126-602: Vietnam War The Americal Division was an infantry division of the United States Army during World War II , briefly in the mid 1950s and the Vietnam War . The division was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia . In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor , the United States had hurriedly sent a task force to defend New Caledonia against a feared Japanese attack. This division
252-589: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in
378-669: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish
504-625: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and
630-565: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved
756-442: A Marine defense battalion) of holding and extending the right half of a previously established perimeter. Warned by intelligence, they met a massive and sustained Japanese counter-attack, which began on 7 March 1944. Despite ample warning and thorough defensive preparations, the battle soon degenerated into a bitter, close-quarters infantry affair, with artillery restricted by the need to avoid friendly troops and tanks unable to reach
882-606: A battalion of light tanks, antiaircraft and coast artillery regiments and a pursuit squadron. The force's mission was to hold New Caledonia. It was an independent command, directly under the War Department in Washington. Within two weeks, despite an urgent need of shipping elsewhere and at the cost of delaying and rearranging schedules elsewhere and consultations at the head of state level, Task Force 6814 along with some 4,000 troops destined for Australia were assembled in
1008-471: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between
1134-646: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of
1260-519: A division-sized task force known as Task Force Oregon was created in Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Tín provinces from the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division , the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division , and the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (all brigades that deployed separately to Vietnam in 1966). Task Force Oregon operated in close cooperation with the 1st Marine Division in the I Corps Military Region. As more US Army units arrived in Vietnam
1386-572: A fast offensive up the Rhône valley. On 9 September 1944, near Dijon, France , it met up with the U.S. Third Army , under Patton, which had driven east from Normandy . The Seventh Army came under the command of the 6th Army Group , commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers . One of Patch's corps commanders, Major General Truscott, who commanded the VI Corps, which came under command of Patch's Seventh Army, wrote of him: I came to regard him as
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#17327652547091512-415: A force of about 15,000 men. This force, designated Task Force 6814 and often mentioned as Poppy Force (New Caledonia was code named Poppy), under Brigadier General Alexander M. Patch, Jr. had the elements of a division and more in its composition. For example, there was a brigade headquarters from the 26th Division, two infantry regiments and a field artillery regiment along with support elements augmented by
1638-505: A graduate (1877) of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point , and his mother was Annie Moore Patch, the daughter of Congressman William S. Moore of Pennsylvania . Of German , Scottish , and Irish descent, Patch attended Lehigh University for a year, then received an appointment to West Point in 1909. His eldest brother Joseph Dorst Patch , commonly known as "Dorst", also enlisted in
1764-582: A man of outstanding integrity, a courageous and competent leader, and an unselfish comrade-in-arms. Patch's Seventh Army distinguished itself in difficult winter conditions during the Vosges Mountains campaign, clearing strong and entrenched German forces from the west bank of the Rhine and stopping a German counteroffensive, Operation Nordwind , while reserve forces were being committed to the Battle of
1890-544: A maximum strength of some six divisions and supporting units to a skeleton headquarters with relatively little to do, with Clark taking over from Patton in January 1944. Under Patch's command, the Seventh Army was organized to participate in an upcoming amphibious operation in southern France , codenamed Operation Dragoon . For this operation the Seventh Army was composed of several veteran formations pulled out of
2016-520: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,
2142-1214: A motto, the association with that name being both inspirational and of historical military significance. MG Alexander Patch , Jr. (May–December 1942) BG Edmund Sebree (January–May 1943) MG John R. Hodge (May 1943 – April 1944) MG Robert B. McClure (April–October 1944) MG William H. Arnold (November 1944 to WW II inactivation) MG Samuel W. Koster (October 1967 – June 1968) MG Charles M. Gettys (June 1968 – June 1969) MG Lloyd B. Ramsey (June 1969 – March 1970) MG Albert E. Milloy (March–November 1970) MG James L. Baldwin (November 1970 – July 1971) MG Frederick J. Kroesen (July–November 1971 (Vietnam inactivation)) Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)
2268-557: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to
