COMvMAN DERUMe NA~VAL FORCES

MONTHLY HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENT

SEPTEMBER,. 1969 DCASEEJBIUTION UTA'IFIzm

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U. S. NAVAL FORCES. VIETNAMFPO SAN FRANCISCO 9i462

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Ser: 0686• 4 4 f 1969

Cu r•':FDITTAL - unclassified upon re-oval of enclosure

From: Conmander U. S. Naval Forces, VietnamI qTo: Distribution List

Sub i: Commnder UJ. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical Summaryfor September 1969; forwarding of

4Encl: (1) Commander U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly HistoricalSwmmarry for September 1969

1. Enclosure (1) is forwarded.

"2. The Civic Action Statistical Su-Lry includes data which applies tothe period 26 July through 25 August.

.F 24.I4ETT H. f) Accession For.. ! CHIEF OF STAFFCHE Ft iNTIS GRA&I

Distribution: DTIC TABCINCPACFLT () UnannouncedCCI1WS•ACV (Hist. Branch, SJS) Jun a ion] ;CCH11ISThXCV (Doctrine Branch, J-3053) Justificatio -

CC!IWJSACV (COC, JOD) ICC*!TUSVLAC (J3-12) By~ Lke

j Director of Naval His.tori iBY & ..C1•O (OP-O9B91B) Distribution/CNO (OP-O3, o4, o5, o6) (1 ea) Availability Codes• CZ1o (oP-34)C1O (OP-32) 'Avail and/or

C (Ops. val. Group) ist Special

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* ~CCCBLA'ITC0111ThAC"Commndant, Armed Porce. Staff CollegeC(QIAVFACm•:GCa!SUPT, USNA

CU !IAVPI1IBCC!i, ].C; E.4* CC .;AVH!B•,L, CuRClADO

Fx1-LETRADFT FAITS::SRDC, PAIFANIOTC MARISProject 1lana7er, Naval Inshore Warfare Project, Washington, D. C. 20360

CG Aerospace Studies Institute (CODE ASAS), Maxwell AF3, Ala. 36112

Cir.'AVSEV, C and GS Cal., Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas 66027CICNAVSEC, A-.- University (Attn: AUL (SE)-69-10), Mawxell AFB, Ala. 36112

USA Special warfare School (Attn: USN/C Liaison Officer) Ft. Bragg, N. C. 23307USB.OC Rep., 7. S. Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning Ga. 31905DIA (DIAA?-L'.2 Pentagoa)

* " AVFCRV CI.Z 05216 of 31 July 1969List III A. (1)List IV A. (1)

Office of t-he Senior 1arine Advisor, Naval Advisory Group, Box 9, FPO Sani ?rancisco 96626

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"L I NICTC MARISI Project 4anager, Usaval Inshore Warfare Project, Washington, D. C. 20360

CG Aerospace Studles Institute (CODE ASAS), Maxwell AFB, Ala. 36112

CM'AVSEV, C and GS Col., Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas 6602?

"C;AVSEC, Air University (Attn: AUL (SE)-69-10), Iaxwell AFB, Ala. 36112

"USA Special :arfare School (Attn: USN/MC Liaison Officer) Ft. Bragg, N. C. 283071 USMC Rep., U. S. Army Infantry School, Ft. Benning Ga. 31905DIA (DIAA0P-1A2,Pentagon)"NAVFGCRV ?,iE 05216 of 31 July 1969

List III . (1)List IV A. (1)

Office of the Senior Ilarine Advisor, Naval Advisory Group, Box 9, FPO SanFrancisco 96626

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- Iu. S. NAVAL FORCES

VIETNAM

I MONTHLY HISTORICAL SUM{ARY N

SEPTMBER 1969

L AL

.t:1K

SoGRouP 1aI ~Dcrngraded at 3 year interval.s !

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List of Charts and Photographs ............. ...... ..

!• -OERTIN EAA•SSkMMRY ..... ........... 0...... .........

-OPERATIN SEA. .LODS S~ h ~ R 54 ~~~~~~~ii Slingsiiot Campaign............ . . .

4 Border Interdictim Ca=PaI. . .. .............. ......... 1SSearch Turn Ca--?,iP ........... I.................. *.................7

• 20Riverine Strike Group ....... 20

Market Time PFaier Ccam1P ...................... ....... 29SOperat io SEA iORDS Statistical Su==mry (USN&VA Forces)......... 29

:-•{ ZOperation SEA LORDS Statistical Sm•r (Cambined reselts by all

friendly forces involved)e.. ......... . ......... .... 30

"" COASTAL SFtMCE S ............................ 31

First coasi. ze ..................... ............. 3...* Second Coastal Zie.. *...... 140

Third Coastal ZOe .............. 3....... .. .................

"Oporati x 3rLrt Tis ....... ....................... 0.. 48Operati•a•Sta noat/rran Humg Dao I ............................ 61

Operation S~rble Door .. ........ . * .............. 73

.ARL nx mAT ................... 77

Gameno WviL b2. eera3tlons ............. ................ 86Si'-ne-.'V Haras"-=t/Attack on Merchant Shipping,. ............ 88

"" Task Force Clearwater . ..................... . . .......... 88

USN Statistical SU= , ...................................... 90

SNAVAL ADVISmm CROp sm RY:.......... . ...... 9: :

4 ~VietwxzThXlbfi~1¾.... .. 103"" Vietnarzso •-r_.ne Corps.).......................... 105

- VNIVOfl/V Statistical SuiLXry ............................... ill

PSYCHCIO3ICWL OCPS?.TI•IS AND CIVIC ACTICO Stt•Re .............. 113____CI____.....

116"•"-; USN Civic AC~n StatlistiCa1Sl 3r.-r£ ....................

ACCELRATM TUR-•;0ER PIOCGRAPM In TRAIDING SW-WRY .............. 118

1 GLOSSARY OF A-?ARVITIS ......... ......... .. \...........123

.-------------...........

-7

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CONFIDENrTIAL

LIE" OF CHARLTS AND PHIOTOGRAPS•

Lame

1. (P) OV-10 Aircraft ......................................... IV

- 2. (P) Mobile Base II ......................... . 4.

3. (P) "Swift" Boats .......................................... 16

4. (C) Operations in the First Coastal Zone ................... 39

5. (C) Operations in the Second Coestal Zone .................. 426. (C) Operations in the Third Coastal Zone ................ * 7

7. (C) Market Time Raidsr - SEA LORDS Operations in the:1 Third Coastal Zne ....................... ... ..... 53

8. (C) Market Time Raider - SEA LORDS Operatiens in theFouth Coastal Zme ....................................

9. (C) Sea Float Operatms in the Fourth Coastal Zone ........ 5.,10. (P) "Rocket Boat"........... ......................... 78S11. (P) Fero-cement Junk.................. .................. 102

1 12. (P) ACTOV Trainee .......................................... 117

J*--13. (P) Coast Guard WM ..................................... 119

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71,ueration Sea Lords Summarr

.:4

a Operation Sea Lords, which began on 18 October 1968, is a continuous

overall effort which has several principal operational parts: Giant Sling-

shot/Barrier Reef Last (CTG 194.9), Tran Hung Dao/Barrier Reef West (CTG

194-.4), Search Trun (CTG 194.3), Market Time Raiders (CTG 194,.5), Riverine

Strike Group (CTG 194.7), and Breezy Cove (CTG 194.2). Sea Lords main

0 objectives have been: (1) to interdict infiltration from Cambodia by

- placing naval units along infiltration routes; (2) to clear and open Delta

s waterways; and (3) to penetrate long held eneny areas with raider operations.

Now, after nearly a year of Sea Lords operations, naval forces have

succeeded, along with the Army and Air Force, in contributing to the inter-

"diction of supplies coming into Vietnam from Cambodia and to the return to

government control of the rivers in the lower Delta and various VC strong-

holds. To date, more than 3070 VC have been killed and 500 tons of munitions

and supplies in caches found and destroyed.

"Perhaps even more important than these statistics are the intangible

results such as inhabitants along the waterwyas being able to move about

with greater freedom and safaty and the fact that areas once controlled by

the VC are now open to economic development. Waterway3, once used with

impunity by the enemy, are now closed to him, backing up his supplies which

now take him longer to get through. This, in turn, has lessened theS~frequency and duration of enemy "high points."

j The Mang Thit Campaign (CTG 194.6), which began on 18 July 1969, had as

"its basic objective the pacification of the area adjacent to the canal in order

to stimulate the resettlement of this area and the promotion of the government

image. This campaign terminated 20 September the initial objectives having

CONFIDENTIAL

• 4

-Il -J. -:6 11--,,VN~ %-Ml ;T1-1%_1 ý-- T-W -T. -j-

LI

been achieved. During the tensure of naval units, traffic on the Mang Thit/

Nicolai Canal doubled from approximately 1,000 units to 2,000 units per month.

There also was a noticeable pacification improvement as evidenced by numerous

hootches being built in previously uninhabited areas, the enthusiastic response

of people along the canal bank to the PBR presence, and the increased responsej to medical aid missions. During the first twenty days of the month, PBER's of

RIVDIV 535 made no significant contact wit! the enemy and were chopped to CTU

1194.4 and relocated to TREH 20 in the vicinity of Chou Doc.

As an extension of Sea Lords and in support of the Fourth CTZ pacifica-

tion program, Operation Breezy Cove was activated on 25 September. The mis-

! sion is to implenent USN Game Warden type PER Operations on the Song Ong Doe

in An Xuyen Province in order to prevent w infiltration, movement, and-. resupply along the inland waterways in the Song Ong Doe area in order to en--

hance the goverment of Vietnamls pacification program. Active Vietnamese

* ~Navy participation will begin during late October or November pending fuzture

PBR turnovers.

On 24 Septenbor, the USS GARRUETT COUWT (LST 786) arrived in the vicimity

of the Soy , Ong Doc from Rach Gia with HAL 3, DET 6 embarked to provide support

* for the off lcadint positioning, and outfitting of the &=I pontoons that

-were consolidated into an Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB). RIVDIV 572arrived from Bir~h Thuy on 26 Septenber and assu-ed designator CTU 194.2.1

cozcmencing operations on 28 September. They were Joined on the 30th by 2 -

S4 ASPB's, 3 ATC1s, ard a Monitor which beca-,07 CTU 194.2.3.

On 28 Septe.ber, the District Chief, Song Ong Doc, who had been in WBGP

position for several nights in order to observe two yound :adies who had re-

cently moved into town to -t up shop, was forced to send thA= back to Saigon.

CO-IDENTA 2

" ... I .......- - -. . .-.. . . . - -. * . . . .. .. . . . .. .. ."

-7 Z

"Apparently, these yaing ladies had heard in Saigon that t he Navy vas moving

in (to Song Ong Doc) and wanted to be there rirstest with the mastest. There

were no casualties reported on either side. Xinh loi!

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Giant Slingshot Campaign

With over 118 USN and VNN craft committed to the Giant Slingshot Caa-

paign along with U.S. and ARVN ground troops, this campaign continues to be

the most active 2nd effective of the SEA LORDS interdiction barriers. Con-

I ducted on the Van Co Dong and Van Co Tay Rivers, Giant 6lingshot forms a

j! natural barrier around the "Parrot's Beak" area of Cambodia which protrudes

into Vietnam and is an enemy sanctuary only 35 miles west of Saigon.

Intelligence reports continue to come in describing the difficulty

caused to the eneny by the constantly patrolling units not only in terms of

physically preventing his freedom of movement, but also denying him adequate

weapons, foodstuffs, and medical supplies. c g

During the month, increased river bank activity and river crossing at-

tempts in the daylight hours suggests that certain areas of the Vain Co Dong

are so difficult to cross at night due to the constant pressure of RIVDII?

4units that the Viet tong prefer to &ttempt crossing during the hours of

peak sampan traffic.I Compared to the previous months, Giant Slingshot in September was ex-* tremely quiet. Hostile fire incidents which had been averaging 130 per:month for the past six months, dropped to 56 in September. Enemy KIAIs

(BC and EST) correspondingly decreased from 363 in August to 146 this

4 month while friendly casualties decreased from 36 killed and 204 woundedI in August to 33 wounded in September.At 2215 on 3 September, two PBR's of TU 194.9.1 inserted a company of

- U.S. Army troops nine miles southwest of Ben Luc (XS 722 662). As one of the

* I5 ~CuL;FIDE1TlAL

4 iI

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'.PBRts was backilng off the beach, small arms fire was received from the north,

west and a sampan with five occupants was detected pulling into the bank 20

Smeters away. *:. the friendly units opened fire, t.hey received grenades and

4, small arms fire in return wounding two Army troops. Enemy tasualties were

considerably greater since their losses werei. five killed; one sampan des-i tryed;and wo A-4T's, a K-59 pistol, and a large amount of medical sup-

plies captured.•! About mid-day on 5 September, while on a routine patrol on the Vain Co Tay

A River 5j miles northwest of Tan An (XS 480 700), two PBR's of TU 194.9.2 were

Shailed by a water taxi because two me nthe taxi desire to raly urren-

S, dering an M-1 carbine and a 30 round magazine, they stated that there werei other VC in the area who might also want to rally. The PBR's returned to

base for loudspeakers, and one of the Hoi Charhs• made a live broadcast inthe VC base area wth negative results . - s to Tan

i • An Chieu Hoi Center, the PBR's pulled into thr. Hoi Chanhs' village so theyP131'could talk to their families and friends. The PBwas received an enthusiastic

! • welcome from the villagers.

That aternpoon, on the Vacn Co Dont River, Pe's of CTU 19i.9.t on rou-

•- tine patrol two miles northwest of Tra Cu received from three to four rockets

;.'•i and light automatic weapons fire from the east bank. The bulk of the fire was

directed at the cover boat which took a rocket thet on the pore aide of the

coxswain flat below the armor plating resulting in three USN and one VNN

S~wounded (boat captain seriously). The PBR went out of control and beachedI on the west bank as the other PlR's returned fire and remained in the area

" rto support the beached boats. Four to six VC were seen evading the area and

" Iwere taken under fire wion 5 nSeptemb er hle o a ea tol on the arrived C

• -'" • CONFIMDNIMAL

S:

I.• , I ie 'mlsnrheto a An . .. (X-8 0) w PBR'..-.-of -.-- 1-- 4.9.2 wer.-e.:..,'-i-÷ ,-'•'•*""*:'""'"'•,•""hailed,'.by a. water. .,a'-.-because.two. men-on the.'' "ax.-'de.-ire-'.to,.-rally .. " Sre---'-."".'-.',

. - --------------

on station and proceeded to place strikes in the contict area which were*

followed by artillery. Thirt7-seven minutes after the initial engagement,

a PBR. patrol and VNI ATC that had been scrambled arrived with a platoon of

Army troops for insertion. The troops swept the contact area and found

fresh trails, ar.bush positions on the bank, and two bunkers which they des-

"troyed. After a strike by an )V-10 that had arrived on the scene, plus an1 additional strike by a second Seawolf, the VVN ATC pulled the beached PBR

"clear. Enemy casualties for the engagement were 1 VC killed and I VC prob-

.1 ably killed.

Two PBRis of the Upper Vam Co Tay Patrol Unit, acting on local intelli-

I gence, inserted, supported, and extracted 36 PHU troops on the Rach Bach Chan

-"4 miles southwest, of Mac Hoa (W3 975 890) on the morning of 6 September. The

troops located two arms caches containing 500 Chicom grenades, 40 B-40 rockets

"and assorted small arms ammunition.

Acting on intelligence that VC sappers were operating in the area, VNN.

RAC of RAG 22 embarked a battalion of ARVN troops and inserted them on the

Vam Co Dong River 14 miles southwest of Saigon (XS 592 795) on the morning

of 9 September. During the sweep, the troops located a cache buried in tin

S• 1boxes which consisted of: 6 boxes of T??T; 1.000 pounds of C-4; 224 6o=

mortar rounds; 216 82nn mortar fuzes; 150 B-40 rockets; 100 B-40 boosters;

31 mines of various types; 16 hand grenades; 10 AK-47's; and 31 boxes of

-I AK-47 ammunition.

All the material in the cache was in very good condition, and it is es-

timated that the cache had been in place less than seven days. There was no

. I enemy contact.

'''" 7 CONFI31LTIAL

- - -- - -- - - - -

S~........... .- -'.- -_".--'-.-.'--.-.=..-,.----- .. ........-......

SA*

.- .

operati.z on SEAL intellitence, SEAL Team, DEr GO1, Colf platoon, squad

BRAVO conducted interdiction of a reported special supply convoy on 14 Sep-

tember 3A miles south southeast of Ben lIc (AS 629 710). While in waterborne

"1 guardpost position, the SEALts observed.a large sampan containing approxi-

*1 matel~y 12 men exit the canal. They allowed the craft to reach mid-stream be.-

* j fore initiating contact. The sampan was sunk by direct M-79 hits, and 25

kilos of personnel effects and one kilo of documents were recovered from the

I water. Enemy casualties were 6 VC killed while three SEALts were wounded.

PBR support and artillery illumination was called for, and the PBR'e made

SI firing runs along the river bank and then cleared to the opposite bank. A

SEAL platoon from Alpha squad was inserted at 2245 and patrolled inland ob-

serving numerous blood trails and fresh footprints on both sides of the camal,

but they failed to gain contact.

During the afternoon of 16 September, two RAID 71 units attached to TU

'194.9.3 extracted a U.S. Army platoon directly across from Trn Cu (IS 479

"986) and reinserted then a mile dowuriver (XS 487 974) at the request of

"3rd Brigade units. Once ash:re, the troops swept inland toward an area

¶ where a USA scout team had made recent contact with 3 VC during which one,

Anry man was seriously wounded. The sweoping troops discovered 3 VC bod-

* : ies, 3 NVA ponchos, assorted clothing, cooking utensils, and 50 wooden planks.

on 17 Septem ber, while in night watorborne guardpost three miles west of

enm Luc (XS 575 752), four PBRts of TU 194.9.1 observed three VC in a sampan

"exit a nearby canal. The sampan was taken under fire killing four VC and

capturing four AK-I7's. One USA trooper was wounded seriously when he was bit

* in the left shoulder by autozatic weapons fire. He was dusted off to the

"3rd Field Hospital in Saigon.

CONFIDENTIAL 8

::'i -".''.''.'.." -P....-"-- - . ... ..

% 1 - a. -F- - K- -. - ;77! -Z 'z l'

;.-% ".7 -M 1

C. FL~jFTIAL

Three days later, four different PER's from TU 194.9.1 were in night

waterborne guardpost positions four miles northwest of Ben Luc (.AS 554 810)

with a U.S. Arnv comparn. Eight to twelve VC were spotted and taken under

j• fire by the troops after which they were extracted to allow the PBRIs to

take the area under fire and a Black Pony air strike. The troops were then

reinserted for a sweep which discovered 4 VC bodies.

Two Upper Vam Co Dong Patrol Unit PER's inserted U.S. Aruy troops eight

4 miles south of Tay Ninh (XT 244 353) prior to daylight on 22 September. After

only a few minutes ashore, the troops reported seeing five lights and 15-20

persons moving 200 yards to the northwest of their location (XT 242 355).

Seawolves were screpbled and were overhead in five minutes making M-60 and

4D=~ri firing runs. Afloat units remained in the area as a reaction force,

and as they patrolled along the bank, they discovered a small cache containing

an AX-47, four B-40 rockets, and a small amount of AK-47 ammunition. Results

of the action were three VC killed and three probably killed. There were no

friendly casualties.

On the 28th of September, combined units of RAID 70, ?1, and RAD 151,

while in night waterborne guardpost position with a U.S. Army platoon, ob-

served three VC on the riverbank opposite their position on the Van Co Dong

SRiver seven miles southwest of Ben Luc (XS 723 660). The three VNN craft

i opened fire and caught the VC in a crossfire while receiving negative return

fire. Artillery was then called in after which the units returned to the4

area and spotted three bodies neor the water line. There were no friendly

casualties.

In a turnabout is fair play routine, ASPB units of 194.9 "psyopsed"

one of the Viet Cong's newest psyops devices. These units were in waterborne9

I Ii

) 2 : : .: . .: .• . • . ..: : .....: . , -: .. . -: .: - --. ..: .-: -: : :: : ; : .: . , . . ..: : : : , : -- .., : : : : .: : : .. : ; : ..::9. C.: :O.-: N: F . . -:.D-:E N: :I-I-A. .L .:4.- -: -.

77 :K 71 71 -- ' - :J~r

CONFIDENTIAL

guardpost position 8 diles northwest of Tuyen Whon on the Yan Co Tay River

(XS 187 843) on 29 September when they observed movement on the river banks..] •

They broke position and found 2' by 2' floats with VC leaflets attached.

After close examination, the floats were picked up, and the area was rconned

Sby fire with negative results. Tho floats were returned to Tuyen Nhon wher

the leaflets were removed and turned over to KIlO. The favor was then re-

* turned as US/VN leaflets were attached to the sawe floats which were then re-

turned to the original position and released on the following night.

Two units from RAID 71 and RIVDIV 151 in support of a U.S. Arms pla- .-

toon on 29 September discovered 225 pounds of TNT in I pound blocks packaged

in six crate;. The condition of the crates and explosives indicated that

they had bee* cached for a considerable length of time. The ArAy units

were led to the cache site 100 meters from the bank of the Ben Luc River

2j miles north of Ben Luc (XS 638 798) by a Nit Carson scout who had re-

S-ently Chieu Hold. The cache was located in the bottom of a bomb or artil-

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Border Interdiction Cq.mg4Mi

Task Group 194.4 had an average of nearly 120 USNJ and VNN craft assigned

, .4'

during Sertember. :nterdiction operations were conducted in tne Tran Hung Dao

area of operations which included approximately ;2 4B(Pts with 300 RF/*PF troops

placed nightly increasing to 35 ;JBPWs at month's end, the locations of the

sites being determined by current intelligence, by recomen.: .ions of locl.-- 1

commanders, and by analysis of historical inteligence to determine previous-

j ' ly used infiltration routes or areas. Ten pBR's and four to five RAC's were

-employed during the month to carry out interdiction operations on Barrier Reef

qest.

In an effort to tighten the interdiction barrier and because of the sea-

sonal flooding with its resultant water table that has inundated large areas

compounding interdiction problens, a new tactic for this particular area cam

into use during September. Sampans were utilized by friendly troops to extend

the WBGP front and thus challenge the ensmy at his own game. Under the present

rules a squad size, three sampan, independent WBGP is positioned 300 meters

from the PBR's thus permitting a much wider dispersion of waterborne interdic-•-1•

tion forces. At the end of the nmot-, conventional WB&' tactics were farther

altered by the use of single boat W'afIM1 throughout the Tran Hung Dao/1arrier

I Reef TAOR. PCFts, VINN Junks, PMR's and RAC were assigned geographical sectors

in which thcy changed station randomly. These assigned craft were complemented

by troops, sampans, air boats, and Kenner Ski Barges in order to achieve maxi-

mum probability of detection and countering enerty infiltration.

