1 October The bulk of the Battalion, less 24 men for an Advance Party, departed the Oakland Army Terminal, California, aboard the USNS [United States Navy Ship] General Daniel I. Sultan. Also on board were a group of U.S. Marines, an Army Engineer Battalion and an advanced party from the 9th Infantry Division.

    The huge ship shuttered slightly as two Army tugboats slowly nudged it away from the docks to begin the long journey.

     As part of the departure ceremony, an Army band of twenty-three strong in dress uniform saluted them with music from dockside. Whatever tunes they played at the time were not memorable enough for any of the troops to recall.

     Once the ship was finally set free by the tugboats, it proceeded west through the bay at a leisurely speed with many of the troops gathered on the open deck taking in the fresh smell of the salt marshes, the cool ocean breezes and the spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge as they slowly passed beneath it.

     Just like their predecessors of 1942 two and a half decades before, this would be the first and last view of the American west coast for many as they headed into the Pacific Ocean on the first day of their journey to South Vietnam.

     The top rack held their TAT (to accompany troops) Bag’s; the three beneath it were for sleeping. The racks provided only a few inches clearance between your face and the one above, so you quickly learned to sleep head to head and feet to feet.

     If you were prone to snoring, you received your first experiences of enemy incoming as projectiles of varying size and shape landed on and around you in the dark. If you were subject to any degree of claustrophobia, you were doomed! If you were taller that six-foot, you were doomed! And, if you were prone to motion sickness, those who slept below you in the “splash zone” were doomed!

    "The 27 day boat trip was uneventful, but worthy of mention. The advance party of the 9th Infantry Division traveled with us. Our Battalion Commander, LTC Glenn A. Hill, was the Troop Commander and all battalion staff officers were assigned.

     The 720th mess personnel were the cooks and the 9th Infantry Division pulled KP [kitchen police]. The four Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers were designated as Mess Officers.

     One morning, while having coffee with LTC Hill at the rail on deck, I commented, "Well sir, I’ve made a little progress." LTC Hill asked, "How’s that Mr. Garcia?"

3 October While the Battalion is in transit to Vietnam, the Soviet Union (USSR) officially aligned itself with Communist Party of Ho Che Minh and North Vietnam by announcing it will provide military and economic assistance to aid in their struggle to free the peoples of the South from American Imperialism.

8 October The Advanced Party of six officers and eighteen enlisted personnel, commanded by MAJ James O. Richardson the battalion executive officer, departed California by air for South Vietnam.

     "As the story goes, there was a group from the Battalion who departed ahead of us. I heard that when they arrived in country they broke out the ammo and discovered all they had was blanks, no live rounds, so they had to scrounge new ammo for themselves.

     Someone screwed up while making that packing list. They were the advance party who also set up our camp (squad tents) at Long Binh. The original camp was directly across the road from LBJ (Post Stockade) and the back of our perimeter was the perimeter of Long Binh Post. We built the Adams huts after living in the tents for about 9 months."  SP/4 Gary C. Watts, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, 4th Army, Fort Hood, Texas, October 1966 to October 1967.

       At the time we were not issued jungle fatigues or jungle boots, we had the regular cotton fatigues and full leather boots. I was really lucky when I ran into a good friend of mine who had been in-country for six to eight months and was the supply officer for an infantry company close to us. He supplied our whole detachment with the new jungle fatigues and boots and I never got that chance to pay him back.

      I stayed with the advance party until the main elements of the Battalion arrived and a short time later I was transferred to Saigon and became a Platoon leader in the 300th MP Company and later the 188th, both subordinate to the 92nd MP Battalion at Pershing Field".  ILT John A. Hannon, B Company, 720th MP Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas and 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, Vietnam, 1966.

     Also, in the head, at the rear of the ship you didn't want to sit at the far end of the "seats." It was manly a trough with a long row of toilet seats and a continuous flow of water. However, if the ship would roll and heave just right, it would backwash and surge out of the last seat or two on the end. Sometimes undesirable "solids" would come floating out all over the seats. So most guys learned real quick to avoid the far end of the seats.

     Taking a shower was always fun because you had to constantly shuffle back and forth from one foot to another with the stream of the water as the ship rolled.