2394-468: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until
2520-587: A smaller plane that could land on unimproved fields and pastures. Patch narrowly escaped injury or death on 18 April 1945, while flying from Kitzingen to Öhringen in Germany during the Battle of Nuremberg . His Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft Sea Level was intercepted by a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter, but the pilot, Technical Sergeant Robert Stretton, maneuvered the L-5 so skillfully that it escaped and landed safely at Öhringen. Stretton later received
2646-663: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit. ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save
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#17327652547092772-526: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and
2898-661: The 1st Division , to join the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front where he remained until November. He then attended the British Army 's Machine Gun School in England and commanded the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion of the 1st Division until April 1918, when he then went on to direct the U.S. Army's Machine Gun School until October. Towards the end of 1918, returning to
3024-580: The Battle of Kham Duc but gave a solid performance during the Tet Offensive , the Battle of Lo Giang and the Battle of Landing Zone Center/Hill 352 . Platoon Sergeant Finnis McCleery was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valiant efforts on Hill 352. Sgt. Alan Allen was awarded the Silver Star for this same battle. Both men were members of A Co. 1/6 198th. 20 men from A Company were lost in
3150-610: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from
3276-669: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. American military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but
3402-808: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between
3528-869: The Distinguished Flying Cross for the flight. Patch stayed in command of the Seventh Army through the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, leading the Seventh Army in Operation Undertone through the Siegfried Line, over the Rhine , and then the Western Allied invasion of Germany into southern Germany. By war's end forward elements sprawled as far afield as Austria and northern Italy. In August 1945, Patch returned to
3654-627: The Fifth Army during the fighting on the Italian Front . Under the leadership of George S. Patton , the Seventh Army had been the first American field army to be deployed in Europe during the war, landed as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky) in July 1943 capturing Messina on August 17 and bringing the Sicilian campaign to an end. It was then reduced from
3780-569: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and
3906-591: The Green Berets , would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam. Alexander Patch Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars , rising to rank of general . During World War II , he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific , and
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4032-669: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem
4158-547: The Japanese forces . Under Patch's leadership, by February 1943 the Japanese were driven from Guadalcanal. In the wake of Guadalcanal's conquest, the state of Patch's health, battered by his bout of pneumonia, tropical dysentery and malaria, forced George Marshall to recall him back to the U.S., after recovering from his illness, he took command in May 1943 of the IV Corps at Fort Lewis , Washington . That fall he commanded
4284-660: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating
4410-575: The Pancho Villa Expedition into Mexico in 1916, and was later promoted to first lieutenant . In November that year he married Julia A. Littell, the daughter of an army general, whom Patch had met while he was a cadet at West Point. In June 1917, two months after the American entry into World War I , Patch was promoted to the rank of captain and was, along with his brother Dorst, sent overseas with his regiment, which became part of
4536-628: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with
4662-767: The Seventh Army on the Western ;Front in Europe . With an invasion of Japan still an apparent likelihood, Patch returned to the U.S. in August 1945 to take charge of the Fourth Army headquartered at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . He died three months later in November at age 55, his health having been ravaged during his time in the Pacific early in the war. "Sandy" Patch and Lucian Truscott were
4788-489: The U.S. Army Chief of Staff and someone who had been impressed with Patch's leadership in France in 1918, was appointed Army Chief of Staff in 1939, just before World War II . He promoted Patch to the one-star general officer rank of brigadier general in August 1941, and sent him to Fort Bragg , North Carolina , to supervise the training of new soldiers there. Patch was promoted to major general in November 1941 and
4914-406: The U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas and graduated there with distinction a year later. This was followed by service with the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment from 1929–31 at Fort Washington, Maryland . He then entered the U.S. Army War College in 1931 and graduated the following year. Promoted again to lieutenant colonel, he was later a member of
