READY TO STRIKE

okay move out [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the war in Vietnam has many faces it isn't just a simple matter of locating and destroying an enemy who hides in the jungles of this Asian nation there are human needs to be met if the people of this land are to fulfill their destiny is a free society and the ultimate real victory is to be won helping the people of South Vietnam to achieve their goals of enlightenment and the democratic life is one of the major objectives of our army [Music] we have the oral thermometer and we have [Music] our nation building programs are causing more and more of the enemies to turn their backs on the Communists control the Vietcong the enemy devotes increasing efforts to prevent our programs from succeeding these are the men of the US Army's 25th Infantry Division their task in Vietnam is twofold to defeat the enemy on the battlefield and to carry out effective civil assistance for the people of this war-torn nation [Music] from day to day the men of the 25th the Tropic lightning division must live up to their honored motto and be ready to strike [Music] the 25th infantry tropic lightning division was activated at Schofield Barracks Hawaii on October 1st 1941 composed of organizations which had been in Hawaii since 1921 the 25th is known as Hawaii's own [Music] training exercises for the division in the Hawaiian Islands area during the early 60s were concentrated on jungle fighting and were reminiscent of the tropic lightnings better battles on Guadalcanal in 1942 and the historic Philippines campaign of world war ii by 1965 the division was slated for service in vietnam training was intensified for these veterans of the korean conflict in December deployment of the 25th Infantry Division to Southeast Asia began first to leave Hawaii were the men of the 2nd brigade responding to the request of the US military assistance command in Vietnam this unit of the twenty-fifth departed from Hawaii by sea once again the Army's ready force in the Pacific was being called into action the 6000 smile voyage ended on January 15 at the port of vung tau in South Vietnam as the men of the second Brigade came ashore they were greeted by general Westmoreland the US military commander in Vietnam it was the beginning of a new year and a new chapter in the annals of the Tropic lightning divisions colorful history during the next few days the second brigade moved up country to the coochie district some 20 miles northwest of Saigon day and night more than 600 vehicles rolled through the little village of coochie and the convoys headed for the division campsite on the outskirts [Music] meanwhile the divisions third Brigade had begun arriving from Hawaii by airlift their destination was pleiku in the central highlands of Vietnam this was to be the 25th Infantry Division's forward base while Koo Chi would be tropic lightning headquarters called operation blue light the airlift of the 4,000 man's third Brigade by the US Air Force was completed in record time eight days were shaved from the schedule as the brigades men and materiel were delivered to pleiku and the largest airlift ever attempted [Music] a few days later on the 19th of January 1966 divisions support elements came ashore at Saigon Harbor and moved up to crew chief two-thirds of the Tropic lightning division was at home in Vietnam [Music] for the men of the 25th the first major assault upon the enemy came with operation Garfield from flight 2 units of the third Brigade were flown southward to Darla's province and the Vietcong infested area around been me too it was the beginning of a month-long sweep of the problem the BC were difficult to pin down and the searchers were plagued by hidden snipers as the Tropic lightning troopers pressed forward the Vietcong withdrew deeper into the jungle [Music] all villages recently occupied by the enemy were found to be deserted sometimes the dwellings were booby-trapped all documents left behind by the enemy were carefully studied for military intelligence any place where the Viet Cong may have hidden weapons or valuable papers was thoroughly searched even the contents of these bags were examined time and again during Operation Garfield the men of the 25th had to re-evaluate their search patterns and objectives actual contact with the enemy was confined to small unit actions however limited these sudden shootouts in the jungle took their toll of battle casualties some of the enemy were taken alive but many more were killed intelligence gathered from the prisoners guided the troopers from Hawaii as their search continues many caches of Vietcong rice were located thanks to information given by the prisoners the food was later distributed to needy Vietnamese people great quantities of enemy medical supplies and surgical equipment were also captured and the operation concluded as the VC fled the men of the third Brigade took these enemy supplies with them and returned to pleiku [Music] meanwhile units of the second brigade were conducting operation Kahuku in the area around kuchi supported by armor these elements of the 25th ran into heavy resistance as they approach the Micheline rubber plantation enemy mortar fire rained down upon the advancing armored personnel carriers some of the machines were rendered inoperable as a result of the enemy fire but this did not deter the tropic lightening troopers from continuing their events as they penetrated deeper into the