CHAPTER 6
SHUFLY Moves North
_Arrival at Da Nang--I Corps Tactical Zone--Military Situation, September 1962--Initial Helicopter Operations--Marine People-to-People Program--SHUFLY Operations in I Corps_
_Arrival at Da Nang_
Da Nang retained many characteristics of an old French colonial port city when the Marines arrived there in mid-September 1962. With its thriving market place, its throngs of bicycles, and a noticeable dearth of automobile traffic, the city was certainly more Asian than European in appearance. Still, the former French presence was evident in the architecture of public buildings, electric and telephone lines, paved streets, built-up waterfront, and an airfield. Although the French influence seemed not to have disturbed the traditional Vietnamese culture, it had imparted a picturesque charm to South Vietnam’s second largest city.
Virtually surrounded by the city itself, Da Nang’s airfield was to serve as SHUFLY’s new base of operations. Having been rebuilt as a military base by the French following World War II, the Da Nang facility was relatively modern. Understandably, it differed in many ways from the crude little airfield the Marines had left behind in the steamy Mekong Delta. The runway, for example, was considerably longer, having 8,000 feet of paved surface. The Da Nang base was also busier, having already been occupied by Vietnamese and U.S. Air Force units. Furthermore, it served the city as a commercial airport.
Scattered around the long north-south runway were numerous clusters of French-built masonry structures. A group of 50 of these yellow-walled buildings, located about one half mile west of the runway, had been designated as living quarters for the newly arrived Marines. Although the actual living spaces were somewhat crowded and in need of much repair, the indoor toilets, showers, ceiling fans, and fluorescent lights (none of which functioned properly) were welcomed by the men who had experienced the discomforts of life in Soc Trang’s “tent city.” Once the Marines had moved in, their compound would include a chapel, medical and dental facilities, service clubs, a movie, a barber shop, a laundry, and a mess hall.
While many of the problems encountered initially by the Marines at Da Nang were similar to those that had greeted their predecessors at Soc Trang, there were also some new ones to be resolved. The two most imposing of these stemmed from the distance between the living compound and working areas. Located along the southeast side of the airstrip, the flight line and hangar were nearly three miles from the Marine quarters by road. Located still farther away, about a quarter mile south of the hangar, were the motor pool and communications facility. In addition to creating a new requirement for transportation, the distances between the various areas necessitated adjustments in the security arrangements which had been used at Soc Trang.
Fortunately SHUFLY’s first commander, Colonel Carey, had foreseen the requirement for transportation between the living area and the flight line during his visit to the Da Nang installation in April. The problem was solved by the purchase of three used American school buses which were already on hand when the Marines arrived from Soc Trang. The security situation proved somewhat more perplexing. Initially Colonel Ireland handled the problem in much the same manner as it had been at Soc Trang. A permanent sergeant-of-the-guard was detailed to supervise a security force composed of men from the MABS-16 sub unit and HMM-163. Guard posts were established around the helicopter flight line, the hangar, the TAFDS, the motor pool-communications area, and the billeting compound. But this arrangement, while serving the intended purpose, was not ideal. Frequently the Marines who served on security watch at night were called upon to perform long hours of work the following day. This prompted Colonel Ireland to request that a permanent security force be assigned to his command in order that the overworked mechanics, cooks, carpenters, electricians, and communicators could concentrate on their particular jobs. The request was placed under consideration by ComUSMACV and FMFPac authorities but was not approved immediately.[6-A]
[6-A] General Weede explained that, because such increases could not be made without the approval of the Department of Defense, such requests were forwarded first to MACV Headquarters for approval. (_Weede Interview._)
[Illustration: _A portion of the Marine Compound at Da Nang. (Official USMC Photo)._]
At Da Nang Colonel Ireland’s task unit was not responsible for every facet of airfield operations as had been the case previously at Soc Trang. The U.S. Air Force provided radar, ground control approach, tactical air navigation, and meteorological services at the new installation while the Vietnamese operated the control tower. These conveniences allowed Ireland to make a small reduction in the overall size of the Marine task unit. Those MABS-16 specialists who had operated these systems at Soc Trang were returned to their parent organizations on Okinawa.