* In additional changes, on 13 September, the USS HUJ•TDON COb.TY (IST 838) .,

arrived off Ha Ties to support RIVDIV 532 and provide other assistance as feas-

ibe for operations in Ha Tien TACR and assumed designator TU 194.4.9 with TU

194.4.8.1, DnET 3, embarked to provide air support in western Tran Hung Dao.

11 C0NPDEN-TIAL

+.x-.+,-.-_-..-.•- ...-.-. -. -..-..~~~~~~~~...... .. ; ......... ..... .... _-....-•. . +......., ......... ...... ,.+--,-.,- ....,,+•,+,+•,+.,., . - . ,.+ -,. , ',, , + • . +' .-- _ - . + ° ,, +% - -,+ - • . ., . . . .. .. ++: .", • + + . ,+ • + - + . . . .. •1 .+ - .. . ... .. .

CONFDErIAL

On 15 Septenber, BAD 132 relieved BAD 131 in Operation Tren Hung Dao and

chopped to CTG 194.4 as HAD 131 returned to Dong Tas. On 27 Septeber,

HAL 3, MT 9, consisting of two UH-l1 gunships arrived at TRBK 21 (ws 392

895) and assumed CTE 194.4.5.1 and will operate primrily in support ef

I Barrier Reef West.4 Two Mrs of TU 194-4.4 were in "WBG on the Vinh To Canal six miles

Ssouthwest of Chou Doe (WS 049 796) on 4 Septabr when they observed 50

or more enmy troops in a col2n of 20 to 25 smpas approaching from the

* east moving west. The PBR's opened fire and requested artillery illsin-•

Sation. After forty-five minutes, artiller7 illaixnation had still not. been

received, and Black Pony aircraft in the area made 1llunation runs with

negative sighti"gs, however, visibility was very poor dae to rain. Kna

troops were beleved to have retreated acres the Canbodian border one

mile to the nortbvst.

!•.•Three days later, a nile down the earl (WS3 035 79)p two additior&I

I IVT 194.4.4 PBR'3 were in bIBM whms thoy cbseryed one sanpan crossinig fromsouth to north. The PM initiated fire and dtntre7ed the saxpan. Three

ensvy were killed and two grenAdes, am MA umifoa, four poachos, a first

aid kit, and scme articles of clothing were found in the samn.

Still another mile farther to the west on the Yin~h Te Caral (,'I020 M~),ITU 194.4.4 PBRfs in h-W~ observed two VC in a sanpas with two VC avvlaiMa.longside crossing the canal towardo the Morth om 19 Seqptsab. Whos the

-A VC saw the PBR's, they attaapted to evade and were taken utier fire aM

were killed. At this time, the PER9s recei•od scsttercd &Vzll m fire

from unknown positions to the south resultina in vory slih denage

to one PFBR E=y casualties were 4 VC kill d. There were so frismay

"casualties."CONFIDETIAL 12

r g .

..........................

-------------- L

- ' -- -.---- . .$

--1 VNN junks and a Coastal Group 44 reaction team in dBGP the foll:)ing

night 13 miles northeast of Ha Tien on the Tin. Te Cana" (VS 600 634)

sighted approximnately 20 persons to the north of their position proceeding

south. When the reaction force opened fire, they received return automatic

weapons fire as the ene=y evaded north into Cambodia. A sweep conducted

later by the reaction force with Black Pony aircr-aft orbiting to the south

SI of the canal produced negative results. Eneny casua-.lties were estimated

as three VC killed while friendly casualties were oze VMN killed and one

* j� ON slightly wounded.

While on Cambodian border patrol, units of MIN2tV 113 on 11 September

sighted a funeral float drifting down the Mekong River 131 miles northeast

i of Chou Doe (Wr 210 030). One unit followed the flot until it was 17 miles

east northeast of Chou Doc (14S 380 930) where it rz aground and was par-

I tially destroyed. The remains of the float were towed into the river and

destroyed by M-79 fire.

Two ATC's of RAD 132 were in waterborne guardpcat position 151 miles 0

; jnortheast of Ha Tien on the Vinh Te Canal (VS 645 635) on 19 September

when two persons were observed in the vicinity of an abandoned hootch neartheir position. A sniper opened fire and shot one -n through the head

and is believed to have hit the other one. A sweep at first light revealed

I- I large amounts of blood on the ground near the hootcht. There were no friendly -*

casualties.

-: PBR's of aIVDIV 512 were in WEM positions in 'he early orning of 24

Sept ember on a small canal off the Vinh Te Canal 21 miles southeast of Chou

Doe (VS 870 560) when they spotted two groups of VCflVA approximately 200

yards apart. The first group, which was 200 yards from the PER's, evidently

13 CONFIDr4rAL -

"t i

S. -.-_-

= .-. 2*.'..------------------"..'=',•' :\'..' "... -- .-. -.-...... .-. ..-... ....-..-..... ..........-.- .-.- .-. .... . .'..."......-.. -.. -. . -. . - - .. . , ,. -. -,.- .'

- *. W '.-!.t " .-f Y S

+ ~~-.. .+,,

CJ.FlrFrADrIAL

sighted the 512 units as they were observed setting up mortars. The Pa's

initiated fire on the first group and received sporadic A0-47 fire in return.

A USN 07-10 was diverted and was overhead in five minutes. Placing multiple

strikes in the contact area, it obtained one secondary explosion. The UV-10

was relieved by an IMFT which also placed a strike in the area. A morrAng

sweep by CIDG troops produced negative results with only miscellaneous equip-

ment located. Enemy casualties were 10 KIA/ABA (Prob). There were no friendly

"casualties.

SIn the early morning on 26 September, a VN outpost in the Tien Binh dis-

j trict 51 miles southwest of Chou DTe (WS 049 798) was reported under attack

by 50 VC. An LHFT of HAL 3, DET 3, was scrambled and sent to the scene where

it searched the area with negative results. Meanwhile, personnel manning an

NOD approximately two miles away (WS 088 799) reported moving lights were seen

about 1½ miles southwest of their position (WS 075 782). The LHFT then made a

low level reconnaissance using its landing lights and observed four or five

sampans with 10-15 people aboard. With clearance from the province ard con-

currence from CTG 194.4, the LHFT placed multiple machine gun and rocket

strikes in the area. Emy losses were 5 VC killed (Prob) and 2 to 5

sampans sunk or danwged (Prob) while there were no friendly casualties.

teJunks of Coastal Group 42, while proceeding to WBGP on 27 September on

Sthe Vinh Te Canal about 13 miles northeast of Ha Tien (VS 52 640 to VS 585

* - 635), received two B-40 rounds at an estimated range of 10 meters. The

units returned fire for 20 minutes, then one unit cleared the area to

" evacuate two wounded VNI. At that time, the remaining unit received A/I

"fire. A few minutes later, un LHFT arrived on the scene to provide close

support. The LHFT made five firing runs and received AAW fire on all runs.

CONFIDENTIAL

- -- .. - c..... ..... ............. .. . . ..+ + .,.= .+ . . • • o . ++ . - . . ., . - . . .. .+ . • . . .. . . . .

+ =+ . = + . _ =_ ++ . . + _ + , •= .+ + . + . ., , + , + , . . . .. . . + .. ..

A ~ ~~~~~~ .. .-- .* .. ....-- . -

,A,

-heLTha W cleared the area. as an LAFT arrived to provide support aMd il-

lumination for a ground sweep, which showed that an estimated five 30n62

.2;•" has been in ambush position approximately 200 meters to the north and

an estimated company sized unit had beaten down the undergrowth. It is

believed that the ambush was planned as a diversion for an enay crossing

.,. which had been prevented in the intended area. hnawt casualties are un-

known while friendly casualties were two VMN wounded (one serious).

I On the evening of 28 September, PBR's of RIVDIV 514 sighted three

sampans each carrting two persons 150 feet from their W" position 6

, miles west southwest of Chou Doc on the Vinh Te Canal (WS 037 790). The

1 PBiIs initiated fire with illumination provided by an IMPT with uknowno

" results. Several minutos later, fire was once more initiated. A swoep

discovered 2 VC bodies and one sampan. The two enem bodies appeared to

"be under sixteen. %.N.

A"A

- IM

I'1,i4, fI

- I

•

"I

• ,.4

1 35

." .Z• s" -. -. ... " ., . .. -.-: ". . ...-*- -'. --.."' .',. .. . . .... . . .-. .. . . .-

Lkk

4 i4

w4 434 4

4 54

"4t ....tj*.

lo1

Search Turn Campaign

Task Group 194.3 with an average of 30 PBaes and four Seawolves as-

signed continued rotine sorties, waterborne guardposts, and interdiction

patrols in Zion Giang Province and the Gulf of Thailand, in addition to

supporting the 21st ARV1N Division In the "Three Sisters" area.. Comencing

on 12 Septerher, the Search Turn AO was broken down into the following

areas of responsibility: (1) P.IVDIV 554, TU 194.3.5, to patrol lien Tan,

Kien Tanh, and 15-nh Binh Districts out of Bach 505-; (2) RIVDV 513, TU

1941.31., to patrol the Song Cd ion, Xicm An District, and the lower Odlf

i ~out of Bach Soi; and (3) BIVDIV 553, TU 194.3.2 to patrol lien Son and li-on

Thung District including the upper Gulf out of Mien Son.

Diuring September the enemy suffered 76 killed by Search Turn units which

.7

1 is two more than the previouas month. However, this was accomplished while re-

ducing friendly casualties from 4 killed and 10 wounded in Augast to 2 killed

* ~and four wounded in September. The following incident narrative are typical.

of activity in the Search Turn AO.

Oa 6 Septemcber, two M113 of RIVDIV 553 supporting 21st ARYN Division

operations sighted and took under fire three swizmers crossing from east to

* ~west on the Iaiynh Quynb Canal IS miles northwest of Bach 05-a (VS 861 238).

Seawolves were diverted f rom their patrol and placed air strikes wihile the

PM's provided iumination. The PBR's and Seawolves both rec..ved return

STfire fro p the baiks and returned and suppressed some. As the Seawolves

deputed station, Black Ponies arrived arn placed additional air strikes. A

I. atroop sweep at d ryligit turned up four VC bodies, a s inLU amount of clothiM,

4-

""and sup o m fr esg h ly us ed A Va d rvi s son in gs th Th eree wser se nor iea l ~ ca u li es.

1 17 CONFIDWNIAL'

Iz

'.. -I-

.

. . . .

4 -!..1

•to p t o .h Son -a .on . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4'

,P - .--

On 11 September, two PR s of RIVDIV 513 in iBG on the Song Cai Be

ll miles south southeast of Rach Gia (WR 178 888) observed two saapr.

approaching their position after curfew. The nuaber of occupants could

not be determined due to the extreme darkness. The sampans were taken un-

der fire and a subsequent search of the area resulted in the capture of one

VC suspect and one sampan. In addition, one VC was probably killed and a

srnpan destroyed while there were no friendly casualties. Also on the 11th

in a typical Sep.wolf mission, two Seawolves on southern coastal patrolS 1 were cleared by CTG 194.3 to strike targets of opportunity in a designated

target area 18 miles southwest of Rach Gia (VR 940 810). The results were

seven structures destroyed and eight damaged, seven sampans destroyed and

18 damaged, and four VC probably killed.

Two RIVDIV 553 PBRts were in WB(P positiors on 14 September when they

sighted six unoccupied sampans floating toward their position on the V-a-

Ray Canal 24 miles northwest of Rachr Gia. Taking the sampans under fire

resulted in several secondary explosions. At the same time, small arms

fire was received from the west bank, which was returned and suppressed.

Seawolves were scrambled and arrived on ;he scene after the PER~s had en-

gaged in a second firefight. The Seawolves placed a strike which was fol- ""

4' lowed at daybreak by a troop sweep. A search of the area and the sampan

wreckage produced one VC body and indications that six more were probably

killed. In addition, three AK-47's, two cases of AK-47? ammunition, two

" B-40 rockets, one M-16 rifl 5 , ten M-16 magazines, and four pieces of web.

There were no friendly casualties.

An unfortunate accident occurred on 15 Septeber when Seawolf 302 of

"TU 194.3.3 crashed into tht Gulf of Thailand during a scramble takeoff in

a rain squall. The two pilots were wounded (one seriously) and the two

crewmen were killed."CO-IDENTIAL 1

t' I ; ' -" -' " '

' '"" + +-+.":,.'•. '. .''':'-.- ''.-+ l-''\'• \'• " ,'''..''- '" '.'",.-" . ., "- ,"." .- .+ .".:-".'-" -. ".s-

f-

.. v.

*PI's 677 and 679 of RIVDIV 513 were in " on the Ca Lon.River 20

miles south sout.seast of Each Gia (RIt 200 772) on 20 September when the Af-

ter gunner )n one of the buts was hit in the chest by an eneny grenade

which then fell on the boat's pump covers. The cylck thinking gunner

quickly retrieeed the gereade hurling it back into the nippa plaa bush

.from which it eminated. The grenade exploded probably killing one VC.

19. COFDETA

t 1

*1i II Ii.

. .1

S .1I 19 CONFIDENTIAL

•."- .... .. ... .. ... ...... -" -" "I.". :' "•'"-'" "--" -"""" "" "" "".. . ""- "-""""'""-"-"" '""~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-." .: - .-." .- ;' -• -":-- ..........

(Took Group 1.94.7)

The rm~gita of the nov defunct (as of 25 August 1969) 316b110 Ri~rim

Force m~onsist, of River Awault Divisions 13 mncl 7.5 amd continue oPs~aioX*l

oomiei~nts as the Riverine SU-Ike rcvi Or-O) vithl* th& OPealttion kU

3 ~orpniaationgl structure an depicted In the fofloving Obarts

i OP0 TIONAL O3RCI&I "N

TF19

1E 1

BIV])ti 133. R VDDV 322 IVIV15

*113

4CM.

IV114I 22 ý I 5LT SM~pý-= LT LO

4Ce~te3tfr Carvefl Bmafr fornznly Coasmer Task Yo0=o 117a River rlo-

ti %S~, agauted. pdznmry duties =~ tbo &Oniar Evteoz', VietmLAeb lauy An-

phibioun TwAc yorce Mf with addiAiozw duties &s Commanm M&' ec~ 194*7

zod on tb3 staf of CciandVT River Patr.Ol Flotilla IFIVE in oebrp~ of Rivo,?

Im lt C~raft amttae%

* 1Ai'±LD..iJ±RJ. 20

V.

cONFIDENTIAL

Limited operations by the Riverine Strike Group, as compared with

. , the large scale, extensive, and relentless offensive activity of the Mobil*

Riverine Force, continued during September. liverine Assault Operations in

support of various PRU, ARVN, and RF troops were conducted in areas in lien

Hoa, Go Cong, and Dinh Tuong Provinces. These troop insertion and extraction

operations were conducted on request of the respective unit U.S. advisor and

usually developed on short lead time. Reconnaissance in force operations

in support of the 6/31 Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Brigade, U.S. Ninth

Infantry Division in the Can Giuoc District of Long An Province were carried

I out. As began last month, RSG units continued patrol and interdiction

operations on the Song Van Co, Rach Cat, Rach Cac, and Song Rha Be. The

Cho Gao Canal became a CTG 194.7 operating area on 1 Septeber, and an

average of six assault craft were on patrol there. Faphasis in all areas

was given to inspection as 8448 persons and 25,565 persons were checked.

Operations were in general routine, and contact with the enemy was

very light or non-existent in all operating areas except on the Cho Gao

Canal. Five enWy a•bushes were sprung on RAC along this waterway during

"Septenber whereas none are recorded for the other areas. Casualties were

light again this month - enemy casualties were listed as 9 Viet Cong

" l killed; friendly casualties were one USN killed, and six USN and 4 VNN

were wounded.

Dispostion of RAC in the Giart Slingshot and other campaign areas

continued as in previous months as shown in the accompargring table whicbdepicts the situation on the last day of September.

-21 C"NFIDEMAL

.- I. . . .. .,

- - -.- - . -•; --.

Operation~/ Asauailt()(2

L"• RAt)

Don Ta 131 14 6 4 (IF) 2 1 27"

-ran. H•g Jo 132 13 6 3 (lI) I 1 1 25

Giant Slingahot 151 32 6 4 (I)17 1 24

M Go RiCo er .152 13 6 3 1 1 1 25

RM Samst Special 353 16 26Zone & Giant -

.1 slingshot-+4. .. ,. - -,. .. .---

* Total 52 40 U 5 4 11.7

"(1) F - flane thrower (2) Utility craft a" "WG R w ere abuohed on the Cho Go canal on two vuooaaive nigbts.

"It. 2050 on t•e 4th, HAD 132 craft on patrol Oso acros•s simial axansp.. ,

An soon as the area was 13luximted the patrol received 5 B-40 rockets and

j AA fire ftoaA both bank at a position 5* milso Qaut of W~ Tho (3W 595 438).

A~j. Fire was ret~ued and mnppruesed with nn!hwv em.ny oa-avaties. ATC.-9 took3 rocket bits and 3 ia.vma vere itmied in the action. Aeg.d, the next

;-'* •" • = lmi l t, W.t rec- ive d r .,kot fire f ro bo't h b, k of "thb e ca 4 . .tl e so uth - - "

east of ifarTho (vicimity z3 569 432) an Am 23 tock .3bits ens! MPO 2

took one bit. M:e patrol suppreaead the fire and the + IPO fined the Mi I area. later invctigation reivemed that 3 VC were ki.led; one Vistex.e,"

sailor wsx slightly vomded,

I1. U.S. 1qsn v.% killed at 0525 en 5 ftptee•_he von a sinl enemy

mortmar rod•m de a direct bit on the M.-"-t dek of • T• 22 (RPD 132) an it

was tied up to Pier Churlie at Doe Uam. Ma soocurity watch was mortall~y

vo=ded ad three ao-her rtairs received vow-s"

i i -..... .22

. . . .. . . . . . . .--. - . --- , . - .... . . . . .

• .. . , . .. . . -. , • , - , . .. ,X .,+ * ,\-'.y . •- L- - ,, , +h•, • .W-N ... N _' : ' . .

At 2130 OA the 17th, A BLVerS aPina&busbd*a t'h* C3o G' 0 ne1.

Omi B-40 rocket struwk ZIppQ-l resulting in minor dampg and in persomiw

Scasualties. Just after middight on tho 24th, BA on the Cho GO _ntan-

t - diction patrol received 10 B-/*0's and A1W fire frot a& 300 weter lonS

a&bu position othe south bank in the viiity of 565 432. To

I RAC reoeived hits resulting in light material damge and 3 U.S. and 3Vietnaasso sailors vounded. -ubsequ-nt rportS indicated tbat 8 Vie•te .-

ese oiilisa•n vere asp'xiated a the ZIPPO flamed the ambush area to

suppress eneny fire. Another albuafh erupted at 2300 on 26 September asBlG on the Cho Gao Canal reaelved B-40 and A/ fire 8 miles northeast of

Iil Tho (xs 637 472), Fire vas returad end suPpreSSed and *A embarked

reaotion te=m inserted. Three UISN wrG wo=ded wbile enMY casualtie.

BAGC of R&D 152 Inserted 6/31 BlfantZ7 Battalion troops alIong a "a=I

-I

in Long An Province. -Dug lats morring of the 27tZ , the troops, with

the aid of aHoi.Charh 3 riles cast of GIMGiouc (ZS 879 720) discovered

a 45o0 pound cache of explosives. EM personnel destroyed the ruited and

deteriorated rockets and primers in pilaee.

*23 Cal Mr. M*J..

- - -!

.- -- "" . . .-. .--.. . . . - ' , - . . " - . . - -. ..

"CONWOENTIAL

Market Time Raider Campaism

En&y base a--eas and fortifications along the navigable waterways of

the III and IV Co.-s Tactical Zones were hit frequently by the cobined sea, -

"" ground, and air pmch of the "Swift" boat river incursion operatic". Em-

I ploying two or more PCF's and supports by helicopter, OV-lO, and 07-6A

] aircraft and USCG 'AP's, the III and IV Coastal Zone Raiders conducted 78

"missions in suppo-t of operatiohs SEA LORDS and Sea Float during Septem-IS •.ber. The "Swift" boats, in addition to conducting H and I fire and respond-

ing to requests far urgent naval gunfire support and manning of waterborne

guardposts, inserted, extracted, and supported ground forces consisting of

Underwater Demolition Teams, Explosive Ordnance Teams, SEAL's, PRUts, RFAF

troops, MSF and AE7 soldiers. Enemy initiated hostile fire incidents do-

creased from 43 in August to 25 during the month of September. These were

suppressed on all cccasions except when nearness of friendly forces pro-

vented return fire in the area. There were no U.S. or V10 "Swift" boats dam-

aged in the missic- while one Seawolf supporting the operations received

minor damage, and s'-ven U.S. sailors were wounded during the month.

Enemy personm•l losses by combined allied forces increased over August

- with 109 Viet Cong killed (80 body count, 29 probable), 10 wounded, and 22

captured. There ~-&-s a decrease in enemy material losses over the r=evious

month with over I1M watercraft and 254 structures damaged and six craft

- captured.0Although thse- operatiors continued to produce maxi~mm damage in secret

-onos and enemy base areas, the primary emphasis continued to center on the

pacification of the Ca Kau peninsula under operation Sea Float/Tran Sung Dao III.

S

CON FIDn EII AL 24

12.*'

S. . . . . . .

* - - . .*,

4 .% - ,-

CONFIDENTIAL

A new tactic utilized by Market Time Raiders include a drifting

waterborne guardpost wherein two PCF'e drift downriver with the currelt

to intercept VC traffic. Another tactic is the utilizatior of the lead

PCF of three or more PCFre as a decoy. When transiting the river, the lead

PCF proceeds out ahead at maximum speed steering a zig zag course. The

rmaining boats stay in a column formation at a speed approximately 500 HPH's

le2s than the lead boat. Upon reaching a distance of approximately 2,000

yards ahead of the others, the lead PCF returns and then comences his run

again. The rationale is to lure the enemy into thinking only one "Swift"

boat is on patrol. If shot at, all PCV's converge at a point on the

* opposite bank and saturate the area with 81mm mortar fire.

:- IOn 3 September, PCF's 54, 24, 28, and 59 and the PT GREY (USCG dPB)

eobarked two companies of RF/PF troops (vicinity XR 521 643) about 50 miles

southeast of Can Tho. The units then proceeded to a small canal (XR 476 622)

just south of the Kinh Qvan Chanh Bon and after prepping the beach with .50

caliber machine gun fire, inserted the troops. The troops made light contact

uiwith the enemy; however, the close proximity of friendlies preclude the "Swift"

. boats froa providing gunfire support. Shortly thereafter, the RF/T Vroops

wsre extracted arA disembarked at XR 485 636. The units then exited the canal

Swithout further incident. The Sea lords mission resulted in eight sampeiw,

t •four structures, and two bunkers destroyed. There were no friendly casualties

I while four VC were killed and seven VC captured.

The PT GRa (USCG WB) and PT CAUTION (USCG WPB) conducted a Sea Lords

nission on the afternoon of 4 Septe=ber about six riles southeast of Thanh

Phu (XR 76 95). The WPBs entered the, Kinh Eo Loi taling targets of oppor-

"tunity under fire and firing at a VC machine shop. During the en~ngeent,

9=1 rms fire was receivod and suppressed. Tho afternoon operation resulted

j 25 CONFIDLNIALn

""-" - . --. *. - - . I -

* . - . . . . . . .

