AMERICAN NAVY IN VIETNAM

at dawn somewhere deep within the Mekong River Delta a South Vietnamese river assault group moves against the Vietcong with it goes a young American Navy lieutenant he serves in a guerrilla war of seek and destroy yet here far from destroyer an aircraft carrier he is the American Navy in Vietnam [Music] on Yankee station somewhere in the South China Sea another more familiar view of the American Navy in Vietnam the mammoth Kittyhawk second largest of us attack carriers turns into the wind to launch its airborne striking force not far away along the coast other units of the u.s. 7th fleet take careful aim on call from troops fighting ashore and place supporting fire on Vietcong concentrations farther south another kind of arm strength prepares to go ashore the most effective means known for gaming and holding a piece of ground the individual fighting man the United States Marine there's a pack billeting office and Alan's baton can I help you sir inland at Saigon a navy chief works at a different kind of job less glamorous but vitally important it was the assignment desk turtle help you sir behind the guns and planes and fighting men is a staff of Navy Army and Air Force personnel who administers support activities for Allied forces throughout the country and you Nate your env announcer three-hour debate east of Saigon and a small village near the coast these men have gone beyond the basic mission of military action to launch an equally important campaign of civic action another side of the American Navy in Vietnam to these men their work on projects which will result in civic achievement is just as important as the work their shipmates do in more conventional naval surroundings I'm Chet Huntley - most of us this is the United States Navy the aircraft carrier the cruiser and destroyer the modern deepwater Navy extending American strength across the oceans of the world but in Vietnam the American Navy has done an unprecedented variety of different jobs it has held command responsibility for all support activities with the army it has been advisor to the South Vietnamese and has sent the Marines to help fight the land war with the Air Force it flies the planes which provide air power and with civilian agencies it pursues a vigorous program of civic action these are the all around the capabilities demonstrated by a modern versatile naval force in action the American Navy in Vietnam [Music] Oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] July 1964 off the coast of Vietnam units of the United States seventh Fleet fort old waters of the South China Sea to help the people of South Vietnam defend themselves against the threat of an armed communist take over the United States and other countries have begun a flow of economic technical and financial aid a joint civilian military effort to build a stronger nation a small but dedicated South Vietnamese Navy is hard at work in an effort to deny the use of the rivers and coastal waters as supply routes for the Vietcong to bring knowledge of new techniques which can increase efficiency a United States military assistance command has been established American Navy advisors work with the Vietnamese and help in many phases of training heads to pact the United States Navy headquarters support activity has been established in Saigon already in mid 1964 the American Navy is in Vietnam at the end of July 1964 the United States military assistance command reports an increase in Vietcong forces in South Vietnam then the Navy's role in Vietnam suddenly expands on August 2nd the United States Navy destroyer Maddox on patrol and international waters of the Gulf of Tonkin begins to track three unknown craft approaching from the northwest they are identified as North Vietnamese PT boats armed with torpedoes and 37 millimeter guns when warnings from the Maddox failed to stop the oncoming PT boats she opens fire the attack prompts the United States to strengthen its ready defense capabilities the destroyer was carrying out a mission of patrol in those waters and international waters when it was attacked it replied to the attack continued to carry out its mission today and will do so the remainder this week in the same waters the president has asked the destroyer force be doubled and with an air cap to combat air patrol be available at all times on call to it and as I think you know he's issued instructions that in the event of a further attack upon our vessels and international waters we're to respond with the objective of destroying the attackers the maddox joined by the destroyer C Turner joy resumes its routine patrol but the next night the men on watch in the two destroyers once again detect unidentified contacts on radar we attacked by the North Vietnamese boats is renewed after a three-hour running battle which two of the PT boats are sunk the attackers break contact my fellow Americans as president and commander-in-chief it is my duty to the American people to report that renewed hostile actions against United States ships on the high seas in the Gulf of Tonkin have today required me to order the military forces of the United States to take action in reply the performance of commanders and crews in this engagement is in the highest tradition of the United States Navy but repeated acts of violence against the armed forces of the United States must be met not only with Alert defense but with positive reply by the end of March 1965 air operations from Navy carriers in the South China Sea are underway on a daily basis also in March in operation dagger thrust and immigrated Navy Marine Corps effort seventh Fleet Marines land at the Nang let it cool I and later on Avenue Peninsula on land the Allied forces fight to turn the tide of conflict from a retreating defense against guerrilla attacks to an offensive strategy designed to defeat the Vietcong during 1965 the United States Navy with its ability to move quickly on short notice is called upon to reinforce the United States position in the short time since the Tonkin Gulf incident American naval power rapidly expands from a supporting role to a full-fledged naval task force embodied in the forces of the United States seventh Fleet is almost every facet of modern naval power cruisers like the USS Canberra are built for fast speeds and long endurance the