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U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV was first implemented to assist the
Military Assistance Advisory Group Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...
(MAAG) Vietnam, controlling every advisory and assistance effort in Vietnam, but was reorganized on 15 May 1964 and absorbed MAAG Vietnam to its command when combat unit deployment became too large for advisory group control. MACV was disestablished on 29 March 1973 and replaced by the Defense Attaché Office (DAO), Saigon. The DAO performed many of the same roles of MACV within the restrictions imposed by the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
until the
Fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...
. The first commanding general of MACV (COMUSMACV), General
Paul D. Harkins Paul Donal Harkins (May 15, 1904 – August 21, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army and attained the rank of general. He is most notable for having served during World War II as deputy chief of staff for operations in George S ...
, was also the commander of MAAG Vietnam, and after reorganization was succeeded by General
William C. Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...
in June 1964, followed by General
Creighton W. Abrams Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (September 15, 1914 – September 4, 1974) was a United States Army general who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972, which saw United States troop strength in South Vietnam reduce ...
(July 1968) and General Frederick C. Weyand (June 1972).


Establishment and growth

Admiral Harry D. Felt, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, established the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, on 8 February 1962, as a subordinate unified command under his control. Lieutenant General
Paul D. Harkins Paul Donal Harkins (May 15, 1904 – August 21, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army and attained the rank of general. He is most notable for having served during World War II as deputy chief of staff for operations in George S ...
, the Deputy Commander in Chief,
U.S. Army, Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) designated by the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY); it may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. It is the army component unit of the United States Indo ...
, who, as the commander-designate for the task force headquarters (HQ) in the event of operations in Southeast Asia, had participated in the planning for such operations, was appointed commander and promoted to general. Harkins became the senior U.S. military commander in South Vietnam and responsible for U.S. military policy, operations and assistance there. Harkins had the task of advising the South Vietnamese government on security, organization, and employment of their military and paramilitary forces. As provided for in the organization of the task force headquarters in the contingency plans, MACV's commander was also his own Army component commander. With an initial authorized strength of 216 men (113 Army), MACV was envisaged as a temporary HQ that would be withdrawn once the
Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
insurgency was brought under control. In that event, the
Military Assistance Advisory Group Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...
would be restored to its former position as the principal U.S. headquarters in South Vietnam. For this reason, the MAAG was retained as a separate headquarters. In March 1962 Headquarters, U.S. Army, Pacific, removed the "provisional" designation from the U.S. Army Support Group, Vietnam, attached it to U.S. Army, Ryukyu Islands, for administrative and logistical support, and made its commanding officer the deputy Army component commander under MACV. In turn, all U.S. Army units in South Vietnam (excluding advisory attachments) were assigned to the Army Support Group for administrative and logistical needs. Over the course of 1962 U.S. military strength in South Vietnam rose from about 1,000 to over 11,000 personnel, though each service continued to provide its own logistical support. Throughout 1963 the duties of the U.S. Army Support Group steadily increased, particularly regarding to combat support activities and logistics. During the year, the U.S. buildup continued, especially in aviation, communications, intelligence, special warfare and logistic units, reaching a total or 17,068 man, of which 10,916 were Army. Because of this expansion, the commanding general, General Joseph Warren Stilwell Jr. late in 1963 proposed that the name of the support group be changed to U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam. Harkins concurred and General
James Francis Collins General James Francis Collins (September 2, 1905 – January 22, 1989) commanded the U.S. Army, Pacific from April 1961 until his retirement in 1964, and was President of the American Red Cross from 1964 until 1970. Biography James Francis Co ...
, commander of United States Army Pacific and Admiral Felt approved the redesignation. The new designation went into effect on 1 March 1964. MACV was reorganized on 15 May 1964, and absorbed MAAG Vietnam within it, when combat unit deployment became too large for advisory group control. A Naval Advisory Group was established and the Commanding General,
2nd Air Division The 2nd Air Division (2nd AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Military Airlift Command, assigned to Twenty-Third Air Force, being stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida. It started operations on 7 N ...
