A Rarely Mentioned Complexity of the War in South Viet Nam

The war in SVN had two faces in the north where the U.S. forces were mostly Marines and even then it depended on exactly where you were. If in the mountainous northern provinces (3rd Marine Division), closer to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), one was most likely to be in a defensive posture with static positions, manning the perimeter lines, and running daily security patrols, and ambushes and listening posts at night. There was more incoming mortar and artillery than we experienced in I Corps to the south where I was located, but we bore the brunt of the deadly booby traps, which were rare in the north.

In Quang Nam province (First Marine Division), we operated more on the offensive where the VC and some NVA Regulars occupied the hundreds of hamlets/villages with rice paddies, tree lines, and the foothills of Charlie Ridge. The regiments and battalions would move westward as the area was pacified, establish their command posts, and the companies and platoons moved even more westward conducting continuous offensive search and destroy operations. Companies would move forward day or night attacking suspect enemy harbor sites and assembly areas and moving by helicopters, trucks, and tracked vehicles, but mostly by foot. Patrols and ambushes were continuous throughout the area of operations (except in Charlie Ridge where it would require battalion-sized units or larger but movement in would be impossible to disguise and deployment of larger forces would be nearly impossible to control. My platoon was in Charlie Ridge two times, but we were sufficiently prudent not venture far enough to be encircled and unable to get out.

During my time (1969-70), we had moved deep into Viet Cong controlled territory and to the edge of the North Vietnamese (Regulars) most significant assembly areas in the heavily vegetated mountains we called Charlie Ridge. We were engaged during the daylight hours as we patrolled and searched the hamlets and anyplace where they had cover and concealment. Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish the working/farming peasants from the VC eastward but the further west where the companies and platoons operated, any male 15-16 years old and above was VC. Some of the women were mothers by day and VC by night. There were older papasans who existed in the hamlets and could no longer fight, but they were clever and covered for the absence of any fighting-age men with a multitude of stories.

In the south, we were more often than not involved in the business of daily patrols (3 per platoon a day) and night ambushes (at least two per night). The size of the patrols was determined by how many men were in the platoon at a specific time. The larger the patrol or ambush, the further they would venture forward of the company or platoon command post.

There was no doubt that the hamlets in the west were all VC. In some, the inhabitants were trained to be moderately friendly, but we were not fooled. In others, you could see the hate and distain in their faces, particularly the women. I always suspected they were VC also or their husband had been wounded, captured, or killed during the war.

Around these hamlets were booby traps/IEDs of all sizes (some could severely wound or kill from the waist down, wherein others we so powerful/lethal that the victim would be unrecognizable). The hamlet inhabitants would deny any knowledge of the booby traps, of course, but they never tripped one either.

I sometimes tried to put myself in the shoes of the VC guerilla who is spending most of his days underground and nights trying to kill Marines or seeking food and supplies. During daylight hours, he is mostly underground, and Marines are searching his hamlet; scaring his mother, spouse, and children; and disrupting their lives. He knows his home was invaded, his family possibly treated with disrespect and possibly worse depending on the mindset of the patrol members. It is easy to see how mentally he is at or near the “rage-stage.”

So the VC soldier is angry and hungry for revenge and the soldier/Marines are likewise over their friend and squad member who was just mutilated by a booby trap. I well recall an incident where my platoon was on a platoon-size patrol when the point man in the 3rd squad tripped a booby trap right next to a hamlet. My best squad leader, a good point man, and another Marine were severely wounded. Notwithstanding the chaos, the old papasan (who probably set the booby trap) never even looked up as he plowed behind his caribou. After the medivac of the three Marines, we searched the hamlet from top to bottom. The inhabitants and the old papasan were haughty, scared, and not forthcoming with any information. During the search of a straw hooch, a rice vat was turned over inside one hooch and buried in the rice was a Zippo lighter engraved with the name of a Marine from 7th Marines creating the assumption that it was taken from the body of a dead Marine. The booby trap, the casualties, the attitudes of the inhabitants were too much for any of us. We surely were not going to leave without some retribution, but not willing to kill or maim over it either. Instead members of the third squad (third squad that had just lost its leader), set three hooches on fire. At the decision moment, no one, me included, considered that the huts were all these people owned and the wailing and pounding of the ground were evidence that we had gone too far. I should have stopped it before it got that far.

Anger and rage are the primary ingredients of war atrocities and lesser incidents such as this one. As the platoon commander, I was responsible for the actions of the 3rd squad.. At the decision moment, I thought the action was justified, but less so when I observed the response of the old folks who lived in those hooches. War is complex, and no one who is actively involved is proud of every thing that occurred on his/her watch.

Upon return to the company command post, I met with the company commander, told him about our losses and took responsibility for the actions of the 3rd squad. He replied, “Well, at least you didn’t burn down the entire hamlet” or words to that effect.