and naval. it was while the battalion was stationed at the sugar mill that he retrained the personnel. the u.s. adviser devoted much time to help supervise this training. which emphasized techniques specially adapted to the local terrain as well as weapons training. this exercise stressed unit tactic in clearing the area. the training in the area proved to successful that higher headquarters assigned the higher battalion the task of training three groups of recruits. these recruits as well as members of the battalion who could be spared were given training on the claymore anti-personnel mine.

because the demonstration range was located outside the compound and trainees were subject to sniper fire they kept loaded weapons in hand. the lecture phase was conducted by lieutenant -- johnston recommended him for this tuesday because he spoke some english and they could communicate directly. the u.s. adviser had given him english instruction as well as an intensive course in the use of the mine. st. louis throughout his tour of advisor, johnston had become aware of double checking the translation of his words especially since he had discovered that instructors and interpreters injected their own feelings on the subject instead of translating literally.

during the first few classes on the claymore, johnston set the mine in the ground and prepared it for detonation. realizing the important of teaching by demonstration, he showed no reluctance about getting his hands dirty. however he realized it would be wrong to continue to do the work himself and he would have to persuade one of the battalion officers to take on the responsibility. use of bayonets to hammer in targets illustrated a minor but persistent problem he faced as an adviser. ever since he joined the battalion, he had observed the men misusing the bayonet instead of deploying appropriate tools. frequent on the spot corrections and appeals to the italian commander thus far produced no results. with targets in place and the lecture phase completed.

johnston let a company commander detonate the mine. something was wrong. it failed to detonate. johnston quickly improvised a method, removing the batteries and teaming up with the lieutenant to make manual contact. early in january, 1963 two companies of the first battalion moved from the sugar mill to a village where a major was on hand to greet johnston and the captain. a c.p. was set up in the village pagoda.

the tiger on the sign is a religious symbol. the other two companies remained at or near the sugar mill to help the self-defense corps company take over the first battalion's security mission. it was at this time that this man joined as assistant to captain johnston. sergeant dock helped orient the lieutenant on the surrounding terrain. shortly afterwards, master sergeant jones of baltimore, maryland, arrived to serve as the first enlisted advisor. primary reason for moving to the town was to help them convert the village into a strategic hamlet. since it was in the heart of viet cong country johnston never

went anywhere without his rifle, keeping it by his side even when he slept. his chief duty at this time was to advise the captain on providing security for workers constructing the hamlet and planning patrols and company size operations. this battalion soldier was captured and killed while guarding the construction site at night. there was another basic reason for the battalion's move to the town. this was so it could provide security for a road reconstruction project. rendered impassable by the viet cong in 1959 repair of this road would provide a shorter route to saigon. captain johnston went over it carefully to advise the commander on repairs of the

construction crews. actually reconstruction was done by civilians. who were paid for their labor by the vietnamese government. arvin engineers lent support with bulldozers, equipment and personnel. during the entire project, johnston maintained liaison with u.s. engineer advisers. despite security measures the viet cong dug up sections at night and subjected workers to harassing fire. on this occasion, sergeant jones spotted a guerrilla force while johnston persuaded the company commander to call for mortars. he also found time to reassure an anxious mother whose son was being interrogated as a suspect that he would not be mistreated.

in addition to their basic duties, the three u.s. advisers concerned themselves with battalion morale. these palm fronts were for the roof of a barracks that johnston had recommended and lieutenant clement had been delegated to supervise. even though johnston expected to be reassigned to the united states he had not hesitated to recommend his construction. he could count on lieutenant clement to follow through on the project. at johnston's suggestion, clement and sergeant jones with with the sergeant aiding, assisted by present ing residents with books, pamphlets and calendars. because it was located near a river and closer to access

canals, the first battalion was given its most important mission to date. produce from this rich agricultural area and from the even more productive south was transported by boat to roads which led to saigon and other cities off of the delta. however, river and road traffic was intercepted by the vietcong. they terrorized them if they were uncooperative. the first battalion had to clear the area southeast of the town. and of constructing a self-defense corps post at the junction of two canals near another village. upon receipt of the order, captain johnston and his counterpart formulated a plan for the post, selecting a petition which would command both can'ts and afford the best

route for reenforcements. the planning impressed johnston, convincing him that planning could work both ways. he was getting many good ideas from his counterpart. the plan included preparation of materials. and movement of the first and second companies from sugar milx area so that almost the entire battalion could proceed down river to the construction site. two platoons would be left to secure the c.p. and lieutenant clement would remain with them. as the men split bamboo to transport down river, johnston saw he won a minor but significant victory. they were using machetes instead of bayonets. his appeals to kahn and the men had taken effect. misuse of bayonets had apparently ended. as they prepared to move down river, men of the battalion were concerned about something and it wasn't the prospect of back breaking work in the 120 degree heat.

