DIRTY SECRETS of VIETNAM: Men of the 101st Airborne Division

[Music] on a warm spring day in 1965 several army aviation companies arrive in vietnam aboard the carrier uss iwo jima it is the beginning of the army's air mobility build-up the first of the assault helicopters which soon will fill the air over this embattled land even as the pilots of the 101st aviation battalion whirl away toward the field at wong tao all of south vietnam is infested with vietnam from the north they stream down the ho chi minh trail and like a disease spread throughout the southern republic into the setting come the first of the screaming eagles the aviation crews of company a forerunners in the massive american military build up to stop the communist enemy for the republic this is a time of desperation [Music] here at bong tao airfield 40 miles southeast of saigon the job begins for these airmen along with helicopter crews from other aviation companies the men of the 101st are to be processed for movement to their new homes in the forward areas of vietnam their mission now is to create the helicopter bases from which u.s army forces can be flown into combat against the vietcong quickly now they make ready in the next 90 days before the airborne infantry arrives these men will do a man-sized job [Music] on the 29th of july 1965 the first brigade of the 101st airborne division arrives at cameron bay [Music] the brigade with its supporting elements is commanded by colonel james timothy who is welcomed to vietnam by ambassador maxwell taylor and by general william westmoreland in the ceremonies which follow colonel timothy gets his first look at the stripe torn shores of vietnam and for the first time the brigade unfurls the proud emblem of freedom over the land it is here to protect [Music] to ambassador taylor the occasion holds a special meaning as the one-time commander of the 101st talks to his son captain thomas taylor now a member of the streaming eagles [Music] concluding today's events some of the airborne infantrymen stage a parachute jump for ambassador taylor and general westmoreland it is to be one of the few jumps these paratroopers will make in vietnam the screaming eagles descend toward the earth and the unknown hardships of jungle warfare they will face in the months ahead [Applause] within two weeks after their arrival at cameron bay the screaming eagles are sent northward on their first combat operation as they sail for kenyan 130 miles up the coast it is mid-august and the brigade hasn't yet had time to establish its permanent home base in vietnam [Music] while the vietnamese are celebrating the lantern festival the men of the 327th and 502nd are moving inland from kenyan to arm cave in the central highlands their mission is to clear and secure the yankee area as a base camp for the u.s first cavalry division air mobile which will be arriving from the united states in a matter of days at dalemon pass overlooking anki the landings begin after months of special training at fort campbell kentucky this is it the moment every man knew would come a viet cong main force battalion has been reported in the area and the airborne infantrymen expect instant contact but it doesn't come the vietcong are evasive biding their time it is an anti-climax for the men this is their first lesson in vietnam no big battles when expected instead a nagging war of attrition with primitive booby traps and snipers small unit actions and ambushes in the jungle only when he thinks the situation is favorable will the enemy show himself in force so the long hard task of ferreting out the communist enemy begins and the screaming eagles are good at their job by the end of september they will kill 600 vietcong it will be a difficult thing and some of these airborne fighting men will die but the job for this time will be done [Music] as the advanced elements of the first cavalry division begin arriving at arn k they commence taking over the area secured by the screaming eagles finally the men of the 101st airborne are free to head south and establish their own home base in vietnam [Music] from hanke and the central highlands the brigade moves 170 miles to the coastal town of fanrange this is to be their permanent camp as soon as it can be built the wheel from their campaign in the hill country they work throughout october until the base of fan rang has been set up general westmoreland visits the screaming eagles on thanksgiving day 1965 and inspects the camp at fan rang he is pleased with their performance at on k and congratulates them on a job well done even as he returns to saigon the brigade is conducting local search and clear operation [Music] as the new year begins the entire brigade is deployed to tuitwa 100 miles to the north in phuyen province known as the riceville this is the richest rice growing region in central vietnam from this fertile area come crops to feed all the people of central vietnam but the vietcong have been seizing the harvest and collecting unbearable taxes from the frightened farmers now come the screaming eagles to protect the rice harvest and stuff with vietcong codename operation van buren the orders read search out the enemy in the tui sector and destroy it [Music] this assignment will be tedious the vc desert their dwellings and avoid confrontation with the americans yet the district is infested with an enemy