ROBERT H. WHITLOW Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Table of Contents _Page_ Foreword iii Preface v Table of Contents vii PART I THE WATERSHED 1 Chapter 1 Background to Military Assistance 3 The Geographic Setting 3 The People 6 Vietnam’s Recent History 9 Post-Geneva South Vietnam 12 The American Response 14 Chapter 2 The Formative Years 15 Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam 15 Origins of U.S. Marine Assistance 16 Political Stabilization and Its Effects 18 Reorganization and Progress 20 Summing Up Developments 25 Chapter 3 Vietnamese Marines and the Communist Insurgency 26 Origins and Early Stages of Insurgency 26 Insurgency and the Vietnamese Marine Corps 31 Ancillary Effects on Marine Pacific Commands 39 American Decisions at the Close of 1961 42 Chapter 4 An Expanding War, 1962 44 The War’s New Context 44 Creation of MACV and Marine Advisory Division 46 The Vietnamese Marine Corps, 1962 49 Some Conclusions 53 PART II MARINE HELICOPTERS GO TO WAR 55 Chapter 5 SHUFLY at Soc Trang 57 The Decision 57 Deployment to Soc Trang 59 Mekong Delta Combat Support Operations 65 Preparations and Redeployment 73 Accomplishments 74