5040-601: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against
5166-461: The Yokohama – Kawasaki – Yokosuka area. The division returned to the United States on 21 November 1945, and was inactivated on 12 December 1945 at Fort Lewis, Washington State. It was reactivated on 1 December 1954 as the 23rd Infantry Division , retaining the name "Americal" as part of its official designation. On 2 December 1954 the 65th Infantry Regiment was assigned to the division. The 23rd Division encompassed geographically-separated units in
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5292-409: The interwar period . After four years at Fort Benning , Georgia , and Washington, D.C. , he spent the next few years as professor of military science and tactics at Staunton Military Academy , Virginia . He returned to this post twice in the interwar years, from 1925–28 and 1932–36. In 1922 he attended the Field Officer's Course at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. In 1924 he attended
5418-445: The 100,000 man strong Oregon Maneuver in central Oregon, the largest training exercise of World War II, designed to test American units prior to deployment in support of Allied combat operations in both the European and Pacific Theaters. In early 1944 he took the corps, then just a headquarters, overseas to Algiers , Algeria to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). By mid-summer he would put his Oregon Maneuver experience to
5544-409: The 182nd Infantry was detailed to provide a special unit to be called Force A for advance occupation and outpost of the New Hebrides, a group of islands lying directly across the supply to United States. Assigned to this duty were companies L and M and attached elements from Headquarters Company, Service Company, the Medical Detachment plus a platoon of the 101st Engineers. The total strength being in
5670-402: The 18th Infantry, he fought in the Second Battle of the Marne , the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the Meuse–Argonne offensive , the largest battle in the history of the United States Army . His leadership came to the attention of Colonel George C. Marshall , then a member of General John J. Pershing 's staff. The war came to an end on November 11, 1918 , at 11:00 am, by which time Patch
5796-437: The 1st Marine Division were both relieved by the 25th Infantry and 2nd Marine Divisions , respectively and, in early January 1943, Patch moved up to command of the XIV Corps , and was given charge of the entire offensive on Guadalcanal . Patch personally led troops under his command on a dangerous offensive in the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse to capture several fortified hills and ridges from
5922-441: The 1st Marine Division. The regiment was the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive action during World War II as part of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Between 24 and 27 October, elements of the regiment withstood repeated assaults from Japanese battalions and inflicted some two thousand enemy casualties; the 164th also supported and participated in Marine attacks. The First Marine Division's commander, Major General A. A. Vandegrift,
6048-418: The 23d Infantry Division on 4 November 1954. On 14 December 1967 the distinctive unit insignia was approved. The shoulder sleeve insignia's four white stars on a blue field are symbolic of the Southern Cross under which the organization has served. The blue color stands for infantry. On the distinctive unit insignia, the blue saltire (cross of St. Andrew) alludes to New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific where
6174-411: The Americal Division as the most effective of all the US Army divisions in that campaign. Following the withdrawal of the 1st Marine Division , the division continued operations on Guadalcanal as part of the U.S. XIV Corps with the 25th Infantry Division (who later earned their 'Tropic Lightning' nickname here) and the 2nd Marine Division (Arrived earlier as reinforcements to the 1st MarDiv) until all of
6300-408: The Americal Division went into action on Guadalcanal on 13 October 1942 alongside the 1st Marine Division as the first United States Army unit to conduct an offensive operation against the enemy in either the Pacific or European Theater of Operations during World War II . Eight other U.S. Army divisions began offensive combat operations in late 1942: the 32nd and the 41st Infantry Divisions in
6426-408: The Americal Division were the 132nd Infantry Regiment from Illinois, formerly part of the 33rd Infantry Division , the 164th Infantry Regiment from North Dakota , formerly part of the 34th Infantry Division , and the 182nd Infantry Regiment from Massachusetts , formerly part of the 26th Infantry Division . New Caledonia, a likely target for the Japanese for its critical strategic position on
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#17327652547096552-481: The Americal arrived piecemeal and was fed into combat alongside the battle-hardened and exhausted US 1st Marine Division , which it eventually relieved. Its soldiers were quick to assimilate from the Marines on Guadalcanal lessons on battle tactics against Japanese forces. Americal casualties were consequently less than what might be expected. The 164th Infantry Regiment landed on Guadalcanal on 13 October 1942 ahead of its brother regiments, as emergency reinforcement for