      The mess hall aboard the ship was fun, depending on the wave action it would be real difficult to eat or at least hang on to your tray. You basically had to hold on to the tray with one hand and eat with the other. If the ship was rolling hard you had to tilt your tray off the table to keep the food from sliding off of it. You also made a point to eat quickly to get back top side if you were prone to sea sickness. Out the small portholes.you could only see water or sky as the ship rolled."   SP/4 Gary C. Watts, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas and 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, Vietnam, October 1966 to October 1967.

15 October The USNS Sultan dropped anchor at the Island of Okinawa, Japan. The last time the Battalion saw Japan was when they departed the country for their return to Fort Hood, Texas, on 21 February 1955 after eleven years of WWII occupational duty in Tokyo.

     "As we approached the island of Okinawa, Japan in the early morning hours, our 3rd Platoon Sergeant, SSG Kenneth McClain [B Company] pointed out Red Beach to me. SSG McClain said he landed on Red Beach in WWII during the invasion of Okinawa. He also said it was hell landing during the assault. SSG McClain served in the Korean War too.

     We stopped in Okinawa at 0930 hours for shore leave and left at 1600 hours. It took every MP on Okinawa to round us up. There were four 720th MPs that missed boarding and were left on the dock as the ship headed out. They got on a tug boat and chased the Sultan as it pulled out of the harbor, and just did catch up with it to get on board.  Journal of SP/4 Allan M. Portnoy, B Company & 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, October 1966 to October 1967.

   The Battalion was required to stay onboard throughout the night while the ship remained anchored in the harbor awaiting for daylight to depart for Vung Tau, its final destination.

   PFC Allan Portnoy, B Company, was assigned as a deck guard and recalls spending his night watching the flares and tracers light up the distant sky beyond the city.

Personal Reflections  "We dropped anchor in Da Nang harbor, South Vietnam late on 18 October 1966 and dropped off the contingent of Marines that were aboard. I was a deck guard the night we spent in Da Nang harbor. I watched artillery going off all night on shore.

    The next day the ship pulled into Vung Tau harbor and we hit the beach on a WWII landing craft."  Journal of SP/4 Allan M. Portnoy, B Company & 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, October 1966 to October 1967.

   When the Battalion arrived in South Vietnam MACV was conducting their 4th U.S. Campaign, Counter-offensive Phase II, 1 July 1966 to 31 May 1967.

19 October In the early morning hours the USNS General Daniel I. Sultan entered the port city Harbor of Vung Tau, South Vietnam, the final port of call of the 720th MP Battalion.

   The soldiers of the Battalion awoke at dawn, climbed the three flights of stairs to the top deck of the troop ship with full gear, weapons, duffel bag, and AWOL bag for inspection and roll call.

   They then waited for the order to walk back down the same three flights of stairs to the gangway to disembark. They were each issued 100 round of rifle ammunition.

1030 hours The 720th MP Battalion 579 strong including the seven-man CID unit arrived on the beaches of Vung Tau, one of Vietnam’s most beautiful coastal resort cities.

     LTC Glenn A. Hill and SMG Richard J. Hall were greeted by the 89th Military Police Group Commander COL Robert Sabolyk, and 18th Military Police Brigade Commander COL Thomas F. Guidera.

     The troops were in awe of their beautiful tropical surroundings, and for a brief but pleasant moment forgot they had just arrived in a country at war. Unfortunately, the brief moment came to a sudden end with the all to familiar smell of diesel exhaust and the sounds of two dozen Deuce-and-a-half’s arriving at the landing site. Quickly snapped back to reality, they began offloading their gear onto the beach.

     The Battalion Assistant S3, CPT David L. Lemon, didn’t join them on the beach; he remained on board the ship with a small detachment to oversee the transport of their vehicles and equipment from Vung Tau up the Nah Be and Saigon Rivers for off loading at the Saigon Docks.

     After another quick head-count, the troops boarded the trucks and were transported the short distance from the beach to the Vung Tau Airfield. Once again they had to wait, and sat alongside the runway in the hot tropical sun until it was their turn to board the C123 Provider transport planes for a brief flight north to the much larger Bien Hoa  Air Force Base, Bien Hoa Provence, III Corps Tactical Zone.

