: With little hope for a Vietnamese political solution, the Essays on the War, the South Vietnamese United States tried repeatedly in the late 1960s to engage the Experience, the Diaspora and the Continuing Democratic Republic of [North] Vietnam in constructing a Impact, copyright 2015. Edited by Nathalie negotiated resolution to the war. The DRV rebuffed the offers, Huynh Chau Nguyen by permission of demanding that the United States halt all bombing of the McFarland & Company, Inc., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. www.mcfarlandpub.com. North as a condition for talks. The United States insisted that

W

BETTMANN/CORBIS

O C T O B E R 2015

57

I

our actions on the battlefield….In South Vietnam, in parallel mmediately after Thieu addressed the assembly, he came with intensifying combat operations and the political struggle under heavy attack from both ends of South Vietnam’s in general, we will incite a powerful mass movement in the political spectrum. From the left, the Buddhist An Quang cities to demand that the government be reorganized and that faction began agitating for “peace at any price.” From Thieu’s a coalition government be formed that truly represents the right wing, many of the military’s Northern-born generals South Vietnamese people….At present, we must concentrate were adamantly against any peace deal with the Communists. our efforts on supporting the task of winning a decisive victory.” Thieu’s predicament was that, while often accused of being a Despite Thieu’s refusal to accept the NLF as an equal partdictator, he was far from possessing absolute power. Like most ner at the Paris talks, on Oct. 31, 1968, President Johnson democratically elected leaders, he was sensitive to criticism announced a complete halt to the bombing of North Vietnam from his society’s internal power blocs. Ambassador Ellsworth and the concurrent opening of peace talks. Johnson sought Bunker, in an early message to the new Nixon administration, to mollify Thieu by stating that the NLF’s “attendance in no precisely outlined Thieu’s dilemma: way involves recognition of the NLF in any form.” Johnson “Thieu and [Vice President Nguyen Cao] Ky no longer have also announced that the GVN was “free to participate” at the the freedom of action that was enjoyed by the military dictatornext Paris meeting, to be held on November 6. ships of former years. The moves of the GVN are now closely In response, Thieu addressed a joint session of the National watched by an elected National Assembly and by a public opinion Assembly. On November 2 he repeated his earlier assertions that has a surprising latitude for expression. They have to take that he did not oppose the bombing halt or negotiations, but these factors into consideration just as we do in our country.” that the NLF should be a component of the DRV delegation Political accommodation with the Communists was considand not a separate party to the talks. ered tantamount to a Communist takeover. Yet after the South He again insisted that if Hanoi was serious about peace, it Vietnamese had defeated three enemy offensives in 1968, their must halt further attacks and engage confidence had surged. This provided in direct talks with Saigon. Since these cover for Thieu to take bolder steps. Still conditions had not been met, Thieu under constant U.S. pressure to attend Thieu said, “I am not declined Johnson’s invitation to Paris. the talks, in late November 1968 Thieu a war-like person but The dispute between the United States agreed, despite the NLF’s attendance. and South Vietnam over the NLF had The military tide continued to neither will I surrender now erupted into a public quarrel. swing Thieu’s way. By January 1969, Thieu’s intransigence had dumbSouth Vietnamese public-opinion polls to the Communists, and founded the Johnson administration. showed 71 percent of the populace beI hope the Communists Given Hanoi’s earlier insistence that it lieved the country’s army was “very would not meet with the “puppets,” the capable of countering enemy attack(s).” understand this.” United States believed it had achieved That optimism was well founded: Ala diplomatic victory when the DRV though badly weakened by their losses agreed to meet with the GVN. Some—including Johnson— in 1968, the Communists went ahead with the offensive they have claimed that Thieu’s refusal was calculated to affect the had planned for February 1969, and they were easily repulsed. U.S. presidential election. U.S. intercepts of communications Positive that he now had the upper hand militarily, Thieu from the South Vietnamese embassy in Washington, D.C., to began publicly sketching his ideas for a political conclusion to Saigon indicated that the Nixon campaign had sent messages the war. On March 25 he offered a six-point plan for a diplomatic to Thieu via Anna Chennault, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen solution, including holding private talks with the NLF. In a who knew Thieu’s brother. The messages asked that Thieu speech to a joint session of the National Assembly on April 7, refuse to attend the Paris talks, in hopes that this would cause Thieu essentially offered full political rights to the NLF in political fallout in the United States and swing the election to exchange for their agreement to respect the constitution of the Richard Nixon. The quid pro quo was that Thieu would get Republic of Vietnam (which forbade Communist activity), the better support for his positions from a Nixon administration. withdrawal of North Vietnamese forces and a halt to violence. Thieu’s private secretary later acknowledged Chennault’s After proposing this new peace initiative, Thieu hurriedly mobimessages but denied that they were about Thieu’s Paris atlized an effort to combine the fragmented non-Communist South tendance affecting the election. The Chennault connection Vietnamese political parties into one united front. On May 25, still remains a mystery. 1969, Thieu launched the National Social Democratic Front. MIKE GEISSINGER/LYNDON B. JOHNSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

58

VIETNA M

President Lyndon B. Johnson looks at newspaper coverage of his Oct. 31, 1968, announcement of a bombing halt in Vietnam.

