THE FULL BLADE

[Music] these innocent victims of the sharp cutting edge of the enemy's military action have learned they can turn to us for health support and security and to the American serviceman it is equally clear that the battles won with the sharp edge of our own blade are only a beginning ultimate victory in Vietnam will be won through the people in the Civic action that complements the military action through our determined and skillful use of the full blade [Music] the concept of the full blade became a reality during the rice harvest along the combien River a small number of village farmers had asked for help they knew that in a few nights the Vietcong would come to take what they needed in the form of a rice tanks so the man of the 1st battalion 9th Marines moved inland on an operation called Golden Fleece a classic example of civic action on the surface it might have appeared that this was just another grinding methodical patrol but in the coming days the man of the 9th regiment would not only save a rice crop they would challenge more than a decade of communist control with America's first broad employment of the civic action concept in the Far East song combi end of rich fertile and very carefully cultivated battle there is a proverb here that says every inch of Earth is an inch of gold it's nearly impossible to comprehend what years of Vietcong terror and exploitation can do to a Vietnamese village one certain side-effect is suspicion any man who stands in a village street with a rifle over his arm is a man to be feared [Music] but fortunately for the farming people of song combien there were others who weren't afraid they told what they knew about the Vietcong hiding-places talked about the enemy's leaders the cutting edge would come first using village guides marine patrols would push the Vietcong out of the valley complex then villagers in the area would be brought to a collection point provided protection in their rice fields during the harvest this would strengthen the people's desire to help themselves a basic ingredient in the formula of security ambition and self-respect that is the hallmark of the full blade of civic action as the first combat patrol sweats southward through the tributaries of song cambium a theory long held as gospel by the Communist capital at Hanoi began to come apart at the scenes the Americans might fight in the Vietnamese countryside but any real attempts at a genuine revolution in health welfare and self-sufficiency would be directed strictly toward the struggling central government in Saigon this was the American way of doing things in the Far East it was this postulate that the man of the ninth regiment and their village guides began to pull apart in the first moments of contact with a Vietcong stronghold [Music] [Music] this is the benign face of terror in South Vietnam to the farmers and peasants he is a warrior of the seven headed dragons he operates best in a small group close to where he was born and raised in these natural surroundings he has identified with and helped to destroy all local governments of the immediate countryside he has killed or threatened to kill all who would speak on behalf of the government in Saigon he can hardly be expected to know the meaning of the words self health self-respect and self-realization 27 of his kind and their stolen weapons of war were captured by Marines during the first day of military operations near song camp in but even then there were areas of doubt one of the Vietcong special talents is the ability to blend into a crowd of innocent man with their initial military objectives secured the Marines prepared to implement the full blade if it could liberate the hearts and minds of the people of song combien from old Vietcong influences if it could work in this small corner of villages this second face of war might one day spread over all of South Vietnam [Music] now it was first things first using our immense resources of man machines and medical know-how to care for those who were emergent read of immediate health and assistance the enemy had neither the capacity nor the desire to extend [Music] for the men ashore there was still much more to do their deeds in the coming days would demonstrate to the Vietnamese in fact that the democracy we take for granted is more than idle political theory for a people whose very existence depends on the crops they cultivate the most effective sort of civic action had to be in the fields and rice paddies where the Golden Fleece was ready for harvest this wasn't a time to challenge their ancient methods to marvel that the crude machinery that has served their hands for hundreds of years the story of the harvesters and reapers tools of our 20th century would come later the important job was to bring in the crop to safety away from the still very real threat of Vietcong attack and direct gangland-style collection of rice tax attacks that in the past has amounted to as much as 75 percent of the crop [Music] to bring in the Golden Fleece of the native harvest the same amphibious tractors that had carried the American servicemen into military action were used now to implement this phase of the civic action the people - had to be brought in from the fields to the collection point here they were given a safe haven while the diplomats in dungarees brought to a conclusion of people-to-people program that began 10,000 miles away in the homes churches and businesses of the United States they carried out a program in which a bar of soap contributed by an American housewife a bundle of clothing gathered by a church organization or medicines bought with money collected at schools offices and factories did more than words to dispel the distrust borne of years of unfriendly propaganda [Music] there still were some doubting Thomases but in Vietnam as everywhere else there is still one sure route to the heart of a man [Music] for the little ones of course there is no understanding of such words as people-to-people and political ideologies but the babies unfold to warmth and kindness and food and with the responsiveness of all children their bigger brothers soon decide the people-to-people concept should work both ways nearby the rice was being stored away with American servicemen and Vietnamese people young and old working side by side in the sort of cooperative effort that is doing the most to put forward our mission in Vietnam [Music] to the Vietnamese every bit of the crop is vital the straw of the rice stalks is transformed into the mats on which they sit the ropes that tie their bundles the sandals on their feet even the roofs over their heads and every single grain of rice is cherished soldiers of the army of the Republic of Vietnam and American officers worked side by side in Operation golden fleece with the grain stored and the needs of the flesh attended to it was time for another phase of our civic action the story translated into pictures of the kind of help our technological advances can provide during future harvests along the combien River the same Amtrak that carried out the fighting man and brought in the grain became a crude but effective motion picture theater to the man who handed out the pamphlets that amplified the story told by the film it was clear that the villagers were interested and our positive action was wiping away the generations old veneer of distrust and doubt [Music] but whatever the method whenever the harvest the rice crop represents life itself to these people of Vietnam certainly no Jason ever found a more truly Golden Fleece operation Golden Fleece was a classic example of combined military and civic action it's fulfilled aim was to supplement the capabilities needs and aspirations of a people so that one day when we are gone they will be able to carry on alone [Music]