 In Poak-Twee Province, some 50 kilometers east of Saigon, a Chinook helicopter arrives at an artillery position of the Royal New Zealand Army. The men and guns are to be flown to a new location in the province. The internal loading of the aircraft is expedited as the New Zealand unit prepares to support Australian troops engaged in Operation Ingham. The date is 28 November. Sling loaded material is hooked up and the utility helicopter lifts off and heads southeastward toward the zone of operations. A few meters from this landing zone, the first Australian task force is seeking enemy supplies and supply routes. Two Royal Armored Regiments are conducting the sweep. Now the artillery unit is arriving. The New Zealand artillerymen begin digging in. As soon as their equipment is off loaded, they start setting up camp. Meanwhile, troops of the Australian contingent who had earlier secured the battery position carry out a perimeter guard patrol. It is suspected that the VC may try to hit the artillery position with mortars. Patrolling units keep in touch by radio as they comb the area. On the 29th of November, the day after the New Zealanders landed, the battery fires a mission in support of Australian APCs. The Australian armor has made contact with some VC and the artillery is hitting enemy positions. 3,000 meters from the artillery position, the Australian armored vehicles begin moving in on the enemy. Now at close range, the men from down under are hit by a hail of small arms fire. They return the fire using both 30 and 50 caliber automatic weapons. Abruptly, the enemy ceases firing and the Royal Australian armored vehicles push on continuing the search. But the enemy has fled and is nowhere to be found. At a pre-arranged rendezvous point, a Chinook helicopter brings in a load of collapsible fuel tanks from which the APCs will refuel in the field. On the morning of the 30th of November, the Australians commence refueling operations. The crews quickly hooking up the necessary hoses and pumps. Then, one by one, the armored vehicles are serviced. When the refueling is completed, the Australians start circling back to their base, searching for VC as they go. The area is covered with elephant grass. They soon discover a large enemy bunker with an associated network of tunnels. The entire complex is thoroughly searched and though abandoned by the Viet Cong, it contains nearly 30 tons of polished rice. The searchers explore the various entrances with extreme caution. The rice is destroyed and the task force moves out through the jungles and scrub growth of the coastal province. One of the hazards encountered on the return trip to camp is a swiftly flowing river. Control cables are used to guide the armored personnel carriers across these treacherous waters. Finally, the vehicles of the Royal Australian Armored Regiment reach civilization once again and pass through a barbed wire fence and arrive in camp. Enemy prisoners taken during the two-day search and clear mission are brought to the camp's airstrip. Here, they are transferred to an RAAF helicopter for transport to the regimental headquarters where they will be interrogated. On 3 December, Operation Ingham comes to a successful conclusion in Phuoc Tui province. 64 kilometers northeast of Saigon, in the province of Phuoc Tui, a village is about to be destroyed by elements of the 11th Armored Cavalry. But first, the people must be evacuated along with their belongings. For some time now, the village has been infested with the VC. The surrounding area is leveled as operations begin. At the request of the Vietnamese provincial chief, the work of demolishing the village begins. Flamethrowers are used for the job. In the distance, an airstrike hits a group of VC fleeing from the area. Following the fiery destruction of the village, armored vehicles move in and mow down a thick banana grove. There is to be nothing left which might be of use to the enemy. Even these fruit trees must be denied the VC. Viet Cong snipers wounded one cavalryman while trying to deter the Americans from destroying the village. A flying ambulance is called in. The injured man is soon aboard the Dustoff chopper and airborne for the hospital. On the highway far below, the Vietnamese villagers are rolling toward a life of freedom from oppression at the relocation center. The operation is over. In a valley in Binh Dinh province, 25 km southwest of Bong Son, elements of the first air cavalry conduct a sweep through Viet Cong control territory. It is 20 December and the action is part of Operation Thayer 2. After light contact with the enemy, the unit advances to find one dead VC and nearby a badly wounded Viet Cong officer. He has passed into shock and a medic quickly provides emergency aid to save his life. As soon as possible, a chopper is called in to evacuate the wounded prisoner. He will be taken to a nearby field hospital and if he recovers, will be subject to a thorough interrogation. Operation Thayer 2 which began on 25 October and has thus far accounted for more than 600 enemy dead continues successfully. At Long Binh on 11 December, an awards ceremony is held for the 145th Combat Aviation Battalion and Attached Units. General William C. Westmoreland arrives with Colonel Raymond P. Campbell, commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Group, as participating troops present arms. The distinguished unit citation for extraordinary heroism says in part, when the besieged defenders of Dong Soi requested assistance, the 145th Aviation Battalion responded, although the insurgents had all approaches covered by 50 caliber machine guns and heavy automatic weapons. General Westmoreland fastens the streamer to the battalion colors as Colonel Campbell assists. The general addresses the helleborn troops