The Tunnels of Cu Chi (46 page)
Read The Tunnels of Cu Chi Online
Authors: Tom Mangold
CHRONOLOGY OF MAIN EVENTS IN THE VIETNAM WARS
GLOSSARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
| 1945     | 2 Sept     | Communist-led Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh seize power in Hanoi and proclaim independent Vietnam.     |
|       | 22 Sept     | Return of French forces to Vietnam.     |
| 1946     | 19 Dec     | Viet Minh initiate 8-year Indochina war against the French.     |
| 1950     | 26 June     | Start of the Korean War.     |
| 1953     | 27 July     | Armistice in Korea.     |
| 1954     | 7 May     | French surrender to Viet Minh army at Dien Bien Phu.     |
|       | 20 July     | Geneva Accords divide Vietnam into North and South, with capitals in Hanoi and Saigon.     |
| 1955     | 26 Oct     | Ngo Dinh Diem becomes president of South Vietnam, and cancels the elections agreed at Geneva.     |
| 1959     | May     | North Vietnam begins infiltration of personnel and weapons to the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail through Laos and Cambodia. Arrival of first U.S. military advisers in South Vietnam.     |
|       | Oct     | President Diem promulgates the law suppressing Communists and former Viet Minh.     |
| 1960     | 8 Nov     | John F. Kennedy elected President of the United States, pledges support for Diem.     |
|       | 20 Dec     | Formation of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong) and resumption of guerrilla war; tunnel construction restarted in Cu Chi district and elsewhere.     |
| 1962     | 8 Feb     | U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) set up in Saigon.     |
|       | 30 Feb     | Start of strategic hamlet program in South Vietnam.     |
| 1963     | 2 Jan     | Defeat of South Vietnamese army (ARVN) by Viet Cong at Ap Bac.     |
|       | April     | Inception of Chieu Hoi amnesty program for Viet Cong.     |
|       | 1 Nov     | President Diem murdered in a military coup in Saigon.     |
|       | 22 Nov     | President Kennedy assassinated; Lyndon Johnson takes over.     |
| 1964     | 20 June     | General William Westmoreland assumes command of MACV.     |
|       | Nov     | Abortive ARVN operation in the Iron Triangle.     |
| 1965     | 25 Feb     | Start of U.S. bombing of North Vietnam.     |
|       | 8 Mar     | Arrival of first U.S. combat troops at Da Nang.     |
|       | 5 May     | Arrival of U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade and first Australian troops.     |
|       | 27 June     | 173rd Airborne sweeps the Iron Triangle.     |
|       | Oct-Nov     | Battle of the Ia Drang valley in the central highlands.     |
|       | Oct     | Arrival of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) at Bien Hoa Air Base.     |
| 1966     | Jan     | Operation Crimp in Cu Chi district, followed by Operation Buckskin in the same area.     |
|       | 12 Jan     | Lt. Col. George S. Eyster mortally wounded.     |
|       | Feb     | 1st Infantry Division moves to Di An base camp.     |
|       | March     | U.S. 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning) arrives at Cu Chi     |
|       | Sept     | Operation Attleboro in War Zone C, Tay Ninh province.     |
| 1967     | 7â26 Jan     | Operation Cedar Falls in the Iron Triangle and Cu Chi district.     |
|       | Feb     | 1st Infantry Division establishes Lai Khe base camp.     |
|       | FebâApr     | Operation Junction City in War Zone C.     |
|       | 6 July     | Death in Hanoi of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, Communist commander in the South.     |
|       | 3 Sept     | General Nguyen Van Thieu elected president of South Vietnam.     |
| 1968     | 31 Jan     | Nationwide Tet offensive by Viet Cong in Saigon and other towns, followed by sieges at Hue and Khe Sanh.     |
|       | 16 Mar     | My Lai massacre.     |
|       | 31 Mar     | President Johnson announces partial bombing halt, and says he will not run for reelection.     |
|       | 4 May     | More Viet Cong attacksâ“mini-Tet.”     |
|       | May     | Preliminary peace talks begin in Paris.     |
|       | June     | General Creighton Abrams takes over from Westmoreland.     |
|       | 30 Sept     | U.S. strength in Vietnam 537,800âthe highest level.     |
|       | 31 Oct     | President Johnson halts the bombing of North Vietnam.     |
|       | 5 Nov     | Richard Nixon elected President and promises U.S. troop withdrawal and the Vietnamization of the war.     |
| 1969     | 26 Feb     | Viet Cong raid on Cu Chi base camp destroys Chinook helicopters.     |
|       | 10 June     | Formation of Viet Cong Provisional Revolutionary Government.     |
|       | 3 Sept     | Ho Chi Minh dies in Hanoi.     |
| 1970     | 27 Mar     | U.S. incursion into Cambodia.     |
|       | 15 April     | U.S. 1st Infantry Division leaves Vietnam.     |
|       | Dec     | U.S. 25th Infantry Division leaves Vietnam; Cu Chi base taken over by the ARVN 25th Division.     |
| 1971     | 18 Aug     | Pull-out of last Australian and New Zealand troops.     |
| 1972     | 21 Feb     | President Nixon visits China.     |
|       | 30 Mar     | North Vietnamese Easter offensive on the South.     |
|       | 12 Aug     | Last U.S. ground troops leave.     |
| 1973     | 27 Jan     | Cease-fire agreement signed in Paris by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho.     |
| 1974     | 9 Aug     | President Nixon resigns.     |
| 1975     | 30 April     | Fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese troops.     |
| 1976     | 2 July     | Proclamation of unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Saigon renamed Ho Chi Minh City.     |
| AAR | After-action report |
| ADSID | Air-delivered seismic intruder-detection device; microphone and transmitter dropped into suspect areas |
| AK-47 | Russian-designed Kalashnikov 7.62 mm automatic rifle used by Communist troops |
| APC | Armored personnel carrier |
| ARVN (Arvin) | The South Vietnamese army (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) |
| B-52 | Strategic high-altitude bomber converted for conventional bombing over Vietnam |
| Big Red One | The U.S. 1st Infantry Division |
| C-rations | Combat rations |
| Cedar Falls | Search-and-destroy operation mounted in the Iron Triangle and Cu Chi district in January 1967 |
| Charlie | Short for “Victor Charlie,” meaning VC or Viet Cong |
| Chieu Hoi | Amnesty program enabling VC to defect with safety to the South Vietnamese government side |
| Chinook | CH-47 cargo helicopter |
| Chopper | Helicopter |
| CIA | U.S. Central Intelligence Agency |
| Claymore | Antipersonnel mine that propels shrapnel in a fan-shaped pattern |
| Cobra | AH-1G attack helicopter |
| Commo wire | Communications wire |
| COSVN | Central Office for South Vietnam: Communist HQ in the South |
| Crimp | Search-and-destroy operation mounted in Cu Chi district in January 1966, followed immediately by Operation Buckskin |
| CS | A riot-control gas |
| Dac Cong | Viet Cong special forces |
| DEROS | Date eligible for return from overseas: the end of a GI's tour in Vietnam |
| Det-cord | Detonating cord used with explosives |
| DH-5, DH-10 | Viet Cong claymore (q.v.) mines |
| DMZ | The demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam |
| Dust-off | Medical evacuation by helicopter |
| Fire base | Remote artillery base |
| Frag | Murder of officers or NCOs by enlisted men; derived from the use of fragmentation grenades |
| Free strike zone | Area where everybody was deemed hostile and a legitimate target by U.S. forces |
| Green Berets | U.S. Special Forces |
| Grunt | A U.S. infantryman |
| Gung ho | Enthusiastic |
| Gunship | Armed helicopter |
| GVN | The government of South Vietnam |
| H&I | Harassment and interdiction, meaning random artillery fire |
| Hoi Chanh | Defector under the Chieu Hoi program |
| Iron Triangle | VC-dominated area between the Thi Tinh and Saigon rivers, next to Cu Chi district |
| Kit Carson scouts | Former Viet Cong acting as guides for U.S. units |
| Lao Dong party | The Vietnamese Workers' (i.e., Communist) party |
| M-16 | U.S. 5.56 mm infantry rifle |
| M-60 | U.S. 7.62 mm machine gun |
| MACV (Macvee) | U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam |
| MEDCAP | Medical civil action programâfree treatment for villagers by U.S. and ARVN medics |
| Medevac | Medical evacuation by helicopter |
| Mighty mite | Commercial air blower used for injecting gas into tunnels |
| MR IV | Viet Cong military region surrounding and including Saigon |
| NCO | Noncommissioned officer |
| NLF | The National Liberation Front of South Vietnam |
| NVA | The North Vietnamese army |
| OJT | On-the-job training |
| Phoenix | Intelligence-based campaign to eliminate the Viet Cong infrastructure |
| Point | The leading man on a patrol or tunnel exploration mission |
| PSYOPS | Psychological operations |
| Punji stake | Sharpened bamboo used in primitive booby trap |
| R&R | Rest and recreation |
| Rallier | Defector from the Viet Cong |
| Rome plow | Specially designed bulldozer blade for landclearing |
| Slick | Helicopter |
| SOP | Standard operating procedure |
| SP4, SP5, etc. | U.S. Army noncommissioned ranks |
| Spider | hole VC firing position at tunnel opening |
| Tet | Vietnamese lunar new year festival, celebrated as a national holiday |
| III Corps Tactical | ARVN military region: the land between the |
| Zone | Mekong Delta and the central highlands of South Vietnam |
| Tropic Lightning | The U.S. 25th Infantry Division |
For Sarah, Abigail, Jessica, and Lucianâand all those still young enough to learn
.
T.C.M.
For Eve
,
J.V.G.P.
Our grateful thanks are owed to scores of people who have generously given their time, documents, and photographs, which contributed so much to this book. First and foremost are those in Vietnam and the United States whom we interviewed, and whose names and stories appear.
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