On June 19 the GVN proclaimed Law 009/69, which detailed the legal formation of political parties. Thieu conceived of a two-party system, with a government party and a strong opposition party. Although Article 4 of the GVN constitution prohibited the Communist Party from participating, the left was now free to form its own party and offer candidates. By creating a government party and merging all the old non-Communist parties that did not support him into a solid opposition, Thieu hoped the Nationalists could finally compete with the more disciplined Communists. Thieu’s government also passed a new press law on Dec. 30, 1969, that clarified media rights and responsibilities, especially regarding war commentary. It forbade the writing of articles that were favorable to the Communists or advocated a coalition or neutral government. Prospects for a coalition government had resurfaced lately because of a new NLF peace proposal. In May, in response to an American eight-point proposal for ending the war, the NLF had called for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops, the formation of a coalition government and the establishment of a “peace-loving, neutral” regime. To allay Thieu’s fears that the United States might secretly accept the NLF’s offer, Nixon dispatched Secretary of State William Rogers to Saigon to discuss the American proposal. While Rogers was only partially successful, he then attended a meeting in Bangkok of the foreign ministers of the seven nations that currently had troops in South Vietnam. The meeting, held on May 23, produced a joint declaration requiring North Vietnamese troops to withdraw from South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia as a prerequisite for any peace agreement. It was virtually ignored when the NLF released its new peace plan on the same day, but the issue of North Vietnamese troops remaining in the South would be a key element in the blow-up between the two allies in October 1972. Seeking common ground on war strategy, President Nixon arranged to meet President Thieu on Midway Island on June 8, 1969. Despite assurances that the Nixon administration did not seek a coalition government, Thieu remained worried that the United States was conspiring to replace him. Well aware of Thieu’s sensitivity on the subject, Nixon reinforced Rogers’ message by stating that unless President Thieu heard something from him directly, he should disregard it. Nixon’s declaration appeased Thieu, for the time being. Upon Thieu’s return from Midway, the NLF announced it was forming a new “Provisional Revolutionary Government.” The overt purpose was to unite the various pro-Communist and anti-Thieu organizations and individuals, and to put Southern revolutionaries on an equal footing in Paris with the South Vietnamese government. Most important, it was a O C T O B E R 2015

59

stalking horse for achieving the long-sought coalition. The announcement garnered worldwide press coverage. In response, on July 11, Thieu offered his most concrete peace plan to date, one to which he would adhere for the next three years. In a speech to the nation, he proposed to hold internationally supervised elections, but only if the NLF renounced violence and pledged to accept the results. Once more the Communists rejected Thieu’s offer, calling it “a new deceitful move” and an “election farce staged…to maintain the U.S.-paid administration and realize U.S. neocolonialism in South Vietnam.” The Communists still wanted the United States to replace the Thieu government with a provisional authority. This new regime would then organize any elections. Thieu’s reaction was restrained, asking the Communists to “think about” his plan, as he did not want to make a “threat or ultimatum” to them. He insisted: “I am a peaceful man who is trying to search for every conciliatory solution. I am not a war-like person but neither will I surrender to the Communists, and I hope the Communists understand this.” South Vietnamese senators criticized Thieu for “overstepping his authority”; he had not consulted them first. They were also afraid that he had made a valuable concession without receiving anything in return. Responding to domestic criticism, on July 12, 1969, the GVN Foreign Minister, Tran Chanh Thanh, made a clarification: the Communists could never participate in or help organize elections, since Article 4 of the constitution forbade their involvement.

S

ince the Communists had rejected every peace proposal, the Nixon administration, under enormous domestic pressure to end the war, began holding secret meetings with the North Vietnamese. This private channel outside the public Paris talks sputtered off and on for two years, as the United States made several attempts to offer revised formulas. Meanwhile, the Communists turned the public meetings into a propaganda forum. To break the impasse, on Oct. 11, 1971, Nixon made a new eight-point proposal to the North Vietnamese, which included an initiative for Thieu to resign one month before the vote. Although Thieu did not voice any displeasure when U.S. emissaries first broached the idea with him in late September 1971, he later described it as a “personal humiliation.” Despite the new offers, the Communists did not even bother to respond until February 1972. Having rebuilt its military strength after the terrible losses from the Tet Offensive, on March 31, 1972, the North Vietnamese launched nine divisions, backed by armor and heavy artillery, into South Vietnam. Although the South Vietnamese buckled in some places, backed by copious American firepower, the South Vietnamese army stiffened and eventually reclaimed some lost ground. By July, the DRV had halted its

60

VIETNA M

Thieu has a moment to himself on July 19, 1968, during a meeting with Johnson in Honolulu.