plantation the men of the 25th found the enemy dug in with well-constructed bunkers [Music] dislodging the vietcong is never easy several hours of combat cost the troopers of the second brigade task force to take casualties [Music] but in the end the CC were overcome by superior firepower and the underground fortifications were overrun by the Americans many of the Vietcong were slain the remainder fled from the battlefield this day the reign of terror for the local people had come to an end the enemy would not return on April 29th 1966 almost three and a half months after the arrival of the rest of the division in Vietnam the first Brigade landed at bueng tall the deployment of the Tropic lightning division from Hawaii to Vietnam was complete within a matter of hours elements of the 1st Brigade were airlifted to kuchi to join the 2nd brigade [Music] though military operations take much time the men of the third Brigade established a resettlement camp for Refugees in contem province here the weary victims of the conflict find peace security and a degree of hope for a better life in the days ahead [Music] in recognition of the divisions humanitarian efforts and its growing program with civil assistance programs the men of the tropic Lightning Division were honored at an award ceremony Brigadier General Wendy Walker then the assistant division commander and other high-ranking staff officers accepted the award for the 25th [Music] throughout June and July the pleiku play me area was the scene of a major effort by the 25th division and some elements of the 1st Cavalry Division airmobile to clear the Vietcong from the district under the codename Paul Revere the full-scale operation took place some 40 kilometers from the Cambodian border in this determined drive heavy armored elements of the third Brigade were called up and joined in the massive sweep everything in the book was to be thrown at the VC on this one the activity grew at a feverish pace and the task force began to move [Music] in the forward areas overlooking the yaw Drang Valley artillery and heavy mortars were flown in fire bases were set up and suspected enemy positions were zeroed in now airborne the assault troops of the brigade were headed into action the ferret or any fire support began [Music] despite the heavy shelling the dispersing Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army units managed to shoot down one of the American helicopters however the US troops continued to join the battle [Music] dog idli they pursued the plane animate into the deepest jungle all over the northwestern part of pleiku province the Tropic lightning sweep pressed the enemy ever backward as operation Paul Revere concluded [Music] because the valuable lessons learned about the enemy's tactics during actual combat the division established a special training course to teach tropic lightning troopers how to ambush enemy troops played by u.s. soldiers during night operations the deadly claymore mine is one of the ambush tools which are used by these night fighters [Music] though the 25th Infantry Division is well trained on the subject of guerrilla warfare Major General Fred C Weiland who was then the commanding general felt the men would benefit from special instruction on ways to trap the enemy additional measures to deal with the Hidden Cove were taken as the infantrymen from Hawaii began working with scalp dogs continuous obedience training conditions the animals and assures their instant response to the handlers commands in the field the big 125 pound animals are trained to sniff out hidden enemy personnel in the thick undergrowth when BCR located the scalp dogs indicate their find without making a sound the enemy never knows his presence has been discovered until the dog and troopers are upon him while continuing their combat operations the 25th Infantry Division along with all other US army units in Vietnam began putting more emphasis upon psychological warfare and pacification programs residents of a suspected Viet Cong village are called out for a well-planned pacification festival meanwhile the hamlet has been surrounded by both u.s. and South Vietnamese troops in a thorough screening process Vietnamese officials carry out indoctrination of the villagers assisted by soldiers of the 25th division pointing out the fallacies of the Vietcong ideology and offering a better life in exchange for loyalty to the Saigon government first stage of the screening is the 25th division interrogation section here villagers are identified and military intelligence the vietnamese information service is next to process the people of the village at this section they learn of the various assistance programs which the Saigon government is making available to the needy of the nation the section set up by the psychological warfare teams assist the Vietnamese in distributing literature aimed at politically repatriating the individual with communist leanings one of the most important aspects of the pacification process is the free medical service given to the villagers what these physicians and medical aid men do here is long remembered in the final stage of the screening process the helping hand section determines the most immediate needs of each family and attributes a wide variety of items considered basic for day-to-day living Assaf occasion festivals like this one are conducted as a joint effort of both the American military command and the government of the