CONFIDENTIAL

VIETNAdESE MARINE CORPS COIFIDUTIAL .

Gcnsistent with the general low level of enemy activity experienced

throughout Vietnam, the Vietnamese Marine Corps and their U. S. Marine

Corps advisor, operating exclusively in the III and IV CTZ, encountered

negligible to light contact for mos~ of the month. Numerous mines,

booby traps, and the occasional attack by fire vere responsible tor the

rnajority of the ten Vietnamese Marines killed and 83 wounded.. Recon-

n:lissance in force operations by Brigade B on 19 July and Brigade A

during the period 25-31 July accounted for 41 of the 50 enerrlY killed

in action.

Throughout the mcnth of July, Brigade A, consisting of the 3rigade

fieadql1ll"ters, the 2nd and 4th Infantry Battalions, and Battery A of the

1st Artillery Battalion carried out recamaissance in force operations

in Chaung Thien Province in the IV CTZ lIDder the operational control of

the 21st AR~, division. On 4 July, the Brigade and Battery A established

a fire .support ba.se 'md deployed the battalions in the Twin Rivers Are;:t

(vicinity ,;R 430 690), During operati""" on 16 July, the 2nd Battalion

fOlmd ,ond destroyed an enemy hallQ grenade factory and 300 hand grenades

in variou~ stages of proo'U.ction. A recently vacated 100 man enemy base

camp mld adjoining 50 man hospital was uncovered by the same battalion

en 20 July. Supported~:r the VlIN RAID's 74 and 75 <luring the final we~k

of the month (25-31 July), the brigade was credited with 29 VC killed

and five VC and 52 VC suspects captured (39 by ~N).

Mule conducting reconnaissance in force operaticns in the Loog

Bien Special Zone, in eastern and southea.stern Bian Hca Province JIll

CnFlnENTll' CONFIDENT1AL

91

CONFIDENTIAL

COIF1UENTIAl CTZ, Brigade B which ~lcluded the Brigade Headquarters, the Jrd and the

5th Infantry Battalions, and Battery B of the 1st Artillery Battalion

met ,nth negative to moderate enemy resistance during the month. On 1

,July, severCll sporadic small unit contacts were made and the Brigade

command post received twelve to fifteen 60mm mortar rounds which in-

flicted negligible damage or. the Vietnamese Marines. The only organ-

ization change fol' Brigade B occurred on 6 July when Battery E of the

?2nd Artillery Battalion relieved Battery B which stood down at the

Thu D'IC base camp for the remainder of the month. Both the 3rd and

the 5th Battalions gained contact with company sized enem.Y forces IJJ1

19 July. Contact 'was maintainoo for most of the day, and 12 VC were

killej and one "as captured by the 11arines. On the last day of the

month, the 5th Battalion uncovered a VC rear base camp which contained

miscellaneous supplies and munitions.

The 1 st Infantry Battalion was undergoing a r(.!fresher training

program at the Van Kiep National Training Center east of Phuic Le,

approximately 30 miles southea.st of Saigon (rs 400 610) during the

entire month. The Battalioo was joined by Battery C of the 1 at Ar-

tillery Battalion c.n the 29th in order to conduct a th,.ep. da." training

operation that commenced on 30 July.

The 6th Infantry Battalion with one platoon of Battery D of the

1 st Artillery Battalion performoo. reconnaissance in force operation

for the Long Bien Special Zone near Bien Hoa (xs 995 ~35) from 1-31

,July. Security and reconnaissance in force opera ti.Qlls produced only

negligible contact.

CONFIDENTIAl CONFl DENTIAL

92

CONFIDENTIAL

Battery C of the 1st Artillery Battalion CONFfDENTH'

provided direct gunfire " ,

support in the Rung Sat Special Zone lD'ltil 6 July when it was relieved

by 3attery F of the 2nd Artillery Battalion. Returning to the Thu Due,

Battery C remained in a stand-down status until 29 July 'When it joined

the 1st Infantry Battalion for training exercises at the Van Kiep Nat.icn-

al Training Center.

