Article about Phú Yên province

Item

derivative filename/jpeg

363-07914 to 363-07919.pdf

Digital Object Identifier

363-07914 to 363-07919

Title

Article about Phú Yên province

Description

Keever's title: "The Three Little Pigs Saga", Article draft about the pacification of Phú Yên province, for Newsweek Magazine

Transcript

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Beverly Deepe
102 Gong g
Saigon
Dec.19-
Not until this year did the coastal province of Phi Yon, situated
niday between Saigon and the 17th parallel, begin living up to its name
of "Pence and Prosperity." Like many other sections of Viet Dian, the
province had noon the deander of war. During World Thr II, the pro-Communist,
enti-colonist Viet Minh, who controlled all but the provincial crpitol
of Tuy Hon, fought the Japanese. A long railroad and vehicular bridge
was blown up by allied bombers and its coment skeletone still rice from the
marky river. later, when the French moved back into the country, the Viet
Minh continuod to hold the countryside and stepped up their herreement of the
colonial administration in the provincial capital.
The French
held Tuy Hlon city only by making an amphibious lending from the South China
Son, but the city was later leveled. Then the mer ended, the Viet Minh
noved to lorth Viet Nam, but their sisters, the Viet Cong retained control
of the rural sections of the province and Diam's government chalily
occupied only the capital
city. Hence, rural sections of Phu Yen
provinco had been undor Communist control for twenty yours.
TopogRAPHICAL And Ethni
Phu Yen province is, furthermore,crocosm of South Viet Nam.
Ascinny rioo-rich band of load honvily populated by Vietnamese smiggles
along the South China Sea and National Highway No. 12 and thon furmels
into the mountains, which form the Anneni to chain throughout the northern
one-third of the republic. Here live the 20-odd tribes of the primitive
Monter
year ago, the rural countryside and provinciel ospital were about
BE used
to be emptured by the Viet Cong their headsters, moricon military
strategists believe. in Civilian traffic who at a standstill. Fow
persone walked the mainstreets of Tuy Hon during the daytime and mono during
the night. Business activity dropped. Primary school education decres ed by
more than ten percent.
(More)
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Deepe--2
Then on May 8 of this year, the government initiated Operation
Sea Swallow (Hai Yen), en integrated civilian-military "clear and hold
operation the reverse concept of a "big sweep" by government forces and
then withdrawal.
The first phase of Operation Sea Swallow was to secure the provincial
The second
capital and the narrow coastal rice valley along the seacoast.
was to move into the heavily populated
phase, which ends this month,
fertile valleys surrounded by the mountains containing stiffer Viet Cong
which begins January 1,
is to relocate
haphazardly in the hills into sizeable,
influence. The third phase,
the Montagnards scattered
new villages, called "combat hamlets".
At
The first and second phases are both ambitious and impressive.
year's end, 222 strategic hamlets (Ap Chien Luoc) will be completed.
This process includes the erection of a defensive bamboo or Sepfed barbed
wire fence, the training of village defenders and other pa ramilitary
groups, the training of civilian hamlet cadre such as first aid
men and personnel associated with civic action, information, security and
social welfare; the securing of the hamlet internally by the issuing
of identiy cards, family photos and inter-family photos for checking
the whereabouts of all villagers at all times, and finally the election of
the hamlet council.
More than 4000 of these strategic hamlets dotting the entire Vietnamese
countryside began in late summer to giver the government the means to
begin winning a losing war.
"
"
Yet, in Phu Yen, the government,
United States funds, did even more.
with substantial subsidies of
The province became the experimental
Rat
lab for those "impact" programs for fast rural development, which, if successful,
would be tried in the 40 other provinces throughout the republic.
poison was distributed as a means to increase crop production and to
preserve stored grains. As of December, 300,000 rat tails have been
Medical kits,
my chopped off by farmers who used the poison.
parim two-way radios to improve defonso, tools, seeds, fortilizer,
fishing equipment and funds for paying a bounty for captured Viet Cong weapons
were supplied by the U. S. Agency for International Development.
(More)
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Doop0-3
Ten thousand match books with covers euloging men's government
vero printed at the cost of US$80, and their value mi is being tested.
(The only match factory in Viet Nam capable of doing the work refused the job
for fear the Viet Cong would sabetogo the plant.)
The assumption of the aber
projects is that the Viet Cong
must not only bo oliminated militarily, but also their principal cconomic
exguments must be countered by improving the standard of living for the
local population. Hence, textbooks maybe more an influential in defeating
the Viet Cong as a bullets
pilot; a water well maybe
a pig may be more important than an airplane
more significant than a howitzer.
"If you have the people with you, you can defeat the Communist guerrilla,"
one official involved in USAID Counterinsurgency program otated. "If not,
it doen't matter how much military action you have, you can never win
a guerrilla
Perhaps the most deslling of the experimental impact programs attempted
in Phu Yen was the Pig Project. This week (DEG. 23), the last of 600
white Yorkshiro hybird hoge which grow twice so big twice
as fast" as the hundred-your-old Vietnamese inbredo will be
distributed to 200 families in the provinco. Two feeder pigs and one
breeder were distributed on credit to each family. Within 8 months, the
farmer is able to sell the two fecior pis, earning enough money to repay
his initial cobt, cost of feed and building of pigsty and compost pit whore
manure is stored until it can be used en fortiliser. The heter stop is designed
to inozence crop production. Then the breader bears pige, the farmor is ready
to start seming profite.
endstorm.
They were
20
the
Their
The jige bit Phu Yen province like a Sahare
discussed in hamlet council meetings and in street corner gatherings.
te Pesude Land to Build
men tore down half of his house
it a pigsty
In most cas 0,