_I Corps Tactical Zone_
At the time the Marine task unit arrived in Da Nang, I Corps Tactical Zone encompassed South Vietnam’s five northern provinces. Quang Tri Province, located immediately south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) topped this tier of political subdivisions. Below Quang Tri Province lay Thua Thien, followed by Quang Nam, Quang Tin (recently created), and Quang Ngai Provinces. All are coastal provinces and, with the exception of Quang Ngai, extend inland from the seacoast to the Laotian border, a distance which varies between 30 and 70 miles. Together, they occupy the central portion of the region formerly known as Annam and extend 225 miles to the south of the DMZ.
[Illustration:
I CORPS 1962 ]
The climatic pattern in the northern provinces is the exact reverse of that which affects the southern portion of the nation. In I Corps the dry season occurs in the summer months while the monsoons, which blow from the northeast, dominate the winter. Heavy monsoon rains accompanied by wind and fog normally begin in October. After reaching their peak usually in November, the monsoon rains tend to diminish gradually until their disappearance around mid-March.
The differences between the physical structure of the northern provinces and the Mekong Delta is even more striking than their reversed climatic patterns. White beaches stretch almost unbroken along the entire length of I Corps. Just inland and roughly parallel to the coast south of Da Nang lies a lightly populated strip of sand dunes and generally unproductive soil. This strip varies in width from one half to two miles. In the west it dissolves into the flat, densely populated coastal plain. Any similarity between the Mekong Delta and the northern provinces is found in this expanse of fertile rice-producing land where tiny rural hamlets and slightly larger villages, each enclosed by thick hedgerows and treelines, abound. North of Da Nang the semi-barren coastal sands tend to extend farther inland, and thereby reduce the productive portion of the coastal plains.
The most distinct geographic feature of I Corps, and one easily visible to the Marines at Da Nang, is the chain of towering mountains which protrude from the flat coastal plain several miles west of the city. There is a conspicuous absence of foothills leading to the mountains which seem to surround Da Nang on the north and west. North of the Hai Van Peninsula, a rugged promonotory which juts into the South China Sea about 10 miles north of the Marines’ new home, a zone of foothills eases the transition from the wide coastal plain to the rugged jungle-covered mountains.
The coastal plains of the five northern provinces are broken by several significant streams along which most of the region’s principal population centers are located. Roughly 10 miles south of the 1954 partition line the Cua Viet empties into the southern portion of the Tonkin Gulf. Both Quang Tri City, the capital of Quang Tri Province, and Dong Ha, South Vietnam’s northernmost population center of any significance, are situated on the Cua Viet and its major tributary, the Song Cam Lo. The Song Huong (often referred to as the Perfume River), which flows past the old imperial capital of Hue, enters the sea at a point approximately half way between Da Nang and the nation’s northern boundary.[6-B] At Da Nang the Song Han (also called the Da Nang River) flows into Da Nang Harbor after its main tributary, the Song Cau Do, curves through the coastal plains immediately south and west of the city. Eighteen miles south of the Marines’ new base of operations, the Song Cau Dai empties into the South China Sea near Hoi An, the capital of Quang Nam Province. The Song Cau Dai originates about 18 miles inland at the confluence of the Song Thu Bon and the Song Vu Gia which twist seaward from the south and west respectively. Together these three estuaries constitute the most important geographic feature of the sprawling coastal plain south of Da Nang. Another major stream, the Song Tra Bong, flows on an eastward course about 32 miles south of the Song Cau Dai. Still further south is the Song Tra Khuc, a river which dominates the wide coastal plain of Quang Ngai Province in much the same fashion as does the Song Cau Dai and its tributaries in the area south of Da Nang. The provincial capital, Quang Ngai, once a major railroad center for South Vietnam, is situated several miles inland on the south bank of the Song Tra Khuc. The southernmost stream of any significance in I Corps is the Song Ve, which angles northeastward through central Quang Ngai Province. While none of these waterways is navigable far beyond its mouth by ocean-going vessels, each serves the local population as convenient local routes of communication as well as vital sources of irrigation water during the long dry seasons.