•2" ' , . . . . - ... .. .... -.~ ~.-. -- ... .-- -- .'- .--. .- "----"-..- '."-. -',.. ,-"-, ". - - "-;' " ,, - - -.- "\ - •-" -" -N,- - -'C .' -'. - . -. -.. I •, .L• - .. * - -. -*. - - -1 - .

CON•F1IEX1AL

in four bunkers, 21 structures, And eight sampans destroyed and 13 structures

heavilIy damaged. In addition, several small fires were ignited. There were

no friendly casualties, and eegy casualties are unknown.

On the night of 4 and 5 September, PCFts 63 and 64 inserted a Kien Hoa

Province Kit Carson Scout platoon (KCS) on the Co Chien River in Base Area

490 about six miles north of Phu Vinh (XR 461 082). Following the insertion,

ithe "Sft" boats stoodby to provide support as necessary. The scouts were

* ! extracted at 0200, 5 September and returned to Ben Tre. The "Swift" boats

made no contact with the enemy, but the KCS captured four VC suspects and

I destroyed 200 feet of trip wire and 200 gallons of gasoline. There were

no friendly casualties.

At 0615 on the morning of 14 SeArcber, six PCF's and the USS WIUNDAR

COULrY (LST 1170) got underway and proceeded to the Song Ong D0c (VQ 805 985)

Swhere 60 RF were embarked on the "Swift" boats. The troops were inserted on

the south bank of the Song Ong D=c (7R 910 007) and swept east and then south

(to VQ 918 998) where contact was made with a two squad size enasq force. In

the ensuing firefight, seven VC were killed and two VC were captured along

with numerous weapons, ammunition, and field gear. Continuing the sweep, one

large rice mill and 200 kilos of rice were destroyed. Three PCF's provided

mortar support for the troops while the other three "Swift" boats with UDT

ermbarked destroyed river barricades in the vicinity in preparation for fa-

ture PBR operations. During the operation, the IST provided H and I fire

while Seawolves providing air cover took targets of opportunity under Mr-e.

The troopb were extracted at 1530, and all units exited the river without

further incident. There were * friendly casualties while enemy losses

were 12 VC killed and three captured. There wore three structures destroyed

C0,7 FIDMTIAL 2

* * -* **- . -.

Counal:MAL

-. - - and four heavi~y damaged. One 30 foot sampan loaded with cardboard boxes was0

destroyed. One of the detainees indicated that the VC were holding a meetinig# .-I and the RF troops had surprised them, and tua of the VC killed were hamlet2

* -02 the night of 22 September, three PCF's proceeded up the Song On Do

to the northeast corner of the Kinh Ba IKheo (Va 889 002) where PC? 17 dropped

out of the formation and inserted an HP company, UD?, and PP personnel to es- 4tablish a night guardpost. PCI's .103 and 25 continued up the river about 2,000

4 meters3 to simulate a night patrol, then reversed course and along with PCF 17

I returned to the Song to~ng Doe to standby. The troops took a sampan under fire

IwhenIt did not respond to acall tostop for asearch andwoundjed twocivil-'-

* jans. The "Swift" boats returned up the river, embarked the wounded, and ro-I turned them to Song Ong Doe for treatment. One wen was identified by another

detainee as a VC. The eiver traffic ine.-eased after the second trip by the

I ~PC?'s; apparent]l', the operators thought the troops had been extracted. One

sampan was called over for a search and at first slowly approached the troops

then attempted to evade to the opposite canal bank. It was taken under fire V.

and chstroyed, and the four occupants were killed. During the night, 15 other

* persons and their motorized sampan were detained. Tb. troops were extracted

4 1 at 2-10315H, and all units exited the rivrer without further incident. There

were tour VC killed and one VC captured while sixteen civilians were detained

* a *as curfew violators. Con sampan was destroyed. There were no friendly casu-

I ~alties.

On the night of 25 Septe~,er, PC~ts 63 and 54 inserted Kien Hoa Province

PUIl's off the Fam Imong River about 12 miles northeast of Phu Vinli 05C 540 170).V. * The "5aiift" boats then waited to render support as necessary. A short, tiesI 0ý

later an ~emrgency call for fire was received from the Kien H oa PRU Advisor

4 27

CONTIRIMS

-.

SCOJI 't.LZ rIJAL ;

whose forces were receiving heavy ean ANd fire. The "Swifto" reacted

quickdy and the enem attack was suppressed. The troops were extracted

at 0300 the next morning by PC? 63 while PCF 54 fired H and I in the area

* evacuated by the troops. There were no friendly casualties while four VC

were killed and two VC captured. One field hospital was destroyed and

* documents were captured.

I 2

• " 4

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COASTZl SURVELL&N3 FORCE Shj

Market Tits bad Stable Door force& ooat e routine• peratio,.

during Septenber. Arket Tims units retained patrol responsibility

In th, Gwe Varden area of operations on the lower 1assac and Co

Chien rivers duning the entire month, detecting 5,388 watercraft,

inspecting 1,920 and boarding another 2,474. Thw were sevw craft

and 20 persons &aned with. e reported incoienta of evading craft

in the rivers. Task Force 2115 hurinvelszo units detected 219,367

. oraft Sn their patrol areas alang the coast and In the harbors of

4 - +. 4-the Republic of Vietoam. This in more than 20,000 fewer detection

than in August; . vse weather cond4tJons In the 7art and Seem&

Coastca Zons caased thle decrease. ftere were a tetul of 33,180

Inapotimis aLd 18,693 bor ge 4--nring Sp r As a result of these

checks 236 craft and 1364 persons were detaind fcr possession of 4

* ~contraband, violation of restricted awfes inproper personnel or

craft pap•er•s and other mpeicuse activities. There wer 32 Viet

Cong suspects detainsd in addition to the above.

laanY activity dA.-ing the entire month of September remained at S

a ganerally 2m Ioevw as during the previons two xmths. I.nreasee In *.'+-.'.

enaqz activity predicted for the latter part of September failed to " .'.

m-tra.i.e..--

* .j On I Septemberp Market Tim. Parrier Air=raft reported a modified

S"6 Can Mu class travlbr In the Otuf of Thai,,'4 at postiea.

09-250, 205o3-M about 100 =1108 Vest of S<ng Og Doo on orsem 320 .-

I degrees true at a speed of 8 knots. On intaltl; sighting the trawler

31 Ca:.m-r'JTmAL

IIm

- . . . .* . . - ., -% :*.- - . " . ' ./ . * . .- - .++'*+• .• .o" * .. , -. •,....'.,,-".-• •- -

• . '- .•.- -- .'." . ,., +. " .. . * . . . .r•... .... . -. . . . .

was absernd to bave a grem hn1* uifte deckboue &W. uIdto eeanv

o~ asterm and appeared to be bsav12y leaded. fte alraraf S

oinnsod ornwt swvi2v32ane and ready alert tircraft wiere 1amobei

to amiintain the barrier lntegrity. Us e ooitat was defipat 17 11

by the Camnder Coastal Survefllasno Foe.. Shortly attar the 491t'Ul

I d~taotion the fbavlar clanged ooerse to a southar27 headings appreui-

matey 100 Miles off Use eftst =iti1 past Ca Ika ?ninau1 sI&M It

'F oibangsi comure t* a nerte!2.y keeadin teukid the Para"l Islands.

caattEýpt ammdainna rXe=!ibut taa. xai, Vtxw =m G a usa~at.

Fbl1a!-:1= fcrczg $a cz, of fIr.ea.rc m-n G;v m-rt1Ucns abas Us@ccast and lu tir rirTFr3 =~d ftz"10* twtc Se*-mr ew U.S. ravp.

*1zm and =2 U.S. 0ma~t QO-ed vau v'-o Villed arA 21 U.3, ft12.ors wor

vow.,1ed* Lz l~.eer* ve-e 79 m~ftrwd kIdl czmd 39 pba&a1T IdIed),

4 1 -7 vvo~el &zd 1S saptored.

At 2.150 4m 31 IA-.t vU Le 9mu- Z= Az Uzi to Na Timea

C10 62 m a kamdirm; of 035 dse- =r±atie oroagmA tt. Ccdisa

COUFIDENTIAL 32

.2.V,ýX'.

-,~ ~~~ -.. -~ - - -. - - - - -II If - , -. _ .÷ .. s-.~ . . . .

LI 1r.... rr -. " -- •'"; "r ,

waters (V-S 220 440). At coordinate VS 260 530 small arms fir. was

"received but was not returned. As soon as the officer in charge

I realied he was in Cambodian waters he altered course to 140 degree

{ mmgnetic to clear the area as soon as possible and entered South

I Vietnamese waters (V3 330 480). The I•F penetrated approximately

S=six ml~es inside Cambodian. territory.•

33

4 -

i I0.1

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-'2

. . * " - - . . . -I. ."-"-r ' . " ' "" '" -. ""• """ "" """"" " " -", ,"- ". "' . r '"""" """" " -"" """ " "". "" """" "

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- ".,; ,

V.tVN-L'.:!WT -U G;Ir

FIRST C-ASTAL.

w first half of September found several of the patrol stations

in area 1 and 2 vacant due to heavy weather and as a result there eeo

13,475 detections of watercraft which was nearly 8,000 less than

Sduring August. Of these raft, 4,991 were inspected and another 3,725

S iwere beardd. There uare 32 craft detain" and 270 persons detained

for curfew violations, inproper personal or craft papers and violation

I ' of res'J.icted areas.

First Coastal Zone patrols pmrticipated in amo thas 160 waul

gunfire support missions during Septseber. Of the,• 57 vere SEA

TIGMrd nisions or patrols with about half reporting no gunftre dampe

asoesmant due to haavy i, darknoess, heavy foliAge or so troop.

available to swesp the area.

On the morning of 1 Septeaber PCFIs 65 and 79 whiloe an a mornal

S SEA TIGER patrol inserted a Tietnamese IUvy. landina tc= about 15

." I miles southeast of Nxnang and provided ,ocuritr while the taema e

a swoop to the east. After destroying bukers and an w /or.eine

i Icache the tera was extracted and rain&erted in two groups about three

miles to the coutheist where they swept toward each other and then to

the east. The tea= detained three Vietne-was fc=aes anrcbstreyed

b nners in tUe area prior to extraction and the PCP 65 took several

struatzea under dostructiwe fir The morning operatio. resulted

in the destruotion of 10 bunnrs, four struot~urs axd Urn ar .

There were no friendly casualties while thre Vietemase fel~e were

detained and turned over to Coastal CGrup 14 (C0-14).

I~W IFORMNTAL 34&

?.. I

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..+ . . .

-""- :- :,--:+-•" -+•'•"=- +"-- -" " -" ." '- "- ." . . ..". .-".-" ". . ..".-""+ -" "• " "... .. -" •• !'-L•• ,," -" - '-".'. -- '-- .-. "'''-+:.-.• +-+•?•:"?..:.-',•:-,'•.+" :-"-.+ .',":, .':-;•:.,•''. .- , :-+-"-. •-: • "...-• • ."'- .- ":- .- -. ""- *- -'-:"-

SCh the morning of 5 September, PC•1F 13 and 15 imerted an

Underwater Demolition Team (UM)) and PCF's 39 and 75 inserted BE

troops off the Song Thu Bon for a combined sweep through coordinates

BT 143 535 and BT 153 535 about 15 miles southeast of Danang. While

the "Swift" boats provided security the ground forces destroyed

bunkers in the sweep area and observed four large secondary explosions.

The troops were extracted at 1400 without incident. There were no

friendly casualties while one VC was probably killed, The sweep

resulted in 45 bunkers, three structures, two l05n rounds and four

. 81=s rounds being destroyed.

A SEL TIGER misso was conducted oun .~zeptembuer to JxplanI (B

Duffel Bag sensors on 7huan Tinh Island in the Song Gua Da (

3187 553) about 26 miles southeast of Danang. The operation co~onced

with h lo gunships propping the area with rockets and miniguns. PCF's

39 and ?8 then irmerted the EoD, MT ad Duffel Bag personnel# wbhle

the b30o gunships and "Swift" boats stoodby to provide security.

Complating a beach and -nderwater recon the MT co=enzed Implanting

two sensor strings in the water while the Duffel Bag to= implanted

two sensor strings on Thuan Tith Island. During the operation someI AK-47 fire was received, but it was i ately suppressed by the* PCF's and helo gunships, The sensor string vas laid by 1130 and aC

4- personnel were extracted without further incident. There were seven

structures, two bunkers and one 155;m duel round destroyed and oneAK-47 rifle captured. There were no friendly casualties while four

VC were kjjed.41.

35 M-MiALI

*

-1

*ý 1

-( - -.- -, - A. :. .,.-'"

At 2120 on 16 Septenber, P01 61 on a SEA TIGI patrol observe

a large e•p•o•im on the Song Cum Dai (BT 207 %8) about 17 dl.es

southeast of Danang. Subsequent investigation revealed two Coastal.

Group 14 Junks wore coapletely destroyed, probably by a floating

mine. PCF's 61 and 78 provided illmination and assisted in a sear&h

.for survivors. A HZEVAC halo was called in to evacnate four umded,

* V0i while artillery fire was placed on the vast bank of the river.

I On 22 Septemberj the PT LOMAS (USCG WIPB) while on noral Market

Tim patrol btected n samp umeray without rwning lights

(vioinity of ID 772 375/XD 700 420) about 60 ales northest of

Danang. Eight of the sampans were boarded and 9 Vletnamese vthout

identification were detained. Three sampus evaded and after thy

i."ried vauing shots were taken under fire with "-In's by sailers

in the azal b•ats. There w•oe to friendly caeulties wb33 eight

VC wore killed. Mhe nine detainees were tnid over to CG-12 for

I ~~a he~r tr-a-ser to the N~avalI. ltolligonos Lizison Officer Omi) at

Has for disposition.

" On e night of 22 September PCF's 13 and 69 in a ni& vater-

S.borne guardpo• t sightead a sampan vith Um occupants on board about

.14 miles south of Danang (BT 170 545). With clearanee from the Qng

a- Sfectcr the sapan was taken under fire, resulting in two VC

killed and one tanpaneastroyod. One bolt of VC geroades and one bag

of nedioine was recovered from the vreckmge. There were no friendly

casualties.

C.:X-"D '.L 36

I i-.". -

.. .-' .. ' . .'. . -. . -. - -.. . -.: --.-.- .. , .- .,. . "..'.- -:- -- -.. . -.-. -. -.-. .. . . . - .;. . . . .

-V .- .

N. ~ -. - . - - T*

Ineliec sore eotdudrae ae bu 5suh

fireand kiled. souhrce reconnadissane ofthe Carea inbocte 7a highh

densty of Dzdane andcbooty trap an2 b5)ase oeng thsed by the titCong

furSeavoperatonsucted vis alreonaissare of th. area n2dSpoe

to &mns the afteasniooyn o af 26 in Setelr a ry ohp escrating towotc

and~ dusrinoyroeo the mewTercaoes. P1-an Riverreceivhed automatic r

oftnag he halcave as tan wase hit an It waeture to ard-P~t 61and65 lon wiL heU atwotB~sreta the fre lumIt~el

f~sand efecivlyed urterressodit.stante ofits aerea coingcthed arhig

IC 61en ectyvo d mnes ind bobyg117 trap und bhsed cauthse nfo dmp. Ter

fsrmper oeandti.on fish t s aera wesreyd Twostuctre wreeamge

An 08,3 a~oon of0 2 September o a heoIG misin,,i escotalg trup3

teRam durinedb a probeerio of EM ~ua Gang OiTe preceie (vtmaicint

wepn ieio iiiyof BT 168 5327 about 16 miles southeastofDagCG1 A-2

-. ~tw hal PC 1and 65 aong ain theG Ut obhservatione ah irsrf biredidog)

4

K'- 7 Y W

providing waterborne and air cover the WI tfem conducted a SWOP

to the east of Iang Doug Island while the () and MTU tem oonducted

beach oeeon and bimker destruction along the south bank- All.

personnel were extracted at 1330 without Incident. One VC v slihted

in the area and taken nnder fire t7 the helo g=-mbIps. The operaticn

was trmiuated at 2430 with no friendly casalties and one VC killed.

"Mwe groumd forces destroyed 77 2arge bunkers, five struotres, a*

@ s ampan, =ne 1, 000 lbs. bomb, one 10.r= rommd, •e 155 romd and

various quantities of fresh food. The average size of the bu~kiswere lOX15 feet with the largest being 20130 feet.

1 4

CuF1A 38_7 AM' ..

'I.I

-f i

0;-

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U.-

4.5 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '77_V_'ý. -C!12 C¶75 -.-'~i ~ ~~J~ ~r - -~ ~ - ~

CON4FIDENTIAL

IOP'zR.A7 .)NS N '1*E P357S- COASTAL ZONE

D. Sea Tiger - 16SEP

HM S.RSeaDTiger - 30eSEP

CG4

Cosa urelaceCne

X - oetle Fre/~raion ncie 14W1'-BA n:d&

- 39 caiCIJ Its CHLN,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

• . - n'-....- -. .-

*1~~ .. .

-•.. --. -.'- - -

vCONF1 jDi:MI'AL

Second Coastal Zone

t Weather throughout the Second Caostae Zone was gneraly good duringSthe month of -e•tenber although the nwaber of detections Was apprOXi~ltel ;

10,000 less ttan in August. There were 998 detections of watercraft with

16,511 of the craft inspected and 5,847 boarded. There were 42 craft and

1 281 persons detained for curfew or restricted zone violations, incorrect or

""7 faulty manifeets, possession of contraband, lack of or faulty identification

papers or as saspected draft dodgers.

There were 109 naval gunfire support missions reported in the Second

"Coastal Zone d6ring the month of September with a minlmm amount of gun

damage assessmnt reported.

On the afternoon of 24 September, the USCOC SPEMM (WHEC 36) conductediIa NGFS aissi•o as requested and cleared by the Naval Gunfire Liaison Officer

P (GLO) of tUe ARVN 68 miles north of Tuy Boa (CR 02? 526). The SPU

neutralized three VC base carps, well covered 1,200 meters of infiltration

i and supply rcates, and destroyed three structures. In addition, six structures

were destrc.cd, one massonry structure was heavily dasaged, and four large

.i.1 secondary f-ec were ignited. There were no friendly casualties, and axeV "

casualties are unknown.On the wrning of 25 September, the USCGC SPMM was again requested

by the ARX 'MN-tal Gunfire Liaison Officer for a support mission about 70

" miles north of Tu Hoa (CR 026 548). The target was a VC base camp, andit was netra2d.ized by the Cutter's five inch guns. One masonry structure "]

was destrop-d and two masonry structures and a cave heavily daeaged and

3,000 meters of infiltration and supply routes weol covered. There were

no friendlr casualties, and enemy casuAlties are unknown. 2

CONFIDENTIAZ AI0

Ii

- * .-. 1 ----. - -..,,,,J

* :.-"'-.-w- -•.-,

k. " 7 °-1 a.

CIZRFI-NITAL

At 0200 on the morning of 27 September, two suspicious Nationalist p

Chinese fishing vessels were spotted within the restricted zone by KCF 57

about 25 miles south of Phan Rang (EN 88 39). The two vessels were cloeed;

however, heavy seas prevented boarding. The vessels then retrieved their

nets and departed the area escorted by PCF 57.

r 3 On the afternoon of 28 September, the USCGC TAUEY (AHEC 37) conducted a

gunfire support mission in support of the Capitol ROK Infantry Division about

S1 70 miles north of Tuy Hoa (CR 013 490). The mission was requested and spotted

S! by the ROK Infantry Divisio- NGLO. The V=LO reported the target area well coy-

ered with 300 meters of assembly area and 400 meters of infiltration route wall

covered, one cave partially closed, and one secondary fire. There were no

friendly casualties while one VC was killed and three VC were woimded.o;

On the morning -.f 29 September, the TANM was called on again for a gun-

fire support mission two miles to the east of the previous day's mission

OCR 032 505). The Cutter's five inch guns destroyed five bunkers and damaged

* five more. On the morning of 29 September, PCF 49 patrolling in Market Time

area 3G was informed of a possible search and rescue mission about 14 miles

southeast of Qui Nhon (CR 205 035). An emergency beeper signal had been

picked up by an aircraft on patrol. Investigation by the "Swift" boat revealed

Sthe emsergency beeper to be aboard a small Vietnanese fishing vessel. The Af fishing vessel was then brought alongside the USCG TAUEY (ABC 37) for question-

ing of personnel by the VNN liaison officer aboard the cutter. Interrogation

E frevealed that the fishing boat had been in the area since 281800M and a ap-proximately 290530H discovered the radio in the water and brought it aboard.

oThey Purher stated they had seen no aircraft crash or any indication that

one had crashed. Two Vietzamese were detained and transferred to PCF 49

for transportation to Qui Knon for further interrogation.

41 CONMNTID2fAL

- -* * * * . .. - . . . J

+- '+* - . -•+ - .. ' L- ' . . . • " '. - - * - A -'m m ' "A+• + + • • ,% Q . . - +-* "* -"m ° - "- - * A .. . . A . : ' - A ... . • - * . . _ + , * " • +

WN•FLkMTIAL

Third Coastal Zone

rn the Third Coastal Zone, the number of detections was abaut the SAMe as

the preceding mouth indicating no increase in indigenous coastal traffic dur.-

ing September. Surveillance operations resulted in the detection of 6,381

watercraft. Patrol effectiveness renained high with 3,085 inspections and

1,943 boardings. There were no incidents of evading craft while 19 craft

and 83 persons were detained. In addition, "Swift" boats patrolling the

-i lower Bassac and Co Chien Rivers detected 5,388 craft, and of those, 1,920

were inspected, and 2,474 were boarded resulting in four craft and 13 persons

being detained. There were no incidents of evading craft reported for either

I the Bassac or Co Chien Rivers.

There were 163 naval gunfire support missions conducted during September. %

These missions were in response to requests for urgent naval gunfire support,A.

targets of opportunity, H and I, or in preplanned river and canal incursions.

On the morning of 6 Septe-ber, the PT CC&F(RT (USCG JPB) observed three

~1 people running acrors the beach about 35 miles northwest of Old Nam Can. They

were immediately taken under fire, after sector clearance had been obtained,

killing one VC and wounding tuo others. Two camouflaged sampans were also

taken under fire and destroyed.

i The PT CIFORTI (USCG WPB) while on normal YMarket Time patrol conducted

a NGFS mission on 7 September on a suspected VC weapons and food cache at the

mouth of the Co Chien River about 15 miles southeast of Phu Vinh (XR 680 875).Iw

Firing at a range of from 600 to 2,000 yards with direct spotting, the WPB

destroyed six structures with her 81am mortars. There were no friendly cas-

ualtie3, and ensry casualties are unknown.

On 7 September, M'Fs 17 and 28 inserted PRU, National Police Field Forces, -

forces about 40 southeast of Can Tho on the Basac River (XR 338 627)

43 -MhETAL.