     It wasn’t until during the flight that the troops had a chance for the first time to look down upon the rich colors of the vast patchwork of rice paddies and jungle forest they would soon live and work in for the next twelve months. Upon landing at Bien Hoa Air Force Base, they again boarded trucks and Army buses for the five-mile drive to their new cantonment area at Long Binh Post.

     From Bien Hoa Air Base the Battalion was again transported, this time by truck to its new base camp area at Long Binh Post, III Corps Tactical Zone, Bien Hoa Provence (in the area of the above map shown as 18th MP Brigade cantonment) where it would spend the next 2,128 days in Vietnam before returning to the United States and Fort Hood, Texas in August 1972.

20 October The entire battalion was involved in the construction of their permanent base camp at Long Binh Post from 20 October through 4 November 1966.

     During this time period the new post was under construction and there were very few tenants. All battalion operations, billets, mess hall and other functions were run out of field tents.

Tactical Operations Center Battalion TOC was operated on a 24 hour basis. The day shift was staffed by the Operations Officer (S3), Operations Sergeant (S3), Intelligence (S2) and a clerk supplemented with a TOC Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) and a Radio/Telephone Operator (RTO).

     Each unit within Long Binh Post had their own perimeter for additional security within the outer post perimeter, and each provided men to guard both 24 hours a day. That included pulling physical security shifts in the Battalion 'Tree House' watch tower.

     The living conditions were "spartan." With the influx of new units utilities and water services were primarily the responsibility of each unit, under field conditions.

     Portable generators provided electricity, there was no plumbing. A battalion water truck would transport the potable water from the post processing plant to locations with the compound where it was stored in 5 gallon 'Jerry Cans,' and poured into canvas 'Lyster Bags' for drinking.

     Toilet facilities were outhouses utilizing 55 gallon drums cut in half to catch the waste. Once the waste reached a certain level within the cans, they were drug out from under the bench and a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline was added. The contents were stirred with a large stick and burned.

     You eventually became accustomed to the smell and trying to avoid being picked for the daily "shit burning detail."

     Of course the one thing that the Battalion had plenty of besides dust and dirt was sand bags to fill! And that created even more dust and dirt in the air.

     When the rains came it all turned into a consistency of molasses and stained and stuck to everything it touched. The men first used a layer of sand over the clay dust to assist water drainage in their tents. Later they had to put pieces of wood under everything inside their tents to keep them from sinking down into the mud.

     The majority of the Battalion perimeter bunkers were constructed by 1st Platoon of A Company under the command of 2LT John Milligan.

Reflection  "This wasn't even the early days as I see the wooden floors in the photographs of the tents. When we arrived in country in October 1966 we had mud floors with sand covering it . We were the ones that finally put the wooden floors down. "They were still that way when I left in May 1967.

     The latter coming guys sure had better living conditions than we did but in some ways they had a lot more tough duty than we had at first, what with the recon and ambush duty and the 1968 Tet offensive. I sure am glad I wasn't there for that."   PFC Gary W. Short, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, Fort Hood Texas, and Vietnam, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, October 1966 to May 1967.

Personal Reflections  "We arrived in Long Binh to nothing but the red clay earth, and the Long Binh Jail "LBJ" [USARV Stockade].  We had to erect our tents, and of course, bunks, foot lockers, etc. all sat in the dirt and mud.  No floors... everything dirty and muddy.

     We filled sandbags every day, and had to stack them around the tents.  We also filled the sand bags and built the bunkers.  I didn't think it would ever end."   SP/4 Cecil A. Rhodes, C Company, Fort Hood, Texas and Vietnam,720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, 1966-1967.

28 October A Viet Cong sapper team attacked the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) Ammunition Supply Depot on Long Binh Post with mortar fire and satchel charges resulting in two soldiers Killed In Action (KIA), nine Wounded In Action (WIA), and 13,000, 8” artillery rounds and, 3,700 propellants destroyed.

Personal Reflections  "The October 28th 1966 explosion was the result of a satchel charge, not a mortar round. We had a report that the Viet Cong were spotted in the ammo dump and were clearing the area when the pad went up.

     It hurled the shells (250 pounder's) a mile over the compound, landing in a field behind our hootches. One hit a tree branch, broke the branch (big branch) and fell about twenty feet from the kennels."  SP/4 Charles J. Hahn, Long Binh Detachment, 212th MP Company (Sentry Dog), 95th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, 1966-1967.

