CHAPTER 2
The United States Presence in Southeast Asia
The Forces in
Thailand-The Forces Afloat-The HI Marine Amphibious Force Americans Ashore-The
Marines in Vietnam
The signing of the Paris Accords in
January 1973 reduced the size and significantly altered the structure of U.S.
forces in Southeast Asia even though the majority of Americans had already been
withdrawn from South Vietnam. Government statistics reflected less than 25,000
American servicemen in South Vietnam on New Year's Eve 1972, consisting of
13,800 soldiers, 1,500 sailors, 7,600 airmen, 100 Coast Guardsmen, and 1,200
Marines.'
The remaining field advisors and
support units were removed from South Vietnam by the end of March 1973. On 29
March 1973, the United States officially disestablished Military Assistance
Command, Vietnam (MACV), and opened the Defense Attache Office, Saigon. Its
members assumed most of MACV's advisory duties and continued to the best of
their ability to perform these functions with a significantly smaller staff. The
Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam Quarterly Summary graphically depicted the
depth and significance of the reduction of forces in its chronology's
highlights:
29 March-All USN/USMC personnel (with
exception DAO/Embassy personnel) departed RVN. Military personnel remaining in
country: Captain R. F. Stadlcr.Jr., USN, Chief Navy Division; Captain L. Young,
USN, Chief VNN Logistic Support Division; Captain C. E. Cuson, USN, Chief Supply
Section; Lieutenant Colonel W. D. Fillmorc, USMC, Chief VNMC Logistic Support
Division; Captain C. N. Conger. USNR. ALUSNA; Captain E. H. Bclton, CEC, USN,
Director of Construction; Colonel W. B. Fleming, USMC, Chief, Plans and Liaison
Branch, Operations and Plans Division; Commander L. D, Bullard, USN. Staff Plans
Officer, Plans Section, Plans and Liaison Branch, Operations and Plans Division;
Major R. F. Johnson, USMC, Operations Staff Officer, Readiness Section,
Operations and Training Branch. Operations and Plans Division. Additionally,
there arc 156 USMC spaces in the Embassy Security Detachment, Saigon. 29 March
strength was 143.2
These changes in force size and
function necessitated a restructuring of the American organization in Southeast
Asia. Besides advisory duties, the U.S. charged the Defense Attache Office,
Saigon, with supervision of the military assistance program permitted by the
Paris agreements and shifted coordination and management of military operations
to a new joint headquarters at Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. By August of 1973, the
U.S. combat presence in Southeast Asia consisted of Seventh Air Force units in
Thailand and Seventh Fleet elements in the off-shore waters bordering the
Indochinese Peninsula.3 The Forces in Thailand
During the war, the number of U.S.
forces in the Kingdom of Thailand had grown in direct proportion to the number
of forces committed to South Vietnam. A complex of air bases had been built to
support the U.S. effort in all of Southeast Asia. The principal U.S. component
in Thailand, the Seventh Air Force, operated from the Royal Thai Air Force bases
at Takhli, Utapao, Korat, Ubon, Udorn, and Nakhom Phanom. Seventh Air Force
headquarters was at Nakhom Phanom, in extreme northeastern Thailand.
The withdrawal of U.S. forces from
South Vietnam
Recruiting poster displays the slogan
from which Nam Phong's nickname was derived. At its peak, the 'Rose Garden'
served as home to nearly 3,000 Marines. Marine Corps Historical Collection
