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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-04809.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-04809
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Title
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McNamara's Headache' - 14 Viet Provinces
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Description
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Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about the 14 provinces of Vietnam, page unknown
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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'McNamara's
Headache-14
Viet Provinces
An Xuyen (Peaceful Village)
The Viet Cong maintains a complete provincial admin-
Istration here to parallel the government's Communists
have dominated the province for more than 20 years; French
troops never ventured into its maze of canals criss-crossing
mangrove swamps The U Minh Place to Get Lost forest.
Is the home of a 500-man hard-core Viet Cong battaling
Last fall government troopers here found weapons manu-
factured in Communist China for the first time in large
quantities American GIs call An Xuyen "the big period-
the end of the world "
Ba Xuyen (Village of the Waves)
Rice estates here are so ble. the Vietnamese say, that
storks can fly until they are tired but the paddies of Ba
Xuyen still stretch below their wings. A basket Acooped
into the rivers of Ba Xusen comes up full of fish and
ahrimp A few large owners control most of the rice land:
huge French rice estates once extended throughout the
province The beautiful mansions of the French rice farmers.
still dot the district towns but now they are used for gov
ernment ofces or troop biliets. The headquarters of the
government's 21st Division is in Bac Lieu. but a Viet Cong
battalion is stationed across the river from the sirepy dis
trict town The province is also the home of the Bor Trang
Tigers an American helicopter unit at the provincial capital
of Soe Trang, which has the most important air base in the
Mekong Delta The Viet Cong shell it periodically
Chung Thien (Moral Genres )
A desolate wasteland with scant population Chueng
Thien Is all but overrun by the Viet Cong who held the
district town of Kien Long for five days a few weeks ago
Nen Dinh Diem assigned thousands of Roman Catholle
refugees from North Viet Nam after the French Indo-China
War in two large resettlement centers in Chuong Thien
Vinh Binh (Eternal Peace)
A fertile rice-growing province, Vinh Binh has the
htehest proportion of Cambodian-born citizens in South
Viet Nam The Joe Mekong Delta of which Vinh Binh
is a part. was contrniled by the Khmer civilization (new
Cambodia until the 18th century The Cambodian de
scendants are less energetic than the Vietnamese and this
is reflected in the local brand of Buddhism. called the
Buddhism of the Smaller Vehicle which moved directly
from Indis vis Bums Thalland, Cambodia and Laos Th
Greater Vehicle of Buddhism coming via Tibet and Chita
1s considered more mulitant The Buddhist crisis that spid
the downfail of Ngo Dinh Diem last year did not reach
the Buddhists of the drita
Kien Thong (Total Vision)
The province contains the heart of the Plain of Preds
This wasteland is one of the seven critical provinces around
Saigon where US Ambassador Ledge advocates the Viet.
namese government concentrate its resources and man-
power. The province, bordering Cambodia, is an important
infiltration reute for the Viet Cong guerrillas Across the
border from Kien Phong lies the Cambodian village of
Chantres, which Vietnamese troopers with American ad-
vierre attacked in March, dashing hopes for re-establish-
ment of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and South
Viet Nam Cambodian T-28's retaliated by shooting down.
an L-1 reconnaisance plane seriously wounding the Amer-
ican pilot and killing his Vietnamese observer.
Dinh Tuong (Stable Comprehension)
hr.
This is another of the seven critical provinces around
Satron Dinh Tuone controls an important hier
iseen Saigor and the Mekong Delta as well as river and
canal communications from Sateon southsard During the
coup against Neo Dinh Diem rebel troops pulled all ferries
to the Saigon side of the Mekong River to prevent lossl
troops from getting to the capital The province houses the
headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division, once the best
in the country and still politically important because its
proximity to Saigon makes its commander significant in any
ceup against the covernment Dinh Tuong was the scene of
the battle of Ap Bac. in January 1963, when government
troops met the notorious 514th Viet Cong battalion and
were soundly besten It was the first of the 'set piece"
battles where a Viet Cong unit staved in a fixed position to
nght
Kien Hoa (Peaceful View)
Stately coconut trees thrive in the sit-water tides of
the South China Sea throughout the province and contribute
to a healthy economy for farmers Because of its richness,
Klen Hea produces some of the best educated persons in the
delta. many of whom enter government service Made up
of three separate islands formed by different branches of
the Mekong River. The province is also an important ar
for Southern Catholics as distinet from Catholic refugees
neeing North Viet Nam at the end of the French Indo-
China War. The French organized the Southern Catholics
Into an auxillary armed force Kien Hos is also the home
of the Palm Tree Priest a small shriveled man in his 50
who prays for peace stop coconut trees along the Mekene
River His religion attempts to conciliate Buddhism and
Christianity: his peace plan attempts to compromise com
munism and anti-communism
Go Cong (Duke's Mound)
One of the seven critical provinces around Satzen. Go
Cong was a province under the French, district of Dinh
Tuone under Neo Dinh Diem. The first military junta made
it province
after its emp Vietnamese Marine units are
now attempting to pacify the province, which has been
the scene
of stiff battles with Viet Cong units in the past
Long An (Peace of the Dragon)
Directly south of Saigon. controlling highware, canal
and
the river to
the Mekong Delta area, Long An is the
most
crucial of the seven crucial previnces near Saigon.