The tactical situation was only slightly changed from the previous

month for Battery D. Two platoons remained l.IDder the op/;!!raticnal con-

trol of the Capital t1i.litary District, with one platoon ,at Cat Lai and

one at Thu Due, The thIrd platoon remained in Bien Hoa f'rovin~e with

the 6th Infantry Battalion which had relieved the 5th Batallion on 29

·June.

Both Batteries E and F of the 2nd Artillery Batallicn were in the

base "-amp at Thu Due until 6 July,'hen Battery E relieved Battery B op-

erating with Brigade B;and Battery F replaced Battery C that was provid-

in~ direct support in the RlU1g Sat Special Zone.

CONFIDENTiAl CONFIDENTIAL

93

C o Wf'Wrn'tA l YNlIiJoou; S1'4TISTlcl!!. StlHl!AHI

VIETNAI1ESE NAVY.

!2aU:Z Avemu Sea~had D'1jAwe4 21!!!: ~ Junks Pe2Dl1 iYi!U P!!2RJ, .. COASl'AL FORCE I 52.6 51.2 19,359 74,.302 110 476

II 48.7 47.2 26,816 79,262 63 177 III 48.0 46.5 8,136 27,519 73 200

IV 30.8 30.8 :Z.§§2 ;u..~ --l. -2 Sub-total •• 62,797 205,562 247 862

·1~COMM41ID PArROL SHIPS 26.5 24.5 1,349 5,062 0 2 PCF' aj\IPB '. 18.4 7.1 4,179 8,641 0 0

RIVERINE AREA CRAFT 120.3 114.5 7,572 25,658 0 0

ATF (RAID) 50.0 43.9 3,086 7,5'l2 0 0

liCEN:rllAL 1'4SK ~ 66.4 62.4 6.2~2 J,2.~0 -2 -2 TOTALS. 85,281 267,978 247 864

VIETNAl-:ESE l1ARIliE CORPS.

VC/NVA.

VNMJ

Hoi Chan 2

KIA 50

KIA 10

Captured II!

WIA &3

Suspects detained 46

lilA 0

• Provided 77 gunfire support miJs10nB r"r period 21 JUDe - 31 July

# Includes RAG 2'1, RAG 81, 91 and RPG 51

VNMC statistic. cover pel'1od I. - 31 July

c 0 Mfi:HlitT~ t

94

": -; .

GROUP II Downgraded at 3 ye~ intervals Decla8slfied aft':!'r 12 years

CAM90DIA

GULF OF THAILI.ND

';OUTH CHINA

SEA

PSXOPS AND CIVIC ACTION SllMHA,RY

During the manU. of July a recorU 208 Hoi ChaM. ralli8d to U. S.

and Vietns",ese Navy Units. Th" 111gb. Ch1eu Hoi rate was the re~ul t of

the defection of 194 Hoa Hao troops who had croseed the intarnatlonal

Cambodian/Vietnamese border and hall8d 11 U. S. Navy PBR on the VUlh Te

Canal. AlthOugh they wore not Viet Cong, they \lere granted Chieu Hoi

status because they vere returning to the government of the Rapublic of

South Vietnam.

A concent, ... t8d pacification effort. was undertaken in the Rung Set

Special Zone (RSSZ) by u. S. and ARVN force~ in July. Leaflet and

loudspeak"r operations have been used extensively 10 conjunction with

and as a folloll'-up to tliJi tar,- clearing operations in the RSSZ. A

U. S. Seeb~e teem with civic action material has been assigned to t.be RSSZ

in order to improve tbe standard of living ir, the villages. Some indica-

tions of the progress of the program may be implied by the nine Hoi Chenhs

the RSSZ PRU's have received in July. On 24 July a single Navy heliconter

distributed 33,000 Cni8U Ho~ .. fe conduct passes and 30,000 restricted

area notices in the RSSZ.