6678-441: The Battle of Lo Giang on 8 February 1968. A Co. of the 198th was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its heroic efforts in the Battle of Lo Giang, 8 February 1968. The division became notorious after its 1st Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry (11th Infantry Brigade) led by Lieutenant William Calley slaughtered hundreds of South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre in March 1968. A helicopter crew from
6804-402: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated
6930-528: The Bulge . The campaign marked the only contested advance through the Vosges Mountains ever to succeed. Arthur R. Wilson became the Seventh Army's new chief of staff around this time. In the spring of 1945, the Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front , General Dwight D. Eisenhower , offered Patch a B-25 Mitchell and pilot for his personal use. Patch turned down the fleet twin-engined bomber because he wished to remain in touch with his subordinate commanders during fast-moving operations and preferred
7056-444: The Caribbean region. On 10 April 1956, the 65th Infantry Regiment was inactivated at Camp Losey, Puerto Rico, and relieved from assignment to the 23d, which itself was inactivated. The division served in the Panama Canal Zone until 10 April 1956, when it was again inactivated. The division was reactivated 25 September 1967 at Chu Lai in Vietnam from a combination of units already in Vietnam and newly arrived units. Its precursor,
7182-411: The French that American forces were underway. Despite having no early prospect of reinforcements, another infantry regiment arrived in April, along with the authority to organize an infantry division from elements of the overall force and, in May, the Americal Division was organized. On 14 March 1942, two days after the task force later to be known as the Americal Division landed in Nouméa, New Caledonia,
7308-406: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought
7434-433: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group
7560-442: The Infantry Board at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 1936–39, where he helped to develop the army's transformation from the old square division , with four infantry regiments, into the triangular division , with three. In November 1940 he was promoted to colonel and assumed command of the 47th Infantry Regiment , then part of the 9th Infantry Division commanded by Major General Jacob L. Devers . General George C. Marshall , now
7686-405: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing
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#17327652547097812-410: The Japanese resistance had ended. The division next moved to the Fiji Islands, beginning 5 March 1943, to assume the defense of the main island of Viti Levu and to engage in extensive training. During the period 25 December 1943 to 12 January 1944 the Americal Division landed on Bougainville , relieving the 3rd Marine Division . They were given the task (alongside the 37th Infantry Division and
7938-423: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of
8064-409: The Marines on Guadalcanal. In November the 164th took part in the offensive across the Matanikau River . Other elements of the division arrived piecemeal in the last few weeks of 1942. In January 1943, the 132nd Infantry Regiment of the division took Hill 27 and 31 of the Mount Austen complex. The division later participated in offensives to sweep Guadalcanal of remaining Japanese resistance. After
8190-403: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,
8316-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign
8442-456: The Pacific on New Guinea ; and in North Africa , the 1st , 3rd , 9th , and 34th Infantry Divisions , and the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions . As the " square " divisions of the National Guard were being transitioned to the triangular division TO&E in 1942, they each "shed" an infantry regiment, leaving several trained and operational "orphan" regiments available for independent service. The " line " regiments selected to form
8568-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under
8694-453: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but
8820-473: The United States to take command of the Fourth Army headquartered at Fort Sam Houston , Texas, but bound for the expected invasion of Japan. Patch was hospitalized with lung problems in November and died a week later. On November 20, 1915, he married Julia Adrianne Littell (1893–1988), daughter of Brigadier General Isaac William Littell . They had two children. Patch suffered a personal tragedy when their 24-year-old son, Captain Alexander M. Patch III,
8946-473: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in
9072-546: The army the same year. Originally interested in joining the cavalry , but realizing that it was becoming obsolete, he chose the Infantry Branch of the United States Army and was commissioned in 1913 on 12 June that year, ranked 75th in a graduating class of 93. Upon being commissioned, Patch's first assignment was with the 18th Infantry Regiment , then based in Texas City, Texas . He later saw action in
