~ 720th Military Police Battalion Vietnam History Project ~
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December 1966 Timeline
  Regardless of MOS if you recognize or participated in any of the events listed on this Timeline page and would like to contribute any information, personal stories, documents, old orders, media articles, photographs, or, if you can provide information on any events not listed, please take a moment to contact the History Project Manager (Tom Watson) at the Email Link provided below. Your contributions are important to the recording of your personal service, the Battalion history and are always welcomed here.
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This Page Last Updated  10 November 2017
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18th MP
Brigade
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89th MP
Group
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720th MP
Battalion
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      All major theater activities, stateside incidents, or Cold War and Vietnam War events that affected the 720th MP Battalion’s force allocations, training, operations, deployments, morale or history are shown in Italic blue American Typewriter font.
     To see all the details of the events, maps and photographs of this Timeline and to have a permanent memento of your service to pass along to your grandchildren, we recommend you read Vietnam Journal, Volume-I, "We Did It All And Then Some". For information on how and where to purchase a hard cover or paperback copy, click on the book Icon.    >
Operation CANARY

4 December The battalion was given the mission of supporting Operation CANARY, the movement of personnel and equipment of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade upon their arrival in country. The operation was conducted during the period of 4 December 1966 through 8 January 1967.

     Convoys of personnel were escorted from Vung Tau to Long Binh Post on 8 and 9 December 1966. Vehicles and equipment were escorted from the Saigon Port to Long Binh in twenty vehicle convoys from 4 December 1966 to 8 January 1967.

    Elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the 5th & 6th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment, conducted highway security clearing operations along Highway 15 from Vung Tau to Bearcat and Long Binh Post.

     The clearing was in support of elements of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade and 9th Infantry Divisions move (Operation DUCK & IOLA on 8 December) from debarkation at the Port of Vung Tau to their new base camps at Long Binh Post and Bearcat, respectively.

     The Battalion assisted with the handling of Viet Cong suspects, refugees, and escorts for supply and transportation operations of equipment and personnel. They handled the escort of over 3,000 vehicles and 12,000 personnel that traveled the approximately 80 miles of roadway without any major incidents or casualties.

199th Light
Infantry
Brigade
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Royal
Australian
Regiment
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The Battalion's First Casualty In Vietnam

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.

PFC Damsgard
Operations DUCK ~ IOLA ~ CANARY

     The Battalion supported elements of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 5th & 6th Battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment, as they conducted highway security clearing operation on Highway-15 from Vung Tau to Bearcat and Long Binh Post.

     The clearing, initially started for the movement of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade during Operation CANARY (4 December) was now in support of elements of the 9th Infantry Divisions move from debarkation at the Port of Vung Tau up Highway-15 to their new base camp headquarters (3rd Brigade) at Bearcat.

     In addition, convoys consisting of personnel, vehicles and equipment were also escorted from the Saigon ports to a new base camp at Dong Tam in the Mekong Delta, Corps Tactical Zone IV. Operation DUCK was renamed Operation IOLA on 20 January 1967.

   The exact date the Battalion ended its support is at this time unknown. One other supporting element, the 15th Combat Engineer Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, continued its support until 31 May 1967.

    In the continuing support of Operation CANARY (started 4 December), escort elements of the 720th safely escorted one of two convoys containing personnel of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade from the Port of Vung Tau to the new base camp at Long Binh Post without incident.

   These missions consisted of the convoy escort of over 3,000 vehicles and 12,000 personnel through over eighty miles of enemy infiltrated roadways without major incidents or casualties.

9 December In the continuing support of Operation CANARY (started 4 December), escort elements of the battalion safely escorted the second of two convoys containing personnel of the newly arrived 199th Light Infantry Brigade from the Port of Vung Tau to the new base camp at Long Binh without incident.
9th
Infantry
Division
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Royal
Australian
Regiment
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Personal Reflections
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10 December Viet Cong detonated explosives at USARV 3rd Ordnance Battalion ammunition depot in Long Binh Post (Bien Hoa Province) resulting in one US soldier Killed In Action, 1.5 tons small arms ammunition and eighty 175-mm propellant charges were destroyed.

