 Okay, move out. In the spring of 1965, the first United States Army combat troops were committed to the conflict raging in South Vietnam. Vietnam, fearful of the new M16 automatic weapon, called them the men with the little black rifles. Hanoi Hanna called them juvenile delinquents in green t-shirts. They were American paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and with fierce pride in their outfit, they called themselves the Sky Soldiers. Just back from Vietnam, a freelance correspondent documents the story of the unusual breed of fighting men known as the Sky Soldiers. To learn their story, he lived with the paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, followed them through the steaming jungles and rice paddies of South Vietnam, where they have made history. The first time I saw them was the morning of May 5, 1965. A seemingly endless stream of big-bellied Silver C-130s began landing at Benoit airbase about 18 miles northeast of Saigon. Along with other correspondents, I'd gone to Vietnam to cover the arrival of the first U.S. Army combat troops. Watching them disembark, you couldn't help seeing that there was a special quality about these men. Young? Sure, but the way they moved and formed up without any confusion. Well, there was a feeling you get when you're watching real pros. They knew their business. After seeing them, I decided that I would stay in Vietnam and see these paratroopers in action. Brigadier General Ellis Williamson, commander of the 173rd, had arrived on the lead plane. Asked how long before his troops would be ready to begin patrols, he answered, tonight. As a matter of fact, it was a lot sooner than that. In only a few hours, there was a perimeter guard about the airbase. And patrols were moving out beyond the barbed wire. It was the first time in more than a year that any troops had made extended patrols outside the area. Besides setting up brigade headquarters at Benoit, a task force was landed at Vung Town. It consisted of an infantry battalion with engineer and medical unit, and its job was to secure and defend that airfield. A few days later, the rest of the brigade's personnel and equipment arrived by sea. They proceeded by road convoy to Benoit. Now, with all of its men and equipment, the 173rd was set to get rolling. The next two weeks were spent in sharpening combat techniques and revising tactics. These included eagle flights, fast strikes on targets of opportunity, and foot patrols in hostile areas. At the same time, the armor troops and the cavalry were making a show of force on the network of roads and conducting reconnaissance. Once secure, the roads came alive with native transport. For the first time in many months, the people of the province could journey to market and visit friends and family. The 173rd is a separate brigade, meaning that it's not part of a division. Itself-contained, the first airborne brigade to be so classified. At that time, the combat units consisted of two battalions of infantry, an artillery battalion with three firing batteries, a cavalry troop, and a company of armor. Combat support units included a medical company, a company of engineers, a maintenance company, signal and communications units, transport, supply and administration. Independence of movement was provided by two platoons of troop-carrying helicopters and a gunship platoon. With the Benoit area made secure, large-scale attacks against the enemy were modest. The largest of these took place at the end of May and employed nearly all of the combat units in the brigade. The infantry, artillery, and cavalry, as well as engineers and a platoon of volunteers from administration, supply and maintenance units. It seemed as though everybody wanted to get into the act. The operation was strictly an infantry-type air-mobil assault. The landing zones had been pounded by the Air Force. Then, minutes before the task forces arrived, Army gunships at the brigade made a final sweep. The gunship platoon, nicknamed the Cowboys from their radio callsign, softened up the landing zones or LZ. Then the first task force swung into action. It was made up of cavalry, engineers, support troops, and artillery. Their first mission was to secure the LZs for the other two task forces. When the other two task forces landed, the first elements were already in high gear. The operation got underway quickly and efficiently. You had to be impressed. Young as they were, these men moved like veterans, like pros with years of experience. Officers and enlisted men all worked as a team. You don't get this good just by accident. There must be a good reason. I hadn't yet discovered just what it was. Almost from the moment this operation began, the sky soldiers met scattered enemy resistance. Day after day, for four days, the brigade moved ahead. Sometimes through jungle, so dense you could hardly see the sky. Other times over fields where there was no cover at all. Everywhere the insects and the heat pressing down like lead. Although the Viet Cong were hard to find and refused to hold their ground, many bunkers were uncovered. Viet Cong base camps were rendered useless and the supplies captured to distribute to local delegates. At the end of the fourth day, the brigade was picked up and returned to Benoit. The only way to get to know an outfit is to stay with it in camp as well as in the field. During the next few weeks, talking to the men gave me an opportunity to learn the brigade's background and explain much of the reason for its esprit de corps and its efficiency in combat. The 173rd was activated June 25th, 1963, around a nucleus of the 2nd Airborne Battle Group of the 503rd Infantry, the direct descendant of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment known as the ROC, which had jumped on Corregidor in World War II. Around these men they formed a balanced Airborne Combat Force. It was the first and only separate Airborne Brigade in the United States Army. For two years, these men under the command and guidance of General Williamson and his staff had been working and training together until they'd been forged into a unique self-supporting strike force, capable of handling any emergency, any time, any place. These fighting men had trained in Okinawa, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan. Their jungle skills had been honed razor sharp and every last one was a qualified jumper. Airborne all the way. This was truly a crack out myth where re-enlistment often ran as high as 100% and you can't get better than that. Although the brigade mounted many attacks in an area northeast of Saigon called Warzone D, which was supposed to be an impregnable Vietcong fortress, contact with the enemy was always light and scattered. The VC preferred to lose large amounts of food and supplies and to give up their bases rather than stand and fight. It wasn't long before the sky soldiers found out what. Along with some captured supplies, documents were found which read, avoid fighting with the men who carry the little black rifles unless you have a much stronger force than they have. About this time, the brigade took on an international flavor. Attached to it were Australian troops, veterans of the Malaysian campaign, trained in counter-guerrilla