History Pgs. 142-155
10/9/06
4:51 PM
Page 140
THE MARINES
Above: Weary and wary Marines ride atop an Amtrac. The danger of mines, booby traps, and ambushes was always immediate and real. Trac-Security, by Sgt. Henry Casselli, USMC, 1969, acrylic on illustration board. Opposite page: As always, the jungle could be as much of an enemy as the humans who fought each other within it. Green Hell, by Sgt. Richard L. Yaco, USMC, 1969, mixed media on illustration board.
(1969-1990)
The Marines wound up fighting two wars in Vietnam. One was the virtually unrestricted slugging match against heavily-armed NVA divisions in the north along the DMZ. The other remained principally a counterinsurgency operation against Viet Cong and other NVA forces in the villages and rice paddies of Southern I Corps, an area best described as “the Rocket Belt of Da Nang.” The DMZ war featured heavy pounding by NVA artillery, rocket, and mortar crews against the 3d Marine Division. Around Da Nang, the 1st Marine Division experienced less shelling, but a much higher dosage of mines, booby traps, and ambushes. Throughout the war,
half of all Marine combat casualties south of Da Nang came from these “silent” weapons and tactics. The Marines hungered for combat action against real, flesh-and-blood enemies. The finely honed battle ax needed something to hew and hack. Pacification, the CAP [Combined Action Platoon] program, “Golden Fleece” rice-harvest protection duties, “County Fair” cordon-andsearch operations – all essential counterinsurgency stuff – lacked the viscerally rewarding, old-fashioned firefight. For those 1st Marine Division troops hankering for more conventional warfare, there was always Arizona Territory, the rolling wasteland below Charlie Ridge and
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Collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps
Limited War, Violent Peace