HISTORY OF THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE MARINE CORPS

The Flags...

Major Tran Ngoc Toan

Back then, it was the monsoon season in Quang Tri. The Marines were positioned at various places - Cua Viet, Lavang, Dong Ong Do, Quang tri Citadel, along the Thach Han River, the My Chanh River and along the mountains and hills west of Hai Lang. The elite troops of the National Reserve had moved constantly around the battlefields of South Vietnam, but after the Paris Peace Treaty was signed, the troops were practically tied down in one spot. The border between South and North Vietnam was the line of demarcation separating the Marines from the NVA. In some areas, the outposts of each side were so close that enemies could practically touch each other across the line of demarcation.

The Communists were very cunning - they made the most of the ceasefire by planting the flags of the “National Front For the Liberation of the South” everywhere. Day and night, the NVA assailed the ears of the Marines with propaganda. To deal with the situation, the Marines called in the Psywar Group in.

Short of flags, the units collected enough money for some pots of red and yellow paint. They painted the National flag on sheets of corrugated iron that they had salvaged from the ruins of the Quang Tri Old Citadel. The yellow metal sheets with three red lines were then set upright in front of the enemy flags. The iron Southern Vietnamese flags stood proud and firm against all adversity. 

Major Tran Ngoc Toan