who makes night raids and continues to molest the farmers the search goes on brigadier general willard pearson takes over command of the screaming eagles on the 29th of january 1966. he steps up the pressure on the vietcong so [Music] across the broad reaches of huian province the viet cong are pursued for the most part they evade capture and withdraw to disappear in hidden underground sanctuaries in the wake of u.s military operations the enemy rice rage diminished but the vc themselves mingle with the local people and often a bypass attacking our units from the rear at night on eighth february the deputy commander of the u.s military assistance command vietnam lieutenant general john heinkes comes to turin to personally evaluate the situation what he sees convinces him that the enemy is well entrenched in the district that it will require repeated efforts by the 101st to dislodge these communist gorillas operation van buren becomes operation harrison february becomes march and daily the screaming eagles patrol the jungles and foothills surrounding the rice fields of tuiwan enemy main force headquarters are located and hit by the u.s air force with b-52 bombing raids the men of the brigade go in to check the results and prepare field reports for air force intelligence daily they go out and daily they return in 90 days the men of the brigade gained control of the tuitua region now operating in small units they kill 516 hardcore vietcong fruits between february and april the rice crops are saved once early in march the men of the brigade receive a surprise visit from one of hollywood's movie heroes robert bitchin during this enjoyable interlude there is talk about the glamorous girls of the film world [Music] mr mitchum is given the opportunity to fire some of the weapons of the real life heroes in vietnam in mid-april 1966 the second battalion of the 327th is left to guard the rice harvested tui and the rest of the brigade moves out on operation austin two weeks in the area around fandiet then onward to nanko near the cambodian border here where the ho chi minh trail enters south vietnam the screaming eagles meet the 141st regiment of the north vietnamese army for a while the fighting is intense the 500 second airborne infantry takes a number of casualties it takes six days from the 14th to the 20th of may for the u.s paratroopers to drive the north vietnamese aggressors out of their positions in the foothills of nanko the communist regulars are well disciplined well-equipped and tenacious in spite of heavy ground fire army aviators get in with their dust-off helicopters and the wounded are whisked away to safety this is the enemy when he was captured he was carrying a machine gun made in czechoslovakia he won't be using it again as for his comrades they have been put to route and in their hasty flight they have dropped their arms over 100 of the north vietnamese lie dead in the mountains victory at non-co is ours [Applause] but for the screaming eagles the greatest testing is still to come far to the north in canton province the brigade launches operation hawthorne in the area around dakto kantum is a forbidding wilderness lying in the foothills of the mountain country which marks the border of cambodia it is the first week of june and the air is heavy and human until now the enemy has held sway here 30 miles north of the little town of dakto the airborne engineers erect a crude bridge a few miles beyond lies in american special forces care it has been under siege by the viet cong for nearly a week supplies and ammunition are badly needed and relief troops must get through the first of the trucks begins crossing near the bridge the men of b battery 320th artillery prepare for another firing mission throughout the morning they have rained harlots or shells upon the enemy forces attacking the camp now with fresh supplies of ammunition they're ready to begin again each time the shelling starts the enemy withdraws his attacking forces to escape the punishing fires when it is lifted he regroups and again tries to take the camp despite week-long air strikes by u.s air force jets the viet cong have shown no signs of withdrawing but the artillery fire directed by those defending the outpost is having a telling effect so the screaming eagles are under fire the enemy has come to silence the guns communist fire comes from everywhere out there the enemy is creeping in he will try to overrun the american positions the waiting is agony then the enemy makes his move this is it live or die so in the forefront general pearson the boss here in hell from bastogne to vietnam the tradition remains unbroken magnificent the streaming so the battle waves a small part of operation hawthorne is over some of the men of the 101st will fight no more but for this day the bastions of freedom held they came from the north a whole battalion their weapons not ours have been silenced throughout the oppressive days and nights of june 1966 operation hawthorne continued in the violent conflict which rages in canton province the screaming eagles repeatedly beat back prize troop units of the north vietnamese army in 16 straight days of combat the brigade envelops the 24th north vietnamese army regiment and more than 500 of the communist aggressors are killed it is the largest single battle of the war for the men of the 101st the bitter