U.S. Army Infantry (LRRP / LRP) Recon-Groups, RVN:
I Co. 75th Rangers, 1st Infantry Division, Lai Kai, Republic of Vietnam 1968:
Long-Range Detachment Patrols were designed to infiltrate objective areas prior to division operations and perform analysis, lengthy ground searches were required because many trails and streams were covered by thick jungle canopies and not observable from the air. Missions usually lasted three to four days, 15 0r more miles from the nearest friendly’s, and lines of contact were only by radio if it worked. Most teams consisted of six men, although up to 12 had been used at times. The 12-man teams were known as hunter-killer teams, at times having body snatch missions. In the high number of ‘Hot’ Pick-up Zones (PZs), which were littery enemy territory, jungle hell-holes, firing much brighter than Fourth-of-July fireworks, their helicopters were often riddled by AK-47 ground fire. Huey Helicopters inserted teams into targeted areas, often making 2-3-4 false insertions first to fool the enemy of their real whereabouts. Patrols scrambled to the interior of the jungle cover to relocate to the designated place. After remaining quiet for extended periods of time moves would be made to monitor sites where enemy activity had been suspected.
The Big Red One Rangers kept essentially to themselves but were good friends of the medical unit. At times they picked antagonist’s units, such as the MP neighbors, on which to bestow derogatory cadence songs or mischievous tricks. As one of the few units that regularly participated in organized physical training (PT), the unit was cohesive and synergistic. The unit had its own club unit until it moved and joined its friends, the medics club. When the Medics left, Company I inherited the medics monkey, George, who often kept company with the Rangers Dog Zulu. Fellow soldiers did not mess with the Rangers who were easily distinguishable by their black beret and red and dark blue 75th Airborne-Ranger Infantry Company Scroll which rested above the Big Red One patch on their sleeve. Often their pocket unit patch featured their colorful coat of arms inherited from the 5307th Composite Forces (The Marauders).
The Staff Sergeant (SSG) Leads up to an 11-man squad, depending on what’s available to leave due to sickness, wounded, or KIA. His third pattern jungle fatigues incorporate collar rank, sewn in place, instead of the early sleeve rank. The rest of the insignia is a mix of fully colored, and subdued, which was mostly a statement of who the man served with and mixed regulations. He is not only a graduate of the Ranger Course, but in the United States, but the SSG is also Parachute Qualified, a Ranger requirement, and has at least 1 prior combat tour, as seen by his Combat Infantryman Badge. On the left pocket is the 5307th Composite Force Badge, originating in the jungles of China, Burma, and India in WWII. The ‘Divisional’ Recondo patch he earned while attending the Special Forces - Recondo School set up in-country, is on his right pocket. He has served with the 1st Infantry Division since his arrival, being processed to the 1st right away, and with no-prior tour patch on the right sleeve.
The basic load for the LRRP would consist of Dry Rations, Personnel gear, like soap, shaving kit, block of C4, camouflage marker sticks, towel, change of underwear, socks, and uniform. Poncho liner and 550’ of cord. 2.5 quarte bladder canteen in cover, with a small packet of water purification tablets, 1 Quart canteens, eating gear, water-proof match case, civilian lock/blade Buck Knife and case, electricians tape (For fixing all kinds of stuff), Claymore anti-personnel mine(s), firing cord on a spool, and a remote Detonator device called a ‘Clacker’, circuit tester, First Aid Bandages, Battle Dressings, toilet paper, Strobe Light use to mark their location at night for extractions, and air support, as well as orange markers and flares, several bandoleers of 20 round magazines of 5.56mm (M-16) ammo, plus what on their (LBE) web-gear that has a Carabineer, for use in spelling, and extracting wounded, and extraction harness. Many various grenades could be carried White Phosphorous, Frag, Concussion, and various Smoke cans, more canteens, a privately purchased fighting knife, flashlight, and poncho….and one or two guys in the group carried radios as well., oh and some ware gloves, or carried them for use in elephant grass and whatnot.
