The Marine Corps Combined Action Program in the Vietnam War

The Marine Corps Combined Action Program was a part of the Vietnam War that is not commonly known. Marines and Navy Corpsmen were embedded in the villages and hamlets of Vietnam. Marines were augmented by Vietnamese Popular Forces somewhat akin to a local militia. The mission of the Marines was to protect themselves and the villagers they lived with, provide the Popular Forces with weapons training, defense and operations tactics with the Marines learning the local language and customs. The end goal was to deny sanctuary to the enemy that would terrorize villagers to support them, forcibly recruit all the able bodied young men and rob the villagers of food and money. When not busy defending their villages, Marines would perform civic action projects that included Navy Corpsmen providing medical services and sanitation, providing materials and assistance for improving living conditions, providing clothing and school supplies donated by supporters in the United States while educating them about their government and democracy. This Combined Action of Marines and Vietnamese was about winning "hearts and minds" leading to a successful pacification program throughout the Marine's tactical area of responsibility. With the Marine Corps assigned responsibility for the northern most section of Vietnam, referred to as I Corps (pronounced Eye Corps). By 1968, this program increased exponentially, succeeding driving the enemy (Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army, known as NVA) away from the I Corps area. Using the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia, the NVA bypassed the Marines and moved through the delta. This program was one of limited success as noted by Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) leaving some historians to ponder if that success would have also borne fruit throughout all of South Vietnam. This book describes in detail all the above, including the many acts of valor and courage of Combined Action personnel.