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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1962)
THURSDAY. AUGUST 30. 1362 MEDFOBD MAIL TH1BUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON Americans Train South Vietnamese Natives for Guerrilla Warfare Ediior'l nole A cen iury ago. the) U. S. cavalry used Indian tcouli to light fellow Indians during Iht baltla tor lho old wait. To day, American Forces in South Vietnam ara trying to train primitive nativei to carry guerrilla war to the Communiit Viet Cong. Military experts lay the out come ol the project may mean the difference be tween victory and defeat for non-Communist forcei in the jungle-infeiled South east Asian nation. By NEIL SHEEHAN Plciku. South Vietnam -dPl'To the average Vietna mese, the tribesmen who in habit Vict Nam's junfile-in-fesled central highland are "moi" savage. The word has a connotation of utter con tempt. But regardless of the alti tude of their countrymen, the primitive, spirit-worshipping mountain people are the ob ject of a great tug-of-war be tween the wily Vict Cong guerrillas and U. S. spcchil forces who are helping the beleaguered South Vietna mese government fight t h e Communist marauders. American military advisers believe the outcome of the struggle for the loyally and support of the 700,000 mon Ingnards (montagnard is the French word for highlander) may be the difference be tween victory and defeat in this ill-defined war to keep South Vietnam outside the Communist orbit. The Viet Cong have de pended on the montagnards for food and other logistical aid in their forays against the more civilized Mekong delta and into coastal regions. The U. S. special forces are 'Ty ing to train the tribesmen as an effective counter-guerrilla force to beat the Viet Cong at ils own game. In Action American military advisers hope to use the montagnards against the Viet Cong the way the U. S. cavalry used Indian scouts to help subdue warring tribes in the old west. Two companies of m o n t a g nard "scouts" recently went into action against the Communists and nine others are in some staqe of training. Monlagnards, some descend ants of Indonesians who came here 1.000 years ago and oth ers of Cambodian slock, share primitive customs and relig ious practices but their 20 odd tribes speak a variety of languages. , They live in thatched houses raised on poles as protection against loving animals and snakes. Woven reed and grass walls protect the multiple family "long houses" from torrential rains of the mon soon season. Montagnard men basically arc hunters and many still; prefer brightly colored loin cloths to western style shirts and pants. The women, often bare-breasted, perform most of the domestic work, much of it heavy, laborious chores shunned by women In more civilized societies. Not Warlike These mountain tribesmen are not warlike by nature hut have not scruples annul kill ing enemies who threaten them. U. S. advisers say they make enthusiastic fighiers. The vast majority of the montagnards today live on ap proximately the same cultural level the American Indian did in the llllh century. Civiliza tion probably would have passed Ihem by for m a n y more generations if the jun gles and mountains they in habit were not so strategical ly important in the struggle for Southeast Asia. The central highlands of South Vietnam dominate the coastal area to the east, the rich Mekong delta to Ihe soulh and lie athwart the niain Viet Cong infiltration route ncro.-s try. jYV-- it. r GIVES INSTRUCTIONS American military advisors in Vietnam believe t lie outcome of the struggle for the loyally and support of the 700,000 Montagnards ("montagnard" is Ihe French word for "highlander") may be the difference between victory and defeat in the ill-defined war to keep South Vietnam outside the Communist orbit. U. S. special 1 forces are trying to train tribesmen as an effective counter guerrilla force to beat the Vict Cong. Here, U. S. Army Ranger Lt. Bruce G. Sinally, 28. of Stowe, Vt., gives Vietnamese Cpl. Y-Bhung bayonet training in the village of Buon Ki, outside of Ban Me Thuot, while other Viet namese trainees look on. (UPI) to the influx of American encompassing 30,000 tribes- resettled in safer areas. to monlagnard relief, but ars settlers into the west during i people have been won over! Over the past year, it is still bogged down in red tape the 19th century. land the village home guards estimatcd by American offi-lani lne "nds nave not 'et Like tne American inaian.now amount 10 ,uuu men. , ... -nnn Other similar projects have ' a' " 6 been started in neighboring have fled Viet Cong control provinces and the eventual led areas. Most of these tribes hope is to tie them all togeth-jmen are in dire need of food er. denying the area to theand medicai attention which Communists. government propaganda The Viet Cong already have . promised them but which so become so worried about the , far has 8rrived in very inade- the tribesmen were giver, "fire water" in this case strong chaume-chaume wine and then cheated of their lands and goods while drunk. The result was to create widespread discontent and a natural target for Communist subversion and propaganda from the north. Communist propaganda promises the tribesmen that if the Diem government is overthrown, they will be al lowed to create an autono mous area of their own. Had Free Hand Until the American mili tary buildup began in South Vietnam in December, t h e Communists practically had a free hand with the montag nards. The government troops rarely dared venture beyond the safety of the larger towns and outposts. In February a special Amer ican counter-guerrilla organ ization with a headquarters in Saigon began to initiate proj ects, aimed at winning the support of the montagnards. A team of U. S. Army .ipe- cial forces men and Depart Ban Me Thout project that they have assigned a special i battalion to attack the villages I on the perimeter and prevent i the organization from