[6-B] In the Vietnamese language the word “song” means stream and normally precedes the name of rivers.
The two and a half million people who inhabited I Corps in 1962 had developed along social and economic lines dictated largely by the geography and climate of their region. Rice growing, centered on the coastal plains, dominated the economic activities of the area. Combined, the provinces of I Corps produced nearly half a million tons of rice annually. Fishing, concentrated along the coast and the major rivers, ranked as the second most important economic pursuit. Unlike most of South Vietnam, I Corps did possess some potential for industrial development. A small but productive surface coal mine was located about 25 miles southwest of Da Nang at Nong Son along the western bank of the Song Thu Bon. Although the mine was operating in 1962, it had made little discernable impact on the overall economic picture of the region.
[Illustration: _Aerial view of Marine helicopter flight line at Da Nang shortly after SHUFLY’s relocation to I Corps in September 1962. (Official USMC Photo)._]
_Military Situation, September 1962_
From its new base at Da Nang, Colonel Ireland’s task unit was responsible for directly supporting the forces under Major General Tran Van Don’s I Corps headquarters. The 1st and 2d ARVN Divisions, headquartered respectively at Hue and Da Nang, were the major tactical units at General Don’s disposal. Occasionally elements of the 25th ARVN Division, headquartered at Kontum in northwestern II Corps, joined I Corps forces for offensive operations along the southern fringe of Quang Ngai Province. Several ARVN Ranger battalions served as mobile reaction forces for the corps tactical zone.[6-C] Also scattered over the northern corps tactical zone were numerous paramilitary units of assorted sizes. These, too, were garrisoned primarily along the heavily populated coastal plain.
[6-C] The ranger battalions had been organized in late 1960 from existing ARVN forces. They were conceived as highly mobile infantry units and were under the direct control of the CTZ commander.
Opposing these government forces in the early fall of 1962 were Viet Cong forces of formidable strength. Four interprovincial battalions (main force), four interprovincial companies, five provincial companies, 18 district companies, and three district platoons were known to be operating within the boundaries of I Corps. Together, these units totalled an estimated 4,750 men.[6-1] Added to the presence of these known Viet Cong units was the threat posed to I Corps by its proximity to North Vietnam and to the so-called “Ho Chi Minh Trails” located across the Laotian border. The relative position of the northern provinces naturally invited Communist infiltration. In June, for example, the _4th Viet Cong Battalion_, a main force unit, was infiltrated into Quang Nam Province from sanctuaries in Laos. By September MACV intelligence estimates reported one North Vietnamese (PAVN) infantry division, two independent PAVN infantry regiments, and an artillery regiment poised in areas of Laos adjacent to the I Corps border. “These units,” the U.S. report warned, “... could be committed anywhere in I Corps or [the] northern part of II Corps 20 days after starting movement.”[6-2]
While the government’s nationwide strategy focused on clearing and holding the populated areas, the physiographic configuration of I Corps (as well as II Corps to the south) demanded that offensive operations be conducted in the mountains adjacent to the coastal plains against Viet Cong base areas. Since the arrival of the U.S. Army helicopter company at Da Nang early in the year, General Don had shown an increasing tendency to mount battalion and regimental heliborne assaults deep into the western mountains. Capitalizing on the mobility which the American helicopters afforded, the ARVN command had hoped to disrupt remote Communist base areas inside the international border. Still, heliborne offensives into western I Corps were often hampered by bad weather, particularly during the monsoon season.