Sergeant, 9 LRP, E-Co, 75th ABN., RANGER/ LRRP, PLT, 9 INF. DIV.
In the Fall of 1966, the 9th Division formed a divisional ‘LRRP’ Platoon after Division Commander, Major General George S. Eckhardt flew to Vietnam on an orientation tour of the combat theater. MAG.GEN. Eckhardt noted that each division contained a Long Range Patrol Unit, it was a necessity. He arrived back at Fort Riley, Kansas, where the division was completing preparations for their scheduled deployment to the Republic of Vietnam, and ordered the immediate organization of a reconnaissance platoon to be put together for his own division. Captain James Tedrick, Lieutenant Winslow Stetson, and Lieutenant Edwin Garrison were chosen as the officers of the Long Range Recon Platoon. Interviewing and screening 130 volunteer soldiers, selecting 40 they thought best for the job.
The provisional unit was known as the “War Eagle Platoon”. In November of 1966, the LRRP Platoon Completed the Jungle Warfare School in Panama. Captain Tedrick conducted another week of tropical training following the regular two-week course. Then the platoon was sent to Vietnam, in January 1967.
At the Special Forces MACV Recondo School at Nha Trang, the entire 9th Infantry Division LRRPs became Recondo-qualified, meanwhile, the unit became accustomed to what would be their operating area (AO). The division would be operating primarily in the low-land area, south of Saigon, ‘The Rung Sat - Special Zone’, and throughout the Mekong Delta area. Where torrential rains there year-round, wet all the time, exposed the soldiers to a hole-number of disabling skin diseases. Reconnaissance Platoons often suffered extensive inflammatory lesions and rampant skin infections, stomach problems, and the like.
By the fourth month of tropical service in the Delta, three-fourths of all the infantrymen had some kind of recognizable infections on their bodies. The Bear-Cat - Long Thanh area east of Saigon was where the division was initially concentrated. The new Base, Dong Tam, was constructed by dredging the My Tho River to get enough depth, and enough dirt fill to build a major installation in the Mekong Delta, where, much of the other elements were stationed on floating berthing ‘barges’ that worked as portable facilities for docking up to and maintaining landing craft and small vessels. It was located 5 miles west of My Tho in Dinh Tuong Province.
On 8 June 1967, the 9th Long Range Patrol Detachment (LRPD) was formalized. Borrowing General Marshall’s World War II phrase, the Division LRPD “Were well brought up”. During June and July, the LRPD completed forty-three patrols and clashed with the enemy eighteen times. Through August and September, the LRPD continued to fill. By October it had reached full operational strength of 119 personnel and was rated fully operational. Each platoon contained a command section and eight, six-man teams.
Some teams of the division LRPD rendered reconnaissance for the 2nd Brigade in Operation CORONADO and entered the Viet Cong, Cam Son secret base area while other teams supported the 1st Brigade in Operation AKKRON and uncovered a massive underground system of enemy tunnels and bunker system. The LRPD also conducted important military intelligence tasks for the joint Army / Navy-Mobile Riverene Force operating in waterways of the Delta Area.
Staff Sergeant, 9th Long Range Patrol Division, E-Company 75th Airborne-Ranger “LRRP” PLT., 9th Infantry Division. (Example #2):
Major General George C. O’Connor activated Company E (Long Range Patrol), 50th Infantry, to give the 9th Infantry Division specialized ground reconnaissance support on 20 December 1967. The Long Range Patrol company absorbed the LRPD and was designated as a “Reliable Reconnaissance” after the Division Nickname of the "Old Reliables".
