CPL Thomas T. Watson
B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion
89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade
March 1968 to March 1969

Honorably Discharged

        I attended Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and MP School at Fort Gordon, Georgia. At the time I thought it was unusual that in both basic training and MP School all of my drill instructors were Korean War veterans, none had yet served in Vietnam. Another observation I made was that in New Jersey all my Drill Instructors were black, in Georgia they were all white.

        I was first assigned to the two week Leadership class at Fort Gordon. After two days were were informed that the class had been cancelled due to time restraints and I was assigned directly to a training class.

        At the training class I was informed that due to the shortage of MP's my class was being accelerated and we managed to cram eight weeks of training into six. On graduation day I received orders for duty in the Republic of South Korea. I had asked for Vietnam but it seems the army was short on MP's in Germany and Korea where most of our class ended up.

In February 1967 I arrived in South Korea and was assigned to the 3rd MP Detachment, 2nd MP Company, 2nd Infantry Division which fronted the DMZ. My first assignments were Road and Foot Patrol. We conducted motorized patrols throughout all the roadways south of the Imjim River beyond which the DMZ was located.

2nd

I learned real quick about MP work while walking evening foot patrol checking out the houses of prostitution and the numerous bars in the back alleys of the many small villages. There were no portable radios to call for assistance, they provided you with the brass whistle to call for help.

        That was to let the rest of the drunks in the village know an MP was in trouble, so they could better find him to join in. Mid-tour I was transferred to the Security Platoon at Division Headquarters, Camp Howze.

Duty there consisted of rotating from the Division HQ Staff Briefing Guard, Main Gate Security, South Check Point Security on Main Supply Route-1, the entrance to the 2nd Division Area Of Operation, and Commanding Generals Escort Detail.

        Whenever there was an incident on the DMZ, and there were many, we would escort the Division Commander with two gun jeeps.

        In 1967 the North Koreans stepped up their activities along the DMZ to tie up U.S. forces that were needed in Vietnam. During my tour there were 16 Americans killed in action and 51 wounded by ambush, sabotage, and land mines along, and south of the DMZ. A group of 31 North Korean Agents attempted to assassinate the South Korean President and were finally stopped just short of Seoul in the division AO. They chose to fight it out with the Korean troops rather than surrender, only one was captured alive because he was to severely wounded to kill himself. The USS Pueblo was attacked and seized with 1 sailor killed, 4 wounded, and the crew of 83 held captive. It would be 11 months before they were released. Yet when I wrote home to my parents about it they said there was very little news coverage, except for the Pueblo. With the war going on in Vietnam, Korea was back page news.

        The South Korean people, still fresh with the memories of the Communist North Korean occupation were very friendly to the U.S. and Allied Forces. I became a close friend of several of our civilian employees and learned much about their culture while stationed there. The only thing I didn't miss in leaving was the cold winter weather and winds. Living in the field in the winter during the division alerts was an experience. I'll take the tropical heat and humidity any time.

        The tour was 13 months and after 11 months I volunteered for duty in Vietnam and received my orders in early February 1968. Since my orders only authorized flight tickets from Japan to Vietnam, I had to catch military hops home to New Jersey from Japan. When my leave was finished I again caught military hop's back to Japan. With all that hopping I still made it on time.

I arrived in Vietnam in early March 1968 and after several days of ducking work details at the 90th Replacement Battalion was assigned to B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade.         Within a day I started my tour at Outpost #2 in the Village of Long Hung. I walked out that first night with an ambush and recon squad. It took us over an hour to get to the outpost and I had no idea where I was. The next morning when I was given a more detailed briefing of our duties I was totally amazed, I had no idea that MPs pulled this kind of duty.         The living conditions were very Spartan and logistical needs were always wanting and seldom fulfilled. I learned real fast what sandbagging and grass clearing details were all about. The highlight of your week was the one time you got to come into post eat a regular meal at the mess hall and take a shower before returning with the mail and supplies before dark. Other than that it was C Rations or whatever you could scrounge or purchase in the village.

        Our living area was under a clay tile pavilion roof with one wall in the back. The floor was wooden truck pallets that were condos for every type of bug and vermin in Vietnam. We slept on cots and drank warm over chlorinated water from an old canvas Lister Bag hung in the shade.

        With Outpost #2 being the operational HQ for the Battalion Tactical Area Of Responsibility (TAOR), there were constant visits from MP brass and VIP's from Battalion, 89th MP Group and 18th MP Brigade. They would always call ahead and tell us to clean up our appearance and put our shirts and hats on when company was coming.

        The local Popular Forces that we shared the out post with were easy to get along with and we built up some good relationships with them and their children who would hang around during the day. We constantly worked upgrading the outpost defenses, compound maintenance, assisted with security at MED-CAPs (Medical Civic Action Programs) in the villages and assisted with ambush and recon and larger cordon and search operations in the TAOR when needed.

        On 23 June 1968 I was promoted to SP/4 and made an acting Corporal and transferred as the Noncommissioned Officer In Charge to Outpost #4 in the Village of Long Binh Tan when B Company took over complete operational control of the TAOR.

        At Outpost #4 the majority of our time was spent in repairs and construction bringing it up to suitable living and working conditions. A Company had previously worked it but in shifts, we had to live there. With the new operational responsibilities of B Company manpower was scarce and the majority of the time we had only three MP's stationed at the outpost with the local Popular Forces unit. That made it even harder to proceed with the repairs and still maintain a 24 hour radio and security watch. Outpost duty was definitely the red headed step child of the company assignments. I realized that working those months at the outpost were greatly beneficial to my longevity once I received my next assignment.

        On 4 August 1968 I finally got my wish and was assigned as Squad Leader of Ambush Team #76 which followed with a promotion to Sergeant no to long afterwards.