The 615th MP Company is reassigned from the 716th to the 720th

Note: The 615th was formed at Fort Hood, Texas on 8 April 1965 primarily from Charlie Company, with volunteers from HQ Detachment, Alpha & Bravo Companies of the 720th to fill out the TO&E.

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 subordinate to the 92nd Military Police Battalion, and would not join up again with the company until April.

716th MP
Battalion
92nd MP
Battalion
Ambush on Highway QL-1

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 was struck by a command detonated mine killing their ARVN driver.

     Enemy forces then opened fire with small arms killing both officers. LTC McIntosh was the team’s Deputy Senior Advisor, who was carrying highly classified documents.

     Members of a Charlie Company reaction force quickly responded and secured the scene of the incident before the enemy could search the remains of the officers and the jeep. They provided site security and traffic control while the bodies were recovered and removed by a Medivac helicopter.

LTC McIntosh
MAJ Joyce

 

     On 20 January 1967 their quick response and actions earned them a Letter of Commendation from the MACV 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.

SGT Roach
SP/4 Tacey
SP/4 Saboski
PFC McHugh
PFC Allen
PFC Finch
PFC Cross
PFC Wallace
PFC Randall
PFCBray
PFC Morgan
PFC MacConnell
Editors Note: If you can provide a photograph of any of the MP's above, or were one of the escort members identified in the Letter of Commendation and would like a copy, use the Email Link at the top of this page to contact the History Project Manager.

 

24- 25 December The 1st and 2nd Platoons of the 615th MP Company, minus their 3rd Platoon still conducting Port Security for the Saigon Provost Marshal, replaced A Company in the Discipline, Law and Order mission in the City of Bien Hoa, and highway security patrol of Highway 1A.
Personal Reflections of Duty on Christmas Eve & Day
1LT McNamara

Reflection  "I remember Christmas Eve in Long Binh in 1966. We, the 615th MP Company, had just moved from Saigon and were attached to the 720th MP Battalion....our CO, CPT Wolmering, called us (his 3 platoon leaders) into his CP tent....he had a bottle of whisky on his desk....he took out four shot glasses and filled them up....he then said it was a tradition for the men in his family to join together on Christmas Eve and toast the season with a shot of whisky....he asked if we would join him and continue that tradition as we were now his extended military family, but away from home in Vietnam.

     We all took our shot glasses, raised them in our hands, toasted the season, and gulped them down....I can still feel my throat burn as beer was the most potent drink I had been exposed to up until that time....then, it was back to business for this homesick, 22 year old, second lieutenant."  1LT John M. McNamara, 615th MP Company, 716th MP Battalion, 212th MP Company, 95th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, June 1966 to May 1967.

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.

PFC Short

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 "Sal" Molina, 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, August 1966-August 1967.

SP/4 Molina
Archbishop Spellman

     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.

 
A Company
A Company
C Company

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.

Reflection  "The New Years' Eve celebrations started early.  Free beer at the Enlisted Men's Club and a cooler of Vodka & Seven Up at the grand opening of the new outdoor movie theater.

   SP/4 Joseph Seifner or SP/4 Glenn J. Liechty had the graveyard shift in the tree house. Joe was too wobbly to climb the ladder. Our monkey "No Slack" had too much to drink and he failed to climb the ladder! To keep them both out of trouble, I crawled up the ladder.

   It was cold for most of the 8 hours and the tree house swayed in the wind. The sandbagging blocked most of the wind. I had a land line phone or walkie-talkie radio to communicate. I had a transistor radio with ear jack that picked up music late at night from far away, maybe even the U.S.A. You could see for miles.

   When the New Year arrived I could see every weapon for miles firing at the moon. What happened when nature called? Most of the time the Officer of the Day had someone takeover for you.

   On New Years morning the other guys thought that it was strange that the only place that it had rained on was right under the tree house. Was it me or "No Slack" the monkey?"  SP/4 Allan M. Portnoy, B Company & 615th MP Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, October 1966 to October 1967.