Thanksgiving Heritage Follows Troops In Vietnam

Description

OF DEPARTMENT NEWSFILM RELEASE OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (PUBLIC AFFAIRS) NITED STATES AMERICA WASHINGTON, D.C. - 20301 OF PLEASE NOTE DATE November 22, 1967 IMMEDIATE RELEASE Footage: 79' Time: 2:11 OXford 7-5111 Number: V-353-67 16mm color composite print Room 2E 771 THANKSGIVING HERITAGE FOLLOWS TROOPS AFIELD IN VIETNAM (Official Department of Defense motion picture film by the U.S. Marine Corps, Army,& Air Force under direction of the MACV Office of Information) Spending a national holiday on a faraway battlefield would seem, to many, little rea- son to give thanks. But the troops in South Vietnam are doing exactly that. Typical of their observance of Thanksgiving is a religious service in the pineapple planta- tions some miles southwest of Saigon, an area reached only by helicopter or special river boats. Here, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Bri- gade keeps the peace. Chaplain Charles Voelker, of Clarkston, Washington, holds Thanksgiving services. Company C's Commander is Lieutenant Ralph Wald, of Murray Hill, New Jersey. The patrol leader is Lieutenant Roy Jones, of Mt. Clemens, Michigan. At the Air Base in Danang, the traditional Thanksgiving bird reared its head, and the pilots of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing gave chase, along with South Vietnamese airmen of the 41st Air Wing. The Vietnamese weren't as familiar with the gobblers as the Americans, but enjoyed the chase. After the turkey was corralled, Lt. Col. Nguy- en Khanh, commander of the 41st, and Colonel Robert W. Maloy of the 366th accepted the bird on behalf of the officers and men of Danang Air Base. Turkey in a slightly different form was on the Thanksgiving menu for soldiers and marines in the "Crows Nest", atop a mountain near Danang. The troops on this remote outpost on Marble Mountain have to be supplied by helicopter or by use of a narrow winding footpath. As a result, their Thanksgiving dinner is in cans, familiar to all servicemen as "C" rations. The spirit of Thanksgiving is found here, as elsewhere amongst Americans in South Vietnam, and the men get a big laugh out of the olive drab cans stamped"Turkey Loaf". SEQUENCES FOOTAGE VIDEO AUDIO 8 (a) CU-pullout patrol - pan services Wild track (b) Chaplain 11 (c) Patrol joins church service 11 15 (d) DA's men at service Silent 1 (e) CU turkey Wild track 9 /2 (f) Men chase and catch turkey " 6 (g) Vietnamese and American with turkey 11 4 (h) Men hold turkeys and laugh 11 (i) VNAF Officer gives turkey to American colonel 11 3 1 (j) Pilots laugh 11 2 (k) Col. Maloy holds turkey 11 81 (1) Men climb Marble Mountain with Rations 11 21/2 (m) Rations passed among men -- laughing 11 81/2 (n) Men eat rations 11 NOTE TO EDITOR: 79' 16mm color composite print released to NBC-TV, CBS-TV, ABC-TV, UPI-Newsfilm, Telenews and a master and optical track to Deluxe Laboratory. EDITORS: PLEASE CREDIT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IN TITLE OR COMMENTARY. This ima "V" series color composite print released to each individual DOD pool member and is available commercially to non-pool members and other authorized agencies from Deluxe Laboratories, 850 Tenth Avenue, New York, N.Y., telephone CIrcle 7-3220.

Collection

Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Series

Filmed News Releases