Operation SEAFLOAT which was initiated in June .m the lower Ca Mau

peninsula in tho vicinity of old Nam CIC" City has progressed well. A

total of 1,357 people ha~e visited SEAFLOAT and hav~ received politi~al

indoctrination; thera havs been 212 hours of loudspeaker operations,

one Hoi Chanh h". rallied, and 691 have expressed a desire to resettle

in Old Nam Can City. There has been .. marked incre... in the commercial

river traffic in 4 eTZ. Furth .. r evidsnce of the success of SEAP'LOAT

ws indicated by VN visitors at the ~nd of the month who indicated that

GROUP 4 Downgraded at 3 year intervals Declassified after 12 years

the VC were '" ttempting to step up their ettorts to prevent IIIlIIIJAUlc

from viei t1ng SEAFLOAT. B8&nh JIIllp Unit One T ...... 1.3 aaaigned '" Ps;yopa

loudspeaker detachment in "apport of SE1FLOAT on 15 Jul;y. The detachment

cOMists of one enlisted operator and two 700 watt loudspeaker s;ystems

capable of operating aa two individual 700 watt s;yate"'" or 1n c"mbl.na­

tion to provide ons 1400 watt a;yat8lll. The loudsp",,]cer e;yatem is capabl.

of oporat1ng frOM "el08 as well as trom boats.

Throughout the month, physicians and oorp"",en from t!J.s NaTal Support

Actlvity Do.nang lJavs vo1wltarily work6d ",,'0 the Stella Maris Dlsp.n .... r;y,

the Buddhist Orphanage 1n Danang, the Danang surgical hospiul, the

~lteser hospital in iJanang, the Special Force. Hospital, and the 2nd

ARVN Division dependent clinic. Approximately 150 'lietnamese patients

have been cared for ~ch week during the month. Weekly dermatology,

orthopedic, surgical and uro:ogy clinics were held at the NSA hospital

for those in need of these services. Approximately 34,000 persons in

all four CTZ's of South Vietnam have received medical and dental treat­

ment in MEDC.l.PS conducted by U. S. and Vietnamese Navy tea"",. This waS

an increase of l,OOO over the pravioue ,"onth's totals.

A variety of 'themes were utilized on Psyops loudfJpeaker operations

cOMucted by CTF 115 Units including "Midway Conference", "P,6WIlrd' s

Third Inducement", "~Jandering Soul" and the soundtraCK from the Beat1es '

"YelloW' S'llbmarine ll•

A coordinated MEDCAP endeavor was p~rrormed by USN PBP,'s, tvo co~s­

men (VNN), 20 .... l'itJ.me police, an intelligence squad, a VN cultunol drama,

t~m, the Klen Hoa Province JUSPAO representative, and the advisor to

the Huong Hy district chief. On the morning of 17 July while playi-Ilg

97

Psyo~~ tapes, the team transited to a ~ll village nine miles south of

Bey, Tre (y, 51):43). Th~ corpsmen treated 250 people vhile the cultural

drallll. team played Payops ... teri&! and put on a shov. The anned intelligence

squad and the marltirne ?olice field for~e circulated in the area talk-

ing to the local populace and providing security as did the PER sailors.

~:a terial jistributed to the local villages included the following: )00

lars a~ soap, 100 SVN flags, 50 toothbrushes, 40 plastic bowls, 3,10

pictures of President Thlsu, 50 rubber rabbits, 150 school kits, and

400 If.ofi(,'azine:;:;.

~eabee ~eal1' 103 located in l1y Tho City (IS 497454) compl~ted work

on the Tay Ly Tay School (XS 488548) ;.n July. Construction on the school

:'ncluded replacement. of 40 rc.eters of ... 'Coden walls with Cenva-ram block,

installation of lattice work and shutters in four classrooms, and

pla.stering and·painting of walls.

Completion of a two story fourteen classroom reinforced concrete

structure was reported by Seabee team OSlO in Can Tho City (is 866(94).

The building was funded by the }tl.n1stry of Education for use by the

University of Can Tho School of Ped&gogy.