Exact Date Unknown - Can Tho HQ Detachment assigned three communications specialist from Long Binh Post to the 560th MP Company Can Tho Detachment in IV Corps Tactical Zone (Mekong Delta) to operate a Radio Teletype Station.

    SGT Ronald Wonders, and SP/4’s Robert D. Bell and Carl G. Brewer, trained as MOS 05C Radio Teletype Operators, manned the radio box located in a bunker beside the motor pool. They lived in the Villa with the MP’s of the 560th. The three built the bunker with 55 gallon drums filled with sand and surrounded it with sand bags.

     During their shifts the RTT’s received messages pertaining to captured enemy prisoners under their call sign of UL8K, and relayed them to Vinh Long, call sign 4SIJ. The unit was still operational in October 1967 when SP/4 Brewer departed .

     "The first beer I had in country was Swan Lager, Auzzie beer, nice rusted cans at Vietnam air temperature. Seems it took a month or so before someone was able to acquire a couple cases. We hid out to drink the beer not wanting too many guys know we had beer. Beer/whiskey was in short supply early in the Battalions tour of 1966 .

    I in fact had a friend send me a pint of whiskey from the States in a plastic container that I kept hid in my foot-locker and would only occasionally nip at it after lights out. Not wanting to share a scarce commodity.

     We then got ration cards and would team up to acquire larger quantities of beer. I forget how much we were allowed on a months ration card. It was good to find a friend that didn’t drink beer to use his card.”   SP4 Gary C. Watts, A Company, 1966-1967.

Tay Ninh Convoy  The first official convoy duties of the battalion were officially assigned to B Company. It involved the escort of ammunition and supply convoys from the 3rd Ordnance Supply Depot on Long Binh Post to the Chu Chi (Binh Duong Province) and Tay Ninh (Tay Ninh Province) base camps of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Tay Ninh Province near the Cambodian border in the III Corps Tactical Zone.

Personal Reflections  “Members of 3rd Platoon, 4th Squad of B Company took their Parrot "LT Polly" on the Tay Ninh Convoy escort. The joke was if a canary in a coal mine gave early warning of danger, then a parrot on a perch in a jeep could warn of an ambush.”   SP/4 Allan M. Portnoy, B Company & 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, October 1966-October 1967.

Personal Reflections  “The Tay Ninh convoy used to leave real early in the morning- like 0330 hours or so. One morning I was leaning on my jeep waiting for all of the trucks to arrive and I was half asleep. I heard someone talking and looked around and a three star general was walking down asking everyone about the food and if they had eaten. Startled, I just said- "yes, it was OK."

     The general then asked the older guy I was working with (he was maybe 23). He pushed his helmet up and with bloodshot eyes said to the general, "who the hell could eat at this time of the day."

     The general laughed and said, "I'm with you buddy."  SP/4 Charles R. Patrick, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, October 1966-October 1967.

Personal Reflections  “SP/4 Robert C. Schlag, Jr. from A Company [Oct 1966-Oct 1967] was in the jeep behind me, his call sign was "Smooth Glacier 9." The escort radio net had been a source of entertaining goofiness all day and SGT Norman J. E. Eck [A Company, Oct 1966-Oct 1967] came on the net and warned all, "the next person playing on the radio will answer to me."

     We cleared a portable bridge next to a blown one (convoy progress check point) and reported "Smooth Glacier 8 clear [passed] Charlie Papa Echo. SP/4 Schlag then reported, "Smooth Glacier 9 clear Charlie Papa Echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo, echo.

     I can still remember seeing SGT Eck standing on the top of the bridge at Newport waiting for us to get there."  SP/4 Charles R. Patrick, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, October 1966-October 1967.

      Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Companies also jointly provided military police support to Allied units as directed by commanding officer, 179th Provost Marshal Detachment, 95th MP Battalion, 89th Military Police Group, 18th Military Police Brigade, United States Army Republic of Vietnam (USARV).

     Although the first official operational assignments to the battalions three organic companies (A, B & C) were unit specific, all three companies shared the duties on a rotating basis.

     During the first months many of the original battalion staff were reassigned and exchanged for men from other MP companies already in Vietnam. This was done due to the one year tour rotation program, it prevented the entire battalion staff from having to leave at the same time when their tours came to an end.

