YOU IN VIETNAM

[Music] the Vietnam is a long strip of coastal land about the size of California I Corps or the third marine amphibious force area covers the five northern provinces of South Vietnam July Danang bubai are the principal bases in this area from the Seacoast the narrow fertile lowland plain the land rises to a thinly settled Piedmont region these foothills lead to jungle Highlands running along the country's western border [Music] Danang is the principal city in the third marine amphibious force area the Nang airbase is one of the busiest airports in the world today [Music] like cities everywhere Danang has changed more than its surrounding countryside and may seem more familiar to you but ancient ways are slow to die Danang presents a mixture of the very old with the news imported from the West a major markets where people congregate to buy and sell the nang is also a busy Seaport the city is a cultural center for this region [Music] [Music] how do I temples Buddhist temples and shrines and Christian churches attests to the deeply religious nature of the Vietnamese [Music] north of Danang is the city of way fifty miles below the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Vietnam capital of the ancient empire of annum the centuries-old imperial palace Joe survives along with its port not far away there is a port at the mouth of the way river fishing is the main source of income for the prosperous Vietnamese who live along the coast [Music] yet even coastal fishermen plant rice rice is this country's major crop most Vietnamese are farmers living on the fertile lowland plain between the Seacoast and the Piedmont control of this rich area would give the Vietcong captive rice and manpower to sustain his drive into the south the Hamlet's and village homes of almost 2 million people crowd together here an understanding of village life is the key to a broader understanding of yet Nam and the Vietnamese for thousands of years the village has been as it still is the basic social unit in Vietnam each village has its shrine and patron saint you will be engaged in more than that in Vietnam you will be deeply involved in the lives of its people their land differs from our own their experience has not been ours the Chinese the French Japanese have been here as conquerors you have to convince them we are here as friends the village chief these stories people like the chief the village elder is a much respected even venerated man in the Piedmont or Foothill country there are fewer villages the mountains are even more thinly settled but wherever you go in this country one fundamental rule applies the customs of the Vietnamese must be considered and wherever possible observed the people treated with respect the Piedmont area separates the lowland from jungle highlands movement through this hilly country can be slow and difficult streams are plentiful here and throughout Vietnam but the water must be purified for drinking during the rainy season even streams can turn within hours into rivers you may have to force [Music] the mountains in this tropical hot and humid country are topped with jungle gross but there are many well marked footpaths here these occasionally lead to villages of the mountain yawns [Music] their villages are small the houses built on stilts these mountain people are tough and durable they move through their rugged terrain with ease to hunt they farm where they can burn off jungle growth to plant their rice they fight well when they choose to fight but you will spend most of your time in Vietnam on the coastal plain most often meet the people who live in lowland villagers like communities everywhere the village serves as a marketplace it is also the precarious home of people who for over a century now have fought for their Liberty since 1946 they have been continuously at war they are determined to survive but by our standards the Vietnamese are fully clothed and poorly housed and poorly fed [Music] they live and work much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago there are more than economic reasons for this to the Vietnamese the passage of time is of little concern and so is changed they strive for harmony with things as they are and work for perfection in everything they do no matter how much time this takes there is a hard-won harmony with the land many believe that to achieve this harmony with their demanding tropical world the highest wisdom is to want only the bare necessities of life but change has begun now they are harvesting crops unknown to them a while ago yet changes costly at a village farmer his only real possession is a water buffalo that pulls his plow its value represents a whole year's income he earns less than $300 a year with endless labour his wife often working at his side for days they work in water that nourishes their rice and also serves as a breeding place for mosquito-borne malaria they are small in stature because for generations they have carried a burden of infectious tropical diseases and lived on a diet of almost rice alone the village woman even smaller than her husband works as hard as he does in the field he also works at home yet with her children he's kind and gentle the homes of these people are small and they seem clean but their family life is rich warm and has always been so they are acquired people of great personal dignity we grow old with grace small though they are the Vietnamese men are determined fighters committed to the defense of their village homes [Music] their young men serve in popular forces full-time volunteers recruited for local defense these troops are answerable to local Chiefs simple but intelligent content with little their civilization old and rich but their lives depressed by centuries of poverty oppression and disease caught up in a war and yet determined to be free these are the people of Vietnam if you fail to understand them you can make all we try to do here fail don't be too familiar wherever you go here you represent the United States respect these people as you want them to respect us we can win the battle for their freedom and yet lose their friendship don't show contempt for their way of life they have a deep sense of pride they cannot be hurried even to do those things that concern them most you cannot meet them with a casual familiarity with which we first meet one another give them time to understand your ways honor their village Hamlet's and Families right these are religious objects to the graves of their dead they also attached religious significance [Music] cemeteries are not passageways for working parties anywhere in the world for your own personal protection there are some other simple don'ts to remember avoid any food prepared by the Vietnamese for their own use it may be contaminated with bacteria take it for granted the water in local wells is always polluted treated accordingly or let it alone [Music] avoid their local alcoholic drinks these may also be harmful no matter how attractive it seems don't buy black-market merchandise this operation saves you nothing and costs the people of Vietnam increasing price hikes they can ill afford venereal diseases as we know the more are bad enough in Southeast Asia they're worse and often unresponsive to the drugs we use for their treatment out of bounds means what it says for your own good stay up there are other things to do in town shopping for one but understand the value of their money go along with currency controls the relative fortune we can spend for souvenirs and entertainment and Danang andwe can wreck their local economy explore this country while you're here its history goes back to centuries before our own history began its culture is rich and often centered in its temples and its shrines remember too that something new is being born here in Vietnam a new Republic forged in a long and bitter Civil War and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created you are directly engaged in this war you are here to fight but there is more you may be asked to do the needs of these people are profound the enemy has made their villages our battleground they need more than our military strength they need our help these corpsman helped by treating villagers caught in the violence of war their work as part of the Civic Action Program undertaken by military personnel throughout Vietnam you may be involved in some aspect of this program established to help this country and its people to recover and rebuild what you can do will depend on where you're stationed in this area what's needed there and on your own personal skill [Music] the Marine Corps Reserve civic action fund for Vietnam is working with care to deliver clothing school kits and medical supplies off-duty aircrews fight malaria bearing mosquitos and other pests you might do nothing more than build a swing and give these boys and girls a push in the right direction might help dig a village well with part of an old truck axle these men rebuilt a water pump and helped the villagers to set it up [Music] [Music] [Music] there are also roads to grave [Applause] and there are bridges to be built you might serve on Operation golden fleece guarding the villagers while they work to harvest crops or helping to haul their rice to safety in the village [Music] you may be a farmer at heart who can work with livestock like these pigs shipped from America to help improve local breeds when he's not repairing armor plate on LV tp5 this Vereen finds time to fix farm to [Music] these men from a combined action company stationed in the village take time out to give the youngsters a romp in the river and helpful scrum [Music] wherever you go there'll be plenty of construction work to do hospitals dispensaries and other public buildings are badly needed [Music] [Applause] also badly-needed our schools like this one going up somewhere in the third marine amphibious area [Music] there's a lot of teaching to be done you might begin by teaching your language while you're here it might be a good idea for you to learn their language till noise thin laggy come on now go Oh duck soon soon look up go then once again are the people of Vietnam if their dream of a free and democratic nation is to become a reality more must be done than they can do alone do what you can to know and understand them and to help they are a people well worth knowing well worth fighting for [Music]