, became MACV's Air Force component commander. That year the U.S. strength in Vietnam grew from about 16,000 men (10,716 Army) to about 23,300 (16,000 Army) in 1964 though logistic support operations were highly fragmented. As a result, the 1st Logistics Command was established. Large scale combat deployments began when the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade was deployed in the
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
area from March 1965. When the
III Marine Amphibious Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...
moved to Da Nang on 6 May 1965, its commanding general, Major General
William R. Collins William Robert Collins (February 5, 1913 – October 16, 1991) was a highly decorated officer of United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. As lieutenant colonel, Collins distinguished himself as Tank Battalion Commander during I ...
, was designated MACV's naval component commander. In May 1965, the Army's
173d Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...
from Okinawa arrived. In July 1965, in response to the growing size of U.S. Army forces in the country,
United States Army Vietnam United States Army Republic of Vietnam (USARV) was a corps-level support command of the United States Army in the Vietnam War. Establishment Although the U.S. Army Support Group was the Army component command within Military Assistance Comman ...
was established, and both the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division as well as the 1st Brigade,
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
, deployed from the United States. The brigade from the 101st Airborne Division was originally planned to replace the 173d Airborne Brigade but, with the need for additional combat forces, both brigades remained in South Vietnam. Two months later, the
1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, recently reorganized from an infantry formation, reported in country, and the rest of the 1st Infantry Division arrived in October. Two corps-level HQs were established in 1965-66, Task Force Alpha (soon to become
I Field Force, Vietnam I Field Force, Vietnam was a corps-level command of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it was the successor to Task Force Alpha, a provisional corps command created 1 August 1965 (renamed Field Force Vietnam ...
) for U.S. forces in the
II Corps Tactical Zone The II Corps () was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps in the ARVN, and it oversaw the central highlands region, north of ...
and
II Field Force, Vietnam II Field Force, Vietnam was a United States Army Corps-level command during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it became the largest corps command in Vietnam and one of the largest in Army history. II Field Force was assigned the lineag ...
, for U.S. Army forces in the
III Corps Tactical Zone III Corps () was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps in the ARVN, and oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capita ...
. The
5th Special Forces Group The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role i ...
was also established in-country by 1965. A brigade of the 25th Infantry Division arrived in late 1965, with the 4th Infantry Division deploying between August and November 1966. The
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...
was alerted for assignment to Southeast Asia on 11 March 1966. In April 1967, General Westmoreland, who had arrived in June 1964 as Commander of MACV, organized a division-sized blocking force along the border between North and South Vietnam. The deployment of a division-sized U.S. Army force would allow the
1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...
to move north, to provide greater support for the
3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
in the northern portion of the
I Corps Tactical Zone I Corps () was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps of the ARVN. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering ...
. Designated as
Task Force Oregon Task Force Oregon, was a United States Army division-sized unit composed of 3 separate infantry brigades, active in Quảng Ngãi and Quảng Tín Provinces, South Vietnam from April to September 1967 when it was redesignated the 23rd Infantry ...
, it included the
196th Infantry Brigade The 196th Infantry Brigade ("Chargers"), also known as the Charger Brigade was first formed on 24 June 1921 as part of the United States Army Reserve's 98th Infantry Division (United States), 98th Division with the responsibility of training soldi ...
; the 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at
Chu Lai Base Area Chu Lai Base Area (also known as Chu Lai Combat Base or simply Chu Lai or Kỳ Hà) is a former U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base in Chu Lai in central Vietnam. Kỳ Hà Air Facility was part of the inst ...
; and the 1st Brigade, 10lst Airborne Division. On 25 September 1967 the 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division) was activated to control the blocking force, replacing the provisional task force HQ. With the elapse of five months, all the three same brigades remained in the new division, but the brigade at Chu Lai was now named the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, after a responsibility swap that had occurred in August. In April 1966, all Army communications-electronics resources in South Vietnam were combined in a single formation, the 1st Signal Brigade. It supported the combat signal battalions of the divisions and field forces in each corps area. Additionally, the 1st Signal Brigade operated the many elements of the Defense Communications System in South Vietnam. To improve co-ordination and management of communications-electronics assets, the brigade commander also served as the U.S. Army, Vietnam, staff adviser on all matters pertaining to Army communications-electronics.


