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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-01343 to 363-01349.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-01343 to 363-01349
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Title
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Article about Marines returning to Khe Sanh and Communist activity there
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Description
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Original title: "revisit. File K/S Revisited Oct/68." Article by Keever about Marine Corps' return to the Khe Sanh outpost and the signs of Communist presence there
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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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2020 sag
yy nnm
revisit 1 (normass/deepe)
File
KIS. Remite
ort
/68.
KHE SANII, SOUTH VIETNAM, OCTOBER 10--Before the American Marines
re-visited this once-besieged combat base, the North Vietnaný Army was
using the greater Khe Sanh area for movement of men and supplies, official
sources report.
In addition, young Marine snipers, who ra consistently roam the
surrounding hills armed with binocular-styled sniper-scopes and
power scopes, have reported seeing Commmist helicopters land on the
old Khe Sanh airstrip. One young anipor related tifs to this correspondent
that he had seen a Communist helicopter land there but "the colonel told
me just to shut up about it."
Senior Marine officers, however, deny tax that any Communist
helicopters have flowm south of the demilitarized zone-including landing
at the Khe Sanh airstrip. Some officers postulated that some unidentified
helicopters might belong to the American and Vietnamese "pl "pp "spooking"
directed by the U. S. Contral Intelligence Agency, and in the
operations,
words of one senior officer,
"These guys never tell us where they're going
and what they're doing."
more reuter
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5050 sag
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rovisit 2 (normass/deepe)
Some Marine helicopter pilots, however, accept the report of the
young snipers that Commist helicopters have landed at Khe Sanh. And,
one Army helicopter gave this correspondent a two twenty-minute play-by-play
on the UFO (unidentified flying object) ha he had personally witnessed
flying over the Marine base at Dong Ha. "At first my co-p8 pilot and I
thought it was a falling star," he explained. "It was going just that fast.
But, then it stopped and hovered over Dong Ha and thon it started flying
backwards and finally it started elevating like a rocket and s zoomed away.
Is all we could soo was a white misty object with two green lights on it.
My gunners wore scared to death and radioed 'lot's got out of here'.
I radioo radiced all the control towers in the area,
these
but no one else ever
spotted it. I never believed in this UFO stories before, but I do now."
==more reuter
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zC2c sag
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revisit 3 (normass/deepe)
At Khe Sanh itself, unconfirmed intelligence reports indicate that
bands of
arned North Vietnamese troops actually stood on the airstrip, abandoned by *
Hiding
the Marines 92 days before-and were in the area where metal revetments,
shaped like three sides of are rectangle once protected Marine aircraft
from Communist shellings. Other Marine sources said the Communist troopers
AND Hauled Away
had pulled up some of the strips of the pierced steel planking the strips
are the size of pl pingpong tables-from the Khe Sanh runway, probably
to be used as bunkering material.
==more reuter
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- Page 4
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zcze sag
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revisit 4 (normass/deepe)
In recent weeks, just before the Marines tompro temporerily noved
back into old the ah abandoned combat bese, "numerous sitings" were
made in the Khe Sanh hills of North Vietnamese soldiers wearing
Bat Batman-styled capes made of American 6 mottled green camouflaged
parachutes. Most of these Communist soldiers app4a appeared to be
searching for food--Communist prisoners and defectors say the
If
NVA are short of food, but not of ammunition and weapons.
observed by aircraft, the North Viey Vietnamese soldiers would pull
the cape of ammouflage parachute over himself to disguise himself
o as one of the hundres hundreds of other parachutes that
as a bush
dot the hills.
more router
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2020 sag
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revisit 5 (normass/deepe)
During their 92 day physical absence from Khe Sanh, the Marines
had kept the gate surrounding hillsides and lone some airstrip under
constant surveillance, with many kinds of air observation, including
airborne side-looking radar, long-range reconnaissance patrols on the
ground, color photographic missions, age intelligence agents among the
dispersed tribal populations and sitings from Marine outposts hilltop
outposts which survey the Khe Sanh valley. The current Marine re-visit
to Khe Sanh of an infantry company and artillery unit is nothing more
than a re-visit-the Marines are not going to stay long enough to
set up a permanent base camp.
more reuter
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2020 806
Jy nim
revisit 6 (normass/dcope)
Through the northwest passage leading from Laos to the Khe Sanh area,
the Communists have upgraded their trail networks into single-land roads.
Heavy traffic has been observed on these roads-by trucks, motorbikes, by fo
foot for soldiers and human Morten Montagnard porters of the Bru tribe-
even elephants and water buffaloes are considered by intelligence
sources to be used as pack animals for carrying supplies.
The Marinos
have yet to actuall spot an actual elephant caravant hauling ins'
supplies-but they have found elephant hoof-prints and droppings of waste.
The Communists had also been moving traffic along the dusty branch
of Route 9, running west of Khe Sanh into Laos.
American Marine ground
units are now sweeing this branch of Route 9 near the Le Laotian border.
AND round
Khe Sanh late last
As the Merines began operating in force
week, Maer American aircraft spotted a truckload of Communist troops moving
by into South Vietnam from Laos by rod road end bombod It.
more reuter
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yy nnm
revisit 7 (normass/deepe)
(Hank: Thanks for your cable and letters. Will attempt to answer your
lete letter this week end. I'll de-escalate my filing; I have a solid day
of interviewing tomorrow and probably will not file. At this point, I'm
also inclined to ignore the coup copy--the wires have run all the facts that
are now available; frankly it looks more to me like a premeditated purge of
Some hawks rather than a true coup attempt. There were not unusual troop
movements,
which is the key thing for a coup.
I suggest we try to do a major series at the end of the
using one-year under President Thieu as the focus.
ANN VER
first-yea of his inauguration,
month, the
October 31 is his
and include this ixxx coup stuff in a
more comprehensible perspective--unless it becomes more dramatic and less
obscure than it is now.
Could
I think I should remain in Saigon until after
the election. and we can work on this. while doing so. What do you think
of the series idea?
Our best to Beb-will try to get her written too.
Rezaxm Also, several correspondents here have gotten cables that
to in up
copy to expect bombing over the Norte cease in two weeks.
==end reuter
do you hear? If probably, probable, what about working out a format
division of labor format between Washington and Saigon coverage.
give a statistical wrapup or any of the politics of the bombing;
What
I can't
but I could
with advance notice do a fairly good color story on the drama of the bombing
raids. What do you think?
Regards Bev).
==end reuter
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Date
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1968, Oct. 20
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; United States. Marine Corps; Vietnam (Democratic Republic). Quân đội; Soldiers
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Location
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Khe Sanh, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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16.6193; 106.7323
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B6, F10
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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
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Language
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English