Then in January 1968, U.S. Navy SEAL teams started to work directly with the U.S. Armies Reliable Reconnaissance operations. The LRP's thought it would be good to learn and do some training with them, and experience exploring the Delta environment, and learn to understand the SEALs, so they could work together more fluently. They went on missions that were designated as ‘SEAL-ECHO’, and they were very special patrols. They were inserted by Navy patrol boats, and small plastic assault boats, Boston whalers and, helicopters dropped them off, The SEAL-ECHO patrols, had on-call, artillery, and Air Force aircraft the could all on for maximum support.
In February of 1968 Major General Julian J. Ewell took over command of the 9th Infantry Division. And he then authorized the ‘Reliable Reconnaissance’ Company, to acquire a similar capacity to the 3rd Brigade Combined Reconnaissance and Intelligence Platoon a direct result of the Tet-68 offensive. Then Company E received permission to use Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) personnel who operated with the Central Intelligence Agency's Project Phoenix program. The PRU’s were known anti-communist, and dependable troops totally dedicated to destroying the Viet Cong infrastructure. These PRU-troops were made up by some very high esprit people, with great knowledge of their enemy ways. They continued their war on the Viet Cong, working through November 1968 to January 1969, as Company E days came to an end. Reliable Reconnaissance teams had conducted 217 patrols, and all but 15 of them ended up in some kind of a battle.
Then the department of the Army decided to reorganize the 75th Infantry, to their parent regiments for long-range patrol companies, under the Combat Arms Regimental System, on 1 February 1969. Major General Ewell then activated Company E (Ranger), 75th Infantry, from Company E, 50th Infantry. The rangers became known as the "Echo Rangers" and the "Riverine Rangers". And ‘Ranger Company E’ started to work in the dry season conditions, and soon they were ‘Chasing-Charlie’ right to the end of April.
These ‘Rangers’ from (Company E) had conducted no less than 244 patrols, of those they made 134 observations of enemy activity and had watched and reported on them. They also ended up in a fight with the Viet Cong on 111 patrols, being credited with capturing five prisoners and reported 169 Viet Cong KIA.
In July of 1969, the 9th Infantry Division started their phasing-out processing of Vietnam. During this time, the rangers decided to rename themselves, as the "Kudzu Rangers" after the operational code word used in the close-in defense of Dong Tam, and they had left by 3 August.
Officially on 23 August 1969, the U.S. Army formally inactivated Company E (Ranger), 75th Infantry. The provisional 'Go-Devil" Ranger company, aka the 3rd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division, and officially became an independent unit on 26 July 1969.
The company had just gone on about their business completely unaffected by this paper trail. Officially on 24 September, the U.S. Army Pacific reactivated Company E by General Order 705 and the U.S. Army Vietnam headquarters published orders reassigning Company E to the 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry was then again activated on 1 October 1969 and the original Company E was discontinued and became the new Company E. They were no longer the "Riverine Rangers" now they were the "Go-Devil" Rangers." Though under different designations, their missions continued till the U.S. Withdraw from South Vietnam in 1972, following many peace talks and pressure from home, and as always the political situation makes the call.
Americal Division, Reconnaissance Team:
Note: the Americal “Pin” unit shield-insignia on the cap is not to regulation, and is used just around his buddies I presume, though gunts in the field may get away with stuff, as they were in the boonies anyways, just depended on the leader.
Sergeant First Class, M Company, 75 Ranger, 199th Light Infantry Brigade:
Brigade Commander Brigadier General Frederic Davis activated Company M (Ranger), 75th Infantry. The Ranger Structure gave the 199th a reinforced combat reconnaissance and surveillance capability. Rangers from Company M were known to patrol in two-man teams, how-ever the norm for LRRP teams was six, and up to twelve in a ‘heavy’ patrol mission in most instances.
In June 1969 the 199th moved into a new operational area northeast of Saigon and resettled at Fire Base Blackhorse in Long Khan Province. The region was geographically different than the swampy terrain they came from. The Rangers found the change initially a bit unsettling at first, because they were on unfamiliar ground, and facing a far more hardened professional soldier than they had faced before.