offensive and dug in. Hanoi then began subtly indicating it end of December, he again sought to consolidate or disband would consider a peace plan. some of the 20-some legal Nationalist political parties. He signed Aware that Kissinger and the DRV were making progress in Decree Law 60, which, among other requirements, compelled their negotiations, Thieu made a hard-line speech on Aug. 2, all Nationalist parties to prove a modicum of support in each 1972. Frustrated by three years of what he viewed as DRV province. Much like the new press law, the revised political-party stalling in the Paris talks, he proposed bombing North Vietlaw immediately created an intense backlash from the leaders of nam to “destroy the Communists’ military installations [and] the various Nationalist parties, several of whom owned newsparalyze the North Vietnamese economy, paving the way for papers. They accused Thieu of trying to eliminate competition the collapse of the political organ in Hanoi.” Thieu’s private and develop an authoritarian one-party system. secretary cabled the GVN delegation in Paris: “Our people Trying to appease Thieu, Nixon sent Kissinger back to at home attach great significance to this speech.” Both the Paris in late November to renegotiate numerous aspects of Communists and the United States ignored it. the accords. By mid-December, an impasse over several issues By mid-September, staggered by enormous military losses and appeared unbreakable, and the talks fell apart. Nixon, believing on the defensive, the DRV finally began negotiating in earnest the DRV was dragging its feet, ordered massive bombing attacks to end the war. In early October the DRV compromised on a against North Vietnam, hitting targets around Hanoi that had key American demand: It no longer insisted on Thieu’s removal previously been off limits. By the end of December, both sides and the installation of a coalition government. After further had agreed to resume talks. Yet despite heavy American pressure refinement, the United States and the DRV reached agreement to accept the peace terms, Thieu still resisted. After persuasion on a peace accord. Kissinger then flew to Saigon to brief Thieu. had failed, Nixon threatened Thieu with the cessation of all Thieu balked when he learned that the draft accords formed American aid if he did not sign. At last, in mid-January, Thieu a National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord yielded, and on Jan. 27, 1973, the peace accords were concluded. to oversee the elections, a body Thieu viewed as replacing It appeared that the long war had finally ended. his administration. After Kissinger returned to America, on October 24 or over four years, the United Thieu publicly denounced the draft States had underestimated After persuasion had accords. While he accepted the idea Thieu’s capacity to act in what failed, Nixon threatened that “the most important thing for us he thought were his country’s best now is a political solution,” he said that interests. During both periods of inThieu with the cessation “a government of national concord” tense negotiations, Thieu moved swiftly of all American aid if he and a coalition meant the same thing. to prepare his people for a political He pointed out that captured enemy contest, which he knew they feared. did not sign the accords. directives openly stated that a coalition Although the Americans viewed Thieu would be in control only at the national as having elevated stonewalling to an level; at regional and local levels, the art form, his proposals and actions were Communists would seize power. Thieu also demanded the attempts to protect his country’s vital interests while buttressing withdrawal of Northern troops from South Vietnam. his image as a genuine and independent nationalist. In the summer of 1972, at the height of the so-called EasEventually, in the months after the January signing, Thieu and ter Offensive, the National Assembly had granted Thieu the much of his government grudgingly accepted that the majority power to rule by decree. One of his first efforts was to amend of the accords’ political provisions worked in their favor—but, the 1969 press law. On August 7, he promulgated Decree Law as things transpired, only on paper. In practice, by securing U.S. 007, which set a security deposit for all newspapers, increased military withdrawal, the accords gave Hanoi what it wanted penalties for criticizing the president and allowed the trial of above all else, while the North Vietnamese systematically violated violators in military courts. He particularly wanted to rein their side of the accords by continuing infiltration and resuming in the tendency of the papers that had flourished since 1969 military action. Hence, for many of the South Vietnamese, the to publish anti-GVN material. In an October 24 speech, he fall of their country two years later cemented their appraisals that warned the South Vietnamese press to “take a serious attitude the Paris Accords had, in the words of Thieu’s press secretary, even if you oppose me…I call on you not to write any articles put his country on a “short road to hell.” ★ harmful to national security and the nation.” Anticipating an eventual ceasefire and elections, Thieu began George J. Veith is the author of Black April: The Fall of South preparing to compete with the Communists electorally. At the Vietnam, 1973-75.

F

YOICHI OKAMOTO/LYNDON B. JOHNSON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

O C T O B E R 2015

61

HISTORYNET READER A sampling of remarkable adventures, decisive moments and great ideas from our sister publications, selected by the editors of Vietnam magazine MILITARY HISTORY

WILD WEST

MILITARY HISTORY QUARTERLY

Madrid Battles Insurgency

Jesse James, Missourian

The Fall of Berlin

Madrid in November

Jesse James is still

Early on the morning

1936 was a city in a civil war, under siege by its own countrymen. Four months earlier disaffected generals within Spain’s armed forces had launched a coup against the leftist coalition government of President Manuel Azaña Díaz. After the uprising failed to secure any major cities other than Seville, the rebels brought in the professional Army of Africa—seasoned Moroccan troops led by Spanish army officers. Those soldiers from the Spanish protectorate of Morocco arrived in German-supplied planes and merchant ships screened by Italian bombers. The insurgents, calling themselves Nationalists, had quickly taken Seville, then driven methodically north toward Toledo and Madrid, seizing provinces and cities in between. By late October the rebel forces had reached and taken Toledo and were fighting their way toward Madrid. The Nationalists were telling foreign correspondents they would march into the city in November, virtually unopposed. Various press outlets pre-composed the story of the city’s occupation. A few governments sent congratulatory telegrams to rebel General Francisco Franco, timed to arrive when he had boasted he would reach Madrid. It looked to be a short war, but hard-pressed Republican forces in the capital of Madrid held off a determined Nationalist siege for more than two years. —From “They Shall Not Pass,” by Anthony Brandt, September 2015

regarded in some circles as a type of American Robin Hood, a basically decent man who robbed for a cause in his extended fight against them “damn Yankees.” In fact, most of the victims in James-Younger Gang crimes were Southerners in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and, of course, Missouri. Also, there is no evidence that any of the JamesYounger Gang loot was given to the poor. No matter what anyone thinks of him today, few would doubt that Jesse James has become part of American folklore. Hundreds of books and close to 40 motion pictures feature Jesse James. In a scene on his mural A Social History of the State of Missouri at the Capitol in Jefferson, American artist Thomas Hart Benton depicts a James brothers’ robbery. A Jesse James Festival is held each September in Kearney, Missouri, where James was born, and his family home there is now the Jesse James Farm and Museum. The home where he died in St. Joseph is also a museum. Some buildings that were banks he robbed still note the event with a plaque on a wall. Tourist attractions throughout the Midwest advertise some association with James, but he will always be most closely associated with the “Show Me State.” —From “The State of Jesse James,” by Jim Winnerman, August 2015