C~ .**.** --

.,--Z . 7.I -' --.- -* - -. . ...-- - --.-.--- ~

c•Na13I•11AL

SThe "S'nift ho;it then withdrew to provide a blocking force and gunfire Sup-

. port. *The ground forces led by Hoi Chanhs found an abandoned VC prison camp.

SSweeping to the west, another PCU camp was found and six prisoners were lib-

erated. The tr3ops were then extracted, and on the return trip, PCF 17 con-

ducted - psyops mission. The ground forces killed two VC and captured 15

pounds of documents. As a result of the psyope broadcast, two Hoi Chanhs rl-

"lied to the "Swift" boats. There were no friendly casualties.-I

The PT BANK(S (LUSCO nPB) was conducting routine boardings a&d inspections

on the morning of 12 September when one sampan failed to stop and evaded into

a treeline 1,000 yards down a canal about 45 miles southeast of Can Tho (XIL

1425 623). The WE closed the position, and the sampan emerged from the canal

and came alongside. One Vietnamese male without identification was detained

as a suspected Viet Cong. Upon inspecting the sampan, 75 packs of cigarettes,

600 pounds of rice, 40 gallons of gasoline, 10 pounds of sugar, 40 cans of

American sardines, and one case of medicine, all urmanifested, were captured.

The damaged sa.-pan was delivered to WC-36 for further transfer to the NILO

Soc Trang. There were no friendly casualties.

The PT PARTRDGE (USCG waB) fired a sector approved NGF t mission on the

afternoon of 13 Spetember about 62 miles southwe(s of Can Tho (fQ 47 96).

The W,?PB gunfire accounted for two structures and one sampan destroyed and

another six structures heavily damaged. There were no friendly casualties.

Early on the morning of September, PCF 87 inserted 30 PF/RF troops

about 16 miles southeast of Can Tho (XR 07 93) and then etoodby as a block-

ing force. The mission was an attempt to capture a Viet Cong Infraitructure

(VCI). The mission was aborted when the intelligence agent failed to show.

The PT CYPRESS (U3CG WPB) was requested to provide support for i troop

insertion in 22 September off +he Song My Than (XR 150 444) about 43 miles

CONFIDENTMAL 44

. -' .. . . .

• " '-- • .. ."''' ' -• ,•, *' ' - " - '. "-: '" " -' .' ,-)-* . "' " .' - '. -- -"-.-"......_ -. .. ".. ."-. .- .... ''-.-''

II

southeast of )fy Tho. The IWPB provided 81=i NG'S and stoodby for .50 cal-.

iber support should the enemy come into the open. Enemy S/A fire was re-

ceived and quickly suppressed. The mission ter-minated at 0830 with the

RPB having destroyed five bunkers. There were no friendly casualties

while enemy casualties are unknown.

•On the morning of 27 Sept.ember, the PT B&AI•S (U XG PB) conducte aI gunfire support mission in a VC area about sixteen miles southeast of Phu

*Vinh (X 757 864). The IM spotted tw people in a field who fled into

the treeline and two people in a structure and were taken under fire with

-X 81= and automatic weapons. Therm were no friendly casualties While two

VC were killed and two VC wounded. One structure was destroyed and six

I •damaged.

SOn the afternoon of 29 September, PCF 63 detained two VC suspects while

conducting routine board and search operations in the Co Chien River about

I 41 miles southeast of Vinh Long (XR 493 025). One suspect had three separ-Oate sets of ID papers in his possession and 300 ilos of unnanifested rice.

When apprehended, the suspect rttepted to brib* the crcw mabers. Under

initial interrogation by VN. crew members, the suspect admitted to being- a VC and had been acting as a courier for three months. The second suspect

I had illegal medicine and blank draft deferment papers. He admitted to being

a VC when interrogated at Coastal Group 36 Headauarters near Dong Phu. TheI confiscated medicine, 300 k-ilos of rice, blank draft deferment papers along

* with one sampan were turned over to NILO Tra Viruh for disposition.

At 0800 on 29 September, PCF 95 rendezvoused with the PT EfIJS (U*-CG WPB)*. and cl.rmenced patrollirg the Cua l• Thanh tak4 -'i offensive bunkers under fire.

At 2000, a water taxi heavily loaded with cargo was stopped and searched. The

4.5 CM IDENMAL

1

CO-TI Drr'WI AL

; taxi isaster had an altered ID card, no date entries in his boat log, no.9.

travel papers, and no military papers. The taxi was detained until first

light when it was released to the taxi master's wife. During the night,

two other saspans were searched with negative results and released after

-strong warnings. The occupants stated that the reason for traveling at

night was that during the day, aircraft would take them under fire. There

were seven bmnkers destroyod and six bunkers heawily damaged along with

* assorted hanmers, chisels, knives, and saws. There were no friendly cas-

.4ualties, and one Vietnamese was detained.

t I,

."1

I -

CONFIDEI1IAL"p 4

):: .- - . . - . ..~' A x ' -L . ., .. , , . . . . -.. .... . . .Z .. . . .. . . . ,,-, .. . ., ..

C(N1FIDENTIAL

0%lp ~. 0.. V)

ra t .OmU t 0. %A

leu 0. OcflO) . ic-'0 r-- 0W CJgaO

%00

Cok

z* 0

4 ~iZvi l

A 4

Ii.-40

dt[.

OMATICH LARE&= TDIM

There were 541. naval gunffr* 3uizports SrA LORDS, M~ F=OT

and SRA. TIGIa missiOns Gonducted during Septm!bers atPP=rojt52yI27 less tha Iin iiguat. u ~g assessent an themn idevlonsf J. was 34,9 Percents, with the following rmalta being attaandsa

27 Viet Cogvwuned

28 Viet Cong eaptured

8 331 ks/Sexpaw a&iy destro ed

sm~y35flno opmrations vrcautod I& the dateotica f 59,255watero-raft. Of thee. 271247 var iainotetd man anther UAWO 'me.

Iboarded. Detections of stmablle Imseels In *Wk ist 21" .. a

totalled 656 with 466 b~3nz inrpeatad and a other 24 boarded and all

dateniined to be aem-mispiciona.7

3 ~~Siiit boatse conuoting 0 catious SEL LORS and SUk FLOIT

river and canal inuxcvisi (Kmrztt Tins 1Lnaders) is the ml ae- iTCorps Mtotioul Zones ovnductei 78 mlti-craft nisaaios &nrIng

CCXFIDE2:TTAL 4

September. MWe results of the missions V*" not as Impressive as la

previous months as the enaw avoided oontaot vheneOe possibIe.

During the month the "Swift' boats In the IV Corp* TaOtift1 ZOne

when not eupgaed in SUA LOS missions vere Involved 6u the SEA

nLA~TaAE MUG PLO InI PS~TOPS Campaign U the lover Cal )MII ~peigioul. These operations are discussed under )arkst Tims Raiders

in tjuW operation SZJ UMRS sumary and Operation SMI FLOLT su"wer7

* SazL utits attsoned to Tast Force 11: continued routine eSPVIatics

I ~~during Sept~ber in the IV Corps Tactical Zone iU support Of Oea

- ~~tion SyA nLa~T. A taOcti which proved very sizacessful In USe SUAL

opera~tion end. win2 be used asa a £L IaUe extraction by ceucoopterand tbzm eotablistmint Of an Interdiotica post,

M= )Lrkot TI=s P-3 air patrol bexier rouAtiu the prinoiple

deterree. and detoction of infiltration from sea. On 1 September,

*du3 to a catback in funds, the bsr of Air baxrier flights was

reduccd fr=u 150 flights per wont~h to 225 flights per mnth. IDY

ccon-trating +.;e yajority of these flights during those paxieds

A ~which ere more favorable to trawler inflitration and by za--onamimg

t4he rai inigfights, t.-e probability of detection of a 20-knot mAn--

IntelIUezoe trawler bas re=Inins at "( or aboveo The periodscosdoe Potpo-drnoonidscd ~utproable for trawler irftltftation areturn the dark

of the moon, during the hours of dax ns# during periods of high

tides (Delta areas), during periods of adverse weather oconditions, and

during truce or hoJJldy periods.

49 CCzFiDK TTAI

Atactic which proved successful occurred. when Market Time inshore

Pafrol =ilts combined with larger offshore =mits (MUIOMSC) in

f*14 *Ale of the wolf peak tecbniqae, wTaheia the ommnd sMaI ~ ~COnfrol PlattOra (I'Z0/ 4M) mdtaiut&d a plot of a.U. contects &Aa

w*Otoic thO Ptrticipating PCF's, WPBtsu, or kidmomm to inveetipte

the surfaoe contmact in the ar". The ocmLr and confrl platgom

Wy adtanse of a pic*t, vasn able to detect any =nit witka Use aea4,tte-p9ttg to "vA" beazdin and smaroh.

ft I Septewhw t1- U.S. ROY bvdrofoil patrol g~boas Abe 1MS

F I FL~YGSTAF1 (PO( 1) lud the USS =MMDZARI (PW 2) arriv" in VjomamF for an exter-ced combat, text and eval3ntjcm. Tho tue Craft ~

9aiVAAgc to thO frrSt Coa~tel Zone =do1r Q&e eportIomg oomtr ofC=2nde Tak rotip n5S.1 and winl be b~asd at o.mrZo. Mhe Mt~s

partd radyin &UrOWe s ~tto aem59PL~ r fet kl s dto n 15 Serpt43..

both &Y and at c~t a i o~ of AD b~ots*

POi?10 SinkIdn

FCIF 20 arricd alciujsida WS Un- ME W, C2I (L?170) at

13002 on 6 Septemlm ra endorcd a3OUsids to st~rbearXd. Mm )asa vO~)torlY Idmd4 20 to 25 kwUt mwith sa~ts to 40 kxotg a]3d IhOOmS

1ta tix to 0i&&t f~'tfra i;;e Voat. At 1733; FU7 10 begam toking

~~<: r ~water in t%--1ly nd tte &anag OcatrOl party v.2 eallod a~

riggd portible p-'s.T he MyI ccoedtlds~~teatem

faster It.an the Pmal =aud resva it. At 2XZ-- &&AIM squal

CCVFD~r-IAL50

-i- -- '. ",* - ,. . ... ,.

-ij-SI+"'.6

" * • ).. 'Al 6A)'

occurred which ngated all efforts to save the boat and it sank at

2015H in about 25 feet of vatez at ib8O. All classified material,

all arms and personal effects were rved Irior to the sinking.

POF 10 was dewatered and al.oat at 2115o ; salvage operations

having been dela7ed by heavy weatber. It was intended to tow the

* " Swift" boat to Yung Tau; howeiver, after Inspection she was fo~d to"be totally unseavortby for two and was loaded on board the USS

-4 i lHMSTOXE (WM 27) and lifted to Cat U. for repairs on 25 September.

The uss ti0IUBm CAoo 56) was anchored at the POL buoy at the1 Ig~av1 Support Ictivity Dot-tcbmeat, Cum Viet (D 3670) on the morning

of 8 September iiaen a white object and two din=ars were sighted and

taken under fire with =a23 ais and grenades. EM d.vers Inspected

the hull for zdnes wi-th ne .•tive res'ilts ar then the NO1UBEZ moved

appro~dately fi2 e miles offshore ant anchored for the night. At

4 09015SE tho EO1 XB recaived a nint erplosion on the port ,:.ds fore-

vard causing a tbiwi to fire dege list to port. Inspection of the

dam."d area e.r-homd ragins ±,-106-H floode port ballast tank

"A-310-W open to sea and flooded, a thre to fIis foot hole below the

waterline between frame 31 and 32, and a 15-inch hole in deok carpo

hold 1-204-4, end splt sems along the deck in cargo hold, Flooding

- was under cont•ol at 0303H. Cargo was offlc&e&d to raise the hole

Sabove the waterline and the NOnVM prceeded to Dwang vhme the

US G-APPM UPS 7) assisted In applying a 6M foot, 3/8 inch treel

plate over the hole. Tenporary rep•a•s vbre cmpleted on 13 Septa%-

;t bar and t •B= 3- was able to perfora bar assep nts. "

51 CQ:F-DV!TIAI

+. .- ,,. . .. - . . .. '. •. -. ... .-.- ... . -. - • .. . -. .-.-.- , .. . +. . . . . . . . . . . . .

-- - - . � - - � � a-

* --- �

- - -' -. .�r�a-; � �

'9

I .- -�

"II (bi 15 September the PT CL�R (USCLi wP�) �s d.ooiaiOiiA

from the U.S. Coast Guard ai�d ti�nied o�or to the Vi.�SO Bav7.

I

ii

-'.5 4i

'I4

- 1* I

*1

a

** *

�*

1

ip

4.* a

I

-�

4,

'4 34 1 I

* I

- �. .

--- I

CONF'MID:mLL

C)U) Wu

ujCl to) U) f

1 0:1. N

o E4

C'IL

4q, "IV c

We r

)n 4

i . mm,-. -

I 5z

7F. V: ..-- L VW . - -.,"7 .7p

4LA

OPERATIONS IN THE FOURTH COASTAL ZONE

S-

TIEN

., • CG 43/44/45 BAME/ •NUPI 0 •RACH GIA'CG 42/46

* A. SEAI.O)RDS - lISEPB. 5A,•f lORDS - 22 SEP,.". I

*A"'\4 5.:

SCALl, CA MAUPOINT

_ __0NAUTICAL MILES CG 41 POULO

77.BASE 08I

-I

".-il -

v-CC.' '. . ----'.

S"S2A FtU.A1

SOPERATIONS IN THE FOURTH COASTAL ZONE

SgN 39J •"CG 43/4/45 BM'E•~RAC" GIA

CG 42/46

SBASE '

,-[A '-. EA!'S - 3 SEP-• B. .!.,'. Is - 5 SEP '• _•C. SEAL'S - 12 SEP

•') E.SEA nCAT - 19 SLT:t tF. SEAL'S - 20 SEP•" i.G. SF.-L's - 22 SEP",.. •H. SEA FLOAT."SRU,'s 24Z SEPl.'I. SEA FLOAT/.SEAL's -26 SEP

. a.

J. ~ISE LA - 29 SEP

:p A

C.SEAL'sCA -12 SEP

4K

CSA AA MSUE

I .POIT

*HAtriICAL H~ILE3 CG 41 o

55 CawbENTIAL

'ii,-,I

.-. . . - ' . . - . . - . . . . . . - . . - - , • , .-, .- ' , ." . ' . ' -' .-." . . . .. .. . . . ..-.-. . - . . . . : - . . _ . . - -

Co0-F".?, AL

Market Time Units

Fatrol aircraft detachments from four Navy patrol squadrons manned

Sthe !Earket Time Air Barrier during September. Patrol Squadron SIX (VP-6)

j ope=7:ed out of U-Tapao, Thailand. Detachments from VP-17, VP-9, and VP-46

"operated from Cam Ranh Bay.

4 Ihe inmhore patrol which consist3 of 54 stations now has 20 stations

V mamre by the Vietnamese Navy. Two Market Time areas are now patrolled by

coastil groups. Coastal Group 21 ccamenced patrolling area 3 Echo on

!4 Ju'- 1969 and Coastal Group 26 and Z7 have split area 4 Golf and commenced

patrzlý on 8 September.

I;-- . 4

- 4

Il 1

F

*1

4

*

* OFiIL5

- .. .. - @. -•.

* --- ¥.i

Cct4?IDM1~IAL

Market TIM Assets

The fofloodng is a list of Market. .1" aseta:

4 U.S. Coastal Surveillance Centers 1 Royal Thai iavy PG (wT12):• I VNN; Coastal Surveillance Center /4 H=13

1 Command Operations Center CR3 8 45 foot Picket Boats

4 Harbor Defense Units 25 18 foot Skir.rs

82 PC:F's 2115398

23 WPB'tg 2 AW'Bs

ii.�'45 Coastal Divisions

S~2 LSSC~o

1 LST

;- 3 WHECts

t l HSC

I 2 PGH's

1 Radar Site (Con Son Island)

6 12 Ammi Pontoons (MATSB)

4 4 1 Helo Refueler

4 ATC9s

I Zippo

"I Zippo Recharg.r

[ 1 LCPL (armored)

II lPir Complex (CG -Cua Da)

57 coIuIDrAIALI

1o 1

" . ' ' ' " " ' • ' " " .- " - " - "• I . , • " % • ' ' • ' ' . . ' , ' ' - ' ' . ' ' . ' . o - " , ' . * *. " . . ' . . .

CCNFIDENTIAL

7th Fleet Ships

The foowng sEv 5 -t F•leet Ships operated in Market Time during the manth

of September:

USS GAUNT (MSo 89) 1 -31

USCGC TANEY (WHEC 37) 1 - 3, 27 -31

uscoc sPcER ('W=EC 36) 5- 26

USS WIDGEON (MSC 208) 7- 12

USS WOODPECKER (MSC 209) 13 - 19

"USS PHOEBE (MSC 199) 20-30

4!

IJss LoIAL (Nso 457) 11

us USFim c,4(K0 4i) 5 -30"USCGC MG MOA (W= 69) 1 - 17, 27 - 30

--sGcc nAY.ATH (mC 66) 18-30 J

USCGC SEBAGO (WHFC 12) 1 - 26

USS WHLWHDHAM CITY (IST 1170) 1 - 30

USS GALLUP (PCB85) 1 -10

.- uss ASimviLLE (PG 84) 11 - 13.

USS CROCKE- (P 88) 1 - 30

CC DIAL 58I

.. .

!:-;::-::::-: :: -: ====================.==.. .. . :.. ::.....:.. ... - -....-- .. .-.•- -... ... . . . . . . ..-- *.~ **. ,* -. ,

WINII

;•- •2 cot, uzm'z"u

PCFta ASSIGNED To COZ~TAL DVMCSIt

EILEI TW~ELVE THI1RN Fouh)m EENMAN THOT DAINAWQ CAT LO CAH RANH BAY QAUINMLI*13 13 17 42 311

515 21 44. 239 20 24 47 4912 39 25 18 6718 61 28 57 74

j 22 65 32 58 89, 27 69 37 58 91 -

.31 70 46 73 100* .35 ?5 53 88

, 36 78 54 9038 80 59 9740 a1 6045 99 6350 101 6451 87

-152 9555 9862 10272 1038293

96

(23) (14) (19) (3) (08)

*5 p--'ts ASSIGNED TO CHU LAI IETACHFJiT TOTAL ASSIGNED PCFts (75)

NOIM-ASSIGNED POP',

SVNM PCF TRA1INIG LOCATIONO 6 SAIGON BOAT SCHOOL

"PCFs IN O•.HAUL

PC? LOCATION CG~C WRMD ETC EST WXGTH-Cam4aRanh Bay 13A'-:--69 09 CU69 57days

5 56 C•Ranh Baq 08 SE 69 27 OCT 69 499 da79 CamRanhBay 19 ` . 69 07 NOV 69 49 days92 cat•Lo 12 A 69 10 OCT 69 59 ds-

- 71 Cat1l, 19 AUG 69 01 NOV 69 73 days

NOTE: PCF-10 AT CAT LO UNDGOING DkAU" EVALUATION[ 4 TOTAL NON..,ASSI•.-.D PC (Q07).GRAN TOTAL (82)

r.. .1 --. -; CIIE~A

"+-. j +•":.i',•.•+• • +•,+•.•.-•.+,.. ................... ,....................................,....................... f-o"+2

;+.-..."... ... ....*.. . ..................... .... - .. ..- "".

Average mmnber U.S. ships/craft On Pat-ol during mo0th&

)SO WFB IFST PG l3

AVG __i 2 i. .

74 Avera~ge nmber VNNi shitps/ju2'ks emplozd during maonth.

'1SI-A FORiCE RIM~ -F&M COASTAL FORCE

TOTAL 38 252 .187

U.S. Activity2

TOTAL DETX D WooD - LLY 29155 NIGHT 30100 59

STEEL 111 336 NIGHT 324

K- OTL I3P3~T~D WOCD - =3 12hB8 NIGHT 15761TTL34PCO27,715 .[ i STEEL- MII 20 NIGHT 21A

24,4•24

STESE, M1! 20 NIGHT 4

. 11 Activityr , S SEAE• 77273 JUS DF-TI' 134

paIso~ SEBCHMh 25517 PROSDXTiLnM~ 509

U.S. Activityy

IL,.

JUNKS DEHTAiM 236

"pERSONS DETA"f. 865

Stable Door Statistics .

N1UIIJ OF JUNKS DETMTET 59,257

NU}FER OF INSPIflTIONS 5t467

. IHMME OF BOADINGS 4269

I:0'CX M T 4

•

i

I":,•"':D3,T -;• •

i.- I|-

,'..... .- .- ... ... . . . ., : '. - -, . ,.... o. -. -.-. - . * . .. - : - . . . . . . . , - .. -. . .. • .- - ' .. , .. -.- .

Operation Sea. Floa~tij=~ .9im2 Pao III

During September, Sea Floatf/ran Rung Dao III enjoyed the sa"

suw.cess as during July and August. There vere over 50 Sea Float and

SEUL missions conducted during September utilizing from two to elx

"Swift" boats and supported by a PG, thro RAG ACT's, a zippo, SELL,

K4D and UDT Tees, Seavwolves, Slickp. and OV-10 aircraft. In addl-

tion, Vietnasse N&Yy I•IMs, IUPL's, ISILIs, Coastal Group 41 Yabuta

Ju•ns and FXtsp RF troops# VKH Special For•s, and liet Carson

-" Scouts participated active37 in these missions. The Sea Float

missions were dr-igaed to mezize damege to knovn or suspected

extortion tations VG base areas, and scret sones. Mw forces

conducted drv cmd night payops paIrols along the rivers and canals

of tLe Sea X't operating area. Airborne units continued psyops

* t issxions in Qh* area fraseosesable to thec craft. rhe "fSvift' boats

inserted SJL'c, ECD j UDT, PRU's, =- And 'A special forces, provided

-; gunfire rp,-z, vaterborns gpmtsta, blocliiae forces arxI escort

. service for loiLtic craft along tha o eDo and Qua Lou Risers and

4adjaeant canala. The eight toe tvxIv PP's alco pmrUcipated in SMA

-. LCUU: S r.ssions in ares adjacent to the Sea float AO. All afloat mfie

and the Iobile Advance Toctical S&uport Base conducted nig ht2 H and I

fire durizg tho nonth of S~vpnzicr into knovn VC bane camps and

4 * extortion areas.>p

ftiderae of tb fucoeas of Vas operation is a sign located in

Old r- Can iich reada. Serpan 1;otar Bapair Shop Open For Businegs.'

4 t j 61 CMMDEMTIAL

4:, "1

"- t "••-:-:-.,..,:.:-:. - *-. - 2-:-:-.,-.-'-.--:,. - ,- - -. .- .-... -..- .- ,- .- -. . . . .. .. .. . . "

-4

* .. " -. •

The Sea Float Annex was manned by Vietnamese forces during the

entire month of September and consisted of a various six of the

following ships and support forcess LSIL, (), POIMLR Teea, MM

Reoaution forces, Coastal Group 41 Yabuta Junks an Kit Carson Scouts.