struggle to preserve the freedom of this little asian nation is made more bearable as each man is enriched in spirit and strengthened in his resolve [Music] at last the fighting is done [Music] [Music] foreign all the world had heard about the gallant screaming eagles and the battles of operation hawthorne in recognition of their outstanding victory in kundum province the premier of south vietnam nuan cal key comes to the little town of dhakto [Music] premier key and the deputy premier express the gratitude of their nation in a way that fighting men can understand [Music] these are some of the weapons taken from the enemy the premier is told in the hands of the communists the arms of china poland czechoslovakia russia and even a variety of united states french and british weapons which had fallen into those same enemy hands living evidence of the north vietnamese regular army six out of the 22 taken alive by the screaming eagles [Music] premier key confronts the aggressors you are lucky the americans have taken you he smiled [Music] on the 21st of july following surveillance operations along the la ocean and cambodian borders the brigade returns to tui a new operation labeled john paul jones gets underway its purpose is to open and secure a sixteen mile stretch of national highway one between tuihua and vuangro bay on the coast the accomplishment of this mission will speed up logistic support of the tui area by permitting ships to unload at the nearby bay it begins with elements of the 500 second infantry landing at the cliff-guarded vongrow bay where without encountering resistance they begin moving inland to link up with the oncoming units of the 327th the inland forces push forward securing the highway and sweeping the adjoining countryside [Music] supported by helicopter gunships hello born assault troops clean up the operational zone within six weeks by early september 1966 they have secured vung road bay and highway 1 north to tuib sweeping through the mountains the brigade captures 40 north vietnamese and vietcong and kills 209 others while operation john paul jones is still in progress the engineers begin construction work on the connecting highway between vung roll bay and highway one the screaming eagles have done their job well and a new seaport is born [Music] in the weeks which followed the brigade protects the rice farmers as they harvest some 17 000 metric tons of the precious grain once again the tui sector becomes a battlefield and the viet cong suffer heavy losses with 239 killed and 42 captured [Music] the vietcong have had enough they are nowhere to be found [Music] 11 vietnamese are found however in a cong prison camp they have apparently received no medical attention while in the hands of the communists held by the viet cong for several months their ailments range from open sores and skin infections to malnutrition [Music] as well as deformities caused by unset broken bones this man a former viet cong who defected to the republic and was later captured by the vc cannot tell of his unspeakable nightmare with the enemy [Music] on the 9th of december the odyssey of the brigade continues from tuihua back up north to kantum province the viet cong have been cleared from fujian province by this time and the screaming eagles are moved to the north in a record 48 hours by the u.s air force the deployment of the brigade by means of parachute marks the first jump in more than a year for many of the men but they're in superb physical condition and the jump goes well as 1966 draws to a close the brigade descends upon canton province to take part in operation pickett fighting side by side with vietnamese army forces and militia the men of the 101st once again will scour the countryside finding and finishing the enemy [Music] the operations in canton province continue until the 21st of january 1967 then after more than a year's absence from their home base at van rang the brigade is ordered back for arrest it seems a long time since the lst's first moved the brigade up to kenyon as they headed for their first combat around anke now the lst's are taking them home on the 26th the last convoy rolls into camp at banrang brigadier general willard piston welcomes the men home it will be one of his last official acts as brigade commander [Music] two days later general pearson transfers command of the first brigade 101st airborne division to the new brigade commander brigadier general s h matheson the battle hardened troops watch with solemn pride as lieutenant general engler pins the legion of merit on the uniform of their departing commander so the screaming eagles bid farewell to the commander who led them in 14 combat operations from one end of vietnam to the other for the screaming eagles as for the rest of the united states military forces in vietnam the valiant effort to keep that young nation free continues however far removed from our shores the conflict between those who cherish human dignity and those who would snuff it out affect us all in this belief the gallup men of the united states army stand steadfast not only in southeast asia but wherever they may be asked to serve in freedom's cause

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Keywords: marines, seals, forces, usa, aviation

Id: -jjMk0OvJ0w

Length: 26min 24sec (1584 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 23 2014