spread- ing. So far these attacks have j been fought off and the spe- i ! cial forces men have their lingers crossed. Other attempts to train spe cial montagnard scout compa nies as a counter - guerrilla force have met with less suc cess because of Vietnamese suspicion and discrimination. Not Paid When this correspondent re-' cently visited four of these companies in training at Tan Canh in northern Kontum province he found that two of the companies had not been paid in six months and had had 80 deserters. Most of the men were dressed in ragged, torn fatigues and lacked other quate quantities. been released. Washington has agreed to ship 750 tons of surplus corn and e'her grains to Viet Nam as aid to the tribes, but this will not arrive in Saigon un til October, according to American officials. American military advisers warn that if the montagnards Negotiations have been go- in need are not helped soon ing on for the last two months : they may return to the jun to commit 50 million piastres ! gles and mountains and be in American aid funds (73 lost to the government causa piastres to one U. S. dollar) forever. FRIDAY NIGHT Come Hear The . . . TEEN WORLD VOICES from Los Angeles, California This is a very talented group of 30 Teens who also have a weekly TV show called "Teen World" I mcnt of the Army civilians 1 essential equipment the northern Cambodian and and intelligence. montagnards are well-armed, The montagnards, a dark- southern Laotian borders. ; They point out that any and willing to fight. skinned, short people with During the past few years Vietnamese -- and most of Accurate intelligence on j the more angular features of (rajncd and armed tribesmen the North Vietnamese have the Viet Cong cadre are Viet-. Viet Cong bases and move- tne Indonesian race as op- and sent lnern back to their began working with the Rhadc tribesmen around Ban Me Thout farther south. The aim was to convince the Rhades in the area, who were under the control of the Vict Cong at the time, that they could resist the guerrillas them selves and gain independence from Communist demands for food, recruits and intelligence. The special forces team infiltrated thousands of crack guerrilla specialists into the area. This infiltration. American officers say, has risen alarm ingly since formation of the coalition government in Laos. Strong Bases The Viet Cong also have established strong bases In the namese is at the mercy of incuts through the central ! posco to inc ligntcr skin and the tribesmen, provided the j highlands could be compiled, Chinese features of the Vict- Log Truck Driver Injured in Accident A logging truck driver was injurrd about noon Wcdncs- ccnlral highlands from which i day in a two-vehicle accident they raid freely into the coast-! about a half mile south of the al area lo the east. The even- Lake Creek and Brownsboru tual aim, American advisers rds. junction, state police re say, is to gain control of a ; ported. section of the central high-1 The driver, Charles Elmer lands and split Soulh Vietnam Cooper, 35, of Klamath Falls, in two. The war, the Ameri-1 was treated al Sacred Heart cans say, will be practically hospital for injuries to his! won by the Communists if ilus happens. The only way lo regain con trol of the central highlands and deny II to Ihe Viet Cong, American advisers say, is to gain Ihe sympathy and sup port of the montagnards. American advisers claim, and apparently with great jus tification, thai if the monlag nards were won over to lite government side the Vict Cong would he deprived of the Communists constantly harassed by jungle-wise tribes men and guerrilla units de stroyed by superior forces when located, the Americans say. Love Land But unlortunalely, Ihe Sai gon government's policy in the past has largely resulted in alienating the montagnards. The situation results from the traditional attitude of the Vietnamese toward the mon tagnards. who look on the tribesmen as savages. right leg and bruises to his head. The logging truck was fol lowing a pickup truck driven by John Franklin Klingle, 5B, Lake Creek, as they ap proached a farm tractor op erated by Henry Meyer. Lake Creek. Roth trucks attempted to pass at the same time, state police said. The logging truck hit the pickup truck, swerved lo the left, and traveled 370 feet, over a bank and into a a vast source of food, recruits nearby pasture, officers said. namese, love their land of mountains and valley covered with lush green jungle on which soft white mists float during the rainy season. They resented fiercely the intrusion of land - grabbing Vietnamese who came after French administration ended. As a University of Michigan study pointed out, the situa tion bears a close resemblance villages to fight as a defen sive home guard. Propaganda teams were created, a Rhade medical staff was trained and, as the number of villages grew, a radio net was created to lie them In and give warn ing of attacks. A strike force of 700 men was created as a mobile reserve. Has Paid Off The project has paid off handsomely. Some 113 vil lages around Ban Me Thout But if the experiment suc ceeds, the Americans hope the scout companies will serve as a valuable and highly mobile strike force against the Com munists, able to exist and operate in the jungles fqr long periods of time. The Communists also have made serious mistakes over the past year in dealing with tile montagnards but the creaky Saigon bureaucracy has been excruciatingly slow lo exploit them. Because of increased numbers of Viet Cong who have infiltrated into the central highlands and the consequently greater de mands for food and recruits, thousands of montagnards have fled their remote vil lages to seek protection along the more secure areas near ihe towns and main roads. Thousands of others have been taken from their villages by Vietnamese army troops and TWO BIG s 7:30 at McLoughlin Jr. High SATURDAY NIGHT Hear A Teen Favorite . . . 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