The majority of the combat operations in Long Khanh Province invariably encountered elements of two, large, well-trained, and highly disciplined organizations, the 274th VC Regiment, and the 33rd NVA Regiment. For many soldiers, facing these hard corps’ aggressive enemy was an unpleasant task compared to fighting, the Guerrillas in the old Pineapple Zone. Other soldiers liked the new area better though, noting the relatively less number of boobytraps and mine contraptions that had caused so many casualties during the ‘Plantation Patrols’.
The Rangers were soon unleashed in an ambitious extended reconnaissance campaign to locate the NVA and VC working in the area, finding their hiding places, resupply points, and infiltration routes. The ‘RED CATCHER” (Derived from the ‘Red Flame’ located in the center of the 199th Brigade insignia), the brigade was also referred to as the ‘Fighting Reds’ in Vietnam, the Ranger Teams were sent into the gloomy rain forest northeast of Trang Bom, north of Dinh Quan, and along the heavily vegetated Lga Nga and Dong Nai rivers. The Ranger / Scouts grappled with the enemy in a series of sharp clashes. From these opening skirmishes, the Rangers learned that their opponents were highly elusive but willing to stand and fight when occupying good fighting positions or cornered. However, the Rangers gained confidence as their incessant raiding began to unbalance the NVA and the VC attempts to safeguard previously uncontested supply lines and cache
The persistent Ranger reconnaissance campaign continued to relentlessly pursue, harass, and sustain pressure constantly on the supply trails, and the 274th VC Regiment was reduced to eating bananas and roots. The 33rd NVA Regiment withdrew from Long Khanh province altogether, and Ranger Company patrols were ordered to continue to track them into the Binh Tuy province.
The expanded reconnaissance campaign forces Rangers to arrange Long-distance communications, For example, in late March 1970, one team was placed on a remote mountaintop to set up a radio-relay point for two weeks! It can be hard to hide for two weeks….this duty was extremely dangerous because it involved transmitting signals from a static location, that can be tracked, and then you become the target. the Long Range Patrols continued and became more dangerous, and they were scattered out and launched deep into North Vietnamese Strongholds.
In mid-July 1970, the Rangers were moved to Fire Support Base ‘Mace’ near Gia Ray in Binh Tuy Province. The Ranger Teams prepared to go deeper in pursuit of the elusive NVA Instead they were informed that their exemplary reconnaissance pursuit campaign was about to end. The brigade had received orders that it was scheduled for redeployment from Vietnam as part of the Army’s Keystone Robin Increment IV Program.
On 9 September the ranger Company ceased active combat operations. And the four ranger teams were extracted by helicopter from the field for consideration at Fire Support Base Mace. The Veteran ‘Red Catcher’ Rangers were moved by truck convoy to Camp Frenzell Jones in Long Binh and started ‘Stand Down’ procedures, Company M (Ranger), 75th Infantry. Was reduced to zero strength on 24th September and officially disbanded on 12, October 1970.
The 71st (LRP) and Company M (Ranger), 75th Infantry combat reconnaissance record was a model of effective scouting progression that produced one of the most successful endeavors of the Vietnam War. The LRRP Patrollers and Rangers were adjusted for close-in installation defense around Long Binh, to short-range swamp patrols monitoring assignments in the Pineapple Plantation, and finally to independent long-range ranger patrols on a sustained reconnaissance campaign in the enemy-dominated territory. This proper groundwork enabled Company M to achieve superior results during their relentless tracking of the two formidable regiments.
Undertaken as the first experiment of its kind among regular U.S. Military units in Vietnam, all infantry battalions within the 199th began the “Vietnamesezation” project with soldiers of the 5th ARVN Ranger Battalion in January 1967.
For the rest of the next year, every “Red Catcher” unit that went out on combat operations was paired with an ARVN Ranger unit of similar size. Although the results were mixed, the program’s potential towards assisting the Vietnamese in securing their own country was never really realized by top American Commanders and proved to be true, the North had more determination to win.
