Forsaken Warriors: The Story of an American Advisor who Fought with the South Vietnamese Rangers and Airborne

255 Pages·2009·2.83 MB·English

by  Robert Tonsetic

Published in the United States of America and Great Britain in 2009 by
CASEMATE
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Copyright 2009 © Robert L. Tonsetic
ISBN 978-1-935149-03-3
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Prologue
A FORTUNATE SON
1
ASSIGNMENT: DELTA RANGERS
2
“MOUNTAINS WERE BROUGHT FORTH”
3
“GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN”
4
“DON’T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYING”
5
“WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN”
6
“INTO THE FOREST PRIMEVAL”
7
“THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD”
8
“ANCHORS AWAY”
9
“JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG”
10
“INTO THE MIDST OF BATTLE”
11
“FIGHTING SOLDIERS FROM THE SKY”
12
CLOSING THE CIRCLE
13
REFLECTIONS
14
Epilogue
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
For the brave U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers who wore the Maroon and
Red Berets of the ARVN Rangers and Airborne.
INTRODUCTION
This book is about the author’s experiences as a Senior Advisor to South
Vietnamese Ranger and Airborne battalions during the latter years of the
Vietnam War. During the years 1970–1971, the withdrawal of U.S. forces
proceeded at a rapid pace, and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF)
were assuming the major role in combat operations throughout the country. The
story is written as a personal memoir of that period, but it is in no way
representative of the total advisory effort in Vietnam. Thousands of U.S. officers,
warrant officers, and non-commissioned officers from all branches of the armed
services served in advisory capacities during the Vietnam War, along with
numerous civilians representing various government agencies.
Surprisingly, few have written about their experiences, leaving a gap in the
literature that needs to be filled lest the lessons learned be forgotten. While it is
doubtful that future counter-insurgency operations will involve the numbers of
U.S. combat forces that were deployed in Vietnam, it is likely that such conflicts
will require the deployment of U.S. advisors to train and assist indigenous
forces. Hopefully, future advisory efforts will benefit from the experiences of the
MACV advisors.
The advisory effort in South Vietnam began in the mid-1950s, organized under
the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG). In the early years, the
emphasis was on training and equipping South Vietnamese forces, and U.S.
advisors were forbidden from participating in a direct combat role, although they
could accompany ground forces as observers and offer advice. The newly
organized ARVN Ranger units were among the first to benefit from this U.S.
advisory support. By 1961, the Communist insurgency had gained sufficient
strength to seriously threaten the Diem regime, and the Kennedy administration
increased the number of advisors to 3,200. A year later, U.S. military assistance
to South Vietnam was reorganized with the establishment of the U.S. Military
Assistance Command Vietnam (USMACV). Initially, priority was given to
assigning advisors at the province and regimental levels. Beginning in 1964, the
program was expanded and field advisors were assigned to selected districts and
combat battalions.
The ramp-up in advisors continued in the ensuing years until all districts and
combat battalions had U.S. advisors. The program was further expanded in 1968,
when advisory teams were deployed to assist territorial Regional Forces (RF)
and Popular Forces (PF). By 1970, the number of MACV field advisors peaked
at around 14,000, of which some 3,000 were serving with combat units at the
regimental and battalion levels.
The phase-down of the advisory program began in 1971. By 1 July of that year,
all Battalion Combat Advisory Teams (BCATs), with the exception of Airborne
and Marine teams, were phased out. Over the next two years, the drawdown
continued and the U.S. MACV headquarters was disestablished in March of
1973, formally ending the advisory effort in South Vietnam. This book provides
just one snapshot, among many thousands, of the overall advisory effort during
the Vietnam War.
Regardless of when and where U.S. field advisors served in Vietnam, they faced
daunting challenges. Immersed in an alien culture with little or no familiarity
with the language, they provided much needed assistance to their South
Vietnamese counterparts, often in extremely dangerous and hostile
circumstances. With little external support, most served with distinction,
receiving little recognition for their efforts.
The origins of this book can be traced to a manuscript that I wrote in 1971, at the
conclusion of my advisory tour. The manuscript was never completed and was
put aside until 2008, when I decided to expand upon it by doing further research
on events that were such an important part of my overall Vietnam experience,
bringing a sense of closure to that period of my life.
Research for the book was a daunting challenge, since surviving records are few
in comparison to records pertaining to U.S. units and their operations during the
Vietnam War. Mr. Richard Boylan, Senior Archivist at the National Archives and
Records Administration, was extremely helpful in locating those records that do
exist at the archives. Organization and cataloguing of the records is still a work
in progress. Other sources used in my research were found at the U.S. Army
Center for Military History, the Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech
University, and the Moise Vietnam War Bibliography. Other sources can be
found in notes and bibliography sections of this book.
PROLOGUE
The Caribou’s twin Pratt Whitney engines roared to full power and the assault
airlift aircraft sped down the Ton Son Nhut runway. Gaining altitude over the
sweltering city, the aircraft banked south toward the Mekong Delta. The early
morning sunlight glistened off the lush, green rice paddies below. Minutes after
takeoff, the Caribou flew over the village of Binh Tri Dong.
In the rice paddies just north of the village, I spotted what remained of the dirt
berm of an abandoned military outpost. I recognized it at once as the site of Fire
Support Base Stephanie, occupied by the 199th Infantry Brigade’s 4th Battalion,
12th Infantry during the May Offensive of 1968. Two years earlier, the rifle
company that I commanded defended the firebase and fought off determined
North Vietnamese army assaults in the surrounding rice paddies.
My mind wandered back to May 1968. The now placid, emerald-green rice
paddies bore no trace of the many brave men who died here two years earlier. I’ll
never forget that hallowed ground. Too many young Americans died there, some
under my command. I wondered if the families of the young NVA who died
there ever learned of their fate. There were the two young teenage NVA soldiers
that I captured after they ambushed one of my squads. Were they still
languishing in an ARVN POW camp? Some of the despair I had felt two years
earlier surged back into my head. Put all that aside for now and focus on the
present, I thought. You’re going to war again.
Our destination was Can Tho, some 100 miles south of Saigon. My orders read,
Captain Tonsetic: assigned to Military Region 4, Advisory Team 96 for duty as
Senior Advisor, Cai Cai Ranger Camp. My second combat tour in Vietnam was
underway.