Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-20

4eafs ugly civil war.
They are being fired upon g
pilpting bombers and they are o
Of helicopters which support tn
are highly vulnerable to ground
attack.
They get combat medals, but
officially they are not in COM
bat Some get combat pay,
though they're not supposed to
be combatants.
Up to mid October, 100
Americans have died in the
war. 70 in active combat. More
win die.
But you do not hear the
American GIs or their officers
grJnnble. Many Of them volun-
teered for the job and most are
the highest type Of soldier.
They don't grumbIe. Butt
they see things and they COM
ment on them. Mingling with II
them, you hear such things as
these:
Outside a fortified village in i
a province northwest of Saigon,
the Wet Namese captain of an
outpost political appointee
Of the palace in Saigon-was
getting himself drunk while,
outside one of the villages he
was supposed to be protecting,
Wet Cong Communists were
holding a propaganda rally to
get recruits. Americans, so goes
this report. moved in and shot
seven Of the Communists.
United States helicopters
were alerted for a big operation
against the Wet Cong CVCs,
they call them here) and ar
rived on the scheduled morn
ing. Once they found out that
the, district captain, without
telling the Americans. had call
ed the whole thing off. !
An officer in the Wet Nam
csc army fears demotion if his
command has too many cssu-
alties. Therefore. the officers
often avoid physical contact
with the VCs. There are cases
when troops are called to beat
off a Wet Cong raid. BY the
time they arrive the raid is
over. They do not go after the
VCs until their officers are sure
the Communists have scattered
and cannot be found.
This is the sort Of thing you
hear. They may be isolated
cases. They may be typical in
some areas. Still, by and large,
the United States soldier seems
to consider his Wet Namese
counterpart a good all-round
fighting man. 1t is the politics
that annoy Americans.
Provincial chiefs and district
chiefs are appointed directly by
the presidential palace and owe
allegiance to 1t. Most Of the AZ
provincial chiefs are high
ranking army officers too
majors and colonies. District
chiefs are mostly army cap
tains. All, therefore. are deeply
involved in politics.
In spite Of all this, the South
Wet Namese army has many
good and d edicated officers
who want to prosecute the war
as vigorously as possible. Many
Of the officers studied in the
United States and now are in q
position to pass on their knowl-
edge to a training program in
side South Wet Nam.
United States advisers have
taken raw recruits from peas
ant villages. boys who could
neither read nor write, and
taught them how to handle
complicated equipment and
machinery and whipped them
into good soldier material.
Recruitment is a long and
arduous process because any
recruit can be a security risk.
Relatives and friends all over
the country must be checked
and the recruits background
traced for evidence Of connec-
tions with the Communists,
Still, the job gets done. The
Wet Namese boys learn quickly
and. from my own observation.
seems to get along well with
their American advisers in q
free-and-easy friendly way.
I visited 3 number Of mill
tary outposts throughout the
country all the way from the
east coast TO the border Of
Camhodia. The inspection mis-
sion was carried out by two
clumsy old Hal helicopters-
mine was named &C hicken
Runner" The chugged along at
1900 feet and 80 miles an hour,
looking like huge bananas. The
thing seemed routine-deliver-
ing officers to outposts for in
spections. shutting other off,
GERS about, dropping off sup
plies here and there.
The choppers always go in