Marines in Vietnam: "County Fair" 1967 USMC Film MH-10278-H
Added 2020-06-17 20:20:33 +0000 UTCmore at http://quickfound.net/
COUNTY FAIR - OPERATION OF CLEARING THE VIETCONG FROM VILLAGES WHILE THE PEOPLE ARE CARED FOR, FED, AND ENTERTAINED.
Originally a public domain film, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
...Two innovations which showed promising potential were the County Fair and Golden Fleece programs.Both had their origins in late 1965 and were refined during the course of 1966.
The 9th Marines initiated prototype County Fair operations in late 1965 and in early 1966 in response to the need for new techniques to secure its area of operations south of the Da Nang Airbase. Containing an extended area dotted with hamlets and villages, the 9th Marines TAOR was one of the most densely populated areas of South Vietnam with over 1,000 inhabitants per square mile. The Marine regiment realized that it had to eradicate the VC guerrillas and political cadre in order to pacify the hamlets.
Employing traditional cordon and search tactics, the Marines began a continuing effort in the villages to clear out the VC. The County Fair technique was an outgrowth and elaboration of these tactics. *Begun on an experimental basis in February 1966, this technique emphasized coordination and cooperation with South Vietnamese military and civilian authorities to reestablish government control of a community without alienating the people.While Marines cordoned a village, ARVN troops and police gathered the inhabitants at a designated collection point. The South Vietnamese troops then searched the hamlet for any VC who might still be hiding.
During this time, South Vietnamese administrative officials and police processed the villagers at the collection center, taking a census, is-suing ID cards, and interrogating the population about their background and the location of members of their families. In addition, the people were fed, provided medical assistance, and entertained. A significant feature of the entertainment was that it permitted the government to present its case to the villagers in the form of movies, speeches, folk music,and drama.Throughout these activities, the Marines remained as unobtrusive as possible, except to furnish medical and limited logistical assistance. The idea was not to overwhelm the local populace with the American military presence,but to provide a climate in which the local Vietnamese military, police, and civilian administrators could operate.,One of the more successful of these combined operations was the 9th Marines' County Fair-11 in the hamlet of Thanh Quit during April 1966.The hamlet, located in a small triangle between the Thanh Quit and Vinh Dien Rivers and 1,500 meters east of Route 1 below Da Nang, often served as a haven for local guerrillas.
On the morning of 26 April at 0500, Lieutenant Colonel William F.Donahue's 2d Battalion, 9th Marines established blocking positions east of the hamlet while an ARVN company blocked to the west. One hour later, two companies of the 3d Battalion, 51st ARVN Regiment advanced north from the Thanh Quit River into the hamlet. The South Vietnamese soldiers surprised a guerrilla unit in Thanh Quit. Realizing they were trapped, the VC fought stubbornly. The ARVN killed 45 of the guerrillas, captured 17 prisoners, and confiscated 14 weapons. The Marines in the blocking position suffered no casualties while the ARVN battalion sustained one dead and 14 wounded during the action.
The success of this operation and another in April,during which the Marines and South Vietnamese captured a VC district official, caused General Walt to order the expansion of the program throughout the Marine TAORs during the following months.Many of the regiments prepared standing operating orders for the conduct of these operations and developed fairly elaborate procedures to create a festive atmosphere...