9198-457: The arrangement and, increasingly worried about Japanese invasion being attracted by the airfield, demanded additional American forces. With pressing needs to build up defenses in Hawaii and Australia, Army planners decided to put together a force rather than commit an already organized division. The regiments available through the reorganization of divisions along with other elements made available
9324-602: The assault landing, Southern Philippines, and the award of the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (7 October 1944 to 4 July 1945). The unsheathed sword with point to top refers to Vietnam where the division was active. In view of the division's origin and outstanding service in World War II and inasmuch as it was one of the few U.S. Army divisions to bear a name instead of a number, the division's former name "Americal" has been taken as
9450-851: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,
9576-502: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine
9702-497: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in
9828-533: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along
9954-522: The division including Donaldson had routinely "...bet in the morning how many people they could kill – old people, civilians, it didn't matter", but the investigation was closed due to a lack of evidence. On 28 March 1971, Vietcong sappers attacked Firebase Mary Ann , which was being transferred by the 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment to the ARVN, resulting in 33 US/ARVN killed. The 198th and 11th Brigades were withdrawn from Vietnam in November 1971, and
10080-601: The division was created and first activated on 27 May 1942. Each of the four white stars stands for the Southern Cross constellation on its division insignia, as well as the four World War II campaigns ( Guadalcanal , Northern Solomons , Leyte and Southern Philippines ) in which the division participated. The anchor refers to the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) awarded the division for Guadalcanal. The red arrowhead and Philippine sun stand for
10206-486: The division was inactivated. The 196th Brigade was reconstituted as a separate brigade and remained in Vietnam until 29 June 1972, the last major combat unit to be withdrawn. Its 3rd Battalion, 21st infantry (Gimlets) was the last U.S. maneuver battalion to leave Vietnam, on 23 August 1972. The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for the Americal Division on 20 December 1943. It was redesignated for
10332-591: The division was relieved. On 8 January 1945, the division began movement to Leyte and Samar , to take part in cleaning out remaining Japanese forces on those islands, and to invade Biri , Capul , Ticao , and Burias . On Leyte, the division was relieved on 13 March 1945 and then landed on Cebu on 26 March, and seized the city and airfield by 28 March. Divisional combat teams made landings on Bohol , Negros , and Mindanao , where they cleared out pockets of resisting Japanese until 17 June when ordered to return to Cebu, arriving on 25 June. The Americal Division added by
10458-468: The division's 123rd Aviation Battalion , led by Hugh Thompson, Jr. , attempted to intervene in the massacre and were later awarded the Soldier's Medal . Seymour Hersh broke the story of the massacre in November 1969, and a year later 14 officers – including Samuel W. Koster , the division's commanding officer – were charged with covering the massacre up. Most of the charges were later dropped, but Koster
10584-415: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began
10710-609: The exception of the Philippine Division , all other U.S. divisions were known by a number. After World War II the Americal Division was officially re-designated as the 23rd Infantry Division. However, it was rarely referred to as such, even on official orders. During the Vietnam War the division had a mixed record. It combined participation in numerous battles and campaigns but was marred by the My Lai massacre , which
10836-525: The fighting in Italy. These were Major General Lucian Truscott 's U.S. VI Corps and General Alphonse Juin 's French Expeditionary Corps (CEF), along with numerous airborne units in support. Under Patch, the Seventh Army invaded southern France in Operation Dragoon on 15 August 1944. Patch–promoted to the three-star rank of lieutenant general three days later–then led the Seventh Army in
10962-577: The force to reinforce Australia or the Netherlands East Indies, under direct orders from Washington the force moved secretly, not even informing the French, to New Caledonia. Transshipment of troops and equipment was completed in Melbourne and the seven transports departed on 7 March (Australian time) for New Caledonia as convoy ZK-7, arriving six days later. General Patch, preceding the force by air, had arrived on 5 March with news for
11088-558: The grounds of the academy. Kurmärker Kaserne, in Stuttgart-Vaihingen , West Germany , was renamed Patch Barracks in his honor on July 4, 1952. Patch Barracks is the home of Headquarters, United States European Command (HQ USEUCOM), the supreme American military command in Europe. Patch Barracks also has a middle school named after him, as well as the former high school (1979–2015). The U.S. Navy transport USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122)