of April 16, 1945, Adolf Hitler’s Berlin awoke to an ominous rumble from the east: the sound of artillery fire. The Red Army had shaken off its slumber along the Oder River and was once again on the march. Four long years had passed since the German Wehrmacht invaded the Soviet Union, waging the most brutal war in history, murdering, starving and enslaving millions of Soviet civilians. The distant din of battle was an omen. A great reckoning was at hand. The Battle of Berlin was not only a savage fight on its own terms but the climax of one of history’s greatest role reversals. While the Wehrmacht dominated the early years of the war with its lightning mechanized operations, panzers and Stuka dive-bombers, those days were long gone. The Red Army had survived the initial onslaught in 1941 and gone from victory to victory, encircling a German army at Stalingrad in 1942, clearing Soviet soil of the invader and smashing an entire army group in Belorussia in 1944. Now, with Berlin in its sights, the Red Army was about to crown the transformation, end the war, and take revenge on its hated adversary. —From “Last Days in Berlin,” by Robert M. Citino, Summer 2015

For more information about HistoryNet magazines, visit: www.HistoryNet.com or call 1-800-435-0715

62

VIETNA M

ADVERTISEMENT

Perfect Choice HD™ is simple to use, hard to see and easy to afford…

Invention of the Year PERSONAL SOUND AMPLIFICATION PRODUCTS (PSAPs)

New andd! Improve ore

nm With eve nd clarity a volume!

THEY’RE NOT HEARING AIDS Personal Sound Amplification Products use advanced digital processing to amplify the frequencies of human speech. Thanks to the efforts of a doctor who leads a renowned hearing institute, this product is manufactured in an efficient production process that enables us to make it available at an affordable price. The unit is small and lightweight enough to hide behind your ear... only you’ll know you have it on. It’s comfortable and won’t make you feel like you have something stuck in your ear. It provides high quality audio so soft sounds and distant conversations will be easier to understand. Need an extra volume boost? Try Perfect Choice HD™ for yourself with our exclusive home trial.

SOUND QUALITY

Please mention promotional code 100246. 1998 Ruffin Mill Road, Colonial Heights, VA 23834

Less than 1 ounce Excellent: Optimized for speech

FITTING REQUIRED?

No

ONE-ON-ONE SETUP

Free

RETURN POLICY

1-866-237-2688

60 Days

81035

WEIGHT

Call now toll free for our lowest price.

MEDIA DIGEST

Museum Puts Spotlight on Press Coverage of the War Reporting Vietnam, Newseum exhibit, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., runs through Sept. 12, 2016

T

he Newseum, the interactive museum of news and journalism, opened its newest exhibit, “Reporting Vietnam,” on May 22 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The first display panel gets right to the point: Did the press lose the war in Vietnam? And two accompanying quotes set the parameters of the debate: “Press and television had created an aura not of victory but of defeat.” —General William Westmoreland, commander U.S. forces, Vietnam

In a new exhibit, the Newseum tells the story of journalism’s role in Vietnam. A display on reporter Malcolm Browne, left, includes his signature red socks.

“It was not our war to win or lose, but it was our war to understand and to explain.” —Fred Friendly, CBS News president The Newseum, funded by the Freedom Forum, a foundation set up by USA Today founder Al Neuharth, states that its mission is to “help the public and news media understand one another better.” It is evident that the Newseum has taken great care with this exhibit as it navigates the complex and controversial battleground of Vietnam history and memory. The exhibit features interviews with dozens of reporters and photographers who covered Vietnam, as well as General Barry MacCaffrey, a former company commander in the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile); war scholars Dan Hallin and Todd Gitlin; and William Hammond, a former senior historian at the Army’s Center of Military History. Hammond, in his two authoritative volumes The Military and the Media, concludes, “The American people followed

their own, third course, marked by independence of judgment and a substantial measure of contempt for all those who sought to manipulate the public mind.” “Reporting Vietnam” is boldly designed and dramatically lit. I was a war correspondent in Vietnam for ABC and NBC, and it is strange to see Vietnam reporters’ tools—almost 100 of the “things we carried” like cameras, helmets and typewriters—referred to as “artifacts of history,” remnants and curiosities of the past. There are more than 100 images of newspapers, magazines and photographs, including many Pulitzer Prize winners, some enlarged to an impressive size. The Newseum produced three con-

tinually running films that incorporate Vietnam archives and recent interviews with the press and military. One shows how television changed the way we received most news from the battlefield. Although many believe graphic footage from the war contributed to the breakdown of public support, the film explains that TV news largely sanitized the war, rarely showing violent combat. Another film examines the protest movement at home. And on a 100-foot-long “big screen,” a third one highlights the war’s crucial moments with dozens of images displaying at once. Throughout the exhibit, visitors hear a soundtrack of the songs that came to represent the fight and the protest. In one exhibit panel, Time magazine reporter Charles Mohr tells us that editors in New York changed his wording “The war in Vietnam is being lost” to “Government troops are fighting better than ever.” Mohr quit the magazine in protest. Many panels describe the dominance of the Associated Press in Vietnam: “The PHOTOS: DON NORTH

64

VIETNA M

First-ever! “Freedom’s Light: The Legacy of the Corps” Library Lamp Molded lamp shade crafted of genuine glass

Over a Foot Tall!

