 The airfield at Benoit is located 25 kilometers northeast of Saigon. Army aviation crews here are busy servicing a UH-1B helicopter gunship. They are getting it ready for another combat assault mission, and the checklist is thorough. Now, late in April, the daily duties of aircraft crews include maintenance and re-arming. Here, 2.75 rockets are loaded into the gunship pods. Some choppers carry as many as 24 rockets. While the airlifting of troops and materiel remains the prime function of the chopper in Vietnam, the armed helicopter is affording assault commanders a support weapon ideally suited to warfare in the jungle, swamps, and brushy countryside of Southeast Asia. These gunships originally armed with small, bore-automatic weapons are today little short of flying arsenals. In recent weeks, some of these combat ships have been augmented with 20-millimeter cannon, greatly increasing the firepower of these choppers. M-60 machine guns on flexible mounts are standard, along with the smaller M-16s. From their vantage point, overlooking enemy positions in the undergrowth below, the pilots can lay down suppressing fire with maximum effect. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, the choppers offer complete maneuverability in the immediate target area. Gunships of this aviation battalion have flown more than 4,000 sorties during the month of April, hitting the Viet Cong where he lives. Since the 1st of January, 1965, the aviation battalion flying out of Ben Hoa has received two distinguished service crosses, 15 silver stars, and a host of other decorations. At a forward landing zone outside of Cuxi, 24 kilometers northwest of Saigon, US infantry troops receive delivery of ammunition and food as the helicopters carry out a different kind of mission. The resupplied choppers bring in their cargoes, and unloading begins at once. Discharge and pickup is accomplished in minutes, and the Hueys soar away toward their home base. One of the most unusual missions performed by the Army aviation helicopters is sea-going duty in support of US naval operations along the rivers and waterways of South Vietnam. Abort the USS Tortuga somewhere in the South China Sea, flight deck take-offs and landings are practiced by the Army flyers. Operating from the converted LSD-26 while it is underway requires some getting used to. This unit of Army helicopters calling itself the Sea Wolves flies security cover for the naval patrol boats as they run up the coastal rivers. The thousands of miles of Delta land waterways are systematically combed to prevent the Vietnamese communists from moving men and supplies by boat. For now, the flying is finished for the day. Tomorrow, these gunships will shuttle back and forth along the coast, hunting Viet Cong targets of opportunity. In all, it is a most unusual experience for these Army flyers. On 9 April, a C-130 lands at Tui Hoa Airstrip to help airlift a battalion of the 101st Airborne. From Tui Hoa, north of Cam Ranh Bay, all of the unit's personnel and equipment will be flown to Phnom Tiet to take part in Operation Austin. Later, passing over the Phnom Tiet staging area, the C-130 completes the 280-kilometer flight to the adjacent Phnom Tiet Army airfield. Here, the paratroopers debark with their personal equipment followed by a two-and-one-half-ton truck. The airlift continues as the Chinook delivers additional troops and equipment. Phnom Tiet on the coast due east of Saigon will serve as the base for this search-and-destroy operation. The build-up of the battalion base continues as another Chinook delivers a sling-loaded, lightweight M-102 Howitzer, which is quickly prepared for firing. On 12 April, Operation Austin kicks off with an airstrike on suspected VC areas near Phnom Tiet on both sides of the border between Bin Tuan and Bin Tui provinces. By 13 April, the paratroopers are well along on their search-and-destroy operation. Finding some unfinished bamboo structures, they decide the VC were interrupted while constructing a rest camp and tear it down. This platoon will make no other contact for five days. However, near the battalion's CP on 15 April, a 4.2-inch mortar crew is called on to support another reconnaissance platoon under attack. On 19 April, the paratroopers capture and interrogate two VC, one of whom has been wounded. By 21 April, Operation Austin nets a total of 25 VC killed and 21 suspects questioned. This particular interrogation causes them to modify their route as the operation continues. The airstrip at An-K is the scene of Havoc caused by communist terrorists. The office housing the passenger booking service is a shambles as a result of explosives concealed under the desk and set off during the night of 20 April. This C-130 aircraft was also damaged by the infiltrating terrorists who penetrated the air base defenses undetected. In the darkness, the enemy planted several explosive charges. One of the hidden devices blew the bottom out of this aircraft. In addition, other areas of the base were also damaged. In another attack upon an airfield two days later, the Viet Cong launched a surprise mortar attack against the Placo air base, 72 kilometers west of An-K. In this incident, several airmen were killed while on guard duty. The Viet Cong struck at 0-200 hours and the mortar shelling completely destroyed two aircraft and damaged a number of others. All aircraft were parked in revetments at the time of the attack. In the broad light of day, the full extent of the damage is determined and the work of salvaging and repairing begun. The main base of the 1st Cavalry Division air mobile is situated at An-K in the central highlands of South Vietnam. On the 27th of April, Major General Harry W. O. Kennard, then commanding the division, described the air mobility concept and the operations of the division. Our concept of operation when we arrived here was, first of all, to make this base at An-K a very hard, very