 on patrol made contact with the elusive enemy when the Viet Cong struck in a variation of his favorite tactics, a surprise attack from the shadows. But the VC already aware he has little chance of winning a stand-up fight. His learning he is being engaged by a fighting force quite different from that he met and defeated a decade ago. His own guerrilla tactics are being turned against him and he is frequently trapped in our ambushes set up by the patrols that are moving constantly. It is through skillful use of patrols of many different sizes and types that our military commanders in Vietnam maintain contact with the enemy and exert the constant pressure which is weakening the VC's grip on areas he has controlled for years by tyranny and terror. Our success with the military action of patrol and ambush backed up by an expansive civic action program continues to win the trust of the people in Vietnam. Many are no longer afraid to give us the information that leads to the enemy's hidden caches of supplies often including a variety of weapons and to Victor Charlie himself. For every patrol of course the way is strung with danger and only constant vigilance can turn up the vicious array of often primitive but surprisingly effective booby traps and obstacles with which the crafty enemy has popped the green earth. Every cave must be thoroughly and cautiously explored. Even a youngster plotting along the road could have a grenade concealed in the heavy burden. It has happened before. The patrol must wait until the road itself is swept with mine detectors. When it moves on it finds the spider holes in which snipers have been or may still be hiding. The patrol search turns up pungy pits filled with needle sharp bamboo sticks and sprouting everywhere are the bamboo spears the Marines call Victor Charlie toothpicks sharp enough to pierce a boot often smeared with crude poison and made explosives are set to detonate at the slightest tug on a tripwire. Yes every foot of the way is strung with danger. Careful planning goes into every patrol action. Lieutenant Colonel Robert R. Dickie briefs Marine and Army members of his staff on the location and possible strength of the enemy. Then elements of the third Marine regiment are lifted by helicopter or a patrol in force along the Songuvia River 50 miles away. The swift air movement is expected to catch the guerrilla force in that area off guard and reduce the danger of running into enemy ambush. Miraculously the exploding booby trap injured no one but almost immediately at least 30 BC opened fire from the village ahead. Let's rip through the leaves and the Marine is hit. Then the Navy Hospital Corpsman who crawled to help him is also wounded. That's the Viet Cong civilians powering in the ditch along the trail. The action is heavy but finally the firepower of Delta Company's first platoon begins to tell. The enemy tries to disengage. In the village and beyond Delta Company finds what's left of the enemy. The search yields confirming evidence that the Viet Cong has been there in strength. In the tree lines and along the bank of the nearby stream the patrol uncovers a complicated network of trenches and tunnels. After a careful probing, Marine combat engineers are called forward to destroy the enemy fortifications. Dickie's patrol in force has accomplished its mission. Search and destroy. The rivers and streams of South Vietnam are well traveled highways used for centuries in a country where good roads are few. Waterborne patrols of Marines and South Vietnamese troops deny these important arteries to the Viet Cong and protect legitimate travelers from ambushes and unofficial tax collectors. Acting on information from the villagers, speedy assault patrols move in on a suspected stream-side guerrilla base. Always the mission of the patrol is to make contact with the enemy to determine his strength, disposition and intentions to seek him out and destroy him. Marine Lieutenant Richard Nicklin and combat photographers covered such an action during Operation New York. This is the first platoon of golf company commanded by First Lieutenant Terry Moulton. We're on a search and clear mission this morning. This is going to be a methodical search house by house, village by village as we move north. We're looking mostly today for military age men that may possibly be VC. So far all we can see are women and children and old men. There are no young VCs. We have Vietnamese who do the interrogating, asking where the VC are, where they may have gone. We're looking for tunnels, caves, anything worthy Viet Cong may hide. We've just run into some VC here in the area. Right immediately to our front is a group of huts at the edge of a small village getting some returned fire. We've been chasing these VCs since 8 o'clock this morning. It's been a long haul until we finally found them. They just stand and fight. These Viet Cong are elusive. You can't see them. All you can do is hear the bullets as they come at you. They just moved out on a line to assault this position, hitting it with everything they've got. And if there's any VC in there that'll sort of help clean them out. Those words speak of the courage and determination and high resolve of all the men and women, civilians and military, supporting the pledge of President Johnson, that the threat of a communist takeover in South Vietnam will be eliminated. And peace with freedom and the right of self-determination will be won for its people.