Authentically-rendered sculpture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima is finished in a classic bronze tone at the base of the lamp

Officially licensed by the United States Marine Corps!

The molded glass lamp shade is adorned with the Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor insignia

Great value! Order now. Peak demand is expected for this first-ever USMC library lamp, so order now at four easy installments of $37.48, for a total of $149.95*. Your purchase is backed by our 365-day money-back guarantee. Send no money now. Just mail the Reservation Application today.

The metal lamp base features a full-color presentation of the USMC emblem in full color

TM Officially Licensed Product of the United States Marine Corps The Bradford Exchange is a proud supporter of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Museum Historical Society.

Shown smaller than actual size of about 14 inches tall. UL-approved: includes one FREE CFL bulb for warm illumination

www.bradfordexchange.com/freedomlamp RESERVATION APPLICATION

SEND NO MONEY NOW

©2015 BGE 01-19464-001-BIU Mrs. Mr. Ms. Name (Please Print Clearly)

Address

9345 Milwaukee Avenue · Niles, IL 60714-1393

YES.

Please reserve the “Freedom’s Light: The Legacy of the Corps” Library Lamp for me as described in this announcement. Limit: one per order. Please Respond Promptly

City State

Zip

Email (optional)

*Plus $17.99 shipping and service. Limited-edition presentation restricted to 295 crafting days. Please allow 4-8 weeks after initial payment for shipment. Sales subject to product availability and order acceptance.

01-19464-001-E39571

MEDIA DIGEST

AP was unmatched in its expertise and depth of coverage.” There is an edition of AP journalist Mal Browne’s “A Short Guide to News Coverage in Vietnam,” a primer for inexperienced reporters. It probably saved many lives, including mine, with its advice on how to cover combat and survive. A panel on CBS reporter Morley Safer, who produced a controversial report showing Marines torching the village of Cam Ne, includes a letter from a TV viewer addressed to “Morley Safer, CBS traitor.” CBS anchor Walter Cronkite merits a panel on his change in views about the war. President Lyndon B. Johnson reportedly told an aide, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.” But, says the Newseum text, “Cronkite’s editorial did not so much create public doubt as reaffirm it.” Journalists are taken to task on coverage of the war protest movement. One display on the war at home includes these words: “Media mocks Pentagon war protesters. As protests spread, press coverage remained generally negative. News coverage focused on drug use and disorderly conduct.” The exhibit notes that public opinion turned against the war before most newspaper editors did. Wars are fought twice, once on the battlefield and later in the remembering. And so it is with the Vietnam War, though it ended on the battlefield four decades ago. But the Newseum has created a remarkably unbiased assessment of the media’s role in the war while raising public awareness of the importance of a free press in a democratic society. —Don North

66

VIETNA M

In Honor and Memory: Installations and Facilities of the Vietnam War,

by Army Master Sgt. Ray Bows (ret.) and Pia Bows, Bows and Company, 2015

I

experienced the Vietnam War in the 1960s as an Army infantry “grunt” who flew over, convoyed through and humped across the varying topographies of Vietnam. Grudgingly, I am accepting the fact that when I look back I am grasping to fill in missing chapters. Most frightening, some long-ago events are reclaiming their presence in my mind, but I can’t remember their details. What were the names of a particular military base in I Corps? II Corps? What are the stories behind the different sanctuaries from the “bush”? To the rescue comes the book In Honor and Memory: Installations and Facilities

Unknown Wars of Asia, Africa, and the America’s That Changed History brings to light many epic events that are not known and yet have had a great impact on our world to this day.

Wars of the Unknown The stories of s were cataa’ d The Americ an e ca ri Af , ia As ts that took th bloody even to ld or w r clysmic and ou ns and impact lives of millio ars are hardly ost of these w m t, textbooks. this day. Ye en ticles or ev ar in d ne tio men e:

vered ar of the wars co China Among some e Great Wall of th ed lv vo in barrier. e iv ns The wars that fe de ar history as a ye 65 49 year 1,8 ’ e its over ich was th 1,0 r in history wh China m fro ce en The longest wa nd pe e War of Inde es and the am tn ce ie an V Fr long ould have kept sh at th s on ss and the le e -China. - 1431) and th U S out of Indo er Empire (802 hm . K 77 e 11 th in of s isi rs The wa in a time of cr that emerged caused the at th 6) 13 unlikely hero 2 lt (13 an r Kokhba Revo cre of two veter The Jewish Ba r up the massa ve co lt to vo n re ria e ad th Emperor H out how close and the truth ab Roman Legions ding. nquer the came to succee uistadors to co e Spanish Conq th teenth century of rs six e wa th e in Th that and Southwest t as he ut So n rth No America America apocalypse in n ica er Am e and the Nativ t the se to wiping ou followed. came very clo at th s ar W e The Cheroke the lives of h Carolina. ade that took colony of Sout tlantic Slave Tr s-A the Cariban of Tr lts e th vo re of ve The wars ns and the sla ca fri A n io ill m more than 12 a Conh America. was caused by bean and Sout 1 – 1871) that 85 (1 spel tract go on d lli te be la ns The Taiping Re od a poorly tra sto er nd . isu hs m who illion deat fucian scholar d to over 30 m , Japan, bellion that le sasters in Syria di d an a in and started a re Ch of st pire. ue Em nq l co go l ongo kup of the Mon The 74 year M 1857 - 1884 led to the brea at na th hi -C va Ja do d In an of Vietnam, istians, ench Conquest n of Jews, Chr te Wars - The Fr rld’s populatio England’s Pira wo e th of lf rs that ha . The future wa the near future e expecting in and Muslims ar

s s

s s

s

s s

s

s s s

GET YOUR COPY TODAY AT: amazon.com (US) amazon.co.uk (Great Britain) amazon.ca (Canada) Alibris.com

Steven Johnson has been a regular contributing author to Military Heritage and Strategy & Tactics Magazines and has taught History at the college and university level in South Carolina for more than 20 years. Steven Johnson’s style of narrative writing of History is as a master storyteller of true events that are stranger than fiction that makes for a riveting reading experience.