Naval Forces, Vietnam

In contrast to the carrier, amphibious, and naval gunfire support forces and, at least during early 1965, the coastal patrol force, which Commander Seventh Fleet directed, the Navy's forces within South Vietnam were operationally controlled by COMUSMACV. Initially, Westmoreland exercised this command through the Chief, Naval Advisory Group. However, the increasing demands of the war required a distinct operational rather than an advisory headquarters for naval units. As a result, on 1 April 1966, Naval Forces, Vietnam, was established to control the Navy's units in the II, III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. This eventually included the major combat formations: Coastal Surveillance Force ( Task Force 115), River Patrol Force (
Task Force 116 Task may refer to: * Task (computing), in computing, a program execution context * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instruction * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplished ...
) and Riverine Assault Force ( Task Force 117). The latter unit formed the naval component of the joint Army-Navy
Mobile Riverine Force In the Vietnam War, the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF) (after May 1967), initially designated Mekong Delta Mobile Afloat Force, and later the Riverines, were a joint US Army and US Navy force that comprised a substantial part of the brown-water n ...
. Commander Naval Forces, Vietnam (COMNAVFORV) also controlled the
Naval Support Activity Saigon Naval Support Activity Saigon or NSA Saigon was a United States Navy logistics support organization located in Saigon, South Vietnam active from May 1966 to June 1972. History A logistics establishment already existed at Saigon when major U.S. ...
(NSA Saigon), which supplied naval forces in the II, III and IV Corps areas.
Naval Support Activity Danang Naval Support Activity Danang or NSA Danang was a United States Navy logistics support organization located in Danang, South Vietnam active from October 1965 to April 1972. History In March 1965 when United States Marine Corps combat troops lan ...
(NSA Danang), provided logistic support to all American forces in I Corps, where the predominant Marine presence demanded a naval supply establishment. NSA Danang was under the operational control of Commander III Marine Amphibious Force.


MACV component commands

Major component commands of MACV were: *
United States Army Vietnam United States Army Republic of Vietnam (USARV) was a corps-level support command of the United States Army in the Vietnam War. Establishment Although the U.S. Army Support Group was the Army component command within Military Assistance Comman ...
(USARV) *
I Field Force, Vietnam I Field Force, Vietnam was a corps-level command of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it was the successor to Task Force Alpha, a provisional corps command created 1 August 1965 (renamed Field Force Vietnam ...
(I FFV) *
II Field Force, Vietnam II Field Force, Vietnam was a United States Army Corps-level command during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it became the largest corps command in Vietnam and one of the largest in Army history. II Field Force was assigned the lineag ...
(II FFV) * XXIV Corps *
III Marine Amphibious Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...
(III MAF) * Naval Forces Vietnam (NAVFORV) *
Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...
(7AF) *
5th Special Forces Group The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role i ...
*
Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support CORDS (Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support) was a pacification program of the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War. The program was created on 9 May 1967, and included military and civilian com ...
(CORDS) * Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) *Field Advisory Element, MACV


Commanders

The "Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam" was known by the abbreviation COMUSMACV ( "com-U.S.-mack-vee"). COMUSMACV was in one sense the top person in charge of the U.S. military on the
Indochinese peninsula Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
; however, in reality, the
CINCPAC United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its incept ...
and the U.S. ambassadors to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, Laos, and Cambodia also had "top person in charge" status with regard to various aspects of the war's strategy.


Inactivation

Under the terms of the
Paris Peace Accords The Paris Peace Accords, () officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet Nam (''Hiệp định về chấm dứt chiến tranh, lập lại hòa bình ở Việt Nam''), was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1 ...
MACV and all American and third country forces had to be withdrawn from South Vietnam within 60 days of the ceasefire. A small U.S. military headquarters was needed to continue the military assistance program for the southern
Republic of Vietnam Military Forces The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (RVNMF; – QLVNCH), were the official armed defense forces of the defunct Republic of Vietnam and was responsible for the defense of the state since its independence from France in October 1955 to its de ...
and supervise the technical assistance still required to complete the goals of
Vietnamization Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same ti ...
. This headquarters was to become the Defense Attaché Office, Saigon. That headquarters was also to report operational and military intelligence through military channels to DOD authorities. In addition a multi-service organization was required to plan for the application of U.S. air and naval power into
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
or South Vietnam,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
or
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, should this be required and ordered. Called the United States Support Activities Group &
7th Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...
(USSAG/7th AF), it was to be located at
Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base The Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base (NKP), formerly ''Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base'', is a Royal Thai Navy facility used for riverine patrols along the Mekong River. It is approximately 587 km (365 miles) northeast of Bangko ...
in northeast
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. The advance echelon of USSAG/7AF moved from
Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base durin ...
to Nakhon Phanom on 29 January 1973. Transfer of the main body, drawn largely from the operations and intelligence sections of MACV and Seventh Air Force, began on 10 February. USSAG was activated on 11 February 1973 under the command of commander of MACV, but at 08:00 on 15 February, USAF General
John W. Vogt Jr. General John William Vogt Jr. (March 18, 1920 – April 16, 2010) was a flying ace of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II who later achieved general rank in the United States Air Force during the Cold War period. He was commander A ...
, as USSAG/7AF commander, took over from MACV control of American air operations. U.S. air support operations into Cambodia continued under USSAG/7th AF until August 1973. The DAO was established as a subsidiary command of MACV and remained under the command of commander of MACV until the deactivation of MACV on 27 March 1973 at which time command passed to the Commander USSAG/Seventh Air Force at Nakhon Phanom. The DAO was activated on 28 January 1973 with
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
John E. Murray John Einar Murray (22 November 1918 – 1 September 2008) was a United States Army Major general (United States), Major General, who served as Defense Attaché Office, Saigon (1973–1975), Defense Attaché to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War ...
, formerly MACV director of logistics, as the Defense Attaché and
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Ralph J. Maglione Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
, formerly the MACV J-1 (Director for Manpower and Personnel), as deputy Defense Attaché. By 29 March, the only American military personnel left in South Vietnam were the U.S. delegates to the Four-Party Joint Military Commission established under the Paris Peace Accords to oversee the ceasefire, themselves in the process of winding up work and departing; the fifty man DAO military contingent; and a 143-man
Marine Security Guard A Marine Security Guard (MSG), also known as a Marine Embassy Guard, is a member of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (formerly Marine Security Guard Battalion), a brigade-sized organization of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) whose de ...
. At 11:00 on the 29th, in a simple ceremony, General Weyand furled the colors of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, and formally inactivated it.