CONFIDENTIAL

r.n"FIDUTIAl !lSl! CIVIC AQrIOR SWtsrI9AL sJlHH.t.Rl

2S tIg - 2' JUIl! 1769

TOTAL NmmER OF MAN-DUS PE!!SCll!!!EL or !DIlts IiRGA,GIIl IN CInC ACTION PROJIIXi'JS. Jui2J

COST OF SupPLIES CONtRIBUTiD BY MILIWlI RISOUOOES I'OR crnc ACTION PROJECTS. VN. 731.300

EXPENDITURES FRCM 'l'IIE usllWM4F CIVIC ACTIOl!.J!§1\!AR l'!ll!D' VNt 1.m.Q'}9

70LUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS I VN$ 119.560

PEHCEI,nGE OF U.S. MILIT.\RY CIVIC ACTION ACTIVIrES CONPYCTIID JOINTLY l11'nll

Percent

Other FWJo'.AF 15 RVNU 13 u. S. oi vilian ...,luntA1"7 agencies 7 Average percent of aelf"-help b;y VN civilians 79

labor 5 Mlterial

PROCI!4M§:

Economic Development Education Social WeU .. re Transportation Refuge.

INSTITUTES ASSISTED.

Sohoob Hoapitala/Diapeneariea Orphanages Others

347 ell

2J,40 800 385

lSrptpd1 twlS (VNll

138,689 930,807

4,713,384 317,980 327,034

Nu!b,r

68 31 23 83

NOTE. (1) Statietice shown are those tor 25 Hay - 25 June aee tranllllli tto.l letter.

CONfIDENTI ~, CONFIIlENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAl ACCEIERATED TURNOVER PRCGRAM AND TRAINmG SUMMARY

The Vietnamese Navy received its fourth Landing Ship Tank (1ST)

from the U. S. Navy on July 1 during ceremonies at Guam Island. Rear

Admiral Phillip P. Cole, Commander, TJ. S. Haval Forces Hariannas, rep-

resented the United States at the ceremony and presented the ship to

COT1.'ncdore Tran Van Chon, Chief of Nava:i.. Operations, Hepubltc of Vietnam

Foll~Ning the decommissioning of the COCCNINO CITY and the departure

of the U. S. Navy crew, VNN LCDR Tran Van Chi then assumed command of

the ship and her 107 VNN officers and enlisted Men. The new VNN 1ST

was renamc~ tte VillJG TAU (HQ 503) after the Vietnamese resort city of

'\Tun!;'; Tau.

I'; ew cilld varied techniques continue to be employed in order to en-

;UU1ce the w'riou~ training programs. Coastal D~~vision 15, participating

in the reF turnover program START (Swift Training and Rapid Turnover),

has experimented with color coding of engine room piping ~stem~ and

stenciling arrows to indicate the direction of flow of the liquid.

The RIVFLOT 5 ACTOV status report that was published in the middle

of the month indico..ted that VNN PER tra)ning was progressing satisfa.c-

torily. By 16 July, 164 VNN were qualified as PBR crswmembers. River

Division 593 reported that several VNN seamen were retUIning to the

boats enrly to can~uct pre-patrol engineering checks. Some improve~

ments in the language barrier were noted with daily language training

and bilingual definitlons included in the daily progr,"n. Actions to

correct ~he delinquent pay problems for Vietnamese sailors have been

taken •

CONFIDF.NTI A' C0NFIlJENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

I}ONFIOENTIAl In the START program, the second '~crement of VNN trainees reported

to their respective Coastal Divisions between 14 June and 9 July. As

of 25 July, 176 trainees from PCF classes one and two were undergoing

on-the-job training. Thirty-nine trainees have been qualifiei and re-

lieved us:, personnel. The third increment comprised of 35 boatswains-

rna tes graciuated from the Saigon beat school an 19 July and began report-

ing to the various coastal divisions at the end of the month. The more

experienced trainees have, in most cases, greatly facilitated the ori-

entation of later arrivals. vIi th more than one trainee aboard each PCF,

the enthusias!n and attitude of most v~ sailors have noticeably improved.

