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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-08247 to 363-08253.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-08247 to 363-08253
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Title
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Part six of an eight article series on Danang
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Description
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Original title: "fort- article 6 of 8 - article series", Keever's title: "Le My & Fox Fort", Part six of an eight article series on Danang, for an Unknown Publication
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AI Usage Disclosure
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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.
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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Déepe
fort--article 6 of 8 article series
page 1
aurgust 18, 1965
LE MY & FOX FORT
LE MY, FOX FORT, SOUTH VIETNAM--This majestic fortress of
miles northwest of the strategic Danang
stone, situated
airbase it seeks to protect, graphically depicts the
similarities and differences between the American military
position and the disasterous French military position a decade ago.
The fortress, complete with a labyrinth of underground
tunnels, was built and used by the Japanese forces during
World War II; then occupied by the French forces during the
French Indo-China War from 1916 to 1947.
Today,
the American Marines call it Fox Fort. It is
the operational base area of Foxtrot Company of the 2nd Battalion,
3rd Regiment of the III Marine Amphibious Force.
Ironically,
earlier this month, the fort flew the Confederate flag, a
symbol of America's own Civil War.
(More)
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deepe
fort--page 2
Inside the fort, as American privates and sergeants
hastily erected screened in mess halls in preparation for the
upcoming monsoon season, the American captain and company
commander explained, "The Viet Minh (Communists) during the
French Indo-China War blew this fort to smithereens by barraging
it with 300 mortar shells in one minute, according to what
the villagers tell us."
Asked whether the Viet Cong Communists could do the
"Yes, but they would have a
same, he pondered and answered,
much more difficult time of it."
Here, at Fox Fort, the American Marines, in general,
are using the same tactical military principle as the French.
They use the fort as an operation base--or as the Marine captain
explained,
"a rest camp" from which to unleash a myriad of
small-unit patrols into the tangled jungle, hillsides. These
patrols are sent out daily, and more significantly, nightly
in an attempt toward off Viet Cong units who might attack the
Marine positions here, who might attempt to attack the important
Danang airbases.
(More)
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deepe
fort--page 3
Under the French,
their small-unit patrols were
repeatedly ambushed and wiped out--and perhaps most significantly,
the patrols did not secure or pacify the surrounding villages,
which the Communists used for food supplies, for gathering
intelligence on French troops movements and for acting as a
physical shield to them in battle.
Today, only 600 meters from Fox Fort, the small
village called Phuuc Dong to the west, "The Viet Cong in at
night and rest around the Catholic Church,"
according to the
American captain "Most of the young men from that village have
already gone into the mountain with the army to fight with the
Viet Cong."
Similar to the French military position, the American
Marine patrols "protect the village only as long as the Marines
are there," in the words of one Vietnamese village chief, "but
not after they are gone." Likewise, the Marines patrols do not
crush the Viet Cong political infrastructre within each village.
This is considefed the responsibility of the Vietnamese government
armed
and its forces.
Several months ago, shortly after the Marines moved into
their positions within the Le My complex of villages,
an estimated
two Viet Cong hard-core companies attacked two of the Marine
positions guarding village bridges. "We beat the hell out of them,"
the American captain explained."
(More)
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deepe
fort--article 6 of 8 article series
page 4
"The sergeant had just finished checking the lines
the American captain in explained.
and came back to his hole,"
"He looked up and saw three or four silhouettes of bushes--
but the bushes were moving. He opened fire. Then the corporal
near him opened fire--and killed two Viet Cong directly in
front of him with his rifle and killed a third with his
trenching tool.
"The Viet Cong were exceptionally well camouflaged
and wore wreaths on the upper part of their body and head,"
he continued. "This was a hard-core North Vietnamese unit in
black uniforms and carrying machine guns and automatic weapons.
However, the captain explained, the Communist units had
spent three days in a nearby village--within the Marine
perimeter--before they attacked.
intelligence reports of their presence, "we sent patrols
out but they didn't hear or see anything. One villager
said that one of the North Vietnamese unit commanders had
even walked near the bridge we were protecting--before the
attack--but we didn't even know that."
While the Marines, had
(More)
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deepe
fort--article 6 of 8 article series
page 5
Only one Marine was wounded; an estimated 12 Viet Cong
were killed and 15 were wounded. Since then, the Viet Cong have
disengaged from the Marine position--but they haven't been
defeated. During the past three weeks, our patrols have
encountered nothing of importance,"
one Marine captain explained.
"The Viet Cong grossly under-estimated the firepower
of a Marine corps squad," the captain explained.
The attack incident also illustrates the important
differences between the American Marines and the French troops.
Unquestionably, the Marines are "more aggressive" in their
patrolling, as one villager who had seen both armies explained.
"And the Americans have more troops%3B they do the patrolling
better; they have more of everything than the French--more
weapons with more firepower%; more artillery and airplanes."
However, reliable military sources indicate that the
only tactical weapon the Americans possess which the French
did not in the helicopter--which has given the Americans
quicker reaction time and greater mobility.
Almost all of the American outlying positions at this
time lie under the protective cover of artillery, mortars and
quick-reaction airpower, which was not consistently true for
the French troops.
Some American positions are also covered
by the firepower of the U.S. Seventh Fleet patrolling off
Danang.
(More)
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deepe
fort--article 6 of 8 article series
page 6
However, as a colonialist power, the French government
had much more control over the government, police and intelligence
agencies in Vietnam than the Americans do currently.
"Now one of the most disturbing things," one Marine
captain explained,
"is that the Vietnamese government is
letting free the people we think are Viet Cong. When we go out
on patrol, we carry an intelligence listing of the Viet Cong
in the area. We caught one man on our Viet Cong list and turned
him over to the Vietnamese government as a suspect--and they
turned him loose.
"This was a man that the villagers said had detonated
a mine that killed two Marines riding in a jeep. Our intelligence
listing described him as Mr. Luc--a Viet Cong who plants mines.
But they turned him loose. We have enough trouble getting
people without having to beat the bush for them again."
(More)
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deepe
fort--article 6 of 8 article series
page 7
One American Marine battaliom commander, south
of the Danang airbase, explained, "We've probably brought
in 1000 Viet Cong suspects since we've been here--but the
Vietnamese government releases 90 per cent of them.
Sometimes,
the Vietnamese government returns these suspects to their
home area even before we clear out of the area. It's make
the troops mad. We think more ofthese people are Viet Cong.
"The only basis we have of bringing in suspects is
or if the Vietnamese
if they do not have an identity card,
troops with us think he's suspicious, such as being of
military age. We recognize using the identity cards as a
basis isn't a satisfactory way of determining who's Viet Cong,.
But it's the only way we've found so far."
The young Marine troopers,
criteria.
explained.
however, have another
11
"If they shoot, they're Viet Cong, one of them
"If they don't shoot they're government forces--
or tired Viet Cong.
-30-
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Date
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1965, Aug. 18
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975
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Location
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Da Nang, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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16.0545; 108.0717
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B5, F7
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Format
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dispatches
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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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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
