Marine Advisors With The Vietnamese Marine Corps PCN 10600080000

192 Pages·2009·4.86 MB·English

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution
is unlimited. PCN 10600080000

Marine Advisors
With the Vietnamese Marine Corps
Selected Documents prepared by the U.S. Marine Advisory Unit,
Naval Advisory Group
Compiled and Edited by
Charles D. Melson and Wanda J. Renfrow
Occasional Paper
HISTORY DIVISION
MARTNE CORPS UNIVERSITY
QUANTICO, VIRGINIA
2009
Other Publications in the Occasional Papers Series
Vietnam Histories Workshop: Plenary Session. Jack Shulimson, editor. 9 May1983. 31 pp.
Vietnam Revisited; Conversation with William D. Broyles, Jr. Colonel John G. Miller, USMC, editor. 11
I)eceniber 1984. 48 pp.
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piler. April 1985. 54 pp.
Alligators, Buffaloes, and Bushmasters: The History of the I)evelopment of the LVT Through World War
II. Major Alfred Dunlop Bailey, USMC (Ret). 1986. 272 pp.
Leadership Lessons and Remembrances from Vietnam. Lieutenant General Herman Nickerson, Jr.,
USMC (Ret). 1988. 93 pp.
The Problems of U.S. Marine C'oips Prisoners of War in Korea. James Angus MacI)onald, Jr. 1988.
295 pp.
John Archer Lejeune 1869-1 942, Register of His Personal Papers. Lieutenant Colonel Merrill L. Bartlett,
USMC (Ret). 1988. 123 pp.
To Wake Island and Beyond: Reminiscences. Brigadier General Woodrow M. Kessler, USMC (Ret).
1988. 145 pp.
Thomas lb/comb, 18 79-1965, Register of His Personal Papers. Gibson B. Smith. 1988. 229 pp.
Curriculum Evolution, Marine corps Command and Stciff Gollege, 1920-1988. Lieutenant Colonel
I)onald F. Bittner, USMCR. 1988. 112 pp.
Herringbone c'loak-GlDaggei Marines of the OSS. Major Robert E. Mattingly, USMC. 1989. 315 pp.
The Journals ofMarine Second Lieutenant Henry Bulls Watson, 1845-1 848. Charles R. Smith, editor.
1990. 420 pp.
When the Russians Blinked: The US. Maritime Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Major John M.
Young, USMCR. 1990. 246 pp.
Marines in the Mexican War. Gabrielle M. Neufeld Santelli. Edited by Charles R. Smith. 1991. 63 pp.
The Development of Amphibious Tactics in the U.S. Navy. General Holland M. Smith, USMC (Ret).
1992. 89 pp.
James Guthrie Harhord, 1866-194 7, Register of His Personal Papers. Lieutenant Colonel Merrill I..
Bartlett, USMC. 1995. 47 pp.
The Impact of Project 100,000 on the Marine Corps. Captain David A. I)awson, USMC. 1995. 247 pp.
Marine Corps Aircraft: 1913-2000. Major John M. Elliot, USMC (Ret). 2002. 126 pp.
Thomas Holcomb and the Advent of the Marine Corps Defense Battalion, 1936-1941. I)avid J.11 Jlbrich.
2004. 78 pp.
Marine Ilistoiy Operations in Iraq, Operation Iraq Freedom I, A Catalog of Interviews and Recordings.
Lieutenant Colonel Nathan S. Lowrey, USMCR. 2005. 254 pp.
With the 1st Marine Division in Iraq, 2003. No Greater Friencl No Worse Enern.
Lieutenant Colonel Michael S. Groen, USMC. 2006. 413 pp.
Marine Advisors: With the Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units, 1966-1970.
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Operation Millpond: US. Marines in Thailand, 1961. Colonel George R. Hofmann, Jr., USMC (Ret).
2009. 36 pp.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
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Foreword
The History Division has undertaken the publication for limited distribution of various stud-
ies, theses, compilations, bibliographies, monographs, and memoirs, as well as proceedings at
selected workshops, seminars, symposia, and similar colloquia, which it considers to be of
significant value for audiences interested in Marine Corps history. These "Occasional Pa-
pers," which are chosen for their intrinsic worth, must reflect structured research, present a con-
tribution to historical knowledge not readily available in published sources, and reflect original
content on the part of the author, compiler, or editor. It is the intent of the division that these
occasional papers be distributed to select institutions such as service schools, official Depart-
ment of Defense historical agencies, and directly concerned Marine Corps organizations, so
the information contained therein will be available for study and exploitation.
QJpø
Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer
Director of Marine Corps History
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Preface
I first served with Vietnamese Marines in 1972 when they came on board the U.S. Navy
ships that Battalion Landing Team 1/9 was embarked on. They were preparing for an am-
phibious landing to counter the North Vietnamese Army's Spring Offensive in Military Region