compact base which could be easily defended by the minimum number of troops. All through the end, that the maximum number of our forces could be used externally as a fire brigade. In fact, the analogy of the firehouse is not a bad one. An-K, our base, is the firehouse, but we don't fight the fires here. We go out to find the fires and to stamp them out. And we have been doing just that ever since, beginning on the 18th of September with our first combat operation, and this one, by the way, when approximately half of the division was still on the high seas. In this combat, in which we've engaged since last September, we found to our great satisfaction that the techniques, the tactics, the equipment that was developed during the 11th Air Assault days and since then has proven itself extremely well in actual combat with the real enemy. Our aerial cavalry has been able to find the enemy. Our aerial engineers, moving by helicopter, have been able to move to the most inaccessible places and build landing zones for our helicopters and even landing strips for fixed-wing aircraft as large as C-130s. Our tube artillery has been able to move and our large Chinook helicopters into inaccessible areas completely devoid of road and to set up there and provide support for our infantrymen so that when the VC fire at our infantry with their rifles, the response which they receive from us is with a volley of 105-millimeter artillery. Our aerial rocket helicopters, gorillas, we have fought the main force units of the VC and we have fought regiments and, in fact, whole divisions of the North Vietnamese Army units. We have found that uniformly, we are able to fight these people, not on their terms, but on our terms because of our increased mobility and that we are able to overcome them. We feel that we have been very successful and we expect to be more so as we continue to evolve our tactics and techniques and learn more about this country, its weather, and the enemy. On 28 April, a Vietnamese civilian plane taking off at the Can Thuong Airport crash-landed at the end of the airstrip, killing three people and injuring a number of persons living near the field. U.S. Army personnel of this 1st Air Cavalry Division forward area aid the pilot and other victims. A U.S. Sergeant brings an unconscious girl to medical aid. Here, medics note her heart has stopped and hurry to the treatment tent. Another victim is x-rayed by field equipment. The pilot is brought to the medical unit. Extreme emergency treatment, including pure oxygen, is given the lifeless child. The distressed father of the girl is comforted by an American sergeant. Physical stimulation of the heart and other treatment continue for half an hour before heart action is restored. Her condition remained critical. A practice hospital atomic alert is held 23 to 25 April by the 46th Surgical Hospital located at Launstuhl, Germany. It is decided that the hazard is too great to proceed. The members of the convoy are ordered to take cover in tunnels which are located along the route of the convoy. In its part of the exercise, the 8th Evacuation Hospital must cross the Rhine. They work in conjunction with the West German Army Pioneer Company. Personnel and vehicles are moved aboard German river barges. The 517th Medical Company is transported by train. Mess facilities are provided for all personnel. This hospital train is part of the emergency plan. Trucks are coordinated with the train's planned arrival to transport the personnel and equipment to their destination. Medical supplies and technical apparatus are moved in protective field cases. As quickly as possible, the trucks move off again. At the appointed destination, facilities are re-established. In this location, judged to be a safe area, hospital facilities designated wagon master are soon operational. The boxes and cases of supplies are brought in. The transfer of patients to the tent hospital is practiced by the stretcher bearers. Throughout the move, records are kept and checks are made of radiation. Soldiers practice sweeping radioactive dust from vehicles. A complex and critical move of vital facilities is successfully accomplished in this demanding exercise. This helicopter is flying on an Air and Domingo. The date is April 26. At Sanchez, friends escort an elderly lady in ill health to the waiting helicopter. She will be carried in flight on a stretcher. If the woman were to take the customary long trip over the rough roads to Santa Domingo, her illness would become fatal, according to local medical authorities. Inside the helicopter, she is taken care of by her daughter and son. This is the third medical evacuation flown by U.S. helicopters to the capital today. The helicopter arrives at its destination. The patient will be taken to the Dominican Red Cross Hospital in Santo Domingo. The capital city, with its nearly 400,000 in population, offers far better medical facilities than normally would be available to the Dominican countryside. This on improved road leads to the town of De Seco in the Dominican Republic. The main paved highway runs within seven miles of the town, but the dirt road to De Seco itself is impassable to motor vehicles. The U.S. Army is lending two bulldozers and a road grater to help the privately financed International Development Foundation improve the road. On 18 April, the men and equipment enter the old road to begin work. The vehicles and trailers negotiate the narrow town streets with difficulty. To live, the people must get their produce to market. At present, they have to carry it on their backs or by animal to the main road. Yucca, corn, beans, and tobacco are their main products. Here, women's string tobacco, 600 families of De Seco expanding trade will bring improved living conditions. U.S. Army engineers are helping Bolivia rebuild vital roads in the rugged mountainous terrain where the tin mines, which are the backbone of