SThe following floating assets are assigned to Sea Floats 8-12* POFa, .1 PG, 1 ISIL, 1 LSH(H), 1 LIPL rmored), 2 LSSGIs, 5 mabuta

I JTnks, 3 ALSEBs, 3 ATC's, and I Zippo.I

On 3 September, the Chairm of the Joint General Staff, General

Cao Van Vien; Commander U.S. Naval Forcos. Rletzms VADM Z. R.

Zuwalt, Jr., USN; CG, DYAC, YM Rodoerleik Wetherill, USA and the

VIetnamee Chief of Naval Operations, Cok-aodore Tran Van CMon visited

Sea Float ard receivod a briefing end tour and obsnWd a fire powr

demnstration.

On 4I Septembors 228 14SF troops were trausportod by CH-1+7 from

Sea Float to Ca Nzu for fmter transfer to Ma Trang.

On 4 Septen-er, the USS GWSTON BALL (laD 5) with tn MICHAEL

arrived at Sý. -kloat with a now helo and shelo refueler amis. The

tug and tow were escorted by *Swiri" boats "to the MAT-SB without

incident.

On 6 Soptember, a 1O0-man M Spoocial Forems arrived at Sei Float

via LS HOA03 for duty an established a e7i on the north shora of the

Cua Lon Rim in the vicinity of Old r Can.

CGVE r:TTAI 62

--j- !7

"I: i-. * 2 . . . -,-"-"-"""-"""-"-"-"""-''''-.- ":''''''' ' .-.... ' ' ' ' .-. ' ' ' .-. ' ' ' ' ' " .. . -"-"-"-"• • - . _

• "• (•.i.7.)• '1 'A•

The District Chief and the District Senior Aduvi r of Nma Caun

visited the Sea Float Annex and ware -iefed and reoceived a tour.

They vere favaorably Impressed with the progress in the vicinity of

the Sea Float Ann*x.

On 1 September, PCFs 17, 25# and 13 departed Cat lo for Sea

Float to augment e:xisting forces and to provide a patrol capability on

Captain i. R. Faulk, USN, CTF 116 and Father Boa of Ha Tien District

visited Sea Float on 16 Septerber and wceived briefings and tours.

Ca 16 Septeaber, CDR T. R. Rm-yp USN, Coander Task &roup 115.7

vas incapacitated due to a leg injury and wan relieved by MODR C. L,

Miller, lN, Conder Task Unit 115.7.7. On 17 September CDR J. C.

SFPatrick, ISN, Chief Staff Officer of CT7 115 arrived at Sea Float and

assucd the duties of Cc.'znder Task Group 115.7, Sea Float.

An W.5'f Ilwa Teas Prrived at Sea Float 17 Soptember and received

1I-iofin~s and a tour of the Sea Float Armex and departed on the 16th

via Slick helo for Can Tho.

Mhe P'rovincial Senior Advisor of An luyen Proyince and the

Agricultural Advisor visited Sza Float on 21 Septermer and discussed

th~eawvent of RF troops to Sea Float and ths developent of agricultmv

"at the Sea Float Amex.

ReGional Foras troops arrived at Sea Float on 22 September aned

estab•ished a base oasp and perimeter on the nore. mhore of the Sog

63 CCNFID KriIAL

SI .

".I

".'':"-''..'"...''-.....................................- . "."-.'-, * " - -. - ,"- -- " -..- " "" -,.'.-"".".........,...'.......,"."..-.:

Cua Ion. PRU'a arrived the smi day via Sl4iftk halos and oonod

operations on 23 Sepeber.

On 24 September, the USS WHETSTOI3 (ISO 8) discharged 2 ITC's

for Sea Float, 2 -As for further tmnsfer to B.rezy Cove, one sippo

zand one ippo recharger for Sea Float.

CDR )(inh,, the M3I staff POIMAR Officer# visited Sea 1loat an27 September for a briefing nd a tor.

The PRU's which bava been operating with Sea Float since earbi

August were released and retuned to Ca Mau an 28 September. Me

Dopatys, Cords IV Corps, PSI An MIun and Aabasador Colby's deputy

for pacificetion visited Sea Float for brieftap and a tour on the 29th.

Mfr. Toa Buckley, a correspondent, arrived at Sea Float on

29 September via Slick helo for a briefing and a tour of the Sea Float

Annex end departed that afternoon for Ca Mau.

o-mnder Task Force 76 and party vizited Sca Float for briefings

and tours on 30 September.

At 1915 on 3 Septerber SEAL Teax Dot GOL with two lit CaramScouts (KCS) departed Sea Float aboard an LCVC to interdiot water

traffic in an attenPt to gain intelligence an a possible VG a±tica

4 factory as reported by a POW. 7he Each Cad Cbm Canal vim entered , ad

the SrAL's were inserted about :11 miles southeast of Sea Float (wQ 1A

I

S664+). Thay patrolled 200 raters to the xorth Where aa nurat ioet post

............................ .........-.-................ .. .---. ::.::..-.......................... . •

[::-:::-::::CQ•:: :F-MEVT::::::::A:: 64:::-::-: '°-:•:: - :"+- -- :- +':+ + "-"- "

was established. At 2J25H an unlighted sampan with four occupant&

was bailed by the XCS, searched and all persons were detained. Tan

minutes later two unliýhted sampans with five occupants were hailed,

but the occupants ie=diately went over the side and were taken under

fire. At 2210H the ICPL extracted the detainees and conducted a

false extraction of the SEAL Team. At O!2H personnel movement was

observed on the opposite bank; however, there was no further contact

with the enemy and the SE-I.as aad KCS were extracted at 060CE and

returned to Sea Float. There were no friendly casualties -tl. four

VC were killed and four detainees were returned to Sea Float. Two

of the detainees indicated a willingness to take the SR&L's into

their hamlet where 20 VC are reported,

A SFAL mission was conducted on 5 Sapterber with the objectiv

of liberating the family of a H ol Chanh who had rallied to Sea Float

forces the previous day. ew Eoi Chbanh had indicated he bad been the

security chief of a sall hazlet five and one half kilometer south-

southeast of Sea Float WQ 003 561) and that the hamlet contained

33 families. The S-J.L teen and five Kit Carson Scouts were inserted

by Slick helos with Seawolves providing cover. N.trolling toward the

objective a small hamlet containing 9 hootches was discovered. Five

males were observed runming away but they could not be taken under

fire due to the close ]prcemty of women and children. The patrol

continued via sampan to t4c edge of the hbalet. As the hamlet was

entered, four nales were taken under fire resulting in one person

killed who was later identified as a VC hamlet guerri.la. Me wife

65 ccFiD !AL

. 1%%

- %. 7. L r? -.2.

I ~and five children of the Hoi, Chanli depa~rted with the patrol to the

I extraction point via sampgns. At the extraction site# t+A*IW4* discovered and rondered saf* six CHIC OM trip-vire booby traps. Us

* I SELL's, jCs, and Hal. Cbanh vitb faxily were extracted by Slickin and

I no f rietdly casualties. Seven kilos of documents and .1 VC flags

were captured iibile 400 kilos of salt were destroyed. -The Rai

Chanh'a information provad very reliable and extremely helpful ft

pointing out booby traps.

* ~Ca the torning of 12 Septedbers twio Seavoires wuith SELL'. anbarked

departed Sea Float to make a false SELL Ineartion vicinity WQ 00 55

about two niles south of the IHLTSB vwbte the SELL', had wds contact

with ths e~azy the pre-dious day. Upoa approaching the landing son*, light

=ci*g= fire was received and qUickly cupproessed vith rockets and

4 mno=chin g~n fire by thas Sftvolvas. About an howr latr iihilthe

* 11110I wa3 nMking a ivusml recenu~ansGno of tba area the hualos reseihwa

a hsaiy volt= of AAJ firG vhich was =,qwsvm-1 by Scawolf striks.

* It 104311, the xission v-%s ab=rted when ons Saawoif dswleped a

b.73au.3 fal~r an ptace to Fla I taI forrpir.0-1 ,ao

Pony) airercft vm-s requested to bit the eaney positiona and plasoa

rochot, and raebins g= strikes ea a VO bcame cap =mti1 all Ord=%"o

was expeuded. Me norniug air strikes resulted in three gtruct=00

and tbree bunkers destroyed and four struotures amd two bcwiizyrs d~ngodalong- vit three tadbln guas and poeitions deetroy'od. Th,-re wars, no

frienilly caetalties wahile Beve= 7 were probabl~y killed.

= cc~vD~1IAL66

• ''• ° • ' • " • J - 'b ' ' •- • • -• . .• •. ,• • • • . • , • • • ' • -'J - •-, • -" " :" . • .-- .• • - o . . . . . - ; S _

"* -

. *t

0- ,. W - w T V

S• ~C!. '.'; TiA:

OnL the night of 16 September, a SELL team embarked in six

"sPan • ith Kit Carson Scouts disguised as 'M transited canals to

ka nown VC hamlet (NQ 128 852) 15 miles n heast of Sea Float.

Upon approaching the hamlet# five VO were observed fleeing from

a hootch and were taken under fire. At the sane time, sniper fire

was received from the opposite bark and was quickly suppressed. The

troops then returned to Sea Float having killed one VC and captured

* two otiers. Interrogation of the two pris~ers indicated they were

SI attending a hamlet military meeting and that the VC killed was a

hamlet seourity leader. There vere no friskily casalties.

Six PCF's were underway at 0700 on 19 September as part of a

combined operation utilizing USN, VN, RY, ARVM, and VNAF persomnel

to conduct a search and clear nission in an area between the Song

Ong DBo and U-FInh forest and to resupply the city of Song Ong Do*

* by river convoy. Sixty RF troops were inserted on the north bank

and secured a landing zone in about fifteen minutes for a fire base

at Old Song Oag Doe (VR 975 025). AI #oon as the area was secured

"CH-47's brought in a pair of 105m howitzers, a crew and aemunition.

At 0925, RAG 25 with RP troops enbarked arrivad frcm Ca Han escorting

* the RF boat comj~ny (9gIVP's) with supplies for Song Ong Doe. The

-1ARVN troops were inserted by Slicks at VR 935 078/VR 919 669/VR

904 066 and following several air strikes copmenced a search and

clear sweep toward the Song Ong Doe. The '13wft" boats with troops

Sembarked provided a bloc3rng force along the river moving several

". times during the day to provide aiwnu blocking coverage. During

67 CW,-DE:-'TIAL

A :I

}:: .. .... :.......... .. .... .. .. .... . .. . ... .... .. . .. . .. . . ..-.... . .. - .... . .. . . . .. .. .. .. .. . . . .....

0 %... rr r- ... . - -> . -- i . -4. ... " ...-

the afternoon the AWVN made light contact 4th the enemy resulting in

five VC kied. At 1650 the "Swift" boats exited the river without

incident. All the troops were extracted by Slicks and the fire bass

j by CH-4?7 at 1700 while R&G 25 continued to Ca Mau escorting the WVPIS.

One large bunker oomplex was destroyed and several sm arms and

atnmilton were captured. There wore no friendly casualties hiiLe six

j VC were kiJed and onie V captured.

EerI7 on the morning of 20 September SEAL Team Det GOLF with

S I Kit Carson Scouts established an interdiction post along the Rach Cat

Igay at the mouth of the Onag D~on Canal. (WQ 178 777) about eight mile.

northeast or sea Inomt. Two large motorized sanpens approached their

posaird and when bailed started to evade and were them taken under

. fire. rhe sepan were pushed achore and one female and two childreM

were detained. A seaich of the sarpans revealed a large anruat of rice,

VN liquor and fuel, The SEL's -ere extracted by I. at 0745 and

returam to Sea FlMet. There were no fri.mdly ca uwatien u ile five

VC wer.e killed and one fele and two children were det-ined. To

large sakmns, fcur motors, 2,VUo po•_ds of rice were destroyed along

with the Wi liquor and fuel. The feale detainee whea interrogated

stated that she had been captarmd by the VC that the wen behind her in

. , the sarpan %as carrying a pisol.

Peaacting to intelligence that a bavlfet located 15 kilometers

northeast of 0,1 Tlan Can WQ 097 775 was occupied by 10 VC and that a

57am a5.d ?75 reooiness riflas vere kept there, SEW's, 8 PRU's and

an 10 teen depertod Soa Float via alick on the aftrnoon of 22 Sptm-

ber for the objective. The troops were inserted and swmept west along

" "68

',11".* :" *.

• .:i u. 4-• ,':.. _ •:',• • "• "--',.', ." " - . -- -. - "-- ." - "-" - - .- . - ., . . .

rI, rI

the Ong Don Canal and captured two males in a sampan. Sniper fire

was received and suppressed from the treeli'e east of t.e hamlet and

then Seawolves in the area placed air strikes on the nexq position.

After a search of the hamlet with negative results the SEAL's called

for a false extraction and set up an interdiction post. Mhree males

retrning to the hamlet from rice paddies were taken %mder fire when they

attempted to evade. A Seavolf sighted five males in a sampan heading

south in the Cai Keo Canal and when they fired at the halo the fire

* eas returned "l1ling all five VC and destroeing the sampan. The SEAL'e

were then extracted by Slick at 1445. At the same time Seavolf sighted1! another sampan and returned the enemy fire Iilin two VC. An air

strike was then put on the :aimlet. The operation resulted in nine VC

killed and three males and one female detained. There were four

structures and two sampns destroyed. Ther" were no frieaNly casualties.

Reacting to an intolligence report, a patrol consisting of

8 SEAL's, 4 EGD, 10 PR-U19. 7 KCS and one oivillau guide departed Sea

Float the rmrning of 24 September to destroy a V1, hospital about

7 3di1eters east-souat st of Sea Float (WQ 146 662). Th patrol was

inserted in two elements and located the hospital complex adjacent to 1

a sll canal; however, it bad been abandoned for 3 or 4 days. A

* sndl anoimt of rcdicius was discovered and d etroyed along with the

Shospital. The element, weeping couth located a hootch oozplex and

Sthree sampans, one loaded with wood and the other two with food supplies.

ST�he two elements continmed their patrol until they joined ced thon mwept

300 asters to the south in an atte=pt to liberate the guide's family;

69 czD:~A

- 1- I

however,. they werentt at bmOne The patrolS Were then axtracted and

returned to Sea Float. Ono KCS was slightly wounded "ahen he steppedI In a punji Pit. The patrol destroyed 31 strUcturess z, six anlpe,800 pounds of rice# 600 pounds of sweet potatoes, 200 Pounds of suglr,

%" I

j40 cartons of cigarettes8 quantity o

medicine. There were three males detained and initial interrogation-

I ~revealed they bad been captured by two 'M the previo'as day.

On 26 September eight SELL's, 10 PU's, seven XCS's and 4 ED

were inserted at liem ta= (Wq 016 584) by Slic2 helos with Seawolves

providing cover. The first element patrolled south while the second

element patrolled north and set up an interdiction post. Shortly,

I six armed males in a sa=. were observed proooeding up the cnl

'When the KCS hailed the sampan the occupents immediately went over the

sids and were taken under fire, Four VC were killed and two wounded

a which mangod to evade. Mie first element cam upon a hazlet containing

; seven hootches and after searching and rezoving docunonts bidden under

floorboards the hamlet was taken under fire by OV-10's. The patrolsI continued until the afternoon without further contact when all units

were extracted by Slick and returned to Sea Float. There were no

Sfriendly casualties while four VG were killed and to wvounded. There, a

were 11 structures, five bunkers, six sampans, one generator and one

VG base camp with all contents destroyed.

•arly on the norndng of 29 September PCF's 93 and 5 while in I

waterborne gUardpost about three mdles frm the mouth of the Bo Do

River (WQ 219 686) observed a 65-foot oceen-going junk (n594 FM)

3 47ic(c:F--D•:;T:.A:. 70"

-- I

- a

*. . . . . ..: -•. , . . . 7. _. -.-.-. . .. -. -..- . : . _ --' .' . .. . . ... • .- . ._ .-.. :-- .- .-. -. . . ..-..-4

__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _........ . . ----. . - --- . --,

- {.

proceeding slowly up the Bo De River from sea. The "Swift' boats got

underway, illuminated the junk and proceeded alongside. Six males on

the bow of the junk threw a smll box over the side and were frantically

trying to cut free a fishing net banging over the side. The PCF. crew-

man boarded the junk and seized all males before they could cut the-

"-I - net. The extreme weight of the net precluded bringing it on deck andI I -

also precluded towing the junk due to its drag. The net was then cut

and sank with its contents. 7he Junk was then towed to Sea Float and

while enroute one detainee offered a PCF VNN trainee 3,000 piasters to

""Itrelease them. The six detainnes were turned over to Sea Float for

S~interrogation.

About midnight on 30 September POF~s 62 and 72 while enroute to

set up a waterborne gu•adpost observed thre sampans procodding east

and north on the Song Gus Lon about seven riles southwest of Sea Float

(VQ 879 605). As the "Swift" boats closed the sampmua two headed

I toward the north bank and one to the south benk. People were observed

SJumping from the sanpans and they were taken under flre. When no .

I :return fire was received the "Swift" boats proceeded to search the S

eampans and area. The sampans were 25 to3 0-foot in legth with two

long shaft motors each and each contained an estinated one ton of

oysters and 500 pounds of rice. While rigging the senpans for tow,

two badly shot up sampans began to sink and two detainees and as mamch

gear as possible were taken off as the sazpans sank rapidly. "he

71 CC71FIDE7,TIAL

.1

• ... ,, l

iii"remaining sampan with contents was returned to Sea Float. heo tWo

detainees with their belongings were turned ower to the NID NMa

I Can for interrogation. There were no friendli casualties and two VC

were killed.

I. *! 72

-- I

"4 1

i. •

4 I

CC:rEIIL7

1" *

Operation Stable Door

During September, all Stable Door harbor defense units maintained active

patrols in their areas of responSibilitg with no mining incidents or swimmer/

sapper activity reported. Patrol units continued to support ground operations i

with blocking forces and landing reconnaissance patrols. Surveillance results

led to the detection of 59,257 craft. Of these, 5,467 were inspected and an-

other 4,269 were boarded. Descri ion of the four harbor defense units

4 follow.Unit One - VunM Tau

During September a total of five persons were detained for curfew

violation, being in a restricted zone, or invalid identification cards.

.O 7 September, Harbor Entrance Control Post (HMEP) received a call from 4-1

the '6TS BATTLE GGEAR which reported that an airborne object had landed in

I the -dater. The object floated with a four finned tail section protruding out

of the water. Picket 29 and LCPL 33 were dispatched to investigate, and the

EOD Team determined that the object was a large jettisonable uircraft fuel

tanic and sank it.

Whiile conducting routine concussion grenade drops on 14 September, one J

. pczud TNT block exploded immediately after being armed aboard Picket 27.

The boat captain and two crew members received minor shrapnel wounds. The

craft received one six-inch hole in the engine hatch cover. Picket 27 pro-

ceeded to the FSTS pier and transferred the wounded persons to the 36th

"I•E .F-T,-7C Hosp^tal. The men were treated and released. Subsequent investigation

deterined the cause of the accident to be per-onnel error.

73 COWIjIE)TIAL

-. . . -,. -

W~~IWI)2 0!a&AL

On 1; Septe.mber, a call was received from the US 1J3-:lN3U• regarding

* .- a se: " i'. 1,,' passed out and experiened muscle spasms and part_1al paralysis.

"LCPL ,,. with an Lrmy Corpsman from the 36th M1aEVAC Hospital transported

the searman to the Delong Pier for transfer to the hospital.

Unit Two - Cam Ranh Bay

I During the month, 23 persons were detained by Unit 7-1, personnel for

being in a restricted zone and invalid/altered identification cards.

On 19 September, the Harbor Entrance Control Post received a report

-1' from the harbor master that the IAHAINA VICTORY transiting out of the harbor

-, observed an explosion approximately 500 meters off her starboard quarter

. I• causing a 65 foot water geyser. The ship was held in the outer harbor until

Stable Door EOD personnel could investigate. The investigation revealed no

marks, dents, scratches or marks of any kind usually found after an under-

water explosion was discovered. All artillery mortar units in the area

, were querried and claimed no lost rounds, and there was no known lost ord-

nance by units operating from the Cam Ranh Airbase.

4i LCPL 43 sighted a junk moving east from the inner harbor to the outer t

* harbor on 26 September. The 8th ROK Company was notified and when advised

of no friendlies in the area, the RCK ccmpa-p,- fired for over an hour into

the area of lights on the Cam Tho Peninsula with unkr.wn results.

On 27 September while going alongside a junk, Skimer 30 observed an*!object being thrown over the side. The personnel and junk were detained

and taken to Picket 51 for questioning. The detainee had been stopped

four times since 1. July for curfew -.'olations, restricted zone violation,

S! and running without lights.

CONFIDENITIAL'74

V - - -.

CONF.ý:)VAL

. -Unit Three- xi h~non

A total of 94 persons were detained by Unit Three during September for

presence in a restri:'ed zone, curfew violations, and invalid/altered identi-

fication cards.

j. While on patrol in the outer harbor on 1 September, LCPL 41 noticed a

Vietnamese cargo vessel, 1.. UING KY, had entered the outer harbor and anchored

just west of the channel entrance instead of anchoring in an assigned area.

LCPL 41 instructed the ship to move from the high risk area to a more secure

.area; howeve- the ship's master refused to move and refused protection.

The ship was bound from Saigon to Qui Nhon with a cargo of cement.

On 4 September while on patrol in the area bounding the inner harbor of

Qu- Nhon, Sea Cobras discovered five kilos cf documents, one large bag of med-

ical supplies, )..- rucksack with personal gear, photos and diary, and 2,000

rounds of mixed small arms ammunition. All material was turned over to the

4 Intelligence Officer at Binh Dinh. On 5 September, Sea Cobras destroyed

* three large well built bunkers and one unexploded 155=m round.

On 15 September, fifty pounds of new and used clothing was distributed

to Saint Paults Charity Orphanage of Qui Whon. The clothing was donated to

a member of Unit Three by the Saint Augustine's Alter Society of Oak Harbor,

* Washington.

'Unit Four - Nba Tran•.

ISUnit Four detained 94 persons during Septeber for invalid/altered* S

2 identification cards, curfew violation, ard for being in a restricted zone.

* I On 6 September, LCPL 44 boarded and searched a fishing craft detaining

14 persons. Ten females had been aboard the Panamanian ship POLARIS and had

7 -

. .... 75.. . .. . . . . CO.I.E TIA

-0 --.. 7 -Z7 6*v-v4_1-.-.-.v! .-

- ,. %

I In their possession a paper with names and amounts of monley. Detainees

were held for being in a restricted zcoie and suspected black marketI activity and were turned over to the Vietnamese National Police for dispositicn.

•-J- On 26 September while on routine paxrol, LCPL 44 r-potted a junk along-

side the Panamanian ship POLARIS. Investigation revealed no personnel aboard. - ,

j the POLARIS from the junk or no personnel on the junk. The junk was taken -

in tow, and an investigation revealed no papers, explosives, or propulsion

4 of anr type. Due to adverse weather, the junk broke loose, was causing a

hazard to navigation, and was sunk.