or the almost certain casualties they would take. tet, their version of chinese new year. was two weeks away. unless they completed the post before then, 30% would miss leave time at home and the rest around the feast and festivity in the town. at a nearby port on the river, the equipment was loaded on board lcms. responding to requests through command and advisory channels they assigned four landing craft in support of the battalion's mission. johnston was on hand to watch the lcms pull out. manned by navy personnel the craft would transport the equipment by river and by canal to the construction site. the battalion paralleled the

river on foot to clear the area of vietcong. walking with them were johnston and the battalion commander. they cleared villages and searched huts along the populated route to the site of the post. johnston and his counterpart found all adult males had left confirming their belief that most of the population were viet cong. at another hut, a last moment escape by vc was indicated by food still being cooked. despite all precautions, an ambush resulted in the wounding of two men. on the river, the navy was having its own taste of the vietcong, receiving harassing fire from the thick jungle. in return, they opened up with their 20 millimeter cannon.

as soon as the battalion arrived at the site of the sdc post they started digging in to set up on the perimeter on johnston's recommendation. he explained some of his other recommendations to the regimental commander. following a conference they burned the brush to uncover many traps laid by the communist vietcong. with security established the first lcm was signalled to come in. johnston lent a hand in tying it to the bank. the battalion was now ready to begin its basic mission, construction of the sdc post following the plan drawn up by

johnston and his counterpart. the wall would be of mud which would become as hard as concrete when it dried. a block house was constructed. the captain supervised many faces while johnston was everywhere, observing and advising. one of his recommendations was for the use of concertina wire. their joint plan included the digging of a moat surrounding this entire post. construction was interrupted by mortal duos from the vcs who was

surrounding them with mortar fire. casualties were sustained from both sides. >> this soldier received mortar fragments. a mortar killed this guerrilla. vietcong harassing fire during the post's construction led to a disagreement between adviser and counterpart when johnston recommended clearing fields of fire in opposition to the desire to spare the local farmers' coconut and banana trees. johnston won his point and they burned fields of fire on both sides of the canal. the following day another battalion soldier was wounded by sniper fire at 1150 hours, a significant time since it was ten minutes before virtually all troops took a two hour siesta. arvin helicopter units did not

respond to a request for evacuation and would not during a siesta period. johnston radioed a request for a u.s. piloted helicopter. he received a regretful refusal. only when arvin refused admission could u.s. pilots be sent. three hours later, an arvin helicopter landed. the wounded man lost his right eye and was paralyzed on the right side. johnston, deeply involved, helped load him on the helicopter. with the sdc post almost completed the battalion assisted in the construction of a watchtower. while being onloaded from an lcm, it became stuck in the soft mud.

johnston and his counterpart hurried to the scene. having experience with track vehicles, johnston felt he had the solution, but kept it to himself to allow the captain to direct operations. the commander's methods were suitable for wheeled vehicles but succeeded in bogging down the tractor more. the battalion commander and his u.s. adviser were worried. they might lose a bulldozer. the troops were under harassing fire and the deadline of tet was drawing closer. delay could cause the men their holiday and morale could become dangerously low. as he later admitted, johnston's concern for the men led him to use poor judgment. he attempted to advise his counterpart in front of his officers and men.

leading kahn to reject the solution. the acceptance of advice in front of others would have caused him to lose face so he continued to use his own methods. even procurement of a second bulldozer and use of all available men didn't help. finally johnston issued an ultimatum to him. use the method he recommended he he would make a report to regiment. the commander reluctantly gave in. johnston's method was to anchor the bottom of the track to a stationary object so it would pull itself out of the hole it

had dug for itself. his method worked. the men threw their hats in the air in a spontaneous expression of joy. they made it. a few days later their mission was fully accomplished. the sdc post was completed. the sdc men and their families moved in to man the post and set up housekeeping, bringing in firewood for cooking and drinking water. it was a scene of domestic tranquility against a backdrop of anticipated violence. with the post fully completed in

ten days, the battalion headed back to the village. the vietcong, unsympathetic as always, hit them with an ambush. it was quickly met with small arms and mortar fire. the commander directed the action. more first battalion casualties were added to the price of the sdc post. captured vc prisoners showed another side to the balance sheet. now they could complete the final leg of their journey back. a few days later, captain johnston received orders for reassignment to the united states. he said good-bye to all the men except the wounded. his good friend was with him on his last mission.