destroyer indispensable to any naval action is the workhorse of the fleet the USS Bainbridge a destroyer leader is largest of the destroyer class the world's first nuclear-powered guided missile frigate both cruisers and destroyers in addition to their traditional deepwater roles have been called upon to play a special role in Vietnam Thompson this is gamma to six Charlie target number two zero one earring wooden tree whatever the need arises ships of a seventh fleet moved quickly into position along the coast of Vietnam take their directions from the forward air controller or spotters who is in visual contact with the animators desire for a second [Music] this is naval gunfire support a mobile source of big gun reinforcements or friendly troops ashore meanwhile standing farther offshore is the heart of the fighting fleet in Vietnam as never before the aircraft carrier has proven her worth from the huge Kitty Hawk to the even larger nuclear-powered enterprise the Navy's attack carriers have held the balance of color for a 1/3 century of the Jenna taken exhaustion airport the aggressors are here for a success day 1 and a 3 fast mobile independent of political boundaries and agreements the carrier can ready her flight deck on short notice launcher airpower as required the modern attack carrier is a Catholic coordinated organization of countless complex pieces of hardware and of hundreds of men who make the hardware work dot what watch supports black box reality was I very stacked up rather from yeoman to machinists mate many of the men below decks work at the important traditional jobs familiar in naval ships throughout the world what in the IFF on content three-30 other men must master newer skills and disciplines required by new technologies in the combat Information Center equipped with the latest facilities for rapid communication and data handling a complete picture of the surrounding tactical situation is kept up to the minute by sophisticated electronic and computerized systems digits once exhilarating austere hotplate in other spaces and compartments the carrier is equipped to keep almost anything she carries from a coffee pot to complex avionics gear in combat ready condition it's a bit 7 Delta will be running the route 14 route recce from pleiku down to band motto there should be automatic weapons along the route there's some artillery fire down just north of band motto in a sense the final responsibility for the success of the carrier's mission rests with a small group of men whose job is to master the intricate operation of a million-dollar fighting machine the modern jet aircraft okay everybody get your radios and get the data down off the board here and you'll be ready to mandible the carrier's primary mission is to put these men and their planes in the air and on target our mix of fighters attack aircraft and reconnaissance planes extends the carrier strength for hundreds of miles they seek out the enemy strongpoints and selectively place striking power on targets where it will be most effective [Music] anime supply routes and storage Devil's dams and airfields narcs and troop concentrations one of the best examples of the range and flexibility of naval power is the modern amphibious operation a coordinated Navy Marine Corps action designed to bring force in readiness wherever it's needed put it ashore and hold a piece of ground in the years since World War two amphibious landing techniques have been refined modernized and speeded up in Vietnam amphibious assaults by forces of the United States 7th fleet have driven the Vietcong from many strongholds along the coast it is typical of the cooperative effort in Vietnam that in this operation a Navy amphibious ship provides a landing platform and fresh ammunition for army helicopters which will provide air support for United States and South Vietnamese soldiers and Marines on shore [Music] one of the newest concepts in strike warfare is built around the lph or amphibious assault ship a completely equipped floating helicopter base with complete facilities for the service and control of an airborne assault there confirm this is problem ain't Edgewood air more than three zero fighter sixteen and then one on one - or over Bravo 8-1 this is Clearwater Roger your pigeons to point Cairo - eight zero one four over this is a - one Roger out introduction of a helicopter - amphibious operations as precipitated the greatest single tactical innovation since the Second World War the technique of vertical envelopment Marines are swiftly early to land behind enemy positions while the rest of the force assaults the beach completion of the mission is in the hands of the Fleet Marine the Navy's most competent means of extending its power inland it may be that the most unusual thing about the American Navy in Vietnam is the fact that it has played such an important role in Vietnam the fact of the Navy while it has carried out a wide range of assignments at sea has also contributed heavily to the effort along the coast in the rivers and on shore one of the most important jobs is the continuing patrol of Vietnamese coastal waters airborne patrols are flown day and night around the clock to ensure against infiltration of supplies and ammunition from the north we blue bird 3-0 replaced service units in Biscay bluebird 3-0 that's a clean cut Roger out suspicious contact report sir very well thank you in Saigon at the command center of US naval forces Vietnam naval activities throughout the country are coordinated on this rippling Bluebird 3-0 aircraft as a suspicious contact here in the restricted zone he says a large one of the major habits of this command is operation market time the Navy's name for the important task of coastal surveillance we have a destroyer and a wpv in the area I recommend we send the destroyer down there to investigate this contact in this case a destroyer escort is assigned to examine a suspicious contact reported by air patrol Vietnamese Navy liaison officers assigned to each American ship check identity papers and cargo manifests to be certain then an innocent cargo of fish or rice does not conceal Vietcong guns supplies and ammunition holes are open and inspected each day brings thousands of fishing and cargo junks to the river and coastal waters of Vietnam the enormous task of operation market