Another facet of the government effort to deny the enemy unrestricted access to the mountains was a system characterized by a network of small, relatively isolated outposts. In late 1961, at the urging of U.S. officials in Saigon, the Diem government had launched a program whose ultimate objective was similar to that of the Strategic Hamlet Program. First, U.S. Army Special Forces teams entered remote Montagnard villages located in the Annamite Chain and built small fortified camps. This accomplished, the Americans initiated pacification activities with the hope of securing the allegiance of the traditionally independent Montagnard tribesmen.
By mid-1962 the Special Forces effort appeared on its way to success. Already Montagnard tribesmen had been organized into a number of Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) throughout the mountains of I and II Corps. Advised by Special Forces teams, the CIDG units were monitoring infiltration routes and harassing the Communists as they attempted to move through the mountains. By the summer of 1962 the distinctive little barbed wire enclosed camps were scattered over the length of western I Corps.
Although it played an important role in the government’s strategy for controlling the insurgency in the northern provinces, the outpost system had obvious shortcomings. Roads between the distant camps and the towns along the coastal plain were almost nonexistent. Those that did exist, such as Route 9, the road which extended from Route 1 westward across Quang Tri Province and into Laos, were vulnerable to ambush or interdiction by guerrilla forces. Truck convoys, furthermore, consumed time and required protection by security forces. As a result of their relative isolation, the CIDG camps had come to depend heavily on aircraft as a means of resupply. While crude runways had been constructed at many of the outposts, they were often better suited for helicopter operations than for fixed-wing transport landings. The newly arrived Marine commanders anticipated that their squadron, like the Army helicopter company it had replaced, would be required to devote a sizable percentage of sorties to resupplying the far-flung outposts.
_Initial Helicopter Operations_
The system of helicopter coordination in I Corps promised to be somewhat different from that which had governed Marine operations in the Mekong Delta. At Da Nang, an Air Support Operations Center (ASOC) was organized within the corps headquarters to process all requests for aviation support. Manned by ARVN, VNAF, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Marine officers, the ASOC processed mission requests from the various field commands, passing them on to the Joint Operations Center at JGS headquarters for final approval. Once approved, the ASOC assigned specific missions to the American and Vietnamese units which supported I CTZ. This arrangement enabled the corps headquarters to plan and coordinate all combat support missions flown within the five northern provinces.
[Illustration:
MAJOR OUTPOSTS I CORPS 1962 ]
The Vietnamese commanders in I Corps, who had learned to value helicopter support as a result of the Army aviation company’s eight-month presence at Da Nang, lost no time in employing the newly arrived Marine squadron. HMM-163 flew its first combat operation from Da Nang on 18 September, the day after the last flight of helicopters arrived from Soc Trang. Fourteen HUSs lifted troops of the 2d ARVN Division into two landing zones in the rugged hills about 35 miles south of Da Nang and 25 miles inland from the coast. The scarcity of suitable landing zones in the steep hill country and the fact that the enemy could deliver fire on those that did exist from nearby high ground and the surrounding jungle prompted the Marine pilots to adjust their tactics in preparation for this mission. After VNAF fighters bombed and strafed the objective area, the helicopters made an unopposed landing.
The tactic of preparing helicopter landing zones with air strikes was continued and refined in the ensuing weeks. The Marines began using artillery fire in conjunction with air strikes to neutralize enemy troops in the vicinity of the objective. The OE-1 was well suited for assisting in the employment of the artillery fire support. Having familiarized themselves with the landing site during a prior reconnaissance mission, the pilot and observer of the OE-1 would arrive over the designated area prior to the operation and adjust artillery fire until the helicopters appeared. During the landing the crew of the observation aircraft often coordinated between the helicopters and the escorting aircraft and were available to assist the ground units with artillery fire missions.