that country's economy, are located. In 1964, tin constituted 75% of the 108 million dollars in mineral exports. All other exports totaled only 6 million. This 50-year-old mine, photographed in April, may run out in five to six years, idling thousands. Already, government-operated mines have lowered employment from 32,000 to 23,000. The main hope of economic survival is for private industry to locate and develop new mines to counter the loss of jobs and revenue. There is no problem in transporting ore to the surface. The serious problem for further private development lies in getting the product to export points. Many of the roads are steep, narrow, and winding. Muddy river fordings cause slippery break bands. Wild animals frequent the road. The lack of edge protection has cost hundreds of lives in truck accidents. At the Bolivian Rio Colorado camp, a U.S. Army engineer consults with a Bolivian engineer on the worst stretch of road which runs through the heart of the mining region. So narrow that it daily alternates one-way traffic, this road has number one. This year, a $450,000 U.S. aid grant has been made for the project. Along the critical 250-kilometer stretch, repairs, expansion, and other improvements are underway. Eroded places in the road are restored. Culverts, to prevent further erosion at established drainage points, will conduct water safely under the road. The U.S. captain distributes to the laborers cartoon comic-style booklets which present our point of view. The Bolivian National Road Service heads the overall project in which the government mining office, Bolivian military, and U.S. aid work together. Young Dominican leftists race their motorbike engines to the beat of the familiar chant, Go Home Yankee. It is 28 April in Santo Domingo and the first anniversary of U.S. military intervention here. Members of the 82nd Airborne prepare for a long day and possible trouble. They are stationed out of sight behind the U.S. Embassy residence, ready for action as reinforcement to the National Police if there is any attempt to raid the American Embassy. Riot control maps are checked as a precaution. Several thousand students gather outside the American Embassy to protest. The streets throughout the capital are guarded by hundreds of Dominican policemen armed with automatic weapons and carrying gas masks. Tight security precautions reflect the tension during this week of ceremonies marking the overthrow of the Cabral regime in April 1965. There is no violence, but as at most Dominican leftist rallies, U.S. flags are burned. On the 1st of May, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is dedicated in Honolulu, Hawaii. Located in the Puo Waena crater, an extinct volcano overlooking the city of Honolulu, the 112-acre cemetery is the last of 18 national memorials to be dedicated to the dead of World War II and Korea. Admiral US G. Sharp, Commander-in-Chief Pacific, heads the list of dignitaries to inspect the Honor Guard. Post for the ceremonies is the American Battle Monuments Commission. In the audience of more than 5,000 are congressional representatives, veterans groups, American war mothers, official state groups, and civic groups. The Honor Guard is composed of military personnel selected from each of the nation's armed services. Beginning the ceremonies is retired General Jacob L. Devers, Chairman of the Battle Monuments Commission. It is a great privilege and a great honor to welcome you to this ceremony of dedication of a national memorial. This is the last to be completed of the 18 memorials erected by the American Battle Monuments Commission in tribute to the sacrifices and to honor the achievements of its men and women of the armed forces during World War II and in Korea. Then the honorable John A. Burns, Governor of the State of Hawaii. We are most highly honored that Hawaii was selected as the site for one of our most historical shrines, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. We fully appreciate the high privilege of providing the last resting place for America's brave men and women who gave their lives for our nation. The principal speaker of the day is Admiral USG Sharp, Commander of U.S. Forces in the Pacific. Today we are gathered here to honor these Americans who are missing from the campaigns in the Pacific during World War II and the Korean conflict. The attack on Pearl Harbor sparked a conflict which flamed and spread throughout the Pacific. Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Lady, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and finally, Tokyo Bay. Less than five years after the final shot was fired in World War II, communist aggression broke out in Korea. Twice in less than a decade, Americans were called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom. In dedicating this monument to the memory of missing American heroes, we should commit ourselves to continuing the task they struggled to advance. To realize for our generation on this earth a continuous rebirth of freedom, the true revolution for the rights of men and the rule of law and peace. In the spirit of this commitment and in the name of the people of the United States of America, I declare this memorial to be dedicated in proud remembrance of the achievements of these heroic men and women and in humble tribute to their sacrifice. Now comes the most solemn moment of the occasion. As the combined U.S. Army and Marine Bands play the historic hymn of, with me, Admiral Sharp places the wreath of the President of the United States at the monument of the missing. This is the first of many floral tributes presented this day. At the conclusion of the formal ceremonies, the new National Memorial is inspected by the public. Overlooking the monumental stairway is a 30-foot figure of Columbia flanked by eight memorial courts of the missing. Thus, a grateful country pays homage to its honored dead of World War II and Korea.