CONFIDENTIAL GUNFIllENTIAL

102

C 0 N mlDENTlAL

rruENTlAL COHMANDER U. S. NAVAL FORCES VIET;;Al1/ CHIEF NAVAL ADVISORY

GROUP STAFF REORGANIZATION

During .July, reorganization of the CCTt,AVFC-RV!CHNAVADGRP staffs

too:,;: effect in response to the changing U. s. Navy mission in Vietnam as

f~lrther proF,resr;ion into the Accelerated Turnover Program (ACTCV) 1-Jas

l!n':.il recently most responsibilities of the U. S. Navy Staff per-

~onnel in Viet!1am could be readily divided between those pertaining to

-::he :J. S. Naval Forces and those of concern to the Vietnamese -riavy.

Accordi.l1g1y ,the staff fW1ctioned quite naturallYHHh the NAVFOllV

rort~ i.on hClJ1dling U. S. Navy operations and the Naval Advisory Group

portlon adv~sin~ on Vietnamese Navy matters. The ACTCV PrograM re-

ouire~ an integration of U. S. l~avy and Vietnamese Navy forces in nany

arca~, such as personnel and operatims.. As the ACTOV Program progresses

f'lrther ~ thi:, O'.lee natural division is no longer appropriate. Further,

the rapid expansion of the Vietnamese Navy now ret.luires maxinrum assistance

from the U. S. j·Ja\'Y personnel in-coillltry and advice and consultation

from the best expertise available in each area. Therefore, in view of

the chanrl.ng ,emphasi:;o ;in ti1e_..cOj·A~A·JFORV/CHI1AVADGRP missions and the

i.ncreasi~lf iI1tegration of the U. S. Navy and Vietnamese Navy Assets and

responsibilities, it was necessary to make organizational staff changes

to keep pace with the changin~ situation.

In this new organization, the Senior Naval Advisor is also the ACTOV

roordInator, has direct access to the ent:;'.L'e staff, and is double-hatted

as Deputy Chief of Staff for Advisory !'fatters (Code 03). All Assistant

~ n NYIWFil'h I Chi.efs of Staff (ACOS) will report through Code 03 for Naval Ad,';'sory

and ACTOV matters.

The ACOS! 5 have been assigned addit-=-cnal duties und have reorgan­

ized their staffs to include their Naval Advisory Group cOWlterparts "rho

h;).ve thus been absorbed into major divisions of the integrated staff.

lim·:ever, personnel "lho are engaged in purely advisory work and who have

a Vietname~e Navy counterpart lii11 remain at the Vietnamese )Ja":al Head-

quarters and under the control of the Senior Naval Advisor.

This integrated staff Hill become the Navy element of the HAAG UpfJI1

ultimate t{ithdrah'al of U. S. Naval forcea from Vietnam.

Line diagrams showing the former and present COMNAVFORV/CHI!AVADGRP

<:'t .'lff C:l'ganiznt ion follow:

COMFIDENTIH CONFIDENTIAL

104

i

P.

"CA. WISTANT

"'" Pt:lISf,QIN

UI'T U£'~_

M'STOIIIAII

err I!~ (-:.All IUIf; 8.I.t]

-

"

FOlrftER

COlltWFORY'CHNAVADVCRP STAFF ORGANIZATION

"" lIEU1BlMT '!D£

000 CT_ .....

SP£CIAL ASSISTANT '" ~

,.,

SCIENTIFIC AFf,l,II!!;

.. C05 )IITElLJG£lCE

CAPT "1'L[

rlllC[

JUOVlAtNOCATE

en 116 IBIIjH~YI

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.~

COMN.tWF'ORV I OiNAVAOYGRP 'l>' """'''''' " .. 00 'AlJII E.II. Z~T.oI'I .000 000 " .... """

DEPUTY ~OIIV/~ "-" LlM._' "" 0< flAOM 'III. fl. FL.l.NAGAN ". .. . ., """""" .70

CHIEF Of STAFF .'fl!ItIIISTIATM

ASSlSTMT

10, r..A:<"!" E.K nco ... F' LCDIt __ ....