The task unit’s staff borrowed another idea from their experience in the Mekong Delta which allowed HMM-163 to provide more efficient helicopter support in the northern provinces. In this case the concept of temporarily positioning the TAFDS to support specific operations was refined somewhat by placing the portable refueling bladders at secure, permanent locations throughout I Corps. Several days after arriving in I Corps, the Marines emplaced a 10,000-gallon section of the TAFDS at Quang Ngai, about 65 miles south of Da Nang, to serve as a permanent refueling point for aircraft operating in southern I Corps. Within the month, another fuel bladder was positioned at Hue and a third was emplaced at Tam Ky, the capital of Quang Tin Province, which was situated on Route 1 about half way between Da Nang and Quang Ngai. These well-chosen refueling points greatly enhanced the squadron’s operational potential. Used to support daily operations, they enabled the helicopters to operate deep into the adjacent mountain areas on resupply and medical evacuation missions.
On 19 September, the day after their initial combat support assignment in I Corps, the Marine helicopter crews were called upon to conduct an operation which they would repeat often in the coming months. They were ordered to evacuate a threatened government outpost from the mountains 18 miles west of Da Nang. That day the HMM-163 pilots lifted an odd cargo of troops, dependents, personal belongings and an assortment of pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks to a secure area on the coastal plain.
Unfortunately, helicopter evacuations of encircled or endangered South Vietnamese outposts would become almost routine for Marine helicopter squadrons assigned to Vietnam during the period between 1962 and 1965. As the North Vietnamese stepped up their support for the Viet Cong, the isolated government outposts along the infiltration routes became particularly vulnerable. The increased number of helicopter evacuation missions during the next three years would be grim testimony of the trend of warfare which was unfolding in the South. Reinforced with more and more North Vietnamese and growing amounts of Communist bloc and captured U.S. equipment, the Viet Cong would press the initiative even in South Vietnam’s most isolated areas.
The Communists operating in I Corps lost little time in challenging the newly arrived Marine unit. HMM-163 suffered its first battle damage while lifting elements of the 2d ARVN Division into a landing zone southwest of Tam Ky on 26 September. One of 22 helicopters involved in the mission was struck in the fuselage by small arms fire despite the use of preparatory air and artillery strikes on the landing zone. The day after this incident another of the squadron’s helicopters was hit by enemy fire while attempting to evacuate wounded ARVN soldiers from the battlefield. On the 29th two more aircraft were damaged by ground fire while participating in another troop lift. One round passed through the windshield and exited at the rear of the cockpit, missing the copilot’s head by inches. During the first week of October another HUS was struck while landing at Tien Phuoc, a government outpost about 15 miles southwest of Tam Ky. In this incident two ARVN troops were killed and the Marine crew chief, Lance Corporal James I. Mansfield, was wounded before the pilot could fly the aircraft out of the danger area. In each of the instances the helicopters were able to return to Da Nang where necessary repairs were made.
The most serious incident recorded during the early operations in I Corps ironically resulted from mechanical failure rather than Viet Cong fire. It occurred on 6 October when a search and rescue helicopter crashed and burned on a hillside 15 miles southeast of Tam Ky while covering a 20-plane helilift of 2d ARVN Division elements.[6-D] Unable to land near the downed aircraft because of the thick jungle, other helicopters landed troops at the base of the hill with instructions to proceed to the crash site on foot. When the Vietnamese soldiers reached the downed aircraft after cutting their way through dense vegetation, they found the copilot, crew chief, and five other members of the task unit dead. The pilot, First Lieutenant William T. Sinnott, who was injured seriously, was hoisted through the trees and evacuated by an HUS which came to the rescue. The five Marines killed in the crash were First Lieutenant Michael J. Tunney, Sergeant Richard E. Hamilton, Sergeant Jerald W. Pendell, Corporal Thomas E. Anderson, and Lance Corporal Miguel A. Valentin. Two Navy personnel, Lieutenant Gerald Griffin, a doctor, and Hospitalman G. O. Norton were also dead. These were the first deaths suffered by Marine Task Unit 79.5 since deploying to Vietnam.[6-3]
[6-D] For larger operations the task unit commander usually designated one HUS as a search and rescue aircraft. This helicopter normally carried several mechanics and Navy medical personnel and was equipped with a hoist.