referring to the citation which concludes, the determination, indomitable courage and extraordinary heroism demonstrated by these units, participating with the 145th Aviation Battalion, are in the highest traditions of the military service. On 21 December, an Air Force jet puts down a Tonsinut Air Force Base. Among those debarking are the Army's Chief of Staff, General Harold K. Johnson and Sergeant Major of the Army, William O. Wildridge, arriving in Vietnam for a Christmas visit. On hand to greet the visitors is General Westmoreland, Commander-in-Chief MacVie. The Army's top enlisted man is returning to Vietnam for meetings and visits with the troops. While the generals confer, Sergeant Wildridge visits with enlisted men of the 18th Replacement Company. Good luck to you. It's all a vast night. Hope if you should come by Washington and stop and see me. Good luck to you. I may see you out at Fort Sill. Hope so. All the best to you. Jarvis, nice to see you. The Sergeant Major then visits the wards and nurses at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital. I'm going to leave from Saigon on the 28th and go directly into Dallas, Texas to represent the Army at the Cotton Bowl there. I understand we're going to talk to some nurses there at Dallas on arrival. And I've been asked to bring something from you to present to them. And I understand you're going to give me one of your very nice pocket patches here from the 93rd Evacuation Hospital. I'll be proud and very happy to represent you there and present your patch to the nurses there in Dallas. I want to tell you, and I know that I speak for all the soldiers, but when I tell you this, how grateful that we are for your help. I visit the hospitals around the states and my travels there, and I talk to a lot of soldiers who have been processed through your hospital here on back to the states. And they always tell me how wonderful the nurses are. And so I know I speak for all of them when I say to you, we're grateful and we're very proud that you're a member of our team. And we certainly thank you for your help that you give to the soldiers. The sergeant's trip would not be complete without a visit to his old unit, the Big Red One. I'd like to say, well, I have the opportunity that I wish all of our soldiers around the world a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And I look forward to seeing you all in the future. I run an office for you a bit and then the Pentagon. I hope that you'll contact me there if I can be assistance to you. And I hope that if you're in the war, then there you'll stop in and see your office. Thank you. At headquarters, Field Force One in Nha Trang, on 21 December, officers and newsmen are on hand for the arrival of General Nguyen Phan Thieu, Chief of State of the Republic of Vietnam. General Thieu is greeted by General William Westmoreland, Commander-in-Chief MacVie, and General Stanley Larson, Commander of Field Force One. The occasion is the presentation of awards to staff officers of Field Force One. General Thieu is presenting the medals to the officers on behalf of the Republic of Vietnam in appreciation for their gallant service in the current conflict. With Generals Westmoreland and Larson congratulating the men, the spirit of warm cooperation between the United States and the Republic of Vietnam is reflected throughout the formal presentation. At the Pentagon on 19 December 1966, a distinguished assembly attends the presentation of the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Walter J. Marm Jr. in a Special Army Full Honor Award ceremony. The honors include a 19-gun salute. The Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff accompany Lieutenant Marm's inspection of the Honor Guard. Secretary Stanley R. Reeser addresses the formation and guests. I am honored today to represent President Johnson at this ceremony. We are gathered to present this nation's highest award to First Lieutenant Walter J. Marm Jr. Personal courage is a magnificent thing. The ability to lead other men in the face of extreme danger is a rare gift. Today we honor a young Army officer who early in his military career combined these two qualities to meet the test of combat against a trained and determined foe. Lieutenant Marm takes his place before the Color Guard for the citation. Major General Kenneth G. Wickham, the Adjutant General, reads the citation. His company was moving through the valley to relieve a friendly unit surrounded by an enemy force of estimated regimental size. Lieutenant Marm led his platoon through withering fire until they were finally forced to take cover, realizing that his platoon could not hold very long and seeing four enemy moving into his position, he moved quickly under heavy fire and annihilated all four. Then seeing that his platoon was receiving intense fire from a concealed machine gun, he deliberately exposed himself to draw its fire. Thus locating its position, he attempted to destroy it with an anti-tank weapon. Although he inflicted casualties, the weapon did not silence the enemy fire. Quickly, disregarding the intense fire directed on him and his platoon, he charged 30 meters across open ground and hurled grenades into the enemy position, killing some of the eight insurgents manning it. Although severely wounded, when his grenades were expended, armed with only a rifle, he continued the momentum of his assault on the position and killed the remainder of the enemy. Lieutenant Marm's selfless actions reduced the fire on his platoon, broke the enemy assault and rallied his unit to continue toward the accomplishment of its mission. The Medal of Honor is presented to Lieutenant Marm by Secretary Racer for conspicuous gallantry on the battlefield and extraordinary intrapidity above and beyond the call of duty.