Article about an anti-communist operation

Item

derivative filename/jpeg

363-07836 to 363-07837.pdf

Digital Object Identifier

363-07836 to 363-07837

Title

Article about an anti-communist operation

Description

Article about an anti-communist operation, for the Associated Press

AI Usage Disclosure

Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.

Transcript

[deletion: BINH HANG TRUNG] CAO LANH -- South Viet Nam -- The massive three-day operation in the [deletion: treacherous] Plain of Reeds [deletion: has netted in] concluded today with the killing of 84 Communist Viet Cong and capturing [deletion: seven] 25, according to Vietnamese military sources. Seven V.C. suspects were also captured, along with small quantities of ammunition and a hand-made rifle manufactured from plumber’s pipe, according to [insertion: Col.] Huynh Van Cao, commander of the 7th Inf. Division, Army of Viet Nam. No enemy bases or installations were seized in the heavily VC infested area. The large-scale operation, which concluded Wednesday at 5 p.m., was one of the most extensive in the five-province tactical region since last July and the largest ever conducted against the Viet Cong in [deletion: crucial] Kien Phong Province, brushing the Cambodian border. Col. Cao said [deletion: about] more than 3000 Vietnamese land, air and naval forces were [insertion: directly] involved in the operation. However, other key military leaders placed the total troop involvement at [XXXX indicating deletion] 8,000, including indirect support from Civil Guard and Self-Defense Corps -- the local militia of the provinces and villages. Col. Cao said 80 of the 84 VC deaths resulted from an airstrike of two AD-6’s fighter planes on Monday -- the first day of the campaign. His information was based, he said, on air reconnaissance mission, though no actual headcount was made. Intelligence information gathered from prisoners indicated an estimated 40 VC had been killed by the combined fighter plane and heavy artillery barrage. [XXXX indicating deletion] Army of Vietnam forces suffered five injuries. Two men were wounded when they were attacked by water buffaloes and three when they stepped on an explosive booby trap. [insertion: Three were evacuated by H-34 helicopter to Saigon.] Page 2 Deepe Seven of the nine battalions of the 7th Div -- reinforced with heavy artillery, naval and air support and local militia -- tightened their encirclement operation to an area six miles in diameter. They began Monday by moving into Kien Phong province across a 400 sq. mile (questioned by Saigon AP -- Tony Escoda) of the Plain of Reeds south of the “eagle’s beak” of the Cambodian border. However, only slight contact was made with the VC. ARVN forces were directly supported by three provisional battalions of Civil Guard and Self-Defense Corps & indirectly assisted by local militia already manning outposts in the area and providing security in provinces left unguarded by regular Army troops. Fifteen light naval crafts provided blocking and troop transport on the Thap Moui Canal on the northern boundary of the operation. One airborne battalion alerted in Saigon was not used in the operation. Despite the relatively small number of enemy losses, Col. Cao said he considered the operation a success. “We are able to know whether the VC are in this area or not,” he said. “We get contact with the people on a big operation like this. [XXXX indicating deletion] Guerrilla activities and the political structure of the VC are broken down.” This is the ninth operation since mid-February in which the main fighting force of the 7th Inf. Division was involved. Civil and social action teams will move into the area swept free of VC in an effort to stabilize the area and keep out the enemy, Col. Cao said. Asked how long the VC would stay out of the area once regular Army troops were removed, Col. Cao said, “It depends on the local forces patrolling the area and setting up nightly ambushes. Guerrilla activity is difficult to rebuild.” 30. Transmitted by Telephone at 5:45; April 4, 1962 to Tony Escoda. Line was clear.

Date

1962

Subject

Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Tactics; United States. Armed Forces; Battles

Location

South Vietnam

Coordinates

10.8231; 106.6311

Size

20 x 26 cm

Container

B1, F5

Format

dispatches

Collection Number

MS 363

Collection Title

Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers

Creator

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Collector

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Copyright Information

These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.

Publisher

Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

Language

English