pigeties were more elaborate than the ormore houses.
cement floors, intricately designed concrete walls on tile roofs were
in distinct contrast to the armere houses hardpooked dirt floors,
thatch roofs and bamboo
of
siding. The pigo had clearly become the
"status symbol" of Phu Ien. some farmers washed their pige daily, a font
which many Vietnamese children can not boast of. The weight gain and their
(More)
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Deep e--4
Never has the
their feeding schedules were the talk of the hamlets as other farmers eagerly
watched to determine whether they should seek pige next year.
health of a pig so greatly affected United States prestige abroad.
total
results through the province were encouraging. The civilian population
again began to stalk into the towns for marketing and socializing.
The number of civilian vehicles on province
remain open until 10 p.m.
roads increased from zero to 50.
Stores
"The government expanded its real estate holdings in the province
by 20 percent since Hay and now it holds 65 percent of the population
one American advisor working closely with the
instead of 20 percent,"
Phu Yen project said.
"In the past three months, our intelligence information from the people
has almost quadrupled--and it comes from people who wouldn't tell us
"It's now almost infallible where before
anything before," he continued.
the information was a hit-and-miss sort of thing. It now takes twice as
meny Vietnamese military people to evaluate the information.
"One good example of the people's support was some villagers who
stopped a convoy and told us the Viet Cong had set up an ambush along
the Viet Cong can't
the roadside. If we can continue to win the people,
A FiveFold in REASE in
operate.
"Another good indicator is in the past four months we had five times
the number of Viet Cong defectors," he said.
four or five a month."
"Before were were getting only
Yet there are enormous problems that must be
program is not
to become disasterously bogged down.
APATY
overcome if the
"The biggest problem is the pay of the Vietnamese working from the
one American advisor explained.
"To me,
province chief down to the hamlets,"
this is a war. But the Vietnamese work from 8:30 to 5 with a two and half
hourt seista."
There is also the limited administrative and technical ability of the
hamlet personnel, many of them working with less than a high school education.
And there are the traditional Vietnamese habits of favoritism and "
Backbitting
For example, those receiving
hordeism," as one American official explained.
USAID pigs were the hamlet elite, primarily Catholic like the Dion regime, they
were largely selected by the Vietnamese
agricultural union which had a predominan
Catholic membership. Yet, it is primarily, the non-
Catholics who must be
(Moreon-
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eopo
awayod Ibon Communion.
Supplies
The replacement or the USAID medionl kits have dificulty in
sching the strategie hamlets because provincial medical authorities
ere reluctant to release them. (One U. . Army Special Forces medic had to
threaten to sco /mbassador Frederick E. Nolting before provinciel hospital
PERSON
would give him his allocated medicines.) Papor supplies for district
newenspers are stockpiled in Saigon warehouses and oiroulation into the
rural areas has been curtailed to 150 iomes por district. Circulation
had formerly been 500 to 5000 por district, depending on population
Gomcontentions. Another publieption, Kien tuoc (Good fo), is vaiston
by USIS, approved by the Vietnamese Peychological Warfare Directorate, printed
by USI and then distributed by the Peywer personnel. Yet five of the nine
1esuco were ato kpiled in the Pey werehouse. UI threatened to out off
funds until they were released for distribution in the strategic hemlote. The
menger,
the tob-roofed information huts in each strategie hamlet are
humorously called
"visitore bureaus" at the local level boonuse
lower elees ettisons are discouraged from using then. One hamlet medical
cedre (when I ta kod with) complained he had not been paid for
though funds bad boon supplied to the province by USAID.
months,
One story told by American authorities in Pim Yen perhaps best illustrated
the problem. Omo day. when the hamlet chiefs gathered for a council
meetings one of the OUTLying hemlets near Viet Cong territory me attacked.
An /merican advisor tried to call the hemlot without success.
To the lines out?," he asked.
what's wrong
"No," ho was told "The hamlet chiefs carried their telephones with them
to the meeting."
The village of Dong Hy (Beautiful Best) (pp. 1924),
"showpiece" strategie hamlet complete with elaborate bamboo fence, pige,
and a USAID supplied radio loudspeaker, was visited by a delegation of
Vietnamese VIP's. The governor-delegate suddenly odced for a practice
olert. A huge drum sounded the warning; instructions
the loudspeaker could be heard only a block away;
hollow bamboo sticks as part of the alert system.
(More)
4scued from
children playfully pounded
Yet adults, instead of
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Deepe-6
assemblying in the pre-designated areas of the church and school, went
on about their work. The Vietnamese VIP raged and demanded to know why the people
had not moved to the central defensive posts.
"Woll, we thought it was a practice alert anyway," ho was told.
The incident seemed to verify the conclusion of one American
major working closely with strategic hamlets throughout Viet Nam, when he said,
"Without honest local leadership at the rice-roots level, you're really
hurting." (Saigon newspapers for the past month have been urang an ond
91
abuses of authority in the provinces and the constant chocking of the
activities of lower level officials.)
When the Phu Yen experiment is projected throughout the country at
a cost that could well reach nearly US$40 million dollars whon approved
next year, those situations, unless corrected, could prolong the
var unnecessarily or, worse yet, could be a key factor in preventing a
clear-cut victory.
-30-

Date

1962, Dec. 19

Subject

Vietnam War, 1961-1975; United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support; Civilians in war; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Campaigns; Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam

Location

Saigon, South Vietnam

Coordinates

10.8231; 106.6311

Size

20 x 26 cm

Container

B2, F4

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