Republic of Vietnam everywhere the results are encouraging [Music] as the months rule by the Tropic lightning division psyops teams have stepped up their distribution of shield toy leaflets pamphlets calling upon the members of the National Liberation Front the Vietcong to drop their communist inspired activities and realign themselves with a Saigon government [Music] by every means available the lay plots are disseminated throughout the divisions area of responsibility a major campaign to win over the hearts and minds of the enemy within promising safe conduct and a life of freedom for those who respond and lay down their arms the CHEO Joya leaflets are read by thousands [Music] and the campaign works previous hardcore of Vietcong are defecting to the Americans by the hundreds in their eagerness to start the new life the defectors offer whole heart and cooperation they lead our troops to the hiding places of their former VC guerilla comrades each location is systematically searched then destroyed [Music] in the struggle to win over the dissident elements one of the most valued aspects of the civic action program is the medical assistance work being carried out by mid-cap teams this is the village of Phu oak th about seven miles northwest of the 25th division headquarters at kuchi the members of this mid-cap team from the 25th medical battalion visit this village once a week to provide free medical service to its inhabitants similar visits are made to a great number of other villages in the district and the med cap team has an extremely crowded schedule despite the pressures under which these men work each patient is given careful attention he wasn't shot how long has he had drainage and I think what he's got is master myelitis was officially running greener [Music] [Music] by mid-summer 1967 17 months after the divisions arrival at coochie medical teams from the tropic Lightning Division had treated more than one hundred eighty nine thousand Vietnamese citizens the overall civic action program being carried out by the 25th division takes many forms here at the village of dog King some fifty miles northeast of Saigon a number of self-help projects have been launched under supervision of the third Brigade as five section captain venom Laos is the officer in charge [Music] gal Chang is in a position here next to the Saigon River it comprises five Hamlet's we have here a population of about 10,000 people which is approximately 2/3 of the total population here in the pre Thanh district because of our position next to the village we feel that we can get in here and do civic action work with the people and thereby reach most of the people in the district what we try to do mainly is create projects for these people in coordination with the district and village officials that are going to be number one long lasting and number two projects in which the people are going to give us derive a lasting benefit we we try to get these people and we have been very successful in getting them to do projects on their own in which we provide materials technical assistance and then they do the projects I truly feel that the willing cooperation and the enthusiasm shown by the people here in doubt Chiang is a good indication but these people build secure from BC in the area here that they want to see their village progress that I that we have come a long way in the time that the brigade has been here and has assisted these people and I think that in time to come we're going to find these people contributing more and also feeling more secure in their respective areas here in the final analysis the United States Army 25th Infantry Division is a combat outfit in this shooting war their first job is to hunt down the enemy forces and to eliminate them as efficiently as possible this is not easily done the guerrilla warfare of Vietnam jungle swamp and bright patties a typical example is operation barking sands named after a famous beach in the Hawaiian Islands elements of the 1st Brigade are being sent out to clear an area in the battle zone suspected of harboring the Vietcong second domain battalion a hardcore guerrilla units supported by the Hanalei government [Music] the trouble spot is a place with the improbable name of app knobby ik about ten miles east of the divisions coochie base the plan called for the assault force to go in in two ways landing about 100 yards apart at the landing zone the first wave received fire from the Vietcong and was immediately pinned down the second wave came in and it too was taken under fire trying to link up with the first wave the men of Alpha Company received fire from the wood line to the back front and one side they kept pushing ahead while the forward observer called in the helicopter gunship for suppressive fire [Music] [Applause] [Music] it took the men of Alpha Company nearly two hours to link up with the men of the first wave only one hundred yards away finally the air force tapered jets were called in [Music] [Music] operation barking sends a small portion of the war against the aggressors was completed the little hamlet of f na biack was taken from day to day this is the way it is in Vietnam as the conflict continues a 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army fulfills its daily missions of compassion and nation-building on the one hand and the stern duty of ground combat on the other whatever the demand the Tropic lightning division stands ready to strike [Music]