10 November  The Battalion also provided general purpose military police support as an Army-level Battalion to include; discipline, law, and order; physical post security; traffic control; POW (Prisoner of War) transport, confinement; and convoy escort.

     What began as a small-scale, limited-objective combat training exercise for the 196th Light Infantry Brigade on 14 September unexpectedly developed into a widespread, protracted, multi organizational battle before it ended on 24 November 1966.

      The area of operations was on the southern fringes of the Dong Minh Chau, or War Zone C, as it was popularly called, and War Zone D, just to the east and in the southern portion of Phuoc Long Province, III Corps Tactical Zone.

< War Zone C & D

6 November The corps-level II Field Force Vietnam took control of the operation until the final action on 25 November 1966.

   This operation was the field test of a new search and destroy pattern of area warfare; multi-divisional corps level operations.

15 November The Battalion was officially assigned the mission of convoy escorts and security in support of the 90th Replacement Battalion at Long Binh Post. Convoys were escorted between Long Binh Post, Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Camp Alpha outside of Saigon.

     Operation OVERSEER was initiated as a Battalion mission to provide daily route and supply convoy security for the 40 mile run from Long Binh Post in Bien Hoa Province to the city of Xuan Loc and the nearby headquarters of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment “Blackhorse” base camp just south of the city in an area formerly known as Long Gaio in Long Khan Province. In later months and years this operation would be referred to as the Long Gaio, Xuan Loc, and Blackhorse Convoy. The name Blackhorse was in recognition of the black stallion displayed on the 11th Armored Cavalry Division shoulder patch.

     The convoy would depart the Long Binh Post staging area head northeast along Highway QL-1 (about 40 miles) through the city of Xuan Loc. After passing through Xuan Loc, Highway QL-1 turned southwest at a fork in the road where the Highway-1 sign pointed to Da lat. The southwest Highway LTL-2 was a two-lane dirt road (for about 5 miles) through a Michelin rubber plantation to the base camp.

     Air support for the convoy was provided by the 505th Tactical Control Group, 19th TASS Tactical Air Support Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment-Army TACP (Tactical Air Control Party) Air Liaison Officer, U.S. Air Force, that maintained a detachment at the Blackhorse base camp of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The Blackhorse TACP call sign was “Nile Control.”

     The convoy commander, an officer from the transportation group, depending on the size, type of cargo, and intelligence reports on enemy activity in the area, would have the option of requesting FAC (Forward Air Control) support assigned to the mission, aircraft availability and weather conditions permitting. All request for FAC support through the Bien Hoa Air Force Base was coordinated by the designated Air Liaison Officer (ALO), a member of the ground commander’s staff, who was also a senior Forward Air Controller (FAC), and supervisor of the FAC unit in the Tactical Air Control Unit assigned to the geographical area.

     "When we started running the Blackhorse convoys in 1967 it was daylight. We would usually run it with 2 armored jeeps or non-armored jeeps and one V100. About 1 month into it, it was announced that we would take the night away from Charlie and run the convoys at night. At night we would try to have 3 M-60 jeeps and one V100.

      When we reached Xuan Loc at night we would immediately turn around and head for home. To me I think it was a 40 to 50 mile round trip."   SP/4 Lynn Jorgensen, 615th MP Company, 720th & 95th MP Battalions, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, 1967-1968.

      Remember many, many vehicles and on several occasions was the senior MP in charge but at this moment cannot remember the count. Longs lines formed along highway North of Long Binh. Many tankers (I hated to get stationed between the tankers)-tried to separate them if we could but often they would be in line together (though spaced properly). Many times I drove point with v-100 and one or two machine gun mounted jeeps.

      Do not remember the miles During our time, the convoy’s lined up at dusk and was run during the night. Return with empties was in morning light and believe returned to post mid-AM. Sleep and then back on the road again.

      I remember running point for awhile as mentioned above and then getting close to end of tour I asked the first sergeant to move me in the convoy, toward the middle, because I thought it was so risky being in front. First night out my machine gun mounted jeep was positioned among fuel tankers. Great! The night was wet-with heavy rains. I remember when I used to drive in the heavy rain; it would push the eyelids down and at times force you to sleep whilst driving (we all were so tired). In fact, on a side story I remember waking up driving under an extended roof of a building almost 30 yards off the road - everyone was sleeping under their poncho's during the heavy rain. Being so startled I swerved hard and drove back onto the roadway and by God's grace didn't hit anything. No body ever knew about the 'almost' accident except for me.