        As with outpost duty this was also something new to all of us. Most of what you learned about ambush and recon you had to learn from the more experienced men. Every day it was long nights on ambush then they would contact you before you came in and give you a day recon based on new intelligence that developed over night. Eventually you managed to grab a few hours sleep before getting the next nights assignments. The job was exhausting and we worked hard and took a lot of pride in our assignment. Squad rosters were always in a flux, men would constantly come and go. Many didn't like ambush and recon duty because down time was almost non existent.

        The cycle would start with a three day reconnaissance from which you would plan you next six night ambushes. You would finish the cycle and get a night off (if things were quiet) and start the next cycle. There were many times you would not get back into post before the cycle change and spend your night resupplying at one of the outpost or from a River Patrol Boat on the back river.

        The best of times in ambush and recon were when 2LT Robert Chavis became our Platoon Leader. He was Special Forces trained very dedicated and well respected. He started the rubber raft night patrols and ambushes on the back rivers, sampan patrols where we would ride hidden in local sampans on the back river to catch VC tax collectors. We conducted three man night raids while we were dressed in black pajamas on the local VC family residences in the villages. Unlike before his arrival, when important intelligence information came in he would pass it down the line to us so we knew why were were assigned to specific areas and what to look for. I learned more from him in his few months with B Company than in all my previous military training. When he left the company things were just not the same and and morale slumped for a time.

        I was busted from Sergeant to Corporal as the result of a dispute with my Platoon Sergeant on an issue of principal. I was always taught that if you were assigned a task you did your best to accomplish it. I believed in what we were doing and expected others to give us the needed support it took to accomplish the task. Especially when you were being asked to put your life and the lives of you squad members on the line. My mistake was is loosing my temper in expressing that position. It was a foolish mistake on my part, a lesson learned. I continued working ambush and recon until the end of my tour.

        I served with many good officers, noncommissioned officers, and the many enlisted men that came and went through the outpost's and Ambush Team #76 and the 212th MP Company Scout Dog Unit. When we saw action with the Viet Cong and North Vitenamese Army we always managed to come out on top. There were plenty of good times worth remembering along with the bad. I spent my entire 12 month tour working in the Tactical Area of Responsibility and when offered an early out for a three month extension I turned it down. I might have considered it if 2LT Chavis was still with us.

I put in my "Dream Sheet" request for the 1st Army area so I could be stationed close to home for the first time in two years. On 13 March 1969 I received orders for the 559th MP Company at Fort Monroe, Virginia, Continental Army Command HQ. It wasn't NJ but much closer than Korea and Vietnam.

CAC

        The 559th was a spit and polish outfit if there ever was one. Strictly white hat duty. We were even issued dress blues for the formal parade details we performed. Quite a change from the boonies in Vietnam. I was assigned as Noncommissioned Officer In Charge of the Main Gate Detail and served as gun commander on a 105 Howitzer for Honor Guard duties for visiting foreign war ships that would enter the harbor and pass by the fort.

        The post was good duty, it was a historical tourist attraction. The 559th served mostly as a transit company. Men coming back from Vietnam and men waiting to ship over. They also had a funeral detail but the brass was smart enough to never assign the Vietnam vets to the funeral detail duty roster. Our quarters were in the former Bachelors Officers Quarters building that was once an old hotel next to the Main Gate. Beat the hell out of living in the field or a barracks.

        On 3 October 1969 I was honorably discharged and looked for work in the municipal law enforcement field. Back then it was who you knew politically, not what you knew that got you an appointment and an application so it took some time for me to get past the front door. It was also a time when Vietnam veterans were considered risky hires due to the label hung on us for being a bunch of drug abusers and baby killers. In the mean time I found work with a pool and building contractor while looking for work in the law enforcement field.

        In April 1970 I married Ginger Donapel who I had known since high school, and I started my law enforcement career in August with the Glassboro, New Jersey Municipal Police Department. I worked two years of uniform patrol and five years as a detective.

        In May 1976 I left the municipal police department and joined the Gloucester County NJ Prosecutor’s Office as a County Investigator where I worked in the Major Crimes - Homicide Unit, Supervisor of the County Narcotics Strike Force, and later as Investigative Division Operations Officer.

        I retired as Chief of County Investigators on 31 December 1996. With a son and daughter grown and living out on their own, in April 1997 Ginger and I moved to South Carolina where we now reside.

I credit the Army and especially the Military Police Corps as being the foundation for my career in law enforcement, especially my tour with B Company of the 720th. Although we were always under manned, often under equipped, and under trained for the special and unique infantry missions we were tasked with, we always managed to find a way to endure and perform what has finally been recognized as a proud record of accomplishments in Vietnam.         Working and living in the same area during my entire tour plus my experiences with the Korean people who lived through their war gave me a better understanding of what the Vietnamese people and the Vietnam war were all about. Many appreciated the few freedoms and improvements to their lives that we were able to provide them and looked forward to living free from communist control. It's very disappointing that it was all handled the wrong way at the time.

        I have never regretted having served and I will always consider the men that I had the pleasure of knowing and working with during my tours in Korea and Vietnam as part of my extended family.

         The idea for the Battalion History website began in the 1980's when my children started asking about the Vietnam War. During my tour I sent home letters almost every other day and used them to form a journal. Once retired I started looking for people and information to fill in the blanks of the journal with the many details that I didn't know of or had forgotten. Initially the website dealt with only with the Battalions Vietnam era history. After attending several reunions and speaking with members that served in Occupied Japan and Korea I decided that it should be expanded to cover the Battalions entire history. Any credit for the website's success goes to all of you who have contributed you're documents, personal stories and photographs. For that I thank each and every one of you.