In mid-1969, the 199th was again paired up with an ARVN unit. This time it was the 18th ARVN Infantry Division then operating in Xuan Loc in Long Khanh province. When the brigade was redeployed back to the U.S. in October of 1970 elements of the brigade were still operating with the 18th ARN Division. In April 1975, when the North Vietnamese juggernaut was driving towards Saigon to end the war, they collided head-on with the 18th ARVN Division at Xuan Loc. Rather than give up and surrender, like most of the ARVN units had done, stood their ground, and fought back, but the division was virtually whipped out to the last man.
The Sergeant First Class (SFC) is working with the 5th ARVN Ranger Battalion, developing their combat effectiveness. On his third pattern jungle fatigue he wears not only the M Company Scroll, but the 199th Light Infantry semi-subdued patch, he also sports the ARVN Ranger Panther in his left pocket. Parachute and Ranger School Qualified, he has already earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge fighting the enemy before. His Customised Boonie Cap carried the 199th, Airborne, and his rank in it, not really in regulation form. In combat he would have worn LBE equipment, a very heavily loaded up backpack, with ammo, grenades, and water in it, with jungle boots, he likely carried an M-16 Rifle.
Sergeant, 1st BN, 75th Ranger, 101st ABN DIV.
He has been on a prior tour, earning his CIB with an infantry unit, back again he went through the Recondo School with the 101st Recondo Team. The cap came later, and I don’t get the insignia on the top thing, not regulation, this may be removed, I have 3-4 of the uniform caps like this, but don’t get it.
Note: The last picture is of a troop from the 173rd ABN. It shows the full-color black and scrolls in use.
25th Inf. F Co. 75th RANGER / LRP:
Corporal, 82 Airborne Division, LRRP:
The Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) Recondo School was created under the order of General William Westmoreland to teach Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol tactics to soldiers from all the various divisions in the Republic of Vietnam. The school was run by the 5th Special Fores Group in Nha Trang, South Vietnam. Students ranged from U.S. soldiers and Marines, as well as members from the ‘Free World Military Assistance Forces (FWMAF): South Vietnamese, Koreans, Australians, Thai, and ‘The Republic of the Philippines’ went through the courses, the course required a high level of physical fitness and concluded with an actual combat patrol prior to completion of the course to demonstrate to the student’s knowledge and capabilities, dubbed “You Bet Your Life”.
The inspiration for the MACV Recondo School was the project Delta reconnaissance course which stemmed from the Joint Special Forces/CIA operation called ‘LEAPING-LENA’. The LRRP training program was established in May 1964 and administered by members of Detachment B-52, from the 5th Special Forces Group. The effectiveness of the techniques quickly led to student application requests from Regular Army units. By August 1966 soldiers from conventional units accounted for 52% of each class.
With the success of the Project Delta course, General Westmoreland directed that the Special Forces organize and conduct a three-week course of instruction on LRRP techniques for selected personnel from U.S. and FWMAF units. General Westmoreland established the MACV Recondo School in Nha Trang on 16 September 1966. Instructors were members of the 5th Special Forces Group, many on their second and third tours already of Vietnam. The first Recondo class graduated on 1st October 1966.
The three-week course consisted of 260 man-hours of classroom and field instruction. The first week was conducted in a classroom on the school compound. The second week was spent outside in the compound on subjects including, weapons firing and cleaning, tower and helicopter repelling, and other field activities. The third week was spent, preparing and conducting an actual, instructor-led, combat patrol in a relatively safe jungle environment It was not uncommon for these patrols to run into actual enemy VC. and resulting in WIA and KIA on both sides.
Then after finishing the Recondo school, the new Recondo’s returned to their parent units, and often signed to their LRRP groups, led squads, etc.
Out of 5,626 students, including 296 ROKs, 193 Thais, 130 Vietnamese, 22 Filipinos, and 18 Australians.