      Later in same circumstances with two very new guys as driver and shotgun, I manned the machine gun and radio (new guys didn't know procedure or check points) I was under my poncho staying warm and dry and on occasion peaking out to make sure driver had right space and was driving in the middle of the road (to avoid mines). Sure enough, the middle of the convoy received continuous automatic weapons fire right at the tanker behind me. From experienced reflex I had poncho off, machine gun pouring fire back upon those that fired at us and had the position check point called in + a flare up over the attack position. The 11th Cavalry responded in force to the attack plus there was almost immediate air support with Huey's maybe some others. Funny: I heard the new guys talking when we were at rest at Xuan Loc awaiting the emptied vehicles to get organized and return. "Damn these old guys (I was only 20) are so good! Will we ever be like that?” Later while back home, during Tet, I was hoping they were all like that. And from what I heard (some were stationed with me later in Ft. Richie, Maryland) many guys were even better than that-I am grateful.

      Lots of other stories but mostly remember being tired. When we arrived back in company I remember being so tired I could take apart our weapons, clean them and put them together with my eyes closed and half way napping during the process.”   SP/4 Dave Kerkhoff, 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, January-December 1967.

     “Around December 1967 as the new guy on the block, I was looking for a steady job and a steady shift, so I talked with the NCOIC of the night convoys who was getting short and he described the night convoy work as a piece of cake. He also said that there were times when he fell asleep in the jeep on the way up and back. This sounded like my kind of job, so I went out with him one night and it was OK. I told 1SG Shields that I would like to take over the night escort detail. I forgot what my father, a WWII Army vet told me, “Do not volunteer for anything,” well I got the job!

       Needless to say, I was not having a good night. All I could think about is that lying NCO "buddy" of mine who told me this would be a piece of cake. I called in a Dust-Off, evacuated the wounded from the now burning APC, and called ahead to the lieutenant for assistance. While all of this is going on I find out he is sitting in the mess hall at the base camp having coffee. I finally got the rear element of the convoy to Long Gaio, and went to sleep in the back seat of my jeep.

      When we all returned to the company the next morning, I marched into the first sergeants office and asked him not to ever again send me out there with that lieutenant. The funny part of the story is the next night I took my MP’s to the rally point for the next convoy. The lieutenant was not in sight and I have one ambulance (no blood to transport) and one bobtail without a tow chain. I asked the guys where the rest of the folks are and they say that nobody wanted to go with us. Next I get a call over the radio from our Battalion CO who asked me how many vehicles we had. I told him two, and he said to cancel the convoy for the night. We had more MP vehicles than convoy vehicles! We did not have another night convoy to Xuan Loc after that, until some time after Tet 1968.

       The one thing about the incident that I regret even today is not being able to go back and help the Quan Canh’s in their 3/4-ton truck. Although they were not an official part of my convoy, they were fellow MP’s.”   SGT (CW5 Ret.) James F. Ruffer, 615th MP Company, 720th & 95th MP Battalions, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, November 1967-August 1968.

       After we arrived at Blackhorse we went to the 720th Detachment and unloaded a couple of the gun-jeeps and went into Xuan Loc to visit a local establishment and wait for the truckers to unload their cargo. We would return to Blackhorse and load up and go to the marshaling area for the return trip to Long Binh. Some of the fellows didn't go into Xuan Loc and stayed at the detachment.

      We could eat in the detachment mess hall and go to the 11th Cavalry PX. Otherwise we took naps in the detachment Dayroom.

      The trip back was much faster and lasted a couple of hours. We were usually back by 4:30 PM and drove directly to the armory to off load the weapons. We cleaned all our weapons and checked them back in with the armorer. The driver would then take the gun-jeep to the motor pool, washing the jeep and fuel it for the next day. Only then did we go to our hooch’s to get cleaned up for chow.

      Besides working the Blackhorse Convoy, we were also assigned to the Long Binh Post Reactionary Force and had to be available, if called upon.”   SP/4 Thomas A. McKeon A Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, 1968-1969.

