 These primitive threadbare villagers are preparing to take up a challenge to their freedom which the 20th century has brought to their homeland. Their homeland is Vietnam. More specifically, the rugged central highlands of Vietnam, mountain country. The headlong slopes have been their home for centuries and these have shaped and tempered the people. They are generally small but with a toughness of body and spirit which is common to mountain people the world over. Pound for pound, the mountain tribesmen of Vietnam is one of the most potent fighting men in the world. His most familiar title is one given to him by the French, a term which says it all, though its meaning is simply, Mountain Man. The undeclared war raging today in South Vietnam is not being fought in the streets of cities. From the beginning, the Republic of Vietnam has had little trouble keeping control of the great urban centers, the place names you see here. But the central highlands, the Huan Son Codilera, is a tangle of jungle and steep slopes, ideally suited to the lightly armed, fast-moving gorilla. And it is here that the struggle for Vietnam may be decided. For this central high ground dominates both the rich rice bowl of the Mekong Delta to the south and the narrow, densely populated coastal plain which borders the South China Sea. Thus the military planners of both sides of this twilight war agree. He who gains the highlands will have won the fight for Vietnam. To gain the highlands, this is easier said than done. For nearly a thousand years, the emperors of China dominated Vietnam, except the highlands. Of course, one reason for that exception was the rugged, unforgiving terrain. But another reason is to be found in villages like this, the mountain people. There are many races here, each with its own distinct heritage and way of life. They are individuals, and their pride in the fact is strong. Historians believe these people lived here before the light-skinned Vietnamese came some 2,000 years ago, and most of them still live a stone-age existence at mid-20th century. Their mountain isolation has been nearly complete. To most of them, Vietnamese is a foreign language. The mountain yards have cared little for developments in the world beyond their mountain home. But for more than a decade now, increasing numbers of communist guerrillas have been passing through the mountain villages, rewarding cooperation, terrorizing any who resist. They have made much of the highlands into a secure staging area for their attacks on the lowlands below. And so it is that here on his home ground, the mountain yard has become vitally important to the fight for freedom in Vietnam. Tough, muscular, a skilled hunter and woodsman, he holds the key to the central highlands. If he can be won to the government's cause, there is no training and weapons to resist communist terrorism. The guerrillas' mountain sanctuary will have disappeared. To help win this support and provide training and equipment has been the job of United States military advisors and the Vietnamese Special Forces troops with whom they work. Advisors are chosen for linguistic aptitude and a talent for tact and diplomacy. For their mission is quite literally to train friends and influence people. On first contact with the village, their only audience may be children and old people. With able-bodied men nowhere to be seen, they must begin where they can. Give candy to the children, speak politely to the elders, show by actions that they are not here to hurt anyone. And show by actions that they are here to help. The mountain yard is just as concerned for the welfare of his children as any other parent and just as appreciative when someone demonstrates an active, genuine interest in being of help. Actions speak louder than words. The communist guerrillas have been coming through here with threats or, at the best, promises. By contrast, here are men ready and able to be of help now. The young and able-bodied men of the village receive the word and they return. They want to learn how to resist the terrorism under which their villages have lived and there is much to learn. From how to wear shoes to the use of 20th century weapons, the training itself presents problems. American and Vietnamese instructors work together but often a third man is necessary to get the message across. A Vietnamese who speaks English gets the lesson from the American advisor. He passes it on in Vietnamese to a villager who speaks both Vietnamese and the mountain dialect. Finally, the native interpreter relays the message to the trainees. It's a complicated business but it works. The mountain yard is a match for weapons. From boyhood, these tribesmen have stalked game with a powerful crossbow. The step from aiming a crossbow to firing a modern weapon is not so great as it might seem. When it comes to the ways and means of bringing grief to an enemy, the mountain man learns fast. Within a few weeks after seeing their first rifle, the mountain men are perfectly at home and professionally skillful as they negotiate a rugged and realistic infiltration course. Since most guerrilla attacks come in darkness, they learn the tactics of resisting a night assault. Red China's Mao Tse Tung has said, the guerrilla is a fish and the sea in which he swims is the people. If the people be unfriendly, the guerrilla cannot survive. These mountain men have decided to be unfriendly. They know why and they know now how. If enough of their fellow mountain yards can be reached and taught, the result can be vitally important. To some of the mountain men, an understanding has come of what the war of subversion raging in their country is all about. They have decided that it is wrong. They have decided to do something about it. They round the earth to help them do something about it. They are ready to move on to other villages among the mountains. They will leave behind them a trained group of friends, where before there was only fear or indifference. Friends who may in time have a profound effect on the future of Vietnam. The Mountain Yards