 From the President of the United States, a Captain in the United States Army receives the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor. In a violent five-hour battle triggered by a full-scale attack on the detachment he commanded, he personally led a successful defense operation, repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire. He was wounded four times. In this engagement, his citation says, he displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. The proud old phrase summons memories of brave deeds from the long past of America's military history. But the tribute to Captain Roger Donlan is not a reflection from the past. It is a page in the burning history which is being written today. For it is December 1964, as Captain Donlan stands in the White House to receive his award, and the courageous action described in his citation took place only a few months before. In the Republic of Vietnam, fights for American heroisms such as Captain Donlan's is unique in the experience of the United States Army. U.S. servicemen have had to adapt themselves to terrain that varies from the Mekong Delta in the south to the vast Anamite mountain chain in the Central Highlands, and to even greater differences in population traits and general environment. And everywhere, the war with its strange nightmare quality makes its presence felt. It is a dirty, many-sided, complex struggle. A twilight war fought in shadow and stealth on battlefields which flow like the sea and whose battle lines change with the night. It is a jungle war in which patrols must anticipate an ambush at any instant, or wonder whether the Viet Cong are hiding in an elaborate system of tunnels beneath the ground on which they are patrolling. It is an intangible battle waged to win the hearts and minds of the nation's men, women, and children, as much as to win the shooting war for the mountains and deltas of the land they inhabit. Emotional and political climate in this torn and tragic country and the evidences of instability and political immaturity are often confusing and frustrating to American eyes which look for harmony in a nation fighting for its survival. In the cities, and at vital installations such as barracks and airfields, terrorist bombings of United States and Republic of Vietnam buildings increased to such a degree that the United States reached the decision to respond by air raids on military targets in North Vietnam and to bolster security by bringing in troops specially assigned to guard critical bases and key government buildings in South Vietnam. The air raids against North Vietnamese targets in addition to their retaliatory nature had the motive of seeking to demonstrate our determination to the North Vietnamese and to lead them to abandon their aggression against South Vietnam. The United States soldier is here and here by the thousands for a variety of reasons and he must face many unique and puzzling situations. His original and still most basic assignment is to advise and help train the South Vietnamese Army in its struggle against an aggressive and highly efficient guerrilla force. However, his duties have become increasingly complex and are changing daily with a constantly evolving situation. But to the U.S. soldier, despite confusions, contradictions and complications, the issue is clearly defined which compels his service in this remote land half the world away from home. The legitimate government of the Republic of Vietnam is in a fight for its life. It is under attack, as it has been for a decade, by an enemy whose face and whose aim are now well recognized. The face is that of communism. Rules of the game are brutal but direct. Come over to us, think our way, give us your active support, contribute your crops, submit to our taxation or suffer the consequences. This is to establish control over all of Vietnam and after that over all of Southeast Asia. The Republic of Vietnam has asked the United States for help. The American soldier is here in response to that plea. That is the issue. The job itself which the soldier is here to do is also clearly defined. To give assistance and advice to the Vietnamese forces so they will be better equipped to win their struggle. Dedicated, highly trained in all phases of counterinsurgency, these specialists in helping Southeast Asians to help themselves exemplify the best elements of the term most often applied to them, advisers. Each serves as teacher, friend, diplomat and soldier. Many of their duties are routine. Except for the language difficulty, teaching Vietnamese how to fire a mortar is not too different from instructing U.S. trainees at Fort Benning, Georgia. The same applies to teaching the Vietnamese how to throw hand grenades. To U.S. soldiers, supervising basic artillery training south of Saigon is very much like a day at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The payoff comes soon, however, when the target is the Viet Cong. Except for terrain and, of course, the language difficulty, showing Vietnamese how to conduct an armored reconnaissance patrol is not too different from doing the same job at Fort Knox, Kentucky. For training the South Vietnamese soldier in patrolling, small unit tactics, or practically anything else does present at least one extraordinary problem. Most training areas in South Vietnam have been described as islands of semi-security in a sea of Viet Cong guerrillas. Therefore, many training exercises are tactical as well, since the Viet Cong frequently ambush or attack training units. This practice maneuver north of Saigon escalates into the real thing as the Viet Cong hit them with mortars and harassing small arms fire. The training unit acquits itself well in its first taste of actual combat, routing and pursuing