19 November  Viet Cong sappers once again attacked the 3rd Ordnance Ammunition Supply Depot on Long Binh Post with satchel charges destroying 1,265 105-mm artillery rounds. Due to the ease of the local Viet Cong to successfully attack the depot at will, the Battalion was tasked with providing outside perimeter security.

Late November, Exact Date Unknown  Seven Infantry companies totaling more than 1,000 troops arrived in Vietnam and were assigned to the 18th MP Brigade to assist and augment the brigades physical security operations, and be authorized to wear the 18th MP Brigade patch.       Organized at Fort Lewis, Washington in June 1966, the units participated together in basic and advanced infantry training before departing for Vietnam.

     An advance party reached Vietnam several weeks early for briefings at Brigade Headquarters to prepare the main body for duties guarding ports, billets, pipelines, pumping stations and other vital locations.

     Arriving on the USNS Buckner, units of the main body disembarked at three locations: Qui Nhon, Cam Ranh Bay and Vung Tau. One company at Qui Nhon was attached to the 93rd MP Battalion, 16th MP Group. Three companies disembarked at Cam Ranh Bay to join the 97th MP Battalion, 16th MP Group, and the three remaining companies landed at Vung Tau, in III Corps Tactical Zone. One was attached to the 716th MP Battalion, USARV in Saigon, one (D Company, 87th Infantry) to the 95th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group at Long Binh, and one in Tan Son Nhut with the 92nd MP Battalion, 89h MP Group.

     Of the seven, elements of D Company, 87th Infantry (Rifle Security) would eventually be attached to Charlie Company of the 720th MP Battalion to perform physical security at the Cogido Docks, and occasional supplemental manpower for Bravo Company village outposts and ambush teams, while one platoon would be dedicated as a mortar platoon to support the battalion’s counterinsurgency-pacifications operations in their Tactical Area of Responsibility during the 3 years of Operation ROUNDUP and STABILIZE. In 1969 during the downsizing of the 18th MP Brigade under the intensified Vietnamization program, the mortar platoon mission and its personnel were assimilated by Bravo Company.

8 December  PFC Charles "Chuck" DeWayne Damsgard  age 20, 1st Platoon, C Company, a draftee from St. Paul, Minnesota, became the battalion’s first casualty in the Vietnam War. He was one of seventeen American servicemen to die that day in Vietnam. His tour began on 1 October, and his name is etched on The Wall at the Vietnam Memorial, Panel 13E - Row 021.

     The C Company ambush teams of the 1st Platoon providing exterior security for the 3rd Ordnance ASD arrived for their nightly mission. They took up their positions in line along the berm of tangled trees, brush and other debris, the remnants of the original perimeter clearing operation outside-the-wire of the depot. The berm paralleled the depot perimeter fence.

     PFC Damsgard was assigned as the driver of the gun-jeep used by their company commander CPT Thomas Schooley, who was overseeing the operations that night. After dark, the VC probed the berm with small arms fire near one of the ambush teams. The team waited to see if it was just a routine probe or a direct attack on their position so they maintained their noise discipline and delayed in giving their sit-rep over the radio.

     When they failed to call in, PFC Damsgard was sent on foot to the position to make an inquiry. In the darkness of the thick brush he inadvertently entered the ambush teams kill-zone. The ambush team spotted the movement and challenged several times, and for reasons unknown PFC Damsgard failed to acknowledge their challenge. The team opened fire mortally wounding him.

16 December The 615th MP Company, minus their 3rd Platoon and Headquarters Detachment was reassigned from the 716th MP Battalion located in Saigon, to the 720th located at Long Binh Post.

   They administratively moved from Saigon to Long Binh Post. The 3rd Platoon and Headquarters remained at Pershing Field Compound, Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base attached to the 92nd Military Police Battalion, and would not join up again with the company until April.

21 December A jeep carrying LTC James Crabb McIntosh and MAJ John H. Joyce of the Headquarters, 18th ARVN Infantry Division, MACV Advisory Team #87 was traveling west on High QL-1 towards Bien Hoa from their detachment in Xuan Loc, Long Kahnh Province, III Corps Tactical Zone, when it ran over a landmine. Enemy forces then opened fire with small arms killing both officers. There is no mention in the available records of the fate of their ARVN driver. LTC McIntosh was the team’s Deputy Senior Advisor, who was carrying highly classified documents.