LCPL 58, while on a routine patrol, boarded and searched a fishing craft

on 29 September. One hundred pounds of unmanifested rice was discovered.

Two detainees were held -.s suspected black marketers and turned over to the

Vietnamese National Police for disposition.

* I

:- .-- :-

.- 1 "SJ

CONFIDDE.TIAL 76. .. , -i.. . .. ..6

TwoI fliveinhrocet ar fie.rmte"oktBot noakonVe

i~' •' . ..4J, e >. . %,

.,.' ' ; .'':J" i ;• . -l *

Cong staging area In the ',.ong Delta. This unusual craft represents

another one of the varied methods used to Interdict VC Infiltration into

the ame.

C • F"ME•".M

f -, ,"" .. .¼.4; -'

and nopulation control decreased considerably durinf the month of

September as the tempo increased in other operational ;-reas. Only

4,889 two-boat P3.:" natrols were conducted while 109,364 inspectionR

"and 29,036 boardings were recorded for the month. -n average of

] 206 Pfl's were assigned to the various operations during the month.

Of these 151 were actively engaged in S-it LAd)S campaigns, 20 with

Clearwater, and the remainder in Came Jarden operations. -t the

close of the month, thit afloat bases supporting the boats were lo-

cated as follows: USS GARRE-T CuUUNTY (IST-786) near Song Ong Doe

(VR-750010); USS HARNErT CoU47 (IST-821) serving the Rach Gia and@ Search Turn areas (V5-775091); USS HUNT 0DN COUNTY (LST 838) on

Sthe Vinh Thuy canal (VS-36408); TYM 16 Southeast of Chau Doec

on the Bassac River (rJ-142845); YREM 21 serving the upper Mekong

0S-392895); USS KRIS1INA (ARL-3I ) near Long Xuyen on the Bassac

W.1054220); Mobile Base II on the Vai Co Tay at Tan An; and USS

-"t Bi•NIFAH (APB 35) near the mouth of the Vam Co River (XS-820M570)

Airborne assets of Task Force 116 totalled 29 HI-1B heli-

copters and thirteen (13) OV-10 Broncos which were deployed as

"follows: HA(L)-3, Det 1 (2 helos) aboard the WINDOM COUNTY; Det 2

(4 helos) at Nha Be; Iet 3 (2 helos) aboard the HUNTF.UDON CUNTY;

, Det 4 (2 helos) at Ben Luc; Det 5 (2 helos) aboard XHR11 16; Det 6

(2 halos) aboard the Gh•it'.iTT COUNTY; Det 7 (2 helos) at Tay Ninh;

"j Det 8 (2 helos) aboard the HiPJ&TT COUNTY; Dot 9 (2 helos) aboard

the YRB&21; and a maintainance pool of 9 helos at Ben Thuy. VaL 4,

"Det A ( 5 0J-1OA's) was operating out of the VNAF base at Ben Thuy,

Det B (5 0"-10Ats) was at Vung Tau; and a maintainance pool of 3

. I 79 CCF-•-:- LD I

*1 I

-L fiz. Z C kC ,ir ..1- :.,- -.

%II I - -L 'I.' -t. 4 -, -1 4 1; 4,j

., , *i2,.,. *i .3

Black Pon~ies we~re at ;ý.nh Thuy.

Although none of the thirteen aircraft assigned to -7AL-4 units

were actually assigned und-r the operational control of SEA 1Qd S

units, they responded to numerous calls for overhead cover and emer-

gency support of daily operations throughout the entire 3rd and 4th

CTZ. TF 116 aircraft accumulated over 1840 flight hours which rep-

resented 845 combat missions as well as daily surveillance patrols.

A breakdown of the combat missions follows:

(Game Warden/ Sea Lords Operatiorns)

Pre-planned Reaction Targets of SupportStrikes Strikes OpportRunity Missions

UlI-lBs 139 91 171 197

""V-lOAs 13 31 130 73

On 6 September 1969, Commander M.S. SCHUMAN, USN relieved Corn- ..

nander G.L. '.iINAN, USN as Commanding Officer of VAL-4 at Binh Thuy.

Also on 6 September, LT T.11. FRENZINGER, USN relieved LT C.P. 6

M.TZLER, USN as Commander, River Division 553: LT T.J. LOPEZ, US""

relieved LT F.J. S:-ITH, III, USN as Commander, River Division 153;

and ICDR ii.B. ST'-R,Jr., USN relieved LCDR D.W. STREr, USN as

S I Officer in Charge, HA(L)-3, Detachment 8.

':On 29 September, LT R.J. CARLSON,USN relived LT N.T. CAMP, USX

j as Commander, River Division 511.

On 30 September, LCDR J.T. HOCK, USN, relieved LCDR E.J. DENNIS,

USN, as (ommander, River Squadron 51; LCDR J.A. BUTLERF1ELD, USN,I- I- .

a relieved LCDR D.J. FLORKO, USH as O-in-C, VAL-4, Det B at Vaing Tamu;

I • Iand 1CDR R.H. BAkLLARD, USN relieved LCDR A.D. SCHtUzR, USN as O-in-C

I 6

*1- iiii:!t -t I

-" . I• . . , • .- , o . . .- °. ° .. . . o - .- -, °. - .-. o~o . . . .o . ° • .- ° . - ., ° , . . .. ..

,. 7X .. -L - --k7

i- CLiTT1

VAL-4, Det A at •I'M Thuy.

AT1 Robert J. AANOLD, USN, and ATN3 Stephen A. JUHWiSUN, WiN of1 HIA(L)-3 Detachment 8 on board USS HAOL- C 11UC, were drowned when

"the helicopter on which they were crewmen flew into the water on a

. night takeoff on 15 September 1969.

4 1 On 20 September, ENC George J. SMýR, Jr., USN., and EIMFU

William V. FLYNN, USN, of River Division 543 drowned when they were

thrown into the water of Cua Viet harbor when the Boston .Ihaler in

which they were riding went out of control.

GAME HARDEN OFI,'HATIJNSI The important objectives of the river patrol forces are to con-

duct river patrols, enforce curfews, inshore surveillance, visit and

51 search to prevent enemy infiltration, movement and resupply efforts

ulthin the Game 'Jartien tactical area of responsibility. These ob-

"" I"Jectives have been ridgidly pursued without adverse affects to the

transition and Vietnamization programs. A significant decrease in the

number of merchant ship attacks has been noted since intensified

I Joint force operations were instituted. The level of joint USN/VNN/

ARVN/FA/PF small units operations in the RSSZ have been steadily in-

""" creased and the results are gratifying. Seawoif and Blazk Pony re-I3sponse to emergency support throughout the 3rd and 4th Coastal Zones

has permitted PBR units to quickly reduce sizable odds when un-

expectedly ambushed on patrol by VC parties employing automatic and

I! " and OV-lOs permit reaction within five minutes a. 1 these aircraft

1 have established an enviable record of enemy killed, structures

L 81 CaFW~ID AL° I

-' , - . - . . - . - . - . .-E, - . , . . . . . - , . - . . .. - . . - . . - . . , . . . . . . . . , .-l, , _ , i :..' . . . .. .. . , . . . . : . . . . . ... . , . . . .', .. . . . ..I• • ..

-4- -. I ,.- r . .

destroyed, and enet'. watercruft in close conbht support of P['31's

and frierily trjons. The fo-,wing incident reports iElustrate]the combat operation and the I-iehly effective- teaLiork employed

by the ele.*ents .3f Task vorce 116.

Shortly after noon on t'-%; first day of September, dlack Ponies

106 and 113 were enfa.:ed in catrolling a sector about five milesnorthcast of Phong Hiep (11-I.KM788) where, less thpn an hour before,

"] aeproximately 8.0 VC were sirlted. Several VC were spotted attempting

to take cover in the trueline but the 9roncos attacked and killed

fifteen of the enemy. Althgh li."ht -*mall arms fire was returned

from the ground, no injurics or damage was st z.ained by the air-

cr-aft. In addition to the "kiis one airstrike accounted for one

structure destroyed and a second badly damaged.

In the afternoon of 3 September, a pair of Seawolves were

4 cleared to strike a group of VC observed in the process of crossing

a canal pbout ten miles southeast of Can Tho (WR-895996). nlitomatic

* weapons fire was received an! suppressed as the gunships attacked,

destroting five sarmpans and -killing ten VC.

On the Sairon '.iver azb•rt 20 ;ziles northwest of Phu Cuong in

- inh )uiong Province (XT-553352%, PrR's 752 and 843 were in water-"

borne guardpost position the right of 5 September, when 20-30 of

swiunners were spotted atte-=ing a crossing within 100 meters of""

the boats. After closing the distance, the PBR's engaged the enemy. ,

The action resulted in 5 VC KEA (body count), 3 VC YIA (probable),

and 2 CICCai grenades, 750 lbs of rice, one US .45 caliber pistol,

" lb. of documents, medical supplies, 2 M-26 grenades, 2 flash-

ci ;lights, web gear, and various personal gear captured. After settingC G? I

"..*1 . ,: -.. . - -..I. "., . ." . . S .'.' . . -. : .:•... '. .•.:.'--....... .. . ..... .

COUIFIDEITTAL

j waterborne guardpost again, shortly after midnight and just below

i the previous location (XT-545352) , seven more enemy swbiuere were

- discovered and killed before they could escape.

Two Broncos were scrambled on 9 September to place a strike

I.in support of ground troops in the vicinity of Sa Dec (WS-89400)e

SA ground sweep following the air strike disclosed a 20 bed hospital,

Sthree bunkers, and a large conference room destroyed and 6 VC killed.

Again on 9 September, a pair of Black Pony (OV-lO) were cleared

to strike in support of troops ambushed in the area about 18 mil@sI southwest c'- Chau Doc (VS-903584). Light automatic fire was received

and suppressed by the aircraft who were later credited with 10 VC

killed.i At t150 on 9 September , two PIR's patrolling the Long Tau

Faiver just southeast of Nba Be (23-98-0780), stopped and searched

"a Vietne•ese junk and discoverinedi thfeollowing: 30 hypo yrnes,

45 hypo needles, 15 hospit~al coats, 15 sterile drsatings,- I Bag of

El[ sterile cotten, two green fatigue unif~zrla, one package of peal-cilin tablets, I battery charger, one complete inventory listing

of PI items available at Tuy .oa AF, 2 X-ray films, and I bag

of unknown type powder. The Junk and six Viattnaes males were

detained and turned over to VS authorities.

,.During early eving. hours on 15 Saptmbera, a group of eight

PBR's were transiting the Thi. Tinh River about five miles north of

Phu Cuon& (x-758242), enroute to extreet a ccmpany of 82nd air- 4

*borne troops when an enemy sampan vas sighted evading into a smal

side canal. The two lead PER's pursued a short distance only to

. discover that the sampan had been vacated. The PBa's 1--iaately

83 CMIDTINUIL

,, ,, . . . ._.-; - : , _: :.-:; .; -. ';. ?;, ,: -. .. . - ... .- .

* 4

came tinder heavy :,at.ovtic weapon fire from the shoreline and sus-

tained numerous bullet holes arid shrapnel damage before they were.able to withdraw, The r3's returned fire, recornied the shoreline

and continued on their mission, successfully extracting the troops.

1 USI and 1 *1J14 were seriously ,:ounded t:.o USN and one "1I" slightly

-- wounded during the firefight. One VC was killed as he attempted

Sto escape.

About mid-day on 16 "ieptenber, foi-lwing a ground sweep, a

* tean of 27'ALG/FRU's revealed 1P bunkers, 12 structures destroyed," [one SiY-type CHM, carbine, 12 CHICJ: grenades, 1 US.45 cal.pistol j

"two typewriters, 26 a-50 explosives charZes, 1 saupan, 1 medical

kit, 2 electrical firing assemblies, 100 feet of firing wire, two

-•[ kilos of documents and five kilos of clothing captured. Following

the ground sweep, additional Navy IMFT relieved their fellow airmen

on station and sighted a group of enemy evading. They were taken under

fire,one wounded, two killed by aircraft fire, and three VC were listed

as probable kills. Regional Forces inserted by PBR's then comaenced

a broad sweep to the northeast as Navy Seawolves continued to pro-

vide overhead cover. Aifter obtaining negative results on the sweep,

the S AL/PRU teams were extracted by whaler and the RF by PBR's

as addlitional strikes were laid in by Navy Black Ponies. Two bunkers

were Iraged and 3 bunkers plus 7 -dscellaneousstructures were des-

troyed wi no friendly casualties. a

pin on 16 September, a pair of Seawolves were cleared to strikeI an estimated company of VC spotted along a canal just north of the

"" entrance to the .iass3ac :Iivtr (.Ct-375650). One strike was placed along z

the canal during which 6 sampans were badly damaged. Two .ore strikes

E4

p..:.... ...... ... ..-....-. :-..-.. -.. . -... .- .. ..... .. ... ......- _-. • .. -. . ... • %',.f .• - ... ... . .. .... . .. ... -. . ... . . . -

CC -

COU"D1TTAL

placed in the surrounding area accounted for the destruction of W

structures, and 14 VC killed (4 body count).

On a scramable three to aid ground troops heavily engaged in the

southwest sector of Kien Giang Province (VR-902797) late in the after-

noon of 20 September, Navy Broncos 106 uid 113 met with heavy auto-

"1� �matic weapons fire from the ground. As strikes were placed on two

.. evading sanpans, one Black Pony sustained a .30 caliber hit in the

* nose section, slightly damag•ng his hydraulic system. The sampans were

destroyed, killing five VC, and eight structures were destroyed and

6 more damaged before the Black Ponies returned to base.

During a two boat PER waterborne guardpost watch shortly after

midnight on 22 September, 25 VC swiisers were spotted about 8 miles, "$

southeast of Dau Tieng (XT-554351) on the Saigon River. The P' -s

closed and opened fire as light &utorztic weapon fire was retuned

fron the river banks. All 25 swimuers wsr k.lled and 14 baegs of clot-

I:" iing, ! lb. of documents, I CHICGI grenade, 1 Z-26 grenade, I AK-7-?

!'I !with magazine, assorted medical suppliee, and a small quantity of

food was captured.

The following evening at alwmst the save location (XT-553352)

1. two PBR's transiting to night W9P sighted five more VC swimerv in

the water. They were taken under fire and killed. Three other PM'. L

I a short distance behind provided assistance and reconned the river

barks recovering four packs. WJithin an hour the three PZl"e cleared

- I the area while the original PMa patrol set LM Just east of whiere

the sximers had been killed. Kine more swimner were son detectedSi :

I ¶

.. "

" fCNFME:I

i7

and ki-lled. .fter rectmning the banks -;ith. additional fi=e, the

Sfinal tally -h!vwtd 14 11C k,11ld in action (body cou.t; ari a

* * qiantity of f ),)d a,'- wei.pons captured.

i. thir" major swimmur incident occured on the evenim- of 22 q";eptember about 5 iailes southeast of Us o)au Tieng (OC-53L2362) when

three P35's sighted 17 VC apozoxilxa-tAy 35 metcrs fra-- their boats

in the water. 'he PBA's broke guard post and took tixe swL-ners

under fire killing all 17. They then proceeded to capture 7 packs,-

120lbs of rice, assorted clothing, and a small quantity of medical

supplies.

*~,4 jAM! 'jriR~Ž j,~L .JPz-ur..ONS

It is well recognized that the element of surprise can be used

arainst the enemy with inordinate success. Tbrough the ur-e of well

trained 31,,L9 enployed in many covert operations throughcut the Game

.iarden ax, i-measurable success has been experienced in collection

of intelligence and restriction of the establishment of permanent VC

headquarters positions. The flexability of SMaiL team insertion op-

erations, permits quickly nl:.nred and quickly executed dssions

7ý. which disrupt unknown numbers of enemy operations. S-dS frequently

react to intelligence data collected by other sources and conduct

K routine scouting and familiarization patrols as well. Trhe following

incidents portray the SEALS in action:

i .'hile enroute from uang -.'uyen to Nha Be bk 4haler dudring theafternoon of 8 Jeptmaber, 3 s and one LL'NN were fired on by 3

'VC in a sampan transiting east on Houng long Canal (X5 937738)

4 .

* ...

.. •. ... ,---: - -- -.- ... .. -. . ... ... .. ,. . . . .,....-.... ... .. . . . .. .. .. . . . . .

t~ward Lt.e, :;i an~o +.iVero 7he •.•sreturned 'their rim but failed * -"

- ~~~to kill the 11C. F-),tever, one "scaptured and turned over to the RS5Z "-" ,

Provincial .econ Unit..'I-

Acting on intelligence collected by PdU personnel, six avy,

5-=ALs and 12 PRUs departed Nha Be by LSSN/Ihler on the morning,.-';of 16 September. They were inserted at YS 154776 about 15 miles

S~east of Ifa Be ,n.d patrolled stopp-nf Iur'• contside a VC ca•p. U1on

hearing a number of nale and female Voices, the patrol changed their.-+

position and called in :ieawolves to place strikes on the camp. The " ['

! ~~patrol then proceeded into the camp sti .i receiving light automatic•

iweapons fireo They pursued the fleeing VC and returned their fire. :le

Upn sachofh area, 18b,mkers and 12 structures were dis-

covered. The base camp i - -s beleived to be uhe political head-Squarters of the Viet Cong sapper organization. The tem was extracted

j by LSSC and returned to lha Be at 1700 that evening. Four VC were"163e•.orte b killed t ey aircraft, and a lter reYS rt by a captured VC

SI h--isoner idicated that one female medic and another unidentified Ipote were wounded as the awolvs closed in es on the camp. One SKS

r [ ~ ~~carbine ,one .45 caliber (Uzý) pistol, 12 CHIUCV. grenades, 26 --. 'O" I" _-3~~~-50 explbsive charges ,and miscellaneous documents and equip-"c+"•>j"

"pcent were captured. itteapt.rcvn l.tuo t

| ~apnOn 23 September, 6 pusu-ds, 11 PRUs and one Hoi Chnh departed

. !;Rna se by Slick and insereed about 12 miles east of Nha Be Naval Base.

c eey patrolled to the northeast with part of the team dropping off

t o occupy a Pagoda rains. --he reainder of the element continued

.on about 20 meters to the e C sapporard suspected tem actisetr.

- +At about 1635, a ii a mber of tC entered the pagoda and were immed-

+ E 7 CC*:, A E ::T IAL• --

i -

rentwerecaptred--

-I .n2-epebr,6...-1 RJ n oeHi h dpreA -L

: - ili.---,- -. :;.:".'? L -.-...-.- i'• i''---6 -----. -- 'i'' " -.--< i- -- ... , . .------- --- ' - - - - - i

i

iately taken und.k:r fire by the awaiting 2~Js. The VC fled to the

north into thick w)ods but Navy 1-4FTs and 0W-10s were called in to

lace strikes in the a:rea. Following t..e air strikes, a sweep was

made by the S.LP~;one prisoner .-&s taken captive along with two

11Y-4•7 wqeapons, and numerous blo,.od trails -sere foand. Total- enemy

I casualties were 6 VC killed (1 body count), I VC wounded and one

II - ~captured. .There were no friendly casualties.

4 i',2 H t •,S!IZ1•T/a'TCKS oN yI4.11CHANT SHIPPING

There was only one attack recorded for the month of September

on merchant shipping. On 5 September the USS TItANSCO.iut1 DO was

attacked with six B-40 rockets while transiting the Long Tau !iver

toward 3aigon just below 14ha Be (XS 987782). it Vietnamese LSSL

reconned the surrounding area with fire until a sweep could be

* made but results proved negative. Nine of the rockets hit the

vessal and n3 danage wds sustained.

Tit) FORC3 CLuWATit

4 Typhoon DTIS moved up the coast of South Vietnam and went inland

near the DMZ at about 1130 on 2 September 1969. Patrols on the Per-

"fume and Cua Viet Rivers were secured when weather deteriorated to

an unsafe level for patrol boats. Logistic traffic in the rivers

3 topped also. )6B-1 at Tan My dragged it's m~oring to within 100

feet of the dIK barge complex. One RI4 barge broke loose and scrap-

ped a PBR moored to MSB-1. Four PBRs received minor hull damage *1

4 while moored but all remained operational and later resumed regular

patrols in the Hue area. Fatrol boats at Cua Viet were berthed in

a newly dredged lagoon anil escaped hull danage. tne hull wasN(' :.'.nD3." Ik£I

Ci~~.I Wi&!A

L 3.

|p

-'.

A-L 47 -XLJ- -. L '-W WruII,,1I I.I% -. -ýA% 91

crackerf bef-)re rn~vitu.- into the lag>.>n i-nd two radomes were ca~rr.Le.

away by hi-h winds. .xt~cnsIv*- danage was caused to oth.-r water

craft in the storm area a~nd Naval :;uppr ctvt aa Cua

Viet suffered mninor. And and wratter dajia'e. AU. Hue AIver Security

I c~roup and FIR patrols were back to normnal operations within 48 hours.Various 14&-)CAP and iab ILWCAP missions were accomplished

I throughout the Ilue and flong Ha Riiver locales during .aeptember by

I P~BaI crews supervised by USN Corpsmen and MAi MIedics with highlyfavorable results. Un one visit to An Gia !amlet, 75 medical patients

were treated, hygidene lea-flets were dist-ributed along with 75 bars of

I ~soap, and two Jfietnaxiese civilians were Hedivaced to iDong Ha civilian

hospital by the crew.

On the morning of 2-0 September, three PB!I's from ldver A)visioX1

1 543 were rel:ýesed rro-n Clearwater control at Cua Viet to participate

in a i?.a-.dgationsal Probe or the Cua Dai/!':ai An River complex under

the operational control of CTG 115.1. The operation is expected

to be completed ab~ut 4 October.

z4

•i A "i%

COWFIJ..L!i.,L ( 4hen filled in)

4t 514 Ov iXISTI~xL SVNLAII

MARKET 1*b4h !k~hp- _.J~ti-MN

"Detections 59,911 109,364..Inspections 27,713 30,991

Boardings 14,4.24 29,036Icraft Detained 236 113.Persons Detained 1364 125

'Viet Cong Suspects 32 1

Postile Fire Incidents 48I "-Enemy Casualties

'1a. e illed 118(79 9C 39 Prob) 77 BC 116 Prob

b. ,ounded 27 4

c. Captured 187USN Casualties

a. Filled 2( 1 USN 1 USCG) 0•i b. jounded 01

c. Captured 0 0•3d. Hissing 0 0

Enemy Material Lossesa. Destroyed

(1) Junks or Sampans 131 29

(2) Structures 333 131b. Captured:

I() Junks or Sampans 3(2) aeapons * 127

(3) Amunition (rounds) 252

(4) R1ice (tons) * 1.3c. Damaged:

S(1) Junks or Sampans

(2) Structures 212 76USN material Losses:; }. a. Destroyed:

(1) Surface Craft o 0

(2) Helicopters 0 0

I b. Damaged:(1) Surface Craft 6 *(2) Helicopters 2 *

SAR Missions 2

Remarks:

*Information not available or not applicable

SGROUP 4 Enclosure

Downgraded at 3 year intervals 4

Declassified after 12 years CUONF " "IAL

I

I I ,v

*1..

'1.U a" "

VitiaseN.j

'if.'i 'SOM

Ther wa itm)rs l tawptold1 la

.aud=t ionigPO's nSptea.Sac n

.eammfiue el otepoa.u12v wt Mjf

oprafns tegu &g assessmans wegnnn kow y

ofw9 Septembet*en )karntnpot Tjin TotnU Cbm on set

* det4wt igsep9o teLG 91 eoere tea f gset of elecitria 4099ju

atte Solof me paetinlae of the Deopl W eTained. t MM)

FleetM CATWM Gita fire AD to52f4. OS3UioB

thenthSine the and xiit ptyl of Sho. 1g Taumahit aM cntamstIU

.. I:- ] eam oara aimso inl to? ir LW s ?oozfed Uy ISepeme by9 Us te.MM

1PMmlp? of RAG5 nd5*M 91nra igmedten wieet ofn emcze al idz

13t the PER of er~ns pasro the TADeorte only amv in9aideto la iMA

-~w inflod cstiean tedwq. fmee ve ewW o

advisar ea~~amltes as a resullt at M~ Operatimns. Norne,, en

j 7 Sep~wai e enisated adviser to MPG 51 iiam k~ilea an& mg jam

91CIWDfA

J' .J M. .. r-1 T% X N -J

seriously wounded when they were ambushed as they traveled south on

the road to Cat lai. (ia92094D). Shortly after turing off th I

Boa highway onto the Cat I&IL road the jeep and its two occupants wr

showered by the shrapniel of a detonated o~apwre mine. The oe ins ,

101 J. W. Sampers,. USE, was knocke out of the Jeep and d~led.

Another fifty meters down the road the jeep was bit by two B-Al

j rockots and subsequently knocked off the road Into a upside dawn.

position in a rice paddy. After amall arms fire directed at the jeep

bad stopped, the 'wounded and unarmed driver., EN3 A. R. joslin, USX,

began to look for his fellow advisor. Ile was soon vraken -and

shot twice at close range by three VC who advanced towards his.

After the VC bad stripped him Of his valuables and left him for dead,I EN3 Josinj, seriously owouded,, crawled to a, YN aid station about

500 meters from the wrecked and burning jeep. An Immediate swep of

the general area by UN rangers failed to locate the evading Va.

Three INN PBYI's of MP 51 were patrolling the Dong Nai River

ten miles east of Saigon (M305692o) on the morning of 21 September

when they hailed two suspicious looking sanpens. Ignoring the

coznd the samnpans evaded into the Bach Nnoo Trong. The PBR sailors-1 requested air support and then proceeded after the sampan. Daurig

I ~the action that followed two IG were captvired., tree VG were killed

I ~(two by the Tong Binh air support), and two sampens were gutted.

I ~COASTAL JUfIM FORCES

IAt theend ofthe mnhtherewwee226 Junsas~igmed toIhs

Coastal Junk GroWp of anl four coastal Zones. During the umeth an

I CJNWID:Q*LIL 92I9

- .,o ,,..-ITIN

CuNFLDzI:,tGL

average of 169.5 imit4i wer operatiomal and 165.5 were amploye&

Al"l" perforaing surveillao.e operations the Juns mearched 59,626

junks and 190.094 people. Tbey detained W2 j103ks and 516 people.

The search figures were comparable to July and Auust but the

detainment statisti•s were lower particularly in the Second Coastal

Zone,

Pirst coastal ZoneI ~ Just prior to miftig~t on,4 Septeabei MN personnel in a nigttobaemration post one and one half zilms "ast of Noi An (BT167533)

I detooted and fired upon a lone VO serp~n. hree VGC .ere kIlled

- ImIn~ding a f am]. VC off icial of Maym long Rwafvgee Villag.1 .-Tri.us VO and R.I peyops papers and nin gremades wre also

-.- oo-irm . The captured 5sapen and firhing equipmzat wa reesented

to the local village. the particlar stretch of VAe Cva Wa river

vbcre the caarnpn ias eighted has beson reported to contain a TO

a 14 on route Qat crowed the river.

nxmej =nits d-.,Uvoed a deadly blew an the ervening of 26 Septamw4 ~~ber viwn two Tabuta junks of C014 vere iliad aid sunk seer toe mouth

" of the Cum Did (PIrar 568). Tks ttm labuta junks me Iasiha

toe•tat beoq-ise of suim fallure of me of the craft. 7y wee

pro;o"_in at a vary slow speed vam a sinle dstnUtian occurre

b-rý,e U-e aterae of the two vosele. 7he forc of Use OVple~o

sont tho tuD Junha to the bottca of thi rivers, killed t&ree gsilmre,

aud wodd fo~ur othars. ?to 2&Ars lat, n 1s Septabers Yistame

:q I

OUFIJ)LG %L93

4% 1* -4+x.".;+,". •,j•.•'++. +.•.• ... ',.+ - _. ............................................................................................. ,-. . .-. .-.... ....... -.•-'++. •' '\•' '4•+"+ '. •" ', +' +-,.- .,.,- ',:+ ;Je\ - " • , " "- -• .*..-. ... . ..,.,- *.-- :. -'.*." :+ -.. ,*" .'.. ".. ...-.- .

-V -. Jr

fibre eoerdaffypud rsue.fueo ieI hsaLiiiy(T135) d a tefrtIsan*o r.w

airea. On 19repebrCIprsnldicovered aw mit on resr nlnor ie Vinaihe

coapoed ofinigty (El9a)d thiee Inche fprojetilestande ofe Ianpesr

I iEnfbie act ion In the S1 eonder Catal Zonwa veryn louled, vith-4 -]thie xa cesi mii of the a talgou operatioJns lent oredene toe Pthe

seffort. Flour -:-P ueve ithelleoas report ofa waete (BMappe ounisI

I aea,-5 1 September cue4 personel dicoerd threJnsofC2 andalocalV ine

companycarid ofueiahtordon and &re inh operoaetileo n on. reuledin

th prdesrctiono iele.rstovnsa uni ti jj~

Eighty acions In th SeofCn Roashtay Zone was veroG6 limitdwit

I theG21 onity n ofnte RXcastoly groiafrept od operations mhssn h SIP

45 Septemb0eS/6 one91 p3aocn ndthtree Althaofg tG2S 1and one local RI

I~ compen canrd outm ca cordonan weire operation thatvm repolted tha

AA

* th dei tin o Liv shlter, to velsone unj stae feldand on in ied

CUNFIDiNTIAL

Vith the snea In their respectiw areas of operation. hoe D i.

Icland cuplez situated at thie mouth of the lower Mekong River wasthe some of the host signifioant Incidents in teras of damage

I ~inf~lcted vpon the enemy by the MoN

I .O AeZOptimn to the previous statement us the recovery o a

I ~330 poind floatizZ mine by CG35 =its that were In blocking pealtIems

tbree miles east of Tra Vfh an the Co Chien River on ? Septebmb

(33532982 to R5500.

On the ior-in of 16•Septmber a VC nedio Chie i to CG36

Sl=its at the northern end of the Dung Islsnd complex and appro-.

I . uatol, t•tY flue miles eoutheast of Can Tho (•1937M). The W

Nadic ets-W tbat diuillusiom-=t with t2h VC was the reason he

t~12s4 hiwe~f over to the CG36 =Izta. ?vo days later another W

4 guarrifla, rallied to the VNH at t*CG36 base (18=400A). The IM

sguarrilUa said tmt he was afuid. or the TO operations.

SCoastal k-c= 36 umits in x1&ht positions adjacent to the o th

' western siAe of D=S Island, thirty 2iles southeast of Can Tho an

17-18 September deteoted one saurpo crossing the Mekong River frmSvest to east 1 6673). 1han the wnzan attempted to e e it

was taken =!er fire. In tb* actio that follwed onwe V we killas

and one V1 0 on* asanza, four carbiwas, and one hured rouuds of

awcamition were captured.

CONFIDENTIAL

S95

Lz4%

i_67i

.- 4. -_. . .4 - - -.. . . . . . . . . . . .. ... . . ." • ; ''% •'' '- 4 4" - . 4 4"'- * - • - " - -o - .---- - -. -4 .-. o -" . " o" . J . •' '

= - -- ; -

%I

WeiFIDY.NTIAL

-Fouth coastal Zone

Th. 57 Junks assieed to the Dor Coastal Groups in September

conduoted Market Tiae and river patrols, logistic lifts,, and bssa

defense operations from SEL FOAT at Old Se Cen, Ha Tien, Rach GCia

An Thoi* and Hon Tre xslan& Two Junks and saxteen raider troops of

CG44 participated In Operation NHUAT TAO 4V/04/69 eleven *aesp north-

east of H&Tien (VS600635) on the Bach GisngMthaonbf20-21lSeptes..

ber. Eneaq cotact was established which resulted in three VC killed

and one wounded. One VIN was killed, one VNN was rounded, and =a

.30 cal. achIne gun was dauaged, later infomtion obtained from

the people of Giang Thanh indiLated that the VC bad thirteen killed

and four wounded but they wore all carried inth Cambodia. (See

discussion of Border Interdiction Capaign within Operation SIA

LOIDS Suwzary and discussion of SEA FLOAT in Coastal Surreillanoe

4 Tore. Suzmary for further details.)

Tird and Fourth Riverine River Assault Groups

The 164 riverine craft assigned to the River Assault Groups

' (RAG's) conducted a total of 2135 river patrols and 1o75 amphibiois

_ -assaults in the Third and Fourth Riverine areas. In addition to the

I .river patrols and the amphibious assaults the RLG craft were enployed

in logistic lifts, escort dutiesj, PSbPS, and Civic Action Operatilna.

Riveirlne craft of RAG 24 were patrolling a section of the Upper

"Saigon River mineteen iles north-northwest of Saigon from 8 to

10 September (from IT670276 to X1676230). About an hour before did-

-i night on 8 September noise of approaching personnel was detected by

CONFIDENTIAL

up . I96 , IL

.""

CO*IJFDUT1AL

-* the guards. The Vo boats sprayed the suspected area of the ean

* ovm its ith .30 and .50 cal. mcie gun fire. A day light mept

7 of the sane area revealed blood trails, two Chinese rifles, forty-

four rounds of a==nitionh one carbine, one 82i sorter roxind and

one knife. later in the day the patrol recovered one saexpn and one

U.S. 5e~zet and destroYed one enam bunker. At approximatsal 0100

on the morning of 10 Septffbe the security mits sighted fovr • C

nearing the PBLG bcats (nU6522I4). -Me Va1 opened fire Vith machine

gauns kII3•g one VG and probab• y vounimg SaOthe. Wit+h the arrival

of light the VM transited to Phu Cuong Vithut Snoidet.

After receving orders from the long An eectorp the Main force

I of RAG 22 moved on 18 SePteber to An ni Tan five miles southeast

of Ben Lao on the eau Co Dorig (XS5"5675) in order to yrovide operaL-

tional and logistical mspport for =mits of tbhe 25th AMW Division

located in the ar. River patrols three kilmters north and 9outh

Sof An Vaut Tau Ve also ±Icluaed in their responisibilities.

- The eneC ws goon to voice hle displeazure toward the a&=IMM

Sof the RAG t e. nrly on the morning of 20 Septexber the AIM GOOtaod

I. and •GA 22 bomt$ at An Ehut Tan vere attacked by an extimted VCi

p

[ • •sqpad vhich ine smod with B-/O rockets and 8Mm =ortar8& The ARTA

and BAG forces returned fire for approzxLately fifteen minutes. At

dawnm the force uzicovered five dead VC and several blood trails, IeSr

the enud of the =onth on 29 Septa~bor PRLG 22 boats Vwer ambushd

during ap mn for ]en Inc to An Fhut Tan (=626733). The fire

_,{ I CONFID,,TIAL

97t ,*

I

UU As MIA MI AL

v4as retined with unmknon results and FAG cmsalties vera lmitUd

to me MU uoundd,.

In the Fourth Riverine Area MAG 23/31 boats were patrolling

;.the Mang Thit Canal enroute to Mang Tht on 3 Septembe when they

ver' fired upon from the south bank (IS 200190) by an estimated VC

platoon equipped with B-40 rockets, =all arms and autonatio weapons.

At the initiation of the ambush the VG found theirm ark an the WNN

monitor with tvo B-40 rockets that killed af sailor and womded

two others. 7he oonvoy of RLG craft anwered theo VC callenge

Iwith Slyn mortar 20 and 40m, and .3D cal. and .50 cal. &==I-

I tion. The RAG 31 advisor requested helo gunship but they were unable

to ooze to the assistance because of tUs, Inclement weather conditions.

REover, Black Pony aircraft and artillery suppcet was received

fifteen inutes after the contact was broken off,

later in the mouth RAG 21/33 a pporting eleatnts of the

10th ARVH Division sonuheast of Ben Tre. Cn the afternoon of 14 Sopte%-

bew coven RAG 21/33 unit& bad extracted four AR•I companies and vwer

3 returning to the R am luong ferry landing. Seven miles south of Ben

Tro (XS550190 to XS520220) the convoy besn receiving autoratic

weapons fire, B-40 rockets# and reooilleas rAfle fire. The fire was

I returned and artillery was spotted Into the esemy positions. Arriving

at the ferry landing just southwest of Ben Tre (I o80301), MG 22/33

bad znstained B-40 rocket and 57xa recoilless rifle hits to me

LCY?, one PCOi4, and one 10U. No personnel cawailties ve"a reported.

CONFIDENTIAL 98

t 4

f -"I

- C $ t Cb * t "- .• • + - " +. . . " .. ++: +

.4 - - -r...,

A- •... -.4

) .,CotI+AL

During the night of 18-19 September a "1l sampan approached

.. the RAG 25/29 units beached at Ca MM• (WRIfM8l35)4 Th sampan Ma's

~- warned away by small arms fire. %ased on intelligence reports

received from the commanding officer of the n1th RF Boat Company

] and the suspicious movements of the sampan, the VNN boat officer

b: had the RAG boats move to the llth BP Boat C pay pier. The next

morning a diver searched the general area and recovered a fifty

4 , pound mine under a bridge that was set to be detonated arond 100

i that day. The NILO at Ca Yen indicated that the mine was probably

I intended for the RAG units in view of the small size and the location

* of the mine between two bridge piers.

SRiver Assault and Interdiction Divisions 70-75k

Although the VNN RAIDta had operated with elements of the WHNO

! in the past, it was not until 1 September that the Amphibious Task

Force 211 (ATF 211) was reorganized to officially include both VNNRAID and V&O forcea. The initial inten of the Joint Genera.l Staff

(JGS) was to employ all the elements of the ITF in the I V Corps

Tactical Zono under the operational control of the 21st ARVN Division.

However, if this proposal had been carried out, RLID's 70 and 71

would have vacated their assignments in the Giant Slingshot operation.

It was finally foided that PAID's 70 and 71 (194.9.7.0 and 194.7.1

Srespectively and also ATG 211.1 vaterborne unit) would oontine to

participate in Giant Slingshot operations from the bases at Tra Cu,

Ben Lua, and Tan An. The VMC Third Infantry Battalion which had

f i CONFIDENTIAL

4' l99

I I*1*:

I,

- - - -4 - .

,V- L-. .k

been t,% lending force of ATG 211.1 stationed at BenLe Was

.detscbed ftr the AM on 8 September and proceeded tU Ti 7hah

"(M535827) for operations with ATG 211.3 In the TVIn BiTs A•m•- . .(See discussion of Giant Slingshot in SEA LOWPIS Sunary for frhe

details of FAID's 70 and 71.)

With the roorgmization Of the ATF on 8 Septembo•rs e o'pmOa-

tional units were assigned as foflows:

Under the Opera-

3 A.TG 211.1 RAID 70,1 CTG 19.9

.1 .LTG 211.2 RAID 73 VM 5th Battalion 21st A•M(Dong Tham) (18 boats)

IAT 211.2 RAID 72,7-,75 MiH lat, 3rd 7th ARVI(Dong T=) (52 boats) Battalion (after 10 So)

STh ATG 211.2 was as5igned to 08ar out river.n ataiul.t opera•-

ti~ons in limn oE Proince (Vicinity of B= fre, Dong Tan, V rho).

misof the UM AS 13 provided an e.&Ltiom~tl lift capability for

"use =rines and VmU LSfl 226 was amnil.bls for NGS* RID 73

supported the awerine, cond=uted river patrols, end carried out bae

defenea* operations for the rezdlixer of the ronth without sivificant

raction. (See discussion of the VMC 5th BattALiou In the VM

f &n•x'y for further details of ATG 221,2 operations.)

Tho ATG 211.3 arrived at Vi Thanh (WR5358Z7) on 10 September

and be-An helo/rivertine a ssault op•rations in the Win liver, Area

of CQmona Thlon Provinc, the following dy. &inSy resisteane to U0e

CONF1DMETIAL 100

*~11

S%;... -.-....................................

- ~~. . ...-.. -. . -. . . . ......-......... . . .- 4 .*

CLINqj. IA

aria of the LT was evidenced___________the_________ PAI

vnits wer amuhdsxt n iedoc ufrn n I

abotia 50 ofns 2e boat was .vien.4thuioute beahed with. T. IAof

4to-T mitaer a but it stilsn tioe anthed bottceit affrn" ofo the

[~~.a vne wated . The forwe credi wi the btleast woundedien VO aind.

kild - o.ivi~ wheoi was in a el snearnby whter mthe egofie

aoutrd Th0 poVa He boat capei anmdwiatelyw n~ohwth fahe aid o

I bat mdr wter Te fre of the VKOtad3dBlattalionseI ithe WIN anti

1 101 CONFIDENTIAL

10

IJ

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'9

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q4

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I

CONFIDENITIAL

VIITWG~3K ILVAL gIPHUM

latmobiug ceremonies for the prototypo Waft of the first

60-foot ferro-o~mmet Jwk was bold m 2 Soptbewr at the TigtwwO

* h5val. Shipird In Saigon. She Idea of Using fwrze-oGuet fer Mul

emstructt& was first tried in Swope dawrag the JkdAlA an*tet

- evatury. It was lntr'sdueod to the Tietummse 310y Sust four ma~4.'-.ago and oostruatiea beps taoint Imediately.

Sthe oemmat wa wte ws nu+ ies ofta hanan tm

emv for4 tawro wet. Th oka h u as ffinikb. 4ith ta

* *'appliftticaw of epoxy remine Aftor fitnout the Luterior and

+Apoid. opaoesp the entitre craft me painted amd readied for dutr.

The r-w j~mk Is wAoh stronzger Vmm Vzo old aodee CAd repair

vork in tba ovamt of dango win be vaA emaeiw Mandling bas bown

* ~~~Improv" d "Si.u~ns vibration vedunded Us We exotnyof U

fezrro-oemit boat Is weh laongr tbt its earlier San vooden oomtw-

part. Mhe vood is wuNeot to vaxpiugy Totting and insect deterimm-

4 4 ~tion but the f~ro-oenait is IMM-damos to tUse elements.

Wbil., aMUSn movm feset to the 2meAatend s~e f~ot to the boom

tho J~k uas bu2ilt In a Vime 501th VeW with an ovemU~ savings

of $5,0000. 2here us a eavings of 41#850 In the fortz-olet banl

i CONFIDENTIAL

4 1 103

CUNFIvarrAL

alone. A reduction of 4,631 m or=s was realiszed in constrmution

tim ome the Yabut. junk*

In addition to the neo junk, a ferro-bmt T*Swit" boat (PCI)

is presently under production at the Saigon ME ehiap

7 .

C I04

•I 1-* r

S~CONFIDENTIAL 0

I

;:% - - . . .-. .-. -. - - .-. ,.-. . . . . - .- -. -.. .. % .-. :-. -. .: -. -. . - .. - . . . . • - . ., ,.., . • .'j -•V • -• •.,• ' i-. .. % °.

VIMUE SS~ 4&ft COWPS

W~hile operating excnlusivelTr in the Third and Fourth Corps

Tactical Zones in September, th. Vietnamese Marine Corps and their

U.S. Marine Corps advisors encountered light to moderate fighting

which uas highlighted by a Third Battalion action on 17-18 Septem-

ber which resulted in 37 VC killed and two V1 captured. During the

entire month six infantry battalions were committed as follows

combat operations 57%, seourity operations 37%, and reserve status 9%.

The Vietna ase casualties were comparable to those of August with

29 marines killed (15 in Augut) and 202 mrines wounded (79 in

August). Zuezy losses increased from 23 VC killed and 18 captured

in August to 96 VG killed and 17 VC captured in September. In the1 past anwrl months the VM have operated with Vil units, speofioally

the newlyr fo.-ed PAID's. However, it was not until 1 September that

Anpthe A ibious Task Force 211 (ATF 211) was form•aly activated end

placed under the operational control of the Joint General Staff. he

operational naposition of ATF 221 at itls inception was the folloving:

"1 AATF 211 Joint Staffs located at Dong Tax

ATG 211.1: VHN RAID 70 and 71 and the VMV

Third Infantry Battalions Located at Ben Lic

ATG 211.2: VNN RAiD's 72 and 73, and the VMV Fifth Infantry

-" Batta-lion, located at Dong Tam.ATG 2LI93: VNN FID's 7A+ and 752 and the Vh First Infantry

S~Battalion, located at Long Irqen.

SCONFIDbNTIAL

1 1 105

, .CUNFL ,TIAL

- - Orgunixation and iaztta~mno affairs of the A7? vere .ffeotd

throusgh 7 September. The following 4aY the First Bettalion tavele

from long Zqaa to Can The In peparation for a further aom to Ti

1anh 09R535827). Ite Third Infantry Battalion proceeded direot•ly

to V1. 7hazh on 8 SWptmber. Utilizing RM~ and balo, transportatiou,

the First Battalion advanced Into the Twin Bivers area# 8 idles south-

va est of Ti ThAzlh (U1355691) on 21 Septedboe. SlumiLicant oontest

-) was established on 1,3 September.. As the M~iaim were moving tovmid

a tmealne :12 miles sutl-southbet of Vi 2haah (WR397628), they

.-.. came nd heavy mach'n g= fire. TWo emms were killed and

eight voz-d. Damp to the em as not kmn. Two dapa latex

and five idles to the cast of the 13 September inaideit (0308W4)

the an-irss cigged In a f refiglit wig& an saiu foroe of =keom

* -1site vfhich eadod with the omptars of six Ws, me carbine, and one

I E54 pletol. &imq oasualties vse three VC illed Inalsidim the

agaist•nt cG •nder of a TO roegoal bass oexp. ]w wiVo iC eo

killed and one capt~ad an 17 Septenber nins and ca.4ialf milee

*southwest of Ti Thanh (W!10662)o live marines ware slijtty wounded

during this action,.

*!le tawra-ing a eeotioa of the Taeh IS& Ba Di slxtem iles

southwest of VL T:anh (betwoeaR31630 and R32*603) en 23 Sept,=-

ber ULTD boats with marines c:fbrked canme =xar s•ay attack.