11214-737: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near
11340-504: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive
11466-472: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and
11592-539: The largest single troop convoy up until that time, designated BT-200 and totaling over 20,000 troops aboard seven transports,. The convoy sailed from the New York Port of Embarkation on 23 January 1942 and reached Melbourne on 26 February. This large and critical convoy was covered by a striking group and long range air between its intended position and Japanese forces arranged by Admiral King (COMINCH) with Admiral Nimitz (CINCPAC). Despite some desire locally to use
11718-531: The last Japanese defenders were killed, captured, or evacuated from the island, the division was relieved on 9 February 1943. Despite its ad hoc formation, the Americal Division fought well at Guadalcanal. The 164th Regiment took part in repulsing a major Japanese offensive in October 1942, while the 132nd Regiment, along with the 25th Infantry Division assaulted the highly fortified Japanese Gifu defensive complex at Mount Austen in January 1943. Historians describe
11844-625: The lines of communication with New Zealand and Australia and its nickel and chromium mines, was now under the control of the Free French with a poorly equipped and trained native force and a company of Australian commandos. The United States Army was already building airfields with Australian labor on the island which according to early agreements fell into the British sphere and delegated to the Australians for defense. The French objected to
11970-487: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised
12096-600: The most advanced outpost of the Allied Forces in the South Pacific along with Australian forces at Port Moresby, Papua. No retreat was possible, no reinforcements could be relied on. Supply was unreliable and limited. On 28 March 1942, a unit of Force A left an isolated coconut plantation called Euralia for Port Havanah with two 2nd lieutenants and 22 men on a small auxiliary sailboat with equipment and 10 days' rations to begin their 'guerrilla' action by gathering
12222-538: The native headhunters and plantation workers from the nearby islands as reinforcements. In contrast to several other US Army divisions in the Pacific War , soldiers in the Americal Division received extensive weapons training as well as company- and battalion-level exercises in jungle terrain while at New Caledonia . Under the command of General Patch, the Americal Division was the first US Army unit to be sent to Guadalcanal . Largely because of transport constraints,
12348-590: The newly local Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary and the recognized guerrillas for the liberated in Visayas and Mindanao against the Japanese. Training continued on Cebu for the proposed invasion of Japan, but the Japanese surrendered on 14 August 1945. On 10 September 1945, the Americal Division landed in Japan and took part in the occupation of
12474-530: The only two U.S. Army officers on active service during World War II to command a division , corps , and field army . In July 1954, he was posthumously promoted from his rank of lieutenant general to four-star general . Patch was born at Fort Huachuca , Arizona Territory and raised in Pennsylvania . His father, Captain Alexander M. Patch, was a former cavalryman in the United States Army and
12600-446: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered
12726-604: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after
12852-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook
12978-673: The reinforcement and defense of New Caledonia , arriving there in March 1942. En route he was struck with pneumonia , recovering sufficiently to take command of a loose collection of units and form them into the Americal Division (a contraction of "American, New Caledonian Division"). The Americal Division first saw action in the Guadalcanal campaign in December 1942, when it relieved the valiant but tired and malaria -ridden 1st Marine Division there. The Americal Division and
13104-441: The scene. The 37th and Americal Divisions stood firm, and by 25 March, the Japanese were forced to retreat. It was the last Japanese ground offensive in the South Pacific. The division went on the offensive in March 1944, driving the Japanese east of Mananga River , 7–9 April 1944, and seizing numerous strategic hill bases during the remainder of the month. Training and long-range patrol activity continued until 30 November 1944 when
13230-831: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with
13356-554: The test in Operation Dragoon , the amphibious assault of southern France that was pressed clear to the Alsace-Lorraine on Germany's southwest flank before year's end. In March 1944, after handing over command of IV Corps to Major General Willis D. Crittenberger , a fellow 1913 West Point classmate, Patch took over command of the Seventh Army from Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , who was then also commanding