An administrative measure which eventually resulted in the extension of the length of tours for the Marine helicopter squadron as well as all other personnel assigned to SHUFLY was initiated in the first week of October. Colonel Ireland dispatched a recommendation to the Commanding General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing proposing that the tours for both the squadron and the individual Marines serving with the sub unit and the task unit headquarters be set at six months. Pointing out that the U.S. Army helicopter company which had occupied Da Nang previously had operated from January to September without rotating personnel, the task unit commander outlined the positive features of such an adjustment. It would, he contended, provide more continuity for administration and operations, thereby resulting in a more effective utilization of manpower. To underscore his argument, Ireland emphasized the number of man hours involved in the rotation of a helicopter squadron. Adding his opinion that the two-month extension of all tours would not measurably affect the morale of the Marines at Da Nang, he recommended that the next rotation of helicopter squadrons be postponed until January. After being forwarded to FMFPac for consideration, Colonel Ireland’s proposals were approved later in the fall and instructions were passed to all involved commands to implement the new policy.[6-4]
Another adjustment--this one in the area of tactics--had been made during the task unit’s first two months at Da Nang. By November the Eagle Flight concept had been tailored to complement reaction force plans which already existed in I Corps at the time of SHUFLY’s relocation. ARVN authorities in the northern corps tactical zone had developed a system whereby their various infantry units were placed on alert for use as heliborne reaction forces. Designated the Tiger Force, the alert unit was staged at its base, ready to react to any tactical emergency.
HMM-163 Marines executed one of their earliest Tiger Flights on 7 November in response to a train ambush sprung by the Viet Cong several miles northwest of the Hai Van Peninsula. Four Marine helicopters launched from Da Nang, made an airborne rendezvous with two other HUSs, and proceeded to Hoa My, four miles away, to pick up a 52-man ARVN Tiger Force. The Marines then helilifted the South Vietnamese into a suitable landing zone near the ambush site. The relatively short amount of time consumed in the reaction did not prevent the Communist attackers from vanishing into the surrounding jungle. Generally, however, the tactic was more successful, particularly when the reaction force was used to reinforce a threatened static position or to establish hasty blocking positions in support of ground offensive operations that were already underway.
While the task unit encountered few major problems during the early operations from Da Nang, minor difficulties were commonplace. Most often these developed during the execution phase of combat support missions. One that particularly concerned the Marine commanders was the tendency of South Vietnamese units not to prepare properly for scheduled helilifts. To the dismay of the Leatherneck helicopter crews, ARVN activities at the pickup points were usually characterized by confusion. More often than not the Vietnamese unit scheduled to be helilifted had not been organized into heliteams prior to the arrival of the transport aircraft. Given the fact that heliborne operations were still somewhat of a novelty to most ARVN small unit leaders (and to many U.S. advisors) at this stage of the war, these circumstances were perhaps understandable. Nevertheless, lack of prior preparation at pickup points on the part of the ground units often threatened to disrupt the timing of preplanned operations.
To help remedy this situation and to insure that their helicopters were not overloaded, the U.S. Marines began designating one of the squadron’s noncommissioned officers as “loadmaster.” Equipped with a radio, the loadmaster would arrive at the assembly area on board the first helicopter, whereupon he would disembark and supervise the entire loading process. This technique was particularly valuable during operations in which ARVN units were being helilifted from the field. In such cases the loadmaster performed the same function as did those who supervised the loading process at secure assembly areas. This, of course, required that the Leatherneck remain in the landing zone until the last Vietnamese troops had boarded the final helicopter. Although dangerous, this technique enabled the Marines to eliminate many problems which might otherwise have occurred.
