17 September 1968 ... When NMCB-62 relieved NMCB-74, the Civic Action Program in the area of responsibility assigned by the G-5, Force Logistics Command, had been Seabee territory for several years. The coordination of Civic Action efforts in this area, the Hoa Vang District, was well coordinated so that the duplication of efforts by neighboring military units was kept to a very minimum. Here there was no problem of falling into the trap of working only with institutions instead of the equally important, if not more important, hamlets and villages of Vietnam. The villages and hamlets of Hoa Vang District were spread out along National Route 1, from Da Nang City to the foothills and mountains of Hai Van Pass. NMCB-62 worked in 4 of these hamlets. The hamlet, Trung Nghia, on the shore of the Bay of Da Nang and the northern boundary of the city, was a Buddhist stronghold which was first inhabited during the 13th century by the Chams, a tribe of people from India which migrated north into what is now South Vietnam. Traveling north out of Da Nang two Catholic hamlets, Phuoc Quang (AT 965 776) and Phuoc Thanh (AT 960 782) , were next on the list. They were refugee hamlets inhabited by Vietnamese from south of Da Nang, in existence for approximately3 years. They were built on the sands of grave yards, an unclaimed windblown area surrounded by the rice paddies of the farmers of Hoa Vang. The hamlet’s houses were constructed of plywood from packing crates, opened “C” ration boxes and USAID corrugated tin roofing. Further on toward Red Beach and Camp Haskins was a new hamlet, (AT 980 775) but this one was different. The residents were “Hoi Chan”, former Viet Cong families who fled from the Communists and turned to the South Vietnamese Government for protection under the Chieu Hoi (Open Arms) Program. The people here were energetic and appeared to sincerely appreciate what was done to help them rebuild their lives. A primary factor which governed the progress and success of the Civic Action Program was the development of rapport between the Battalion personnel engaged in the program and the people in the hamlets. In order to develop that rapport there was regular and frequent contact, something that was not normally possible between the U.S. Military and the Vietnamese civilian population. Rapport with the people of the hamlets was primarily obtained through the two teams of Corpsmen who held sickcall 6 days a week These teams of Corpsmen, with their genuine interest in helping the people, paved the way for the other efforts of the Battalion. A second factor, which goverened the progress and success of the Civic Action Program, was the availability and coordination of manpower, equipment and materials. Materials were available through G-5, Force Logistics Command and came from USAID sources via Vietnamese government officials. The increased materials demand created by the TET Offensive, and the supply labyrinth, made planning, scheduling and execution of projects tedious and difficult. The availability of equipment for transportation of materials was no problem during the deployment due to the increased understanding of, interest and cooperative spirit toward the Civic Action Program by Battalion personnel.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 12:38:27 +0000
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