MEDIA DIGEST

of the Vietnam War. Drawing from their decades of research in military, public and private archives, authors Ray Bows and Pia Bows have produced an encyclopedic resource with over 700 pages that should, in time, rank among the top must-haves for Vietnam War reference libraries. The U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Seabees and Coast Guard are all represented. The book alphabetically catalogs the facilities built in South Vietnam and Cambodia by the United States and other nations fighting the Communists between September 1945 and April 1973. It tells how the names of fallen comrades-in-arms or others, such as figures from the Civil War, came to grace more than 750 military sites in Vietnam and Cambodia, including base

camps, firebases, patrol bases, landing zones, headquarters, dining halls and hospitals. Plenty of photographs, albeit of varying quality, bring immediacy to the people and places described. For instance, Camp Evans, also known as Landing Zone Evans, was named for Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Paul Olynn “Moose” Evans, who was killed by a sniper on Dec. 22, 1966, while fighting the North Vietnamese Army in the Co Ti Thanh Tan Valley, the location of Camp Evans. A photo of Evans and two of the camp bring the story to life. The “No Stone Unturned” section lists some 2,300 additional firebases and landing zones whose name origins are unknown. The book also describes structures in Vietnam that U.S. military personnel

used as bachelor enlisted and officer quarters. The information is extensive and includes such things as the 1965 attack on the bachelors’ quarters in Qui Nhon, considered the deadliest terrorist attack against American personnel during the war. Forty maps of South Vietnam are included for locating installations and facilities. They range from geographical depictions of tactical zones and provinces, with camps and LZs indicated, to maps of cities such as Da Nang, Long Binh, Pleiku and Saigon. This well-researched work was undertaken with love and commitment to honor not only those who merited the naming of installations but also those of us who wish to be clear about where we were amid the fog of war. —Duery Felton Jr.

ORDER FORM

“ALMOST HOME” YES: Please accept my order for “Almost Home,” the 50th Anniversary Commemorative print of the War in Vietnam. Please make checks payable to:

Almost Home PO Box 1236 Killeen, Texas 76540 Number of Prints

Shipping & Handling

ALMOST HOME

20” x 28”

Almost Home is a limited edition print commissioned to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. From the iconic image of the War in Vietnam; the Huey Helicopter, to the uniforms, M-16 rifle and F-4 Phantom, Almost Home is a symbolic representation of Vietnam Veterans service to the country. Even the number of prints and price are selected for their symbolism. The price is $65.73; the first and last year of the War for Combat units, and the number of prints is 2646…one for each man listed as Missing in Action. Sure to be a family heirloom, each signed and numbered limited edition print will hang proudly in your home, office or Veterans organization to commemorate and honor the service of our Vietnam Veterans. Order yours today!

Price

Subtotal

$65.73 $9.95 Each

Texas Residents Add 8% Sales Tax Total Name:

Address:

City:

The Artist: Joe Kline is a renowned Aviation Artist whose works exhibit a highly realistic style; historically and technically correct. He traces his interest in aviation to his father who was a B-25 bombardier during WWII and his own experiences as a Huey Helicopter crew chief with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. His work has illustrated many books, magazines and other publications and is on display in museums and galleries around the country.

68

VIETNA M

State:

Zip Code:

All sales subject to availability of this limited edition print.

HARBOR FREIGHT QUALITY TOOLS AT RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES

How Does Harbor Freight Sell GREAT QUALITY Tools at the LOWEST Prices?

SUPER COUPON

FREE 20% OFF 6

We have invested millions of dollars in our own state-of-the-art quality test labs and millions more in our factories, so our tools will go toe-to-toe with the top professional brands. And we can sell them for a fraction of the price because we cut out the middle man and pass the savings on to you. It’s just that simple! Come visit one of our 600 Stores Nationwide. R PE ON U P S U CO

WITH ANY PURCHASE 3-1/2" SUPER BRIGHT NINE LED ALUMINUM FLASHLIGHT LOT 69052 shown 69111/62522/62573

R PE ON U P S U CO

LOT 60728/69034 shown

119

12 VOLT MAGNETIC TOWING LIGHT KIT

SAVE

$

LOT 67455 shown 69925/62753 69626/62517

$9999 $15999

$29.99

R PE ON SU UP CO

LOT 69227/62116/62590 62584/68048 shown

$

REG. PRICE

$799.99

REG. PRICE

$89.99

40 PIECE 1/4" AND 3/8" DRIVE SOCKET SET • SAE and Metric LOT 61328 47902 shown

3

REG. PRICE

$9.99

LIMIT 6 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

R PE ON SU UP CO

AIRLESS PAINT SPRAYER KIT

SAVE $125

• Weighs 74 lbs.