the guerrillas. But the job has other features which are different. The enemy in Vietnam is a terrorist force inside the country's borders, although he is supplied and directed by the Hanoi regime to the north. The war he fights is a war of ambush and raids in the night. To help the Vietnamese defeat an enemy who fights in this manner is the unique character of the U.S. soldier's job in Vietnam. It is a dangerous and complicated job. An advisor can only make suggestions to the Vietnamese. He can issue no orders. But he can suggest by setting an example. If, for instance, a Vietnamese unit commander is sometimes reluctant to send patrols into Viet Cong infested areas, the U.S. soldier can volunteer to lead them in an advisory capacity. When these patrols prove successful, the Vietnamese commander will be won over and will send out his own patrol leaders. For instance, he advises on the proper techniques in the conduct of a firefight. He assists in the planning for reconnaissance missions and conducts necessary debriefings of the patrol members. By active participation, he instructs the Vietnamese in the establishment of ambushes. In all of these functions, his role is that of an advisor. But he is ever ready to participate actively with the Vietnamese. The war here requires a constant battle of wits, a careful resourceful hunt for the enemy, to ferret him out of the jungle and the other hiding places which give him protection. For U.S. soldiers teaching this kind of warfare, the classroom is the battle area itself. Capture of prisoners and identifying the source of their weapons confront U.S. soldiers with additional responsibilities. Interrogation of prisoners presents a major and continuing problem. Probably the most distinguishing and unique assistance provided by the U.S. military in South Vietnam has been the greatly expanded use of helicopters. Through their employment, South Vietnamese infantry are being transported directly to combat areas over long structures of virtually impassable terrain. Jungles, mountains, deltas, swamps, and rice paddies. Within a few minutes they move across terrain obstacles which would require hours or even days of fighting by surface means. Not only does this help catch the enemy by surprise, but it also affords greatly increased battlefield mobility. Many consider this a major advance in achieving the basic objective of all ground combat. Placing the infantrymen at the right place at the right time. It requires to, this strange war and the remoteness of Vietnam, an effort relatively new to warfare. A campaign to develop, increase, and maintain the allegiance of the Vietnamese people to their government. The enemy looks upon the people's dissatisfactions as a powerful weapon to be used to his advantage for he knows he needs their support to have any hope of victory. Where there is hunger, where there is disease, where there is misery, the communist insurgents attempt to persuade the people of their troubles of the result of government evil and would be eliminated with a communist victory. It has been said that the best example of effective counterinsurgency in Southeast Asia is a U.S. medic or soldier giving help to a child in a remote village. Part of the United States effort here is devoted to showing the South Vietnamese Army how to perform similar non-military functions to improve the lot of the Vietnamese people. Typical projects undertaken by the Vietnamese military under guidance of the United States advisors are digging wells and building bridges and schools in addition to providing medical and sanitation services. This policy has been expanded into a comparatively new humanitarian method of waging war. For example, how best to secure a village against the Viet Cong? One answer may be to help the villages build a bridge over which they can bring their produce to market. The tactics of the Viet Cong are to attempt to win over the villages by propaganda and promises and to terrorize them if they do not respond. The most effective counteroffensive may be to convince them, by deeds not promises, that the government is their friend, their benefactor and is worth fighting for. The best way to accomplish this is by practical assistance in their daily struggle for existence in a word by compassion. The nature of the actions and the motivations are humanitarian but they have very definite military applications as well. This is the backdrop against which American soldiers are demonstrating their heroism in Vietnam. Some of these, like Captain Donlon, accomplished deeds which make their own names part of the history they are writing. All have seen the face of the war the enemy wages and out of their experience have looked beyond it and glimpsed the truth of what is at stake in this tortured land. Perhaps their story and their feelings are best conveyed by another U.S. soldier, Captain James Polk Spruil, who died a soldier's death on a mountain road in Vietnam and whose story is told in this reenactment. In letters he wrote to his wife before he died, he put it all down as he saw it. It is a soldier's testament, but one of compelling importance to all his countrymen. From the beginning he felt a sympathy which grew quickly into fondness for the Vietnamese. The people here are poor and the land is poor, he wrote. Strange war, strange land, but wonderful people. But if the Vietnamese villagers intrigued Spruil's attention, it was the soldier with whom he became most familiar and who drew his warmest responses. It is a privilege to work with the Vietnamese soldier. Well, it's frustrating at times, but he's the most genuine and warm human I've met. Simple, humble, willing and warm. If the press judges them harshly at times, it would be well to remember that they have had their