time is to guard against the use of this normal marketing activity as a cover for smuggling an infiltration by the Vietcong in addition to destroyers and minesweepers market time patrols are conducted by high-speed patrol craft called Swift boats and by cutters of the United States Coast Guard whose crews are well experienced in this kind of work one of the newest additions to the patrol efforts in Vietnam is the Navy's PBR the PBR is a 31-foot plastic hauled water jet propelled craft designed for high-speed operation and very shallow water quiet and highly maneuverable it is used in operation game warden whose mission is to prohibit all Vietcong movement in the Mekong River Delta patrols along the coast are coordinated with a Vietnamese Navy through its regional coastal surveillance centers just as naval activities at all levels are coordinated between American and Vietnamese can toll on the básico River is headquarters for Vietnamese River assault group 25 here and at other bases throughout the country officers and men of the United States naval advisory group perform one of the most important roles of the American Navy in Vietnam side by side with his Vietnamese counterpart the American advisor helps to fulfill the mission of the river assault group to deny the waterways and hiding places of the Mekong Delta to the Vietcong we alert the right controls to keep a careful eye on this area the next couple nights a typical operation begins shortly after midnight as troops load aboard the assault boats and start upriver by the next morning the assault group which has moved several miles upriver to close with a Vietcong force launches its attack [Music] in terms of numbers these men who ride the river assault boats are few in terms of the overall Navy commitment their contribution is great at a junk Force Base in a Delta near the small fishing village of CEM Tom another US naval adviser lives and works day in day out with the men of Vietnamese coastal group 37 with his counterparts the base commander he takes part in every phase of a daily routine together they carry out the daily patrols constantly checking against the possible infiltration of Viet Cong supplies on the river waterways together they share the meals prepared by the commander's wife where we enter dinner tonight the enemy's name lose again to day to day who made up this nice omelet to me always these guys are together they relax when time permits discuss their work and the small matters of personal concern which often seem insignificant but which help to bridge the gap between their two widely separated words other advisers at the Vietnamese Naval Shipyard in Saigon put their experience and skills to work contribute their knowledge of improved shipbuilding techniques and new construction materials develop procedures to help increase shipyard efficiency a q ly and Danang a timing and pleiku from the Delta to the Central Highlands the Seabees naval construction experts are at work on a wide variety of vital projects often working behind the scenes the Seabees don't make headlines but without the things they do make the headlines might never appear from airfields and roads to hospitals and storage depots the Navy construction battalions move from project to project pursuing the accomplishment of their Seabee model can do in addition to the Seabees the Navy also staffs the OIC see officer in charge of construction which supervises civilian contractors in the world's largest single construction program the OIC see plans and builds military facilities throughout the country at Saigon the Navy has established the major medical facility for United States and allied personnel the quality of medical service in Vietnam has reduced mortality from battlefield casualties to an unprecedented low by the end of 1965 head soup act the in-country support activity has gone into the Navy's largest single overseas shore command and by June 1966 when it has been officially turned over to the Army it is serving a chauffer mechanic administrator electrician dr. and policeman it is generating electric power providing warehouse facilities operating an airline and performing other services for thousands of Allied personnel to the north at the port city of Da Nang another United States Naval Support Activity has been activated and is growing rapidly these facilities which will meet the demands of an expanded logistics support operation include provisions for another large naval hospital or the officers and men of the Navy and Marine Corps who serve on shore the campaign in Vietnam is not only military in nature çb technical assistance teams have helped with scores of civilian projects which will improve conditions for the South Vietnamese people roads bridges buildings security Hamlet's to provide safety from Vietcong terrors clinics conducted by Navy doctors dentists and corpsman have brought medical treatment and supplies to areas where they might otherwise never have been through people-to-people projects of many kinds these men are working to win the confidence and restore the hopes of the vietnamese through joint civilian military action this too is the American Navy in Vietnam in terms of the variety and scope of the experience Vietnam has already written a new chapter in the annals of naval history never before has the potential of the navy-marine team been so fully realized and yet one important thing remains unchanged the success of the overall effort will rely as it always has upon the acts of the individual man whatever credit is due will rest with many thousands of individual men who stand behind the aircraft the ships the boats and the rifles from the Delta to the South China Sea and whether he serves ashore or in the rivers and coastal waters at sea or in the skies above he will shoulder the responsibility for final success or failure and he will be the one to make the needed sacrifice and it is important to remember that no matter what his job or where his duty he is the Navy's greatest single asset the individual man this is the American Navy in Vietnam moving quickly where and when needed displaying the flexibility of modern sea power controlling the seas extending its influence on land and holding superiority in the air a threeway force for peace geared to meet aggression at any spot on the globe [Music]