Sb... al, re. B-40 rocket hits killed two mari.- s and woune ai'thar

.ineteem. Air and artillery xcppo was used extte=sv* oa

.O1

,-. : -. -. ; .........., .. -. .. -. -... ,.,.-.-1.- . . .. -.."''-'" "- - ..... ;.-.,-"-"-" -". -'.':."." '-'-'.•.'

-.. . - W%..

-4.

%I

CUIVFI *L4UT1.L

29 September when narine elements of the First Rattslion made contaoc

with a VC platoon armed with B-/,0 rockets and automatic weapons twenty-

two miles south-southwest of Bach Gia (VU924707). At the end of the

battle six VC and two VOC were dead and eight additional marines were

wounded.

The last day of the month sixteen Hoi Chanhs identified as

reserves for loeal enmy fomoes, ourrendered to the marines at te

First Battalion counend post (WROO4781). The continuing pressure of

ground, rivwer, and air operations was considered to be a contributing

Sfactor in their decLsion to rall7.

The Thrd Infantry Battaslon which arrived at Vi Thanh (WR535827)

on 8 September was halo lifted into the Win River area sfx mdles

s outhwest of V1 Thanh and adjacent to the Rach CGa Loa (WR455710).

5 Operating =nder the forevard headquarters of the ATF 2oated at lion

Hung (WRV02753) the Third Battelon engaged in battle with lelmts

ji of the 307 and 309 VG Battalions in the area between the Uaoh woo

frang and Bach Nga Ba CaW Tau (iWRy70690-430672-43O59)-3986O0) On

17 and 318 SOpteSbow. Dur-ng this action 37 VC and 8 V were klledSand ton _--tines weetwomde Two VC were captured along with three

Srifl•je, twenty-mne gas masks, thirty shovels, and some mi13scelleoUS

field equipiant.

A single mining incident whioh occurred sixteen miles south-

Ssouthwest of Vi Thenh on 21 September claimed the lives of nine

4 marines and Inflicted wouads on another eight marines inoluding the

CuNFlDNTIAL107

-:-A*1

r '" • • '" "'. '. .'\'-:" " ;• '" " .',."," ,: '•'"J.•\''--."----------------------------'-------.,.'-.---'.--------------------.---------".----,-"--"=

CONFIOM*'TiAL

Third Battalion Comander. The explosive device 'as believel to

have been a booby trapped 122m rocket booster. During maROr actica

on 30 September, VN marines exchanged fire with an esti•tetd VC squad

fourteen miles south-southwest of Raoh Gia (WPa67798). ThIere VWe

no marine casualties and the VC suffered three killed and ei&t

captured. One rifle, 20 hand grenades, and some miscelIsDOMS

coouwmts were also recovered.

The pif Battalion, the landing force of ATG 211.2, located

at Dong Tam, was placed under the control of the 7th ARVI D•vUio.Aon 10 September and began operations of the Song Than Ca4aIga Is

Slien HIo Province (vicinity XS551316) on the fol3lwing day- BtteryI OB of the First Artillery Battalion and riverine craft ronW M

RAlD 73 and the U.S. us 13 provided the necessary support "d

mobility for the marines. Several suspects vith imauthorlied contra-

band were apprehended whaile the battalion carried Out routim pattrols.

On 29 Septebe: , operations noved 8 miles to the southvest ar NO

Cay (X5A67198). MJnes and saiper fire wounded five barims durinjJ 1 "• the frste day of patrolling. 7"he operation carried ove Ix October-i vwith no major "action.

The Second Infantry Battalion wan in a reserve status for the .,

MEiC Headquarters until 18 September when it relieved the Forth

S•Battalion of the one hour alert status for J and moved froa the

Thu Due base camp to Cuu long (MM874935). Wile milntalnig the alert

CONMIENTIAL

-10"

.5 1

•.: •.../... -. ... '.-...,...-....... •....... .... .... .. . . .. . . . .... .•:,--,:, ,-•'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.•.•.=•,•.' .,.-.-.....:.,-...-;........,................. ,............... .. .. ,.

y-4,

status the Battalion coaducted training In general miMitary subjects.

On 30 September the Second Battalion traveled to the vicinity of

Long Binh ("T038125) Vhere it replaced the Sixth Battalion as the

MII CTZ reserv force. ri:erot amob patrirols fftld to prodWe

enemy contact.

*- The Fourth Battalion remained in a one hour standby status for

4jS in Saigo (Xia.4,9351 through .17 Septmbr. The follwn day the

i . nes w-ed to the Mrst Battalion's bdoe cam (XM5035) at 7h N

"•postur'e an operatiJonal status vas maintained the remine of the

f month.

SFrom 1-30 September, the Sixth Battalion ws assigned to the

III CTZ as a reserv •it. With their headquarters established east

of long Binh (T03.125) the battalion operated to the northeast and

south of the Dong Val River (vicinity !T090180). Contact vith VC

t | units on 10 Spteaber amcounted for 13 V0 "ied and the capture of

Sseveral vw•pmo and asc niscellaneous equipent,. One 1C disguised

in an AM~ uniform. was killed by an aembuh, patrol near the Long Biah

Airport in the early morning hours of 30 September.

Battery "A" of the First Artillery Battalion vs located in DongTan (I..094.8) with the AT? 211 for the entire month. Battery 0

'. of the First Artillery Batta3ion provided direct support from positions

at Cat I.1 (Z9689) under the control of the MMD. The Thrd platoon

CONF1DEUTIAL

!io 109

•. .• . . . ._. . -..... .-. ,. -. - • - .. ,.- . . . - . . . . . .- -S . ... • .. . ._. . ... •= • ,. . •. . • . • ." ' ,•:.. ,"".,. .... -. . • -. . -, , - -',- -- ,

C il -oNF1.JZrlAL

vas stationed at the Thm Duo base camp. Battalion PE" of the Second

Artillery Battalion ws in a reserve status to JGS at the Thu DeSibse" cap the entire moth. Battery "A" of the Second Artl.2e*2

Battalion, vbioh provide" direct fire support for operations in the

.1RSSZ, ,as the target of a sappor attack on 30 September. Six mineis

were vowided by a B-h0 rocket and a grenade that pemetrated the

artinery position at the Tom hop vilage (IS065700). MW 60se

proximity of civillans prevented the marines fraa returning the fire.

However, a subsequenv sweep by PF troops vith the vi•age Chief ofPolce and ME I-o in ccapay 71elded two persons lho

Wneatified thesselies as VC guerrillas from TaRn Map Village.

I- I

.11

I

r14 ,

i

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CONFIDt.TIAL ,h.n filled in)

VNN/VN)C STATISTICAL SU1maRY

Daily Average Searched DetainedI el & JR nk Pe* ople Junk* Psonl*4 COASTAL FORCE

I 39.2 38.1 18,889 70,435 39 21411 h2. 6 h2.4 24,152 71,107 11 951 47.5 45.6 9,723 25,719 77 179IV hO.2 39.4 6 862 22.833 h 28Sub-totals: 19o,oW7 1i27

SF"EET COMMNDPATROL S•IPS 17.3 16.3 1,459 5,740 0 2PCF'sa/WPB's 18.4 11.3 1,640 6,37h 0 0

-' ~~~~~RIVERE M,7. 2,21 6,E30A"30 RA RLG 147.7 4T.2 2,22 6,703 0 04TH RA RiG 70.4 69.1 3,084 23,800 0 0

ATF 88.6 68.8 2,901 7,798 0 0CTRAL TAS. 76.0 69.4 6.103 17 257 s 9

IFORCE TOTALS:.e W703h 2t7", IjT-VIE.TNA)MES HMARN CORPS:

" *1 VC/NVA, KIA 96 Captured 17 Suspects detained 30_

NIA 29 IA 102 0 0

* II -* Provided L1 .ounifre support missions.

# Includes RAG 27, RAG 32, RFG 51, BPG 52

J .-

GROUP 4 Enclosur.( )Downgraded at 3 year intervalsDeclassified .after 12 years CONFIDENIAL

Sr-______._. !

•:-'- • • : • z-""-" "."" " .'-- '- -"""" "" -"• " -" - - " " - - " "-"- .. .-- -r -, -=. , . . . ..-. "

I~ W_ V7 W

There were twelve VC~ ubO ralied to USK1 and VIOI forcest In

* ~Septeabere This figure was comparable to the August total Of

fifteen but still3 below the record high Of 208 1102 Cbatht hat was

* ~~recorded in July. personal hardibp, family separationw il lack

S of food were the most co~on reasons why the VC said they surreadered.

7Oneý, Eoi Chmnh who rallied to the VOU hospital ship at sEL nLon.

-. I provided extensi.ve inteInigence ab(ut 1C activities and led a SUAL

j~teea on anl operation.

During the two day period 2.5- Septem~ber U1.S. Nlaval forCes

I ~ ~joined the ViotoAme" in 0 aelbrating Tat TIVg Thu, the mid-utta1

-~ *1 ErstjW.1. -Ze PBER sailors of RIIATPLO FMl alone reported that

timy haLd oontacted an estimated 12,-000 people anid von the hearts of

OW00 children. Special festival kits and other articles InCluding

robber -toys unos a-~,gj tsesx hcoaebil

* -. and moon eak#3s were distributed to the people.

I ~In the DSSZ elections were held in the two redllinll reftige

I ~ ~hamlets without elected local go0vwmneit. Sqabe* =~its oontimied

/ I.1 ~to work on ccnnity cozwfrtitiil cýOjeots with particular emphasis

* ~oin luprovO~fet of the standard of l~ving of theks t depeadent..

I During an aerial pSyOpS msseion ou 12 September 28,000 Safe Condvot

Vases 60,000 Maue 901. leaflet93P and 60,000O lend Reforz phamlote

% vee roped on villags in thie R=S.

he 1

Ct)NF1DrJMrAI

.11

$ .7

'1 -~ - CAtF11hiJ~ AL

mears vere approximately 25.,000 Vietname*3 people vhs were the

recipients of USN/VNN IIIDGAS and DENTCAFS dvxing the month. On

17 Septeeber as part of a weekly HOU~P series twto U.S. PERts of

Biver Division 521 acoompanied by a Navy corpson tested 100

-i VIietoeneoe :Living In a -ma1 village juist aouthbeax. f Rue (7D.4. 1498=~5). While assisting the corpsi= and providing security,. the

I PBR se:Ucrm dIsUribIate 200 bars of oamps 700 Ipy Nay, newpapsr

and 24 Huaung rpe magasines. Under the supervition of on hospital

* oorpmu from, IISAW CvA Viet* U.S. personnel, attached to the Dong

Ha Security Group including MIN AGTOV sai1lors treated 60 patients

and distributed 150 hygiemse leaflets and 100 bars of xoap dadMr a

nn.4P hold in the Ivan Thanh hamlet southwest of Quang TII (7D237645) on 30 Sapteaber. Ow. Vietnames. with a knee inj=7 was

nederaced to Dong H a.

At SEA. P=~T near Old Ran Can City (VQ992673) the first sbarp-

am cap, max initiated on 4 September* Prior to this time tbq local

voodntrtetrs and sarpans oviners vere baying difficulty shirpening

i ~tbeir tools and saxann outboard motor screws. Mhe bwa opmrted

rIndstOn$ v" used contin~uouly during its first day of opertios.

on 6 Septa~bez a 100-man VIM reaction force arrived at sFA FLA?

and Joined the operatins vnits that were reacting to Intalligeaca

reports and providing the security for the civilian pouain

A Be""a Rotor repair shop was opened on 22 September and the first

Ism Cast otthouse was eoastmoated on 19 soptaober. Word has It that

itIs al1so ued asa aebo r...but presumablynot at t7 smetm IN

6OFDRA

During the middle of the month the second birth of a. Vietnamese

baby was recorded. The father, who had men treated by the VOi

Saboard the IS(H) the previous week for wounds incurred whaa he

stepped on a VC booby trap, named the new born child after the VMN

S•1834(E).

Mhe cctn=uity in the no fire sone has continued to row by

.leaps and bounds. In comparison to the first population census that

was taken on 30 August, the population has increased 310% as of

24 September. At the OC of the month the total nuber of people

who had receivd PSTOPS indoctrination was 24,616 (15,345 people at

the end of AUgust). The nuber of people who had visited 311 FIQT

for the first time was 4,350. Nine hundred and nineteen familoes

hxve indicatod a desire to resettle in a Can and 702 people hav

actually resettled

The economc lucrativeness of the area was Indicated by one

woodcutter who said that any woodcutter with an average sused eampen

1 could earn a net profit of about 30,000 VN&$ per month. Increasingy

larger sampans have been transiting to 014 Nam Can. At the beginning

of the month a fifty ton capmofty Junk arrived and at the and of the- . month a 5 ton capacity Junk visited the cowx ity.

S1 115 C.ONFI DEMATIL

-A

I4!

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t• . , - -. . • •F ,v ••j•w

"i .. .... i

Ir.CI.A'STFUkD

MI CIVIC ACTIMA STAT1STICAL SUMMARY

..26 July- '5 August 1969

STCOTAL NBER OF MAJ-DAYS (10 HR DAYS) P•-C-"SNEL OF INITS ENGAGEDI! IN BCIVIC ACTIcU PROJECTS:II

COST OF SUPPLIES CCUITRIB'ITD BY MnlI•ARY ?ESOURCES FOR CIVICACTIC PRO-ETS: vN$ 3.362159

EXPENDITURES FROM THE US/FtwMAF CIVIC ACTIM' PSYWR FUND: VN$ 1.0672020

VOLUNTARY CCETRIB.rTICNS: V1$ ________

PERCTAGZ OF U. S. MILITARY CIVIC ACTIOV ACTIVITIES CaDUCTEDJOINTLY WITH:

Percent•i •" •Other MWMA 6.%

U. S. Civilian Voluntary AgenciesAverage percent of self-help by VIN civilians

a. Self-help labor 74%b. ,Materials furnished by the people

PROGRAMS-- n Day M2•enditure s (VN$)Eccnomic Development 4!9 " 7 _,16Education75r 1,057,375' Social WelfareTransportation 35 527,O3h •"

,Refugee -370 "T- 506,'903• .. .2-ISTITUTES ASSISTE D:7

Number

Schools 71

•"< tOrphanages 30"

I1

SI i"

116 UNCLASSIFIE

7 f %

4. II

L- "t-

ACC rie gyl-lbn Mugrqet dnLfcto

fron ~ ~ a .hT aa oamnwohsbenso-%da

-I hekoit 117 KCFDMA

rL

is

CoNFIDEMTIAL

The Coast QO2ard Cutter POINT CXZAK UM 82315 i~lob bated

"desigpation SCLTTOR 3 (Sa2l Craft setoo tlaun& and ?U• W

of R•soues Program) was tmed over to the Vitotasese Nay dwift

a brief ceray at the Vist mese Navy bae"at Cat le an 5 Septei-

• -. bero Captain Ralph . Vioss# Comanders Coast OwNI Aotivitle Is

Vietnam, represented the United States and presented the WP to

Ce.mander Bui Ca Vien, the Thfrd Coastal Zone ComandeoT. Ths

occasion marked the t-rd tmaxover of a WPB =mder he 8OL!TT

Program. The no WPB under MIN oaand rejoined Ahe opemt1wat

forces at the Cat Lo base and retaiod to Ykrket Tins ope aUcs 5

the Third and Fourth Coastal Zrass. P'os4tly there, are oft WI.mpartipatin In the STT•OR Prope (SUTOR's 4 thoul 9) 2m•

the IEB beses at Danwnw Cat Ioo end An Thol and they ane schedmied

Sfor tUnMoTr Prior to 1 January 1970.I"

At 'he end of the =nth ax.ppromtay 3190 PM aend 35 PCr X

sailors had bam relieved by MMN eadlars, CMflPATJL IM1

reported that ACTOV trair4ng has be enstisfactory. Problins still

',F. r6awmind with tU VEh pmy rA4 oletbing. The .50 esal. ecokig devise

that is b ei•g 6Wnted by RM03C 59 bac Is•r;oed the W0 traimse

ability to oock 1he firIng wabwi~ni. L~wemer th., traines" bairn

stil oerpvriened difficulties with tUe forward .50 cal, waahi Cneg.

HecauO Of the tM~po of SrA L~lDS 1nVd&ttion epmrtions, the Mar

of opportnmitivo for tnaning of the Vo PBR ilors ha be* a less

than desirod. In order to alleviate this sitn~tiou RIVDV soemmere

vare insuoted to dote the oquiyileat of a singe boat sortie

CONFIDENTIAL 11L

7

.•. - .: .-. - ,.j,.. .- .-,. . - .--. . .- -.. .----- --.. . .. . ..- .-.. . . . . . . .... . . .. . . .* -

*1' '. . - . .

A -A

S -o ,,,

.'•

.I

The Coast Guard M shown above is the type of cutter Ueh is being turned

over to the Vietnamse Navy. Under the S1CT01T tbere ale eentre

such turnovers, the latest being at Cat Lo 'uhere the SB 82315 was presente

to the Third Coastal Zcie CoMander.

119 CCNFIDMMI•IA

4%

"-

I•"-,"

II

-~ CoNnffiJImAL

(32 hours) per day to ACTOV training in a comparatitvly on-host1le

;'.

On 1 and 2 September two U.S. PCF's vith Completely YIN crwe

fro- COSMIY 14 visited the VNH training center at Cam Ramh Day.

'During the two day period approxmatel 200 YWN training *ente

4 students reoeved PGF orientations from the projeto STn trainsese.

Zhe groups visting the PCFss consisted of approximtely fiftiee

I• "t students and each grou reived a on* balf hou tour of the boat

"and a ow half hour underway da rati Regalar aonthlw vist

to the VMMT at Cam Ranh Bay by the COSDIY :14 project STAR? PCs

jhave been embe&d and arrangements hav be= made for vsekl patrol

3 udootiustion rides for four outstandIng sevAents. huh Sxuaday

m aornmi two TO t3u'•s pick up two students per boat, +Ake thea

A their rArkst Mm patrol, and return the tuents to the lIO an

In tbs S= Progea- 4 boatav•ean'A a&•e.s md /5 gumer's mates

from Pff Cls 4 have reported to their respective divisions. With

* this input all personnel sohed•Ud for the first turnover an

.31 October b&Ye oomwwod on-the-Job training. As of 25 Septum-

J ber 315 trainees vere wdergoing POP training including 26 erevs

Vho have beem conducting Mrket Ti coastal aid river patrols

aboard ninetemn PC?'s In preparation for the first turnover. "

3 September = 315 presented thirta= M3 eailors with OnT eeor eates

that aignified swoossful completion of the training progra. 1

CCt4FIDENTIAL 120

4 .

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'I ~program to fly ensips1 of both the U.S. and GVN On PC'6 with

joint USN/W crevs has be4 iustituted. * he inrked Inoreas of

priae In the pIF by VNi patrolling under their own f1ag is

encouraging. DisolpliarY problems have continued to be a barrii

to the oozplete suMcess of START. UnIauthorized absentes have

"compri-ed the major problem, In COabating this obstacle utlization

of VM Liaison officers and close coordinatination vith local YV=

Iauthorities on all djBscipuzar cases have sborn the best •rgres.

On 30 September SIX of the 33 bases ecpected to be built Vr

the ACTOV logistios O(CTOViOG) Program vero e=der oonstruotion.

The recaining bases prograld are in various stages of design. A

total of 1,579 iNN personnel (29.5% of programed Input) Wre 13

craft aintesnaoe training at the several repair faoilitites. This

"1"cludes 617 personnel assigned to MM repair faci•ities %iab are

] being Incorporated into the AC0VL-O baies. There vere 80 VNN person-

nel (20.8% of programaed inuat) unlergoing bOse Maintenan** trainn

and 100 VMi personnel (23% of programied Input.) ucdergoing aupp2Y

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CCtFIDETTIAL

GILSSAR" OF ABBREVIATIQMS

The following abbreviaticas and terms are comsaly used in the combat

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

In the text:

IA13F Attack by fire

AMU PCMON A T0alti-purpose barge, standard size is twenty-eight feet by ninety feet

ARM Arzi of the Republic of Vietnam

ASPB Assault Support Patrol Boat

ATC Amored Troop Carrier

SATSB Advance Tactical Support Base

4A/V Automatic Weapons

3. Black P'cn/Brcico GY-lO Twin Engine Turboprop CounterinsurgencyAircraft

SCCB Cos-and and Communications Boat

CG Coastal Group (VNN)

CHICOM Chinese Commnist

CIDG Civilian Irregular Defenise Group - mercenariesof Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian descent who-fight primarilY around their own villages

* CRIP Civilian Reconaissance Intelligence Platoon

CS Tear Gas Grenades

:...- CZ Corps Tactical Zone]cz Coastal Une

~ Delta Hawk YmbawkI OV-10 aircraft

Dustoff Medical evacuation by helicopter

""ii•IpFF 3e=7 initiated firefight

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FSB Fire Support Base

F-KA, Free World Militaxr Assistance Focw' s 4 -

GU Gun Damage Assesmnt

"GVN Government of Vietam

Ha&I Harassment and Interdiction Fire Support

J- -•Joint General Staff

KIA Killed in Action

Kit Carson Scouts Former Viet Cong who have come over to the side. of the Saigon government and serve with allied

military imite, iLl? Light Attack Fire Team (OV-10's)

LIV Light Anti-tank WeaponI"CP•L Landing Craft, Personnel, Large

ItM Vietnamese equivalent of USN underwater demol-ition team

"EFT Light Helo Fire Team

LOH I OH-6 Light Observation Helicopter

I IE Long Range Recomaissance Patrol

MACY Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

. ¶ MATSB Mobile Advanced Tactical Support Base6 1 MCAP Medical Civic Action Program

NDNTTO Heavily armored LCM-6 (4om cannon or 10am how-itzer)Mobile Riverine Base

IMSB Minesweeper, Boat

Minesweeper, Brone

"NSF Mobile Strike Force - mercenaries who deployJ, ~and go anywhere

NGFS Naval Gunfire Support

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PTIM SSIFJED[A, '. - [

"ILO Naval Intelligence Liaison Officer

-CD Night Observation Device

NVA North Vietnamese AriV

SPER Patrol Boat, River

PCF Patrol Craft, Fast (SWIFT Boat)

-PG Patrol Gunboat

PRU Provincial Reconnaissance Unit

PSA Provincial Sector Advisor

PSYOPS Psychological Operations

RAD River Assault Division

SRAG River Assault Group (VNN)

RAID River Assault and Interdiction Division

RAS River Assault Squadron

RF/PF Regional Forces/Popular ForcesRI Rocket Propelled Grenade

RSSZ Rung Sat Special Zone

SAR Search and Rescue

- SEAWOLF MI-IB Helo, heavily armed, UM( operated

SHADOW C-119 aircraft

"SKIlM 20' fiberglass rowboat

SLICK UH-1B Helo

SPOOKY C-4? aircraft

SSB SvI.mer support boat (skimmer)

STAB SEAL Team Assault Boat

TAOR Tactical Area of Responsibility

SUSA, RV United States Ari, Vietnaum

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WIP Waterborne Guardpost

Vietniamese fo "Sorry aotta

z Flame thrower equipped ATC or MHQITCO

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