independence only nine years. It was brought to my attention last night that we were once inadequately equipped and poorly trained, and the professional soldiers came from afar to aid the fledgling American army in its fight for freedom and internal order. Two of these advisors are well-known, Von Steuben and Lafayette. It is heartwarming to think of sacrifice fostered by those two men when they aided a nation in need. Experiences which warm the heart are never far removed from those which break the heart in the agony of war. Right now I find it hard to think of anything. Yesterday I helped patch up four children who had been burned by a white phosphorus mine laid by the Viet Cong. One was a little girl. We bandaged her punctured and severely burned little body. Her little eyes were burned shut, her nose and lips and the skin over her entire body and every time the embedded bits of phosphorus were exposed to the air, the poor little things screamed. I was the only one the people would turn to. Indeed, could turn to. We wrapped the children in our blankets to keep the air off the phosphorus and then took them to Bin Long, a long, dusty ride. The little girl amazed me because she was still alive when we got there. She was put in a chopper and taken to Canto. I don't know how she is, but I can guess. When I got back in the late afternoon, I went to the area where the children lived. All at once people came from everywhere and surrounded me. I told them what I could about the children and suddenly all of them lay down in the dirt at my feet in the most heartwarming demonstration of thanks I've ever experienced. I shall never forget that and I shall never forget that poor tortured little girl who had nothing but me and I was so inadequate. I must stop now and in a couple of days the sun will shine again for me. And of course the sun did shine again. There were many moments of warmth and cheer. What a day I had yesterday. It was more social than usual and I ate some things you wouldn't believe. I had octopus and dried bananas. How's that for a real combination? Last night I taught the doctor, Lieutenant Han and Lieutenant Hung to play casino and you have never seen anyone more thrilled. They loved it with a passion. You should hear them. Sounds like a Chinese fire drill. You can't imagine the comradeship and gratitude of these men when an American stands with them through danger. It seems to bring heart to them. You could see it in their faces. When they get wounded, no matter how bad it may be, you never hear so much as a whimper. Strange. But strangely logical for a people who have never been far removed from the raw facts of life and death. The days wound fast for Captain Spruin. He was heartened at the progress that was being made in his training program and his own commitment was growing deeper all the time. I grow more attached to them every day now, than to the Vietnamese soldiers. And again, he referred to them as the many friends whose lives and fortunes I have been privileged to share. Captain Spruin had his times of doubt and discouragement. I must admit there are many moments of frustration in Vietnam, but that is exactly why we are here. It is exactly in places and circumstances such as this that communism gains its foothold. Communism is the scavenger of the upheaval of the modernization process and the age of rising expectations. Sometimes we're ready to say the hell with it. But then there are other times. A few nights ago I went out on a night ambush with a group I had been out with before and with whom I had developed quite a rapport. The only trouble I had with them was to get them to quiet down. They were all over me. Later the group was amazed that I would share my water with them. Nothing was too good for the Dai Wei, which is their word for Captain. They even put straw in the ground where my position would be. Ambushes require much patience and one can get most uncomfortable after 11 hours of not moving. So the straw was quite welcome. My position was smack in the middle of a pig pen. What a stench. When morning came the damn pig was right there with me. Eastern sky was magnificent. I'd never seen it so blood red and I could almost hear music as I looked into its spacious beauty. As I walked out of my pig pen I realized that I was walking into an Easter morning sunrise. Much sweat and I'm afraid much blood remained to be shed. Progress will not be dramatic. It will in fact be painfully slow. One of our biggest enemies now will be impatience and despair in America itself. I feel that there's too much talk of despair. Above all this is a war of mind and spirit and it is a war which can be won no matter what the present circumstances are. For us to despair would be a great victory for the enemy. We must stand strong and unafraid and give heart to an embattled and confused people. This cannot be done if America loses heart. At the moment my heart is big enough to sustain those around me. Please don't let them back where you are sell me down the river with talk of despair and defeat. Talk instead of steadfastness, loyalty and a victory for we must and we can win here. There is no backing out of Vietnam for it will follow us wherever and everywhere we go. We have drawn the line here and the America we all know and love best is not one to back away. In one of his earliest messages Mr. Sproul wrote, I am where my destiny has led me. That destiny was to be a sad and cruel one. Death lay waiting on the road he traveled with such deep convictions and towering honor. But before he left it he illuminated that road well and clearly and his nation is the richer for his service and for the testament of faith he left behind him which speaks for all the men who stand at freedom's frontiers in Vietnam today.