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oWl SI'£CIAi. PIIO.IEtTS --- ..... IC AFfAIIS CI'FlC£ - I"" ASSIST"NT CHIEFS or STAFf

lCOS OPERATIOfIIS

., ~ ...... ~ ~ ~

5011011 ADVISORS , ..

5EIII0II UVilL .Il/VISOII

STAfl'

M[OICAl CHA1'LA,1II

l1 .... _ .-"'" lO&lsncs ----

SENIOR .""'1': AlIto'ISOII

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fOlC£ 1Gfo.:ClDR

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P~.c.s.ti\iT CQMNAVfORV ! r::HNAVADVGIIP STAFf ORGANIZATION

I IIPllMIU I~b"

C0NFIDli:JrrrAL

GI.OSSARY OF ABBREVIATI<lIS CONflUENT/Ai

The following abbreviations and terms are commonly used in the combat

zone by all agencies and are listed here in amplification of those used in

t.hA text.

All:;'

.\: elI FlN TeOI

Attack by fire

A nul ti - purpose barge, standard size is tvrenty - ei.ght

fe3t by nir.ety feet

ARV:! Arny of the Republic of Vietnam

113::3 AS3ault Support Patrol Boat

ATC Ar,flOred Troop Carrier

A'fSE Advance Tactic3.1 Support Base

.:\ ''', AutoJ1latic ""eapons

Black P{my/Bronco OV-l0 Twin Engine Turboprop Counterinsurgency Aircraft

SC0 Co~~d and CommunicationR Boat

eG Coastal Group (VNN)

CHICU'1 Chinese Corn!nunist

r:TIJG Ci vilian Irre~111ar Defense Groups - mercenaries of

CT"

C"

'Jl1Stoff

Douche Boat

FSB

Vietnamese, iaotia~, Cambodian descent who fight

around own villages

Corps Tactical Zone

Coastal Zone

Kedical evacuation by helicopter

ATC equiped to deliver a high pressure stre~n' of,

Erwmy initiated firefight

Fir" Support Base

CONFI DEN'i'IAL

rIlMFlnfNT\ t

GJA

[-{".-J

lAYT

LC?i

uwr

1 L!!

"UIITCH

'!SB

-.:SJ

,." ~.' ,'.";'!

;JUC

!Ieu

'Free v;orld Military Assl.stance Forces

O .. .m Damage ARsessment

Government of Vietnam

ihrassr:J.ent and Interdiction Fire Support

.<i.11OO in Act ion

Light Attack Fire Team COV_10IS).

tanding Craft, Personnel, LarEe

Vietna..'lleS8 equivalent of !JS~{ underwater demolition teams

Iieht Helo Fire Team

lH-6 lifht Observation Helicopte~

lunG Hanre HeconnaissRnce 2.strol

Hi..litary Assistance Ccl11T!1aI1d, Vietnam

! .. robile lI.dvance Tactical Support Base

··:ed~cal Civic Action Program

'!eavily ar'TIored LCI1-6 (LtO.11m cannon or 105mrn ryowitzer)

","obile ;-Uverine Base

'iobile Ri.verine F'orc3

'linesweeper, Boat

:!:.neeweeper, Drone

! :obile Strike Force - mercenaries who deploy. and go

~nywhere

Naval Gunfire Support

naval Intelligence Liaison Officer

l'nr,ht llbservation Device

-, ':

~'l·

,':'~,,\~,:ctF

SSB

CTAB

HOH

USAHV

'{.,n . .j

CON f I OF. H I A'I ;.J'orth V:tetnamese Arn::r

?atrol Doat, River

Patrol Craft, Fast (SPlIT Boat)

Patrol Gl.U1boat

=Tov).ncial Reconnaissance Unit

"7sychological Ope~atiorls

Rive.c As;,ault Divi.sioz.;

ITi ver Assault Group (VIm)

F:~ ler AS~;::iult and Interdiction Division ('T.{i'!)

l1iver Assault .<:;quadron

Regional Force:=;/PcFllar Forces

:1ocket Propelled Grenade

I1.w1P, Sat. Special Zon~

:J:~-1B Helo, heavily .'lrmed, USN cperated

S".drrl:net' Support Boat (8kirn."I'Ier)

S3Al Team Assault Boat

Tactical Area of Responsibility

:.Jnited States Army, Vi.etna:11

Victna.rnese Harine Corps,

Vietnamese .NaV"J

Flame throHel' equipped;ATC or NONITCR _,

\