13482-437: The two divisional brigades were released back to their parent organizations and two arriving separate brigades were assigned to Task Force Oregon, which was in turn re-designated the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal). The division was composed of the 11th , 196th, and 198th Light Infantry Brigades and divisional support units. Both the 11th and 198th brigades were newly formed units. The division suffered an important defeat at
13608-522: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated
13734-592: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War
13860-403: The vicinity of 480 men was under the command of Brigadier General Rose. That a brigadier general should be placed in command of two infantry rifle companies indicated the degree of importance, and hazard, that G.H.Q. placed upon the mission. Mainly though it was so he could deal directly with the highest local French authorities. The men were assembled and told that Force A and 50 Australians held
13986-401: Was a lieutenant colonel , having been promoted to the rank a month before, and major the previous January. In February 1919, he reverted to the rank of captain and was a staff officer at AEF Headquarters. After briefly serving on occupation duties, Patch returned to the United States in May 1919 and, as a professional soldier, chose to remain in the army during what would later be known as
14112-596: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of
14238-590: Was assigned to command Task Force 6814 , a hastily assembled force of divisional size, composed of two Army National Guard infantry regiments. The following month the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor , followed shortly after by the German declaration of war on the United States , officially bringing the United States into World War II . He was sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations in Noumea to organize
14364-464: Was committed by a platoon of the division's subordinate 11th Infantry Brigade , led by Lieutenant William Calley . The division suffered a tactical defeat in the early morning of 28 March 1971, when Vietcong sappers assaulted FSB Mary Ann . The attack destroyed key infrastructure, as well as killing 33 and wounding 83 Americans. The division was inactivated following its withdrawal from South Vietnam in November 1971. The 164th Infantry Regiment of
14490-455: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended
14616-433: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing
14742-888: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of
14868-683: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of
14994-474: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by
15120-943: Was killed in action on October 22, 1944 while leading C Company of the 315th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Infantry Division in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France . Captain Patch was a posthumous recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross , the Silver Star and Purple Heart . He is interred in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial , Lorraine, France. Patch died of pneumonia on November 21, 1945, two days short of his 56th birthday, at Brooke General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . He is buried in New York state at West Point Cemetery on
15246-471: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted
15372-435: Was released in September 1974. Brigadier General John W. Donaldson was later tried for shooting civilians from helicopters on 13 separate incidents. Donaldson was the highest-ranking officer to undergo court-martial during the war, but charges were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence. These allegations were raised by helicopter pilots under his command, and senior military investigators alleged that senior commanders of
15498-513: Was so impressed by the soldiers' stand that he issued a unit commendation to the regiment for having demonstrated "an overwhelming superiority over the enemy." In addition, General Vandegrift took the unusual step of awarding Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hall, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 164th, with the Navy Cross for his role in these battles. The 164th was then occasionally referred to as the '164th Marines' due to their special relationship with
15624-478: Was subsequently demoted and stripped of his Distinguished Service Medal . Calley was charged, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labor on 31 March 1971 for the murder of 22 Vietnamese civilians. President Richard Nixon soon intervened and on 1 April 1971 ordered Calley transferred from Fort Leavenworth to house arrest at Fort Benning, pending his appeal. Calley, the only person convicted, eventually served only three and half years of house arrest and
15750-471: Was the only division formed outside of United States territory during World War II (a distinction it would repeat when reformed during the Vietnam War). At the suggestion of a subordinate, the division's commander, Major General Alexander Patch , requested that the new unit be known as the Americal Division —the name being a contraction of "American, New Caledonian Division" . This was unusual, as with
15876-524: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as
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