c company

17 March The following C Company personnel were promoted under Headquarters, 720th MP Battalion, Special Orders #47. SP/4 Ernest D. Phillips, C Company, to Sergeant E-5.

24 April The following personnel were promoted under Unit Orders #18 from Private (PVT E-2) to Private First Class (PFC E-3), Fred D. Clark and James R. Williams.

9 June C Company was assigned to assist elements of the 1st Infantry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, and Vietnamese Marines in support of combat operations during Operation BILLINGS in Binh Duong, Phuoc Long and Long Kahn Provinces. The C Company operations involved the duties of discipline, law, and order, refugee and POW escort, traffic security, and convoy escort.

1st

11th

25th

Operation BILLINGS

8 July to 16 July C Company became the first MP company in Vietnam to utilize the V-100 Commando Car during Operation PADDINGTON in support of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Black Horse.

Operation PADDINGTON

C Company also assisted A Company with armored V-100 escort vehicles for Operation OVERTAKE nigh time runs from between Long Binh Post and the Newport Docks in Saigon.

Operation OVERTAKE NIGHT

Members of C Company were also tasked with providing around the clock security for the Prisoner of War Detainee hospital compound located at the 24th Evacuation Hospital. A total of seventeen men were assigned to the detail.

11 July, 0145 Hours, SGT Jewell Fletcher Dodge, age 37, from Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, was killed in action at the C Company Detachment at the 1st Infantry Division base at Quan Loi in Binh Long Provence during an intense Viet Cong small arms and mortar attack on the base.

September-October Sometime during this time period the old canvas tents and wooden floors used for barracks and offices were finally replaced. Included in the modernization were newer and larger "facilities" for personal comfort like the old "one seater out house" and the shower room. In their place were built the new cooler and weather resistant aluminum framed Adams Huts that were built on cement pads.

FROM TEMPORARY

TO PERMANENT

With the exception of a few modifications and some customization in future years, these aluminum buildings would remain the home of the company on Long Binh Post throughout its tour in Vietnam.

1 September Approximately 10 members of the company received the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service; SP/4 James W. Burant for service September 1966 to September 1967.

Members of the company also received a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of Meritorious Performance of Duty from the 18th MP Brigade. SP/4 James W. Burant for service 19 October 1966 through 30 September 1967.

20 October During the early days of Operation STABILIZE, C Company provided 41 men daily for operations within the 720th Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR).

Operation STABILIZE

Primary operations performed were river patrols, 8 enlisted men and two M60 Machine guns daily; motor patrols with 15 enlisted men in armored gun jeeps; combat patrols each night with 8 enlisted men; and 10 enlisted men daily performing ambush and recon patrols. In addition the MP also provided staffing at Outpost #3 at the entrance to An Hoa Hung Village. They were also involved in various Civic Action Programs such as Med-Cap security, road and bridge construction security, within the TAOR.

29 November SGT Ward Gunard "Pop" Walter, age 50, C Company, of Minot, North Dakota, died from wounds received by small arms fire in hostile action as a member of a Battalion Combined Ambush and Recon Team along Highway QL-15 in the Tactical Area of Responsibility.

Photograph Needed

22 December C Company was tasked with assigning 1 officer and 28 enlisted men to assist the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Loc Ninh under Operation FARGO. The operation utilized the MP's for Discipline, Law and Order patrols, convoy escorts and traffic control. The mission ended 31 January 1968.

11th

25 December, Christmas Day SP/4 Bernard “Bernie” Derek Johnson, age 21, C Company, of Syracuse, New York, was killed when the armored gun jeep he was a passenger in lost control and rolled over on Highway 1A. The driver who was also injured survived.

Members of the company River Patrol unit were assigned heightened security duties on the Dong Nai River during the Bob Hope USO Shown held on Long Binh Post.

31 December SP/4 Edward J. Coleman, C Company, was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM).