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As I write about my experiences in Vietnam as a Military Policeman in the Army after all these years, I realize that I was always on the move in a Jeep, working with different groups at various locations, and doing various duties such as guard duty, guarding prisoners, escorting convoys, village outpost liaison duty, river patrols, city security patrols, and maintaining route security.
The war was going full-bore around me in 1967-68. Wherever I had duty, nobody shot at me directly, although with TET in Nha Trang starting on January 30, 1968, several rounds hit the buildings we occupied. The camps I stayed in such as Camp Evans and Camp Barnes received periodic mortar fire, but they always missed our tent or building, although a mortar round damaged our outdoor urinal and shower (See photo in Camp Evans Chapter). When in a war zone, you are focused on your current duty and vaguely aware of the events surrounding you. This was especially true when most of my military police duty assignments, which seemed to be made daily, and 95% of the duty such as convoys and security patrols were completed in a Jeep. Thus, I have added some historical text that occurred at the time and locations when I was on duty. Basically, our unit was on duty 24/7 and we worked each day until the duty assignment was completed.
The status and missions of the MPs changed in Vietnam. In the initial attack on the U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968, the first two casualties were MPs killed defending the embassy. Two more MPs were killed when responding to the fire fight taking place there. Twenty-seven MPs lost their lives and forty-five were wounded fighting in and around Saigon during the battle that raged for control of the city. The traditional duties of town patrol, base security, and POW security had been augmented with armed river patrols and convoy escorts, etc. Many MPs names appear on The Wall in Washington, D.C.
By the end of 1967, U.S. troop levels reached 463,000 with 16,000 combat deaths. By that time, over a million American soldiers were rotated through Vietnam, with length of service for draftees being one year, and most Americans serving in support units. An estimated 90,000 soldiers from North Vietnam infiltrated into the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1967. Overall Viet Cong/NVA troop strength throughout South Vietnam during that time was estimated to be up to 300,000 men.
The war was going full-bore around me in 1967-68. Wherever I had duty, nobody shot at me directly, although with TET in Nha Trang starting on January 30, 1968, several rounds hit the buildings we occupied. The camps I stayed in such as Camp Evans and Camp Barnes received periodic mortar fire, but they always missed our tent or building, although a mortar round damaged our outdoor urinal and shower (See photo in Camp Evans Chapter). When in a war zone, you are focused on your current duty and vaguely aware of the events surrounding you. This was especially true when most of my military police duty assignments, which seemed to be made daily, and 95% of the duty such as convoys and security patrols were completed in a Jeep. Thus, I have added some historical text that occurred at the time and locations when I was on duty. Basically, our unit was on duty 24/7 and we worked each day until the duty assignment was completed.
The status and missions of the MPs changed in Vietnam. In the initial attack on the U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the Tet Offensive of 1968, the first two casualties were MPs killed defending the embassy. Two more MPs were killed when responding to the fire fight taking place there. Twenty-seven MPs lost their lives and forty-five were wounded fighting in and around Saigon during the battle that raged for control of the city. The traditional duties of town patrol, base security, and POW security had been augmented with armed river patrols and convoy escorts, etc. Many MPs names appear on The Wall in Washington, D.C.
By the end of 1967, U.S. troop levels reached 463,000 with 16,000 combat deaths. By that time, over a million American soldiers were rotated through Vietnam, with length of service for draftees being one year, and most Americans serving in support units. An estimated 90,000 soldiers from North Vietnam infiltrated into the South via the Ho Chi Minh trail in 1967. Overall Viet Cong/NVA troop strength throughout South Vietnam during that time was estimated to be up to 300,000 men.