By early November the monsoon season had begun to settle over the northern portions of South Vietnam. Unlike the summer rains in the Mekong Delta in which Lieutenant Colonel Rathbun’s crews had managed to set new helicopter flight records, the winter monsoons that struck the northern provinces seriously restricted flight operations. Heavy fog and low clouds frequently made it impossible to conduct air operations in the mountainous areas; therefore, the squadron was forced to concentrate most of its operations in the coastal plains. In an effort to maintain his support at a maximum level, Lieutenant Colonel Rathbun began dispatching an OE-1 to the objective area prior to scheduled missions in order to obtain a current report on the local weather conditions. Despite these efforts, the monsoon rains, which often moved in quickly from the South China Sea, still disrupted flight operations. A typical weather-related incident occurred on 13 November when a scheduled troop lift was cancelled because of heavy fog after 200 Vietnamese Special Forces troops had loaded onto 20 Marine helicopters for an early morning operation.
Several unrelated changes in official designations occurred at approximately the same time that the monsoons began affecting operations in the northern provinces. In November all Marine aircraft were redesignated in accordance with a Department of Defense order which standardized aircraft designations throughout the U.S. armed services. Thereafter, SHUFLY’s HUS helicopters would be known as UH-34Ds, its OE-1s as O-1Bs, and its R4D as a C-117. In another adjustment, the Joint General Staff in Saigon ordered the realignment of South Vietnam’s tactical zones. A fourth corps tactical zone (IV CTZ), which encompassed the entire Mekong Delta, and a Capital Military District, which included Saigon and its environs, were created. The composition of I Corps was affected by the adjustments as the new alignment shifted Quang Ngai Province into II Corps. The Marines, however, continued to provide helicopter support to the province, which was relatively isolated from the remainder of II Corps.
More important than either the new aircraft designations or the realignment of the tactical zones were several internal changes within the Marine task unit. On 6 November the task unit was redesignated Marine Task Element 79.3.3.6. That same day Lieutenant Colonel Alton W. McCully, who had been functioning as Colonel Ireland’s executive officer, assumed command of the task element. Ireland returned to Okinawa where he took command of Marine Aircraft Group 16, which, under the new arrangement, became responsible for both the administrative and logistical support of SHUFLY.
_Marine People-to-People Program_
The concept of the People-to-People Program, which had been initiated with a degree of success in the Mekong Delta, was brought to Da Nang by Colonel Ireland and his Marines. During the fall and early winter of 1962, as weather caused flight operations to subside, the Marines were able to increase the tempo of the program. SHUFLY’s men actively supported an orphanage in Da Nang which was maintained by an American missionary family. On Christmas day the Marines participated in a “Father-For-A-Day” program which had been arranged by the task element chaplain, Lieutenant Richard P. Vinson, U.S. Navy. Each orphan spent the day with a Marine who had volunteered to serve as his “father.” The Vietnamese children were treated to dinner in the mess hall, presented with Christmas gifts, and then joined in singing carols with the Marines. At the conclusion of the festivities, Chaplain Vinson presented the director of the orphanage with a gift in Vietnamese currency equivalent to over 800 dollars--money which the men of the task element had donated.
In addition to their activities associated with the orphanage, the Marine officers taught English to a number of Vietnamese civilians. Held three nights weekly, the classes were received enthusiastically. Beyond the foundations of good will which it helped shape, the People-to-People Program enabled the Marines to acquire a better understanding of the Vietnamese people, their culture, and their problems.
_SHUFLY Operations in I Corps_
SHUFLY’s initial helicopter support operations in I Corps represented the beginnings of what would become a long association of U.S. Marines with South Vietnam’s rugged northern provinces. Essentially these early operations were characterized by continuity and adjustment. Since their arrival at Da Nang in September the Marines had extended the standard of consistent and effective combat support operations set earlier in the flat Mekong Delta. Necessarily, SHUFLY’s commanders had modified the previously developed tactics and techniques to fit the mountainous terrain and the nature of warfare being waged in I Corps. For the most part these adjustments had proven successful by allowing the Marines to continue the pace of helicopter support with a reduction of the risks involved. That SHUFLY had suffered its first fatalities during these initial months in I Corps dampened but did not detract from its overall achievements. As 1962 closed, the Marines had begun establishing a reputation in the northern provinces as courageous, professional fighting men and generous allies. It was this reputation upon which a generation of Marines would build in the ensuing decade.