$

PRICE 99 REG. $159.99

LOT 60600

17499

REG. PRICE

$299.99

LOT 90018 shown 69595/60334

$

79

5999

$ 99

LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

SUPER-WIDE TRI-FOLD ALUMINUM LOADING RAMP

SAVE $70

$279.99

SAVE RAPID PUMP® 3 TON HEAVY DUTY $80 STEEL FLOOR JACK

599

t be used with other discoun calling 800-423-2567. CannotOffer good while supplies last. or HarborFreight.com or by purchase with original receipt. LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores per customer per day. es after 30 days from original 11/28/15. Limit one coupon or coupon or prior purchas must be presented. Valid through Non-transferable. Original coupon

REG. PRICE

R PE ON SU UP CO

99

R PE ON SU UP CO

SAVE 60%

t be used with other discoun calling 800-423-2567. CannotOffer good while supplies last. or HarborFreight.com or by day. purchase with original receipt. LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores one coupon per customer per es after 30 days from original Valid through 11/28/15. Limit or coupon or prior purchas ed. present be must Non-transferable. Original coupon

LOT 68530/69671 shown LOT 68525/69677 CALIFORNIA ONLY

$39

$

shown

t be used with other discoun calling 800-423-2567. CannotOffer good while supplies last. or HarborFreight.com or by purchase with original receipt. er per day. LIMIT 3 - Good at our stores es after 30 days from original Limit one coupon per custom or coupon or prior purchas ed. Valid through 11/28/15. present be must coupon Non-transferable. Original

• 580 lb. Capacity LOT 95659 shown 61634/61952

– Truckin' Magazine

7000 RUNNING WA ) 13 HP (420 CC SAVE GAS GENERATORS $

TOOL CART

WINNER

WOW SUPER CO875UP0ONPEATTSK/ $53773

180

WO26"W, 4 DRSUAWPEERR COUPON

LOT 60637/61615/95275

99

$17.99

LIMIT 8 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

LIMIT 6 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

OVER

REG. PRICE

66%

$199.99

REG. PRICE

262

5

99 SAVE

9

$

55%

$ 99

$ 99

• 76 dB Noise Level

OILLESS AIR COMPRESSOR

SAVE

REG. PRICE

SUPERT QUIE

COUPON WOW SUPE3 GAR LLO N, 100 PSI PANCAKE

LOT 66537 shown 69505/62418

LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

SAVE 66%

VALUE

LIMIT 1 - Cannot be used with other discount, coupon or prior purchase. Coupon good at our stores, HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Offer good while supplies last. Shipping & Handling charges may apply if not picked up in-store. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day.

72" x 80" MOVER'S BLANKET

SAVE $80

R PE ON SU UP CO

$ 99

ANY SINGLE ITEM

LIMIT 1 - Save 20% on any one item purchased at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. *Cannot be used with other discount, coupon, gift cards, Inside Track Club membership, extended service plans or on any of the following: compressors, generators, tool storage or carts, welders, floor jacks, Towable Ride-On Trencher, Saw Mill (Item 61712/62366/67138), Predator Gas Power Items, open box items, in-store event or parking lot sale items. Not valid on prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase date with original receipt. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

10 FT. x 20 FT. PORTABLE CAR CANOPY

$

SUPER COUPON

• 1500 lb. Capacity

79

99

REG. PRICE

$149.99

LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

• 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed • Over 25 Million Satisfied Customers

WOW SUPE18RVOLCOTUPCORONDLE SS RIVER SAVE

3/8" DRILL/D WITH KEYLESS CHUCK

56%

Includes one 18V NiCd battery and charger.

$15

13

LOT 69651 68239 shown

$

2299 REG. PRICE

$34.99

t be used with other discoun calling 800-423-2567. CannotOffer good while supplies last. or HarborFreight.com or by purchase with original receipt. LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores per customer per day. es after 30 days from original 11/28/15. Limit one coupon or coupon or prior purchas must be presented. Valid through coupon Original le. nsferab Non-tra

• No Hassle Return Policy • Lifetime Warranty On All Hand Tools

LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

R PE ON SU UP CO

FOLDABLE ALUMINUM SPORTS CHAIR LOT 62314 66383 shown

SAVE 37%

• 250 lb. Capacity

$

2499

REG. PRICE

$39.99

LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be used with other discount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/28/15. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

• 600 Stores Nationwide • HarborFreight.com 800-423-2567

 50TH ANNIVERSARIES – GO

WITH THE FIRST & THE BEST! ´7KHERWWRPOLQHLVWKHZDULVRYHU,W UHDOO\ZDVQ·WRYHUWLOO,ZHQWEDFN´ *HQ1RUPDQ6FKZDU]NRSILQ 

/HWMHT EH\RXU9LHWQDP&RPEDW 7RXUJXLGH JHW\RXEDFNLQFRXQWU\ -RLQMHT QH[W\HDUDVZHEHJLQWKH &RPPHPRUDWLRQVDVFRPEDWXQLWV EHJDQ6HDUFK 'HVWUR\2SVLQHDUQHVW

9LHWQDP9HWHUDQ2ZQHG 2SHUDWHG VLQFH 

/HIW \HDUV DJRWLPH WRJRZLWK 0+7WKH RULJLQDWRU RIWHQ FRSLHG EXWQHYHU GXSOLFDWHG &DOOWROOIUHH1-800-722-9501 6HHXVDWWWW.MILTOURS.COM HPDLO[email protected]

5HWXUQWRWKHSODFHV \RXVHUYHG :HFDQ WDNH\RXWKHUH

)DWKHUDQG 'DXJKWHUDW $Q.Kr3DVV

50th Anniversary Tours It has been 50 years since the 173rd Airborne and the US Marines began combat operations in Vietnam. Return with us to historic battlefields, villages and famous cities where you spent part of your youth. Bring your family, your friends and buddies. Consider a reunion in Vietnam! We have a variety of tour programs to suit your interests. Check them out on our website today!

