Vietnam War: Staff Film Report 66-19A (1966)
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April 1966 in
Vietnam
Pleiku-Kontam
Provinces - April 11, 1966: a ground control officer supervises the loading of U-H1D
1st Cavalry Divion as they deploy on a search & destroy mission
Operation Mosby. They arrive at LZ Kim and LZ Amy near the Cambodian
Border. At LZ Kim a perimeter defense is set up and a second wave arrives once it has been secured. This will be a secure base for the surrounding patrol troops. Ambushes are set up along the border, but the patrols were routine. After 3 days, the units pulled back & troops boarded Hueys to arrive at LZ
Jones. A considerable amount of VC Equipment.
On April 20, the 2nd phase of the operation began in an area new to
US Forces.
M-102 Howitzers are shown in action.
April 21, 1966 the operation continues, and a VC guerilla is captured, fed and interrogated. He points out an area where VC may be located.
April 23, 1966 A patrol finds 1,
000 pounds of rice, an apparent abandoned village, and punji sticks.
April 24, 1966 report: no significant contact with enemy over the 4 days.
Song Be Area: an
Cessna O-1 flies over the province and drops surrender leaflets as part of Operation
Denver by the
173d Airborne Brigade.
Ground troops at a Michelin
Rubber plantation are fired upon by snipers and a firefight begins. After it ends, they discover an abandoned village. At HQ,
Brigadier Generals Harold K
Johnson & Paul K
Smith meet.
Quang Xuyen - on April 23, 1966 a river patrol boat travels with an adviser to the new outpost down the river. The outpost provides security for the
Long Tau
River.
Bien Hoa - April 11,
1965 helicopters are being prepared for the mission of the day. They are supporting AVRN special forces
Operation Exodus. The experimental XM-31 armament system will be used for the first time in Vietnam. The helicopters take off to prepare a
Landing Zone for assault.
Qui Nhon - On April 16, 1966
USNS General John Pope delivers
3500 Korea troops. The
ROK Troops are attached to the ROK
Tiger Division.
Medal of Honor Ceremony (
Posthumous)
The White House - On April 21, 1966 the Medal of Honor is awarded by
LBJ to
Milton E.
Olive III [
SIC -
Milton L. Olive, III] in the
White House Rose Garden. He threw himself on a live grenade. His father received the medal from
President Johnson.
Tan Son Nhut -
Pleiku A master control station for the
Decca navigation system is being built.
It's a radio navaid, which will cover
Central Vietnam. (There is an existing station in the southern part of the country.) Technicians plot topography by hand.
Systems are installed in the console of 2 U-H1B helicopters and the antenna is installed underneath. The display console prints in the cockpit. A helicopter makes a test flight and the Decca system is shown up-close, plotting a map.
I.W.C.S Sites - A radio relay station, the
Integrated Wideband
Communications System, is being constructed in
South Vietnam.
The US Army Strategic
Communications Command operates the network. Farther
North, in
Nhatrang, another tropo scatter network is operated from a van. It can handle voice, data and message transmission. At Pleiku, a new
IWCS terminal is installing large fuel storage facilities for the network''s generators. Another tropospheric scatter network is at
Da Nang.
Antenna foundations are being built. MPs at the
Phu Lam facility are shown inspecting vehicles before they are allowed entry to the base.
Panmunjam, Korea - April 23, 1966
US Marine Maj. Gen. Joseph O.
Butcher has his first
Military Armistice meeting (UNMAC) as
Senior Representative of the
UN Command.
The North Koreans accuse them of armistice misconduct. Butcher counters by showing a
North Korean propaganda film, which shows
Soviet arms being used in
North Korea. North Korea moves to adjourn.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - The
82nd Airborne at
Camp Randall are part of the
Ready Force of the
IAPF.
Military Police are inspected before they patrol parts of the city, including the rebel sector. The patrols are accompanied by Dominican police. A Sgt is interviewed about the security problem.
Political slogans for the upcoming June 1 elections are found all over the city.
Sattahip, Thailand - construction is going well on the petroleum fuel tank farm.
Engineers install a pipeline on a storage tank. Each tank will hold 10,000 gallons of aircraft fuel.
Bangkok & Prabuddabaht,
Thailand - the provincial hospital is studying malaria.
Animal experimentation (gibbons) is used. Lab techs elsewhere conduct tests on specimens. The US works with Thailand via
Walter Reed Hospital. An automatic blood analyzer is used.
La Paz, Bolivia - the
National Department of
Criminal Investigation operates the
Valley of
Hope for juvenile delinquents. The US Army
Mission sees this as a worthwhile off-duty charitable endeavor. They supply needed materiels. The boys learn trades, take classes, and raise food. The US Mission and Bolivian detectives help support the "Bolivian
Boy's Town."
Gardone Val Trompia,
Italy - In
Northern Italy
DOD -
PIN 26968