there was a heart warming mutual respect between adviser and counterpart and between officers and men. at least one advisory technique had burned itself into johnston's subconscious. these were indeed his troops. it was time for him to return to the united states and for lieutenant clement to replace him. the new battalion adviser had already learned that a careless word or action could not only jeopardize the success of a mission but could cost the united states dearly in goodwill and cooperation. he recognized that the rapport developed by captain johnston had been achieved at great personal sacrifice and considerable cost to the united states. inevitably, there would be problems. it would be up to him to work

them out as johnston had. however one fact was certain, all else being equal, he would have an easier time of it because his predecessor had laid the foundation of a workable relationship with his counterpart and the rest of the battalion. each week american history's tv "reel america" brings you arc eiffel films to tell the story in the 20th century. released in 1938 and sponsored by the farm security administration, the river is a 31-minute documentary about the mississippi river valley and its role in american commerce. the film promotes various new deal proms by arguing that poor farming and timbering practice have caused flooding and destruction. during production of the film, a

catastrophic flood hit the ohio river and extended the mississippi valley leaving hundreds homeless and dead. the film makers captured many scenes of this flood and incorporated them into the documentary. the film was made with the cooperation from the public works administrative, the tennessee valley authority and army corps of engineers. ♪ >> from as far west as idaho down from the glacier peaks of the rockies, from as far east as pennsylvania down from the turkey ridges of the alleghenys,

down from minnesota, 2500 miles, the mississippi river runs to the gulf carrying every drop of water that flows down 2/3 of the continent, carrying every brooke and rill, rivulet and creek, carrying all the water that runs down 2/3 of the continent, the mississippi runs down to the gulf of mexico. down the yellowstone, the milk, the white and cheyenne. the cannon ball, the muscle shell, the james and the sioux, down the judith, the grand, the osage, and the plant. the black, down the rock, the illinois and the allegheny, down the miami the kentucky and the tennessee, down the wichita, the

red and yazoo. down the missouri, 3,000 miles from the rockies. from the allegheny. down the arkansas, 1,500 miles from the great divide. down red, a thousand miles from texas. down the great valley, 2500 miles from minnesota. carrying every rivulet creek and mill, the mississippi runs to the gulf. ♪ new orleans to baton rouge.

baton rouge to natches. natches to vicksburg. vicksburg to memphis. memphis to cairo. we build a dike a thousand miles long. men and mules, mules and mud. mules and mud a thousand miles up the mississippi. a century before we bought the great western river the spanish and french built dikes to keep the mississippi out of new orleans at flood stage. we continue to levee the entire length of the delta. that mud plain that extends from the gulf of mexico clear to the mouth of ohio. the ancient valley built up for centuries by the old river spilling her floods across the bottom of the continent. a mud delta of 40,000 square miles. men and mules, mules and mud. new orleans to baton rouge, naches to vicksburg, memphis to

cairo a thousand miles up the river. they brought their blacks and their plows and their cotton over to the river. down through the boom train. down through cumberland gap over from georgia and south carolina. over from the tide water. over from the old cotton land west of the big river. west of the steam boat highway. down the highway to the sea. ♪ corn and oats down the missouri, tobacco and whisky down the ohio. down from pittsburgh, down from st. louis. hemp and potatoes, pork and flour. we send our commerce to the sea.

♪ we made cotton king. we rolled a million bales down the river from liverpool and leads, 1860 we rolled four million bales down the river. rolled them off alabama, rolled them off mississippi. rolled them off louisiana. ♪

we fought a war. we fought a war and kept the west bank of the river free of slavery forever. but we left the old south impoverished and stricken. doubly stricken because besides the tragedy of war already the frenzied cotton cultivation of a quarter century had taken toll of the land. we mined the soil for cotton until it would yield no more. and then moved west. we fought a war. but there was a double tragedy. the tragedy of land twice impoverished. ♪