Vietnam History and Culture Tours III Corps and Central Highlands I Corps: Khe Sanh to Quy Nhon IV Corps: The Mekong Delta Panorama of Vietnam: The Best All-Country Tour

Your places & your dates for individuals, families, buddies or groups Our second decade of exceptional tours! Vietnam Veteran Owned and Operated

PO Box 340 • Flourtown PA 19031 Ph. 215-248-2572 • Email: [email protected]

Webpage • www.gomilspec.com

B TO O U OK R Y TO O DA UR Y!

TOGETHER THEN. TOGETHER AGAIN.

1-877-231-9277 (Toll Free) or 1-210-568-9500 • www.VietnamBattlefieldTours.com

For information on placing a Direct Response or Marketplace ad in Print and Online contact us today:   s&AX  sVIE RUSSELLJOHNSCOMsWWWRUSSELLJOHNSCOM

MEDIA DIGEST

“To you, it’s the perfect lift chair. To me, it’s the best sleep chair I’ve ever had.” — J. Fitzgerald, VA

Soviet Submachine Guns of World War II: PPD-40, PPSh-41 and PPS,

It’s a “Lift Chair”– that puts your feet safely on the floor – you’re ready to go!

It’s a “Sleep Chair”– for a comfortable and relaxing night’s sleep

®

It’s a “Chair”– for crafting, eating, visiting with friends and family

The Perfect Sleep Chair

It’s a “Sit Back Chair”– for reading, watching TV and resting

1-888-481-4687

1-800-358-6327 HistoryNetShop.com VN510A

SPECIAL EVENTS 7/13TH ARTILLERY (Vietnam) Reunion All Red Dragon Batteries Gettysburg, PA, 9/27/15 - 10/2/15 at Gettysburg Wyndham Hotel. Call Robert Adams 859-806-5199 or Jon Taylor 603-677-6570.

BUCKLES • PAT C H E S

46383

• HAT PINS • MEDALS • • • • •

FREE COLOR CATALOG 2500+ Military Designs Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines

Call now! Toll-free! 1-888-223-1159

• Custom pins & patches available. Dealer inquiries welcome.

HONORS by Hoover’s Mfg., Co. [email protected] www.hmchonors.com P.O. Box 547VN, Peru, IL 61354 Fax: 1-815-223-1499

C A P S

Don’t miss a single copy. Order today!

Please mention code 100247.

B A L L

Back Issues

Call now toll free for our lowest price.

by Chris McNab, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2014

T

he Soviet Union did not become seriously involved in developing an infantry submachine gun, or SMG, until the 1930s, but experience with the Finns and their deadly KP/-31 Suomi SMG, with its 71-round drum, in the 1939-40 Winter War spurred development that culminated in the PPSh-41. This iconic weapon, developed by Georgy Shpagin, became emblematic of Soviet firearms: simple to the point of crudity, easy to mass-produce and maintain and just good enough to get the job done. While its accuracy was limited to 200 meters or less, its reliability made the SMG a coveted item among Germans who got their hands on one, whenever their own weapons failed to hold up to the harsh conditions of the Eastern Front. Largely focused on World War II, Chris McNab’s latest contribution to Osprey’s Weapon series also follows the Soviet SMG’s career into postwar conflicts, where the PPSh-41 and its Chinese derivative, the Type 50, found widespread use in areas its creator never envisioned. This included Indochina, where the Viet Minh used it against the French. Of particular interest to Vietnam veterans, however, is the description of the K-50M, a characteristic example of the Vietnamese talent for adaptation. Elements of the Type 50 and the French MAT 49 SMG were combined to produce a weapon suited to jungle warfare. As a mainstay of the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, the K-50M is compared with its principal American counterpart, the M14 rifle, before both weapons were eclipsed (as also mentioned in this slim but comprehensive volume) by the equally reliable but more versatile AK-47 assault rifle and the controversial M16. —Jon Guttman O C T O B E R 2015

71

OFFERINGS

"Righteous are the warriors of Hawaii who stood bold and fierce for all."

HAWAII STATE FLAG L EFT AT THE V IETNAM V ETERANS M EMORIAL

72

VIETNA M

PHOTO BY JENNIFER E. BERRY/VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL COLLECTION, DUERY FELTON, CURATOR

HistoryRepeats Now, the magazines you’ve come to read and respect in print are also available for your iPad.® Just visit the website address below each cover to subscribe online now.

www.aviationhistory.com/subscribe

www.militaryhistory.com/subscribe

www.vietnammag.com/subscribe

www.americanhistorymag.com/subscribe

www.civilwartimes.com/subscribe

www.worldwarii.com/subscribe

(WWSLHUK[OL(WWSLSVNVHYL[YHKLTHYRZVM(WWSL0UJ YLNPZ[LYLKPU[OL<:HUKV[OLYJV\U[YPLZ (WW:[VYLPZHZLY]PJLTHYRVM(WWSL0UJ

Now through Sept. 12, 2016 Explore how journalists brought news about the Vietnam War to a divided nation. Contributing support for “Reporting Vietnam” is provided by CBS Corporation, in memory of CBS News correspondent Bob Simon.

NEWSEUM.ORG 555 PENNSYLVANIA AVE., N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. TripAdvisor’s 2014 Travelers’ Choice Top 10 Museums in the U.S.

Courtesy Steve Northup

REPORTING VIETNAM