A "showplace"
province. It was visited by ex-Vice-President
Nixon
and
is
under review by Defense Secretary McNamara
each time he visits
South Viet Nam The Viet Cong Com-
munist
guerrillas made substantial inroads in Long An
following the
anti-Diem coup, taking 75 per cent of the
province's
strategie hamlets. The Americans poured in
$100,000 In the
next six months in the form of fertilizer.
Insectleides,
village education, publie works and health.
But even
with that, plus permanent basing of elite air-
borne
and marine battalions in the province, the Viet Cong
overran an Important training center at the battle of Go
Den and
more recently sneaked into the provincial capital
and captured 75 Viet Cong who had defected to the govern-
ment
Hau Nghia (Bountiful Loyalty)
The last province created by Ngo Dinh Diem before
his downfall, Hat Nghia was carved out of the corners
of Tay Ninh, Long An and Rinh Duong. The government
attempted to meet Increased Viet Cong activity by creating
penence with more toncentrated provingiel ad-
SOUTH VIET NAM
has 43 provinces,
and U. S. Defense
Secretary McNamara
has called 14 of
them critical in the
struggle against the
Communist Viet Cong.
His list has changed
Jrom time to time,
but collectively the
critical provinces have
continned to be known
(1.3 McNamara's
Headache." The pror
inces that are cross
hatched on the
map are
virtually governed
by the Communists.
Where the cross-hatch-
horizontal, the
ing is
government is making
a special effort to
clear the guerrillas out
and to keep them
from filtering back in.
If this pacification
program is successful
in these provinces the
program will shift
next to those
provinces that are verti
cally cross-hatched
-including the rital
Mekong Delta area.
southeast of Saigon.
The accompanying ar
ticle-sent from Saigon
by Special Corre
spondent Bererly
Deepe gires a run-
doen on the situation
today in each of
the crucial fourteen.
CH
INA
. N.Viet
Nam
Hue
17th Parallel
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
VIET
NAM
South
ran government campely 25 miles from cech The
battle of Hip Hoa case tady i Cemminist
tactics
Faces home base
Ft
Bragk N
Ingled
home ef
Dinh Duong learn in
roselend kn
Optien Su
to be built in Viet Nam
plex was built on the ev
despite large troop.co
201
at
Comm
B D
sek hamlets
Core
and
the Viet Cong continued
to harass the hamlets
vernment kaup in de pai
and henceforth beca
tegic hamlets in areas further.
from Viet Core control Themains one of the seson
critical provinces around Saison and an important tat-
Acking area for Viet Cones moving from Cambodia
southward to the Mekong Delta
Tay Ninh (Western Security)
Another of the
critical provinces, the ethern
half of Tay Ninh is a heavily forested area known as C
Zone here the Viet Cong Communist eueiras move
about at a 1:1 considered by some to house the high
command of the Viet Cong There are occasional reports
that a Viet Cong general drives from the Cambodian cari-
tal, Phnom Peron Hichway
Zoe in his at-
conditioned Americas car to ise orders to Viet THE
But TR Nh is most famas achold of
the Cao Dat a mutant ellesous-p a seet hose army
was crushed by Na Di Dum in the mid-30 The re-
ligion < A
combination
Riddhism. Taoism,
Confucianism and Christianity 8 the overthrow of
Diem beth mta: inta ha made a pitch for the
units
SOUTH
CHINA
SEA
lovaly of the Can Da: but neither has camed complete
support
Binh Dinh (Pacification)
The most populous of the coastal provinces bordering
the South China Ses Rich Dish the brthplace of mans
Amos Vienamese generals
The fox and founded the Tas so
chills and another Le Van Kin
one who became
pasty In the 18 h
was one of the
ters to everthrew Neo Dinh 1d the political brain
et the first military junta on tbd by the second
I: ore of Defense Secretary McNamaras 14 critical
Princes
Quang Ngai (Big Loyalty)
One of the 14 critical provinces in the country accord.
ine to the list of Defense Secretary McNamara, the pro-
ince has for decades been Viet Candeminated The local
population know it as the most "resolutionart and fanatical
25th
in the nation. It is the birthplace of the present premier of
the Communist North Vietnamese overnment Pham Van
Dong Government forces moved at tire division-the
into the province to pacify 1P months ag The
headquarters of the 25th still it Quane Nea: but the
situation has continued to deteriorate as Vrt Cong strength
has therrased The protecte Aepra Lans
and is subiect to varyine dece
the Viet Ce site the
Sth Inter Zone
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Date
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1964, May 24
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Subject
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Vietnam--Geography; Cultural geography; Vietnamese--Social life and customs
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Location
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South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Container
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B4, F6
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Format
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newspaper clippings
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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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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