MACV Headquarters/DAO Compound

The original MACV Headquarters were colocated with MAAG at 606 Trần Hưng Đạo, Cholon, but in May 1962 were moved to 137 Pasteur Street () in central
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
. The Trần Hưng Đạo site subsequently became the headquarters of Republic of Korea armed forces in Vietnam. As the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam grew, MACV quickly outgrew the Pasteur Street quarters and expanded into a proliferating number of buildings throughout downtown Saigon, adding to the command’s existing security vulnerabilities and communications difficulties. In March 1965 Westmoreland began a search for a new location large enough to accommodate the entire headquarters. He initially tried to obtain a site between the ARVN
Joint General Staff The Joint General Staff (JGS) was a body of senior uniformed leaders in the South Vietnamese military which advised the Ministry of National Defence and the President of South Vietnam. Organisation The JGS carried out administrative and planning ...
compound and
Tan Son Nhut Airport Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport ( vi, Sân bay quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất or Cảng hàng không quốc tế Tân Sơn Nhất) is the busiest airport in Vietnam with 32.5 million passengers in 2016 and 38.5 million passengers in 2018 ...
, desirable from the standpoint of removing Americans from central Saigon and placing MACV conveniently close to its Vietnamese counterpart. The Vietnamese government, however, refused to turn over the most suitable location, a soccer field () near the civilian air terminal, allegedly because Premier
Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (; 8 September 1930 – 23 July 2011) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who served as the chief of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force in the 1960s, before leading the nation as the prime minister of South V ...
wanted to keep the property for a postwar tourist hotel. In late April 1966, with the Saigon regime locked in a tense confrontation with Buddhist and ARVN rebels in I Corps, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and Westmoreland reopened the effort to acquire the Tan Son Nhut soccer field. Under their combined pressure, Kỳ gave way. On 2 July 1966 construction of a new purpose-built facility was commenced. The building was designed and constructed under the supervision of the U.S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN. The construction contractor was
RMK-BRJ RMK-BRJ was an American construction consortium of four of the largest American companies, put together by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. Its purpose was to build critically needed infrastructure in South Vietnam, so that the Ame ...
at a cost of $25 million. MACV occupied its new headquarters early in August 1967. The new complex soon earned the nickname "Pentagon East." The air-conditioned structure of two-story prefabricated buildings, a little more than a third the size of its Washington namesake, included some twelve acres of enclosed office space. In addition to the headquarters offices, the complex included a barracks, a mess hall, a refrigerated storage building and its own power plant and telephone exchange. Inside, according to one staff officer, "the well-waxed corridors had the fluorescent feel of an airport terminal." A cyclone fence, topped with barbed wire and with watch towers at intervals, provided close-in protection. Following the closure of MACV and the establishment of the DAO, the MACV Headquarters became the DAO Compound. Image:Original MACV HQ.jpg, Original MACV HQ, 606 Trần Hưng Đạo, Cholon, Saigon Image:MACV 137 Pasteur St 1962.jpg, Entrance to second MACV HQ, 137 Pasteur St, Saigon Image:MACV HQ 1969.jpg, MACV Headquarters ("Pentagon East") at Tan Son Nhut, 1969


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
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Military units and formations of the United States in the Vietnam War *former V Military units and formations established in 1962 Military units and formations disestablished in 1973