 In the Phuket mountain range on the central coast of Vietnam, these men of the First Air Cavalry Division have just captured a Viet Cong during Operation Washington Irving. It is 10 October, and these troops are working their way northward toward the village of Phu My. Their orders are to search the area en route and to pass by the village when it is reached. Here in the coastal mountain range, 40 kilometers northeast of An Khay, a cooling stream offers an opportunity to refill their canteens. While security guards cover them, some of the troopers take time out for a refreshing bath in the stream. Then the move-up begins again. The operation, now in its second phase, has been going on since early in September. During that time, the sky troopers have killed more than 400 Viet Cong and captured tons of rice, medical supplies, weapons, and ammunition. Now, another hamlet lies just ahead and the approach is made with caution. The same familiar pattern, a nameless collection of huts somewhere in the jungle, and the job is to search and probe, ferreting out an enemy who may be hidden in any hut, cellar, tunnel, or bunker. When a camouflaged bunker is discovered in the woods nearby, a hand grenade is tossed into the dark opening. Leaving the deserted group of huts behind, the men press on toward the village of Phu My. The sweep northward takes the troopers across well-tended rice fields. Arriving at Phu My, the air cavalrymen find the village unoccupied. A house-to-house search is conducted. From one of the dwellings comes a pair of canvas bags. In these, a mysterious diagram, an ammunition clip, and a folder containing VC identity papers. A member of the Viet Cong lived here. Security patrols surprise and capture another Viet Cong while searching the surrounding hills. Soon the villagers come out of hiding, and this woman is detained when it is reported that she is a communist informer married to a Viet Cong. When questioned, her statements conflict with reports of her activities. To determine the truth about this innocent-looking mother with two children, she is escorted to another part of the village, where a command post has been established in one of the buildings. She has allegedly stopped the farmers from harvesting their crops by intimidating them with threats of Viet Cong reprisals. As the sky troopers settle down to the job of pacification, the villagers join the chow line. As a marine unit moves out to support fighting near the DMZ, an artillery battery from the 173rd Airborne Brigade takes over at an emplacement five kilometers north of Danang. The men and their guns were flown in by C-130 from Benoit on the preceding day, and made the last leg of the journey by convoy. A collimator is set up as the job of readying the 105mm howitzers for action begins. Working quickly and efficiently, the men check out their weapons thoroughly. All moving parts are cleaned and oiled. Mud and dirt are scrubbed from the recoil spring and frame. Behind a wall of sandbags, the battery sets up its fire direction control center. It is ready and waiting when the first call for support comes in. Grid coordinates are taken and deflection and quadrant computed. Then the battery is notified to zero in. They lose no time swinging into action. As the fire mission is called out, shells are rapidly prepared for firing. Deflection is set through the panoramic telescope. The guns are elevated and shells slammed into the breach of each howitzer. Finally, the fire command is given and the battery begins bracketing in on its first target. It is 11 October and members of the Joint Army Air Force Task Force, EGLE, are being flown 25 kilometers northeast of Fanrong for a mission. Investigate the cause of an air crash. Nine days ago, an Air Force C-130 flying from Tonsinut Air Base to Cameron Bay crashed into the side of a 1,000-kilometer mountain. Its five-man crew were the only personnel on board and none survived. Now the Joint Task Force lands on an LZ 400 meters below the mountain's top and a worrying climb begins. The Army element consists of members of a support battalion of the 101st Airborne Division. Its basic mission is to take the Air Force teams to the crash site and to provide security throughout the operation. Intelligence reports that a company-sized Viet Cong unit is in the area. The Air Force element consists of an investigation team, an explosive ordinance disposal team, and a medical team. At the top of the mountain, the men hack out an LZ large enough for an H-43 Husky, which will evacuate the bodies. Word is transmitted that the LZ is ready as security troops and the DOD team descend the other side of the mountain to the crash site. The H-43 makes its approach to the LZ. While at the scene of the crash, jagged pieces of metal in the underbrush mutely testify to the violent impact that suddenly blasted these quiet hills nine days ago. Nothing is left intact, neither men nor aircraft. All that can be done is to gather information that may help prevent similar accidents in the future. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara arrives at Denang Airfield following two days of top secret briefings and a meeting with Vietnamese government officials on October 10 and 11 in Saigon. Now on a tour of American bases, the Defense Secretary is accompanied by General William C. Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and a party of Vietnamese dignitaries including General Nguyen Hu Khu, Defense Minister of the Republic. A short helicopter flight from Denang Airfield carries the secretary and his party to Marine headquarters at Dong Ha. At the base, Mr. McNamara meets with the press. Following the interviews, he is briefed on marine operations at the DMZ. The fact-finding continues as the secretary is taken to the helipad for a flight over the DMZ. On board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, the official party observes the results of U.S. airstrikes in the demilitarized zone. In recent weeks, this buffer zone, separating North and South Vietnam, has become a major battlefield, as enemy troops have violated the DMZ by using it as a staging area and as a route of infiltration to the South. When discovered, the Communist enemy has been hit by dozens of sorties, flown by U.S. aircraft. On the ground, American Marines have defended the corridor and hurled the invaders back in Operation Prairie. The U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division headquarters at Khushi is also visited by the Secretary of Defense. This base, located 32 kilometers northwest of Saigon, was a barren, brush-covered plane less than a year ago. Upon arrival, Secretary McNamara is taken to the headquarters conference room for a briefing on the division's activities. The conference concluded, Mr. McNamara and the official party are driven to the Tropic Lightning Division's airfield, where they are to board another helicopter. Visiting dignitaries of the Saigon government hold informal discussions with the American military leaders at the airfield, as the Defense Secretary takes his seat in the helicopter. Once again, the Defense Chief will observe ground operations from the air. Throughout his flying visit to the various U.S. units in Vietnam, Mr. McNamara was updated on the tactical situation. At Phucat in the second core area, troopers of the 1st Air Cavalry Division are engaged in Operation Irving. The Defense Secretary observes firsthand this forward area outpost under heavy security. With the situation fully reported, Mr. McNamara departs. The 1st Logistical Command is responsible for supplying fresh fruit and vegetables to U.S. troops in Vietnam. The food is purchased by bid from local farmers in the Dalat area. This method of procurement stabilizes the local economy and helps the people to support themselves. Aside from bringing many new fields under cultivation, new industries such as the construction of wooden produce crates have been developed. Crated produce is trucked to the railhead at Dalat, where it will be shipped by priority, first to hospitals, then combat troops, and finally support troops. Members of the Inventory Control Center check the shipment for quality and weight. Then the produce is loaded into boxcars. When repairs are completed on the Dalat air strip, rail movement will be eliminated. At Phan Rung, the shipment is opened and loaded onto a truck for the short trip to the airfield. The 1st Logistical Command is now in the process of expanding its operation to include purchasing in the Saigon and later the Delta areas of Vietnam. Purchases are also being made in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the United States. This signal-based depot just outside Saigon operates under the guidance of the Army's MACV advisory program. Here, such items as radio teletypes, photo equipment, switchboards, field phones, transmitters and generators are rebuilt for further use by armed forces on duty in Vietnam. They are stacked according to type as they await repair. U.S. Advisor Sergeant Alfonso Hildreth examines a broken piece of equipment. Each unit is completely disassembled and cleaned. The actual salvage operation then begins with an adjustment of the mechanical controls. Wherever needed, new parts are installed. These are electrically aligned to their proper settings. Then the all-important bench testing is conducted. In another area, the cases are sanded down to bare metal. They are then repainted and dried. And the case and the unit itself are reassembled. Finally, the completed sets are tallied to await quality control, calibration, and distance tests. At the 70th Medical Base Depot, Saigon, American Army Advisor, Chief Warrant Officer Francis A. Bosvair, discusses the replacement of a piece of equipment with a Vietnamese medical repairman. Since the equipment is American-made and the instructions are printed in English, our advisors find that demonstration is the key to success here. Staff Sergeant Lawrence T. Giraud looks in to see how the work is going. The Vietnamese language has few words for modern technology. Because of this, frequent explanation on the part of our advisors is required. The repaired medical and dental equipment is then crated and stored in warehouses for shipment from the depot to points throughout Vietnam. Elsewhere on the base, the advisory program continues, at this the only pharmaceutical center in Vietnam. These glass ampules are being filled with quinine formate. Flames heat the tips, and the ampules are sealed. Last year, nearly a million and a half ampules of drugs were manufactured and distributed from here. Afterwards, they are labeled and inspected. Then individually packed for shipment. This chocolate substance will soon reappear in the more familiar shape of a pill. Pills to fit every need are turned out at the rate of 800,000 a month. Solutions and ointments are mixed in vats, such as these. Major John Huncherec, senior advisor, goes over the production figures with his Vietnamese counterpart. Phan Rung, Vietnam, 10 October. Lieutenant General Nguyen Phan Thieu, chief of state, Vietnam, arrives for the presentation of gifts to American and Korean forces in the Phan Rung area. A motorcade past a joint American and Korean honor guard takes the general and his party to the Air Force base, where he meets Brigadier General Willard Pearson, commanding General First Brigade 101st Airborne Division and his staff. General Phan Thieu delivers a short speech of appreciation from the leaders and the people of Vietnam to the American and Korean forces, and then presents gifts to each of the officers in attendance. The presentation is followed by refreshments and a brief period of socializing. The amenities at an end, General Phan Thieu and his staff depart for Saigon.