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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-06080 to 363-06084.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-06080 to 363-06084
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Title
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Government memo encouraging reporters to cover II Corps Zone
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Description
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United States government memo encouraging reporters to cover II Corps Zone and informing them of military assistance available in the area, including a list of suggested story leads, information about II Corps Zone, and a map of II Corps Zone
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Transcript
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HEADQUARTERS
UNITED STATES MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM
APO 143, San Francisco, California
Public Information Office
Prens
MAGTN-IIC-IO
SUBJECT:
Assistance to Correspondents Visiting II Corps
27 June 1963
TO:
All Resident and Non-resident correspondents in Vietnam
1.
The American advisors and their Vietnamese counterparts
in the II Corps Tactical Zone are always happy to welcome members
of the press into the II Corps area.
2. At present, Vietnamese units, ground, air, and sea, are
engaged in numerous operations all over the six provinces of II
Corps. These operations take in a multitude of various activities.
some of which will very likely meet your particular story needs.
American advisors are present in most areas you will visit. These
personnel have been instructed to furnish all assistance possible
in helping you get your stories.
3. The II Corps Public Information Office is located at II
Corps Headquarters in Pleiku and may be reached on Llama 18. If
you plan to come into the area and have a particular story in mind,
I suggest that you call ahead and make your needs known so we may
avoid
any delay or unnecessary confusion. If you have a specific
story in mind, we will be happy to make advance arrangements for
your visit; however, if you have nothing special in mind, let us
know your areas of general interest and we'll be happy to plan an
itinerary for you.
4. I have attached a list of possible story leads which might
interest some of you. Needless to say, there are many other
potential stories
in II Corps. I hope we'll have a chance to see
some of you "up-country" in the not too far distant future.
sure you'll find your trip worthwhile.
I'm
ROBERT J. O'BRIEN
Captain
USAF
Information Officer
2 Atch
a. Suggested
Stories in
II Corps
b. II Corps
Background
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SUGGESTED STORY LEADS FOR REPORTERS VISITING II CORPS
1. Visit any one of a number of strategic hamlets located
throughout the Corps area. These hamlets are both finished and
in all phases of construction. In the inland provinces most of
the hamlets are Montagnard.
2. Spend a day with any one of the many medical teams which
daily operate throughout the Corps area. Some of these teams move
into
deep mountainous areas by helicopters while others operate
along the roads.
3. Visit either the Civil Guard Training Center at Kontum
or one of the SDC training centers in the Corps. Many of the
troops at these centers are Montagnards. At the Kontum center,
troops receive training in attacking simulated VC villages and
bunkers
.
4. Spend one or two days with the 9th, 22nd, or 25th Divisions.
If your time is limited, Corps PIO can arrange for air travel
throughout the Division area so you can see as much as possible
in a short
time.
5. Visit one of the helicopter units in II Corps. Arrangements
can be made through II Corps PIO for you to go along on resupply
missions and troop drops if such missions coincide with your visit.
6. Visit some of the armor units stationed with each Division.
7. Spend some time with ARVN units on Civic Action missions.
These troops help villagers build homes and schools and furnish
medical
service for them.
8. Visit one or more of the Vietnamese Air Force units in
II Corps. These aircraft fly combat missions daily.
9. Visit the center near Quang Ngai where VC captives and
defectors are rehabilitated.
10. Spend a day with a sector advisor in any one of the Corps'
six provinces. These men are the advisors most directly involved
in hamlet
and civic action work at the grass roots.
11. Go on a one or two day operation with Corps forces.
Such operations are constantly going on throughout the Corps.
Arrangements
for this should be made with the Corps PIO well
in advance.
12. Visit Special Forces units. You must receive permission
from both U.S. and GVN Special Forcos through the MAC-V PIO.
After receiving this permission, we suggest you come first to the
detachment at
Pleiku before going to a field detachment.
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II CORPS ZONE
The Second Corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam has
jurisdiction over the six central Vietnamese provinces of Quang Ngai,
Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Phu Bon, Pleiku, and Kontum. With the exception
of the narrow coastal areas of the first three of these provinces,
the major portion of the Corps area varies from high plateau to
mountainous with limited means of ground travel available.
Second Corps, with Headquarters at Pleiku, at present has three
subordinate infantry divisions under its direct command. These are
the 9th Division at Qui Nhon, the 22nd Division at Kontum and the
25th Division at Quang Ngai.
The population of II Corps consists of 2,159,328 persons with
372,249 or 17% of these Montagnards. The bulk of the Montagnard
population lives in the mountainous provinces of Kontum, Pleiku
and Phu Bon.
While most farming in the area is confined to the coastal
lowlands, the highlands of the II Corps area are considered one of
the major highland food growing areas in Vietnam.
Although surface transportation in the area is limited, several
major roads connect the zone's chief cities. Route one runs the
entire length of the Corps area in a north-south direction along
the coast while Route 14 also runs north-south throughout the entire
inland length of the Corps connecting Kontum and Pleiku. Running
east-west from the Cambodian border, Route 19 passes through Pleiku
and terminates at Qui Nhon while Route 5 connects Kontum and Quang
Ngai.
Inland from the rather flat coastal belt, the II Corps zone is
quite hilly with large expanses of area covered by dense rain forest.
These areas are the home ground of the Montagnards, and throughout
much of the inland provinces the only sign of human habitation is
the small burned out clearing of the Montagnards.
Major population centers in II Corps are the province capitals
of Kontum, Quang Ngai, Pleiku and Qui Nhơn. The majority of the
people in the Corps live in or near these cities.
As a result of the government sponsored Strategic Hamlet
Program almost 70% of the Corps' population are now living in
Hamlets under government protection.
Government forces are at present constantly engaged in a
series of clear and hold operations designed to drive the Viet
Cong forces further back into the mountains and to deny them their
supply of food, recruits and porters.
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The varied terrain found in II Corps makes it necessary for
ARVN forces to be prepared to fight four distinct types of war:
the rice paddy lowland type war found in the low lying coastal
areas; the jungle war found in the dense interior rainforests of
Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai in particular and in all of the Corps
provinces in some degree; the mountain war in the interior
highland of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh; and the land plateau war in
the area surrounding the city of Pleiku.
American advisors are present with most ARVN units down to
and including battalion. The largest American concentrations are
at the three division headquarters in Kontum, Qui Nhon and Quang
Ngai and the Corps headquarters at Pleiku. American advisors
are also present with the various Vietnamese Air Force and Viet-
namese Navy units stationed in II Corps. In addition to the
advisors, several American helicopter and air transport units
are located throughout the Corps along with Special Forces
detachments.
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II CORPS
QUANG NGAI
KONTUM
Kentin
Pleiku
BINH DINH
PLEIKU
HAV Ban
Tuy Hoa
PHỤ BỌN
PHU YEN
Quang Ngai
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Date
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1963, Jun. 27
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Office of Information; Government and the press; Journalists
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B190, F8
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Format
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memorandums
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Office of Information
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Collector
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