1 (I Corps) in South Vietnam. They brought with them their U.S. Marine advisors who were
known by the senior members of the battalion. We had already witnessed or heard of the ex-
ploits of then-Captain John Ripley and Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Turley in blunting the ini-
tial attacks of the Easter Offensive. As the Vietnamese were formed into helicopter or boat
teams and fed a meal before going ashore, they bantered with the American Marines and
Sailors, telling them to come along to "kill communists."
After a turbulent start to the offensive, the Vietnamese Marines exhibited the fighting spirit
that elite units create for themselves. This was reflected in the various names of their battal-
ions that were the focus of their unit identification. The infantry battalions had a series of
nicknames and slogans that were reflected on their unit insignia: 1st Battalion's "Wild Bird,"
2d Battalion's "Crazy Buffalo," 3d Battalion's "Sea Wolf," 4th Battalion's "Killer Shark," 5th
Battalion's "Black Dragon," 6th Battalion's "Sacred Bird," 7th Battalion's "Black Tiger," 8th
Battalion's "Sea Eagle," and 9th Battalion's "Mighty Tiger." For the artillery units, this was
the 1st Battalion's "Lightning Fire," 2d Battalion's "Sacred Arrow," and 3d Battalion's "Sa-
cred Bow." Support and service battalions followed this example as well.
The 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade and its embarked troops provided helicopters, am-
phibious tractors, and landing craft support for a series of attacks leading to the recapture of
Quang Tn City through the fall of 1972. In addition, command and control facilities and li-
aison were provided to the Republic of Vietnam's I Corps and Military Advisory Command
Vietnam's 1st Regional Advisory Command in the sustained counteroffensive. This reinforced
the impression made by the Vietnamese Marines themselves. This began my interest in the
story that follows.
The period after World War II saw a number of associated Marine Corps formed in the re-
publics of China, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. They had been
founded, with the help of foreign military aid, to fight the various conflicts to contain com-
munist expansion in the region. Also present at various times were other Marines from the
Netherlands, France, and Great Britain. The beginnings of the Cold War witnessed this pro-
liferation of amphibious forces inAsia, in part because of the reputation the U.S. Marines had
earned in the cross Pacific drive against Japan and in other postwar confrontations. This is
about one of them, the Vietnamese Marine Corps or Thuy Quan Luc Chien (TQLC).
This occasional paper provides documents on the topics of the Vietnamese Marines and the
U.S. Marine Advisory Unit from this period. William D. Wischmeyer created the reference
that the unit and history was based on. As a captain, he drafted the "Vietnamese Marine
Corps/Marine Advisory Unit Historical Summary, 1954-1973," signed off by the senior Ma-
rine advisor on 22 March 1973. Another valuable collection of Vietnamese Marine Corps ma-
terial was kept by then-Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Lukeman when the Vietnamese Marine
Corps Logistics Support Branch, Navy Division, Defense Attaché Office was closed in 1975.
It and the other essential source material enclosed were sent as part of the Marine Advisory
Unit's command chronology, in the Gray Research Center archive, Quantico, Virginia.
Ms. Wanda J. Renfrow took a mix of 40-year-old documents and electronic copies and made
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them a coherent whole. They were edited for clarity and continuity. Thanks go to Virginia
Tech intern Mary E. Dail for providing the oral history list, to the U.S. Marine Corps Advi-
sor's Association, and Master Sergeant (Ret) Daniel K. Whitton for continued interest and
support. I also acknowledge the efforts of Kenneth H. Williams for editorial guidance, and
William S. Hill for design and layout.
Charles D. Melson
Chief Historian
U.S. Marine Corps History Division
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Table of Contents
Foreword
.3
Preface
5
The Vietnamese Marine Corps, 1954-1975 9
Senior U.S. Marine Advisors, 1954-1975 15
Document: SAB [Senior Advisor Briefj Helpful Hints 17
Document: What You Should Know When Assigned to a Vietnamese Marine Battalion as an
Advisor 19
Document: Techniques of Advising 25
Document: Standing Operation Procedures for Marine Advisory Unit 29
U.S. Marine Advisors to the Vietnamese Marine Corps, 1954-1975 175
Further Reading 181
Oral Histories 185
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