     Members of Charlie Company quickly responded and secured the scene of the incident before the enemy could search the remains of the officers and the jeep, which on 20 January 1967 earned them a Letter of Commendation from the Team Commander, COL Clyde H. Baden, Jr.

     The Charley Company personnel were identified as, SGT Paul F. Roach, SP/4’s Allen J. Tacey and William A. Saboski, PFC’s Terrance J. McHugh, Kermit J. Allen, Kenneth E. Finch, Charles E. Cross, Charles T. Wallace, Thomas L. Randall, Terry R. Bray, David J. Morgan, and Donald MacConnell.

Reflection  "I remember this day very well due to the fact that I was engrossed in an Outdoor Life magazine while on gate guard duty on Christmas Eve. I was allowed to go on convoy escort from Cu Chi to Tay Ninh on Christmas Day. I can remember on the return trip it was after dark and we were hit with RPG fire. I was in an armored jeep on the M60 and we were called up to return fire. I remember it well because one of our guys set his M-14, “yes M-14,” we still had them in 1966, against a three quarter ton truck to help load the wounded and left it behind in the heat of the fight. The sad part of that was that he got 6 months hard duty for that mistake.

     When we finally got back to Long Binh camp the mess hall was closed but SGT Ochoa was able to get the cook to make us some fried eggs and bacon about midnight, some Christmas dinner. Sorry, didn't mean to sound bitter or ramble on, but that was the way I remember Christmas 196."  PFC Gary W. Short, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, September 1966 to May 1967.

Reflection  "Christmas in Long Binh in 1966 was of course warm with no snow, but I wore a blue, wool shirt my girlfriend sent me for Christmas. We had a small Christmas tree in our tent and we celebrated as best as we could. I was wishing I could be home with my family and friends in El Paso, Texas. I made plans for next Christmas in El Paso.”   SP/4 Salvador Molina, 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, August 1966-August 1967.

     During the last week of December, Battalion was tasked with providing support for traffic control, escorts and security from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon for Francis Cardinal Spellman. The Cardinal was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York, and Roman Catholic military vicar of the U.S. Armed Forces. At the time he was on a tour visiting the troops in South Vietnam from 23-28 December.

     In an address at mass in Saigon, Cardinal Spellman said that the Vietnamese conflict was “a war for civilization--certainly it is not a war of our seeking. It is a war thrust upon us--we cannot yield to tyranny. Anything less than victory is inconceivable.” 

26 December  Cardinal Spellman told U.S. soldiers that they were in Vietnam for the "defense, protection, and salvation not only of our country, but of civilization itself."

     The next day Vatican sources expressed displeasure with Spellman's statements in Vietnam. One source reported, "The Cardinal did not speak for the Pope or the Church." The Pope had previously called for negotiations and an end to the war in South Vietnam.

31 December The Battalion's new outdoor theater was constructed using troop labor. Films were shown nightly (except Tuesdays) for personnel of the unit through a Battalion account with the Armed Forces Motion Picture Service, Saigon. This greatly improved the morale of the troops.

     The first film was "The Chase" starring Marlon Brando. Although the theater was nothing more than a wooden screen painted white and canvas cover to keep the elements off, it was better that nothing.

The Chase

     A cluttered, erratic, uncertain movie (1966)--and, if you can see past the blowsy trappings of southern gothic, a good one.

     Robert Redford is the Christ-like convict who escapes from prison and heads toward his small-town home; his expected arrival (get it?) stirs a flurry of moral and social upheaval. Marlon Brando, as the sheriff, provides a gradually crumbling center of strength and certainty; the balance of the extraordinary cast includes Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, James Fox, Robert Duvall, E.G. Marshall, and Miriam Hopkins. The screenplay is by Lillian Hellman; the direction, nervous and attentive, is Arthur Penn's. 135 min.  Capsule by Dave Kehr From the Chicago Reader

SP/4 James R. Chupurdy, SP/4 Glen J. Liechty, PFC Joseph Seifner, SP/4 James M. Nickley, SP/4 Louis M. Pacitto, SP/4 John M. Rybar, SP/4 Albert J. Tortora, SP/4 Daniel J. Banker, Jr., SP/4 Allan Portnoy, SGT Kenneth McClain, members of the 4th Squad, 3rd Platoon of B Company, celebrated New Years Eve in their tent on Long Binh Post.