warfare. These battle season soldiers were a welcome addition, fitting right in with the rest of the units. These Aussies were soon to be joined by troops from neighboring New Zealand. In July, Warzone D was the scene of a massive attack against the Vietcong. Vietnamese soldiers fought side by side with the troopers of the 173rd. It was a large-scale operation, with the full resources of the brigade employed against the Vietcong. When the 173rd moves out on an operation like this, 60% of its support troops accompany the combat units. At first, the fighting was light with little opposition. Then it was a large-scale operation, with the full resources of the brigade employed against the Vietcong. When the 173rd moves out on an operation like this, it was a large-scale operation. Then it got tougher. The sky soldiers are tough, aggressive fighters, and the deeper into the jungle they went, the fiercer the fighting got. Wherever the enemy was too deeply entrenched, the artillery blasted them loose. General Williamson's policy was, spend bullets, not bodies. The operation lasted four days and was a tremendous success. There were more than 400 Vietcong casualties, and 50 prisoners captured. Over 100 tons of weapons and supplies have been taken, and thousands of documents captured, which proved to be a goldmine for intelligence. The brigade moved on from success to success. Kwak Tu'i, where a Vietcong supply route was destroyed, played coup and con-tomb in the central highlands to lift a siege and clear the roads for an arvin relief column, and the so-called Iron Triangle. The Iron Triangle was an area where no friendly forces had set foot for more than a year. Air force strikes, artillery fire, and army gunships prepared the way. Then the infantry moved in, sweeping through the jungle. Despite the fact that the enemy was strongly dug in in many areas, the Sky Soldiers rooted them out and kept pressing right on. But in combat, even the victors must suffer casualties. Fortunately, the Sky Soldiers' casualties were light. The medics exposed themselves time and again to care for the wounded. The Vietnam Dustoff is the affectionate codename for the medical evacuation helicopters, and they performed miracles in getting in and out of almost impossible spots. It took six days to work through the Iron Triangle. But when it was over, the Vietcong had lost over a hundred men, six camps, and thousands of pounds of supplies and food. The myth of the Iron Triangle had been broken and was to stay that way for over a year. As important as defeating the Vietcong is the need to win the loyalty of the Vietnamese people. To this end, the men of the brigade applied themselves with the same spirit they showed in facing the enemy. A well-rounded program of civic action was initiated. An important part of it was routine medical treatment. To help the Vietnamese help themselves, heavy equipment was provided to build and restore roads. The men volunteered their free time to help in the construction of schools. And in educating the Vietnamese, food and clothing were provided for villagers who had fled from Vietcong oppression. For the first time in more than a year, many of the villagers were able to go freely to church. One that the 173rd had helped in the build. Sanitary wells were dug in villages that had never had clean, pure water. On their own time and in some cases out of their own pockets, the sky soldiers undertook the sponsorship of orphanages and helped refurbish schools and playgrounds for the children. One of the brigade's most unique missions was Operation U-Life. For more than two years, the Vietcong had controlled the rice harvest in this rich and fertile area. The mission was to drive out the VC, restore government control, and protect the harvest. In addition to the airlifted troops, long-range ground controls helped to forge a long chain, which drew tighter as the troops swept across the area. By moving at night, as well as by day, the 173rd broke another myth that only the Vietcong dared to move in the dark. By such actions, the sky soldiers began to win the confidence of the local population and to loosen the grip of terror that the VC held over the Vietnamese peasants. Kindness and decent treatment of the villagers, as well as the work of the civic action teams, resulted in bringing entire villages over to the side of the government. More than 300 of the VC were captured in this operation and the local Vietcong battalion defeated. For the first time in two years, the people of the region harvested their crop without fear and the local government could once again function. As proof of the effectiveness of civic action and psychological warfare efforts, nearly 60 ralliers or defectors of the Vietcong came in with their weapons to surrender. For the 173rd, the missions continued. There was Operation Marauder directed against the VC battalion. They defeated the battalion and captured rosters which identified every man belonging to the local VC. In Operation Crimp, they uncovered a VC base camp in Hobo Woods which included a tunnel complex that was three miles long and six levels deep. Operation Followed Operation, Dexter, Yorktown, Aurora 1, Aurora 2, Hardy Hood, and Toledo with little or no break between operations. Operation Sue City took them back to Zone D once again. Once more, the Vietcong avoided full contact. But large stores of clothing, weapons and other supplies were captured. The last operation I saw the 173rd carry out was Junction City. This was to be the largest multi-division operation to date. The target was Warzone C near the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon. The entire brigade was committed. But this time there was a difference. This was to be the first parachute deployment by American forces in the Vietnam conflict. The planes are bigger and faster today, but this is how it must have been when the old 503rd parachuted down on Corregidor in World War II. This is how it is with the men of the 173rd. No one hesitates, each one is raring to go. Security was good, but there was some V.C. ground fire aimed at the paratroopers. A few of the jumpers found holes in their chutes to bear this out. But the only injuries were a few sprained ankles. When the jumpers were on the ground, the V.C. really opened up. The first job was to secure the drop zone. When it was secure, the C-130s began dropping the heavy stuff, equipment and supplies. Operation Junction City was the biggest in Vietnam up to that time. Men of the 173rd did their job all the way. I've often wondered what makes an outfit like the 173rd Airborne the way it is. Part of it is due to the men who lead it, like General Williamson who was responsible for organizing and shaping. And General Smith who took command in Vietnam in 1966. Followed by General Dean who led the jump in Operation Junction City. Part of it is the training. The tougher the going gets, the better they seem to like it. Mostly it's pride. Pride in being part of an elite outfit of volunteers. One of the pros. They don't brag, but one of their infantry battalions was presented the distinguished unit citation by General Westmoreland. By the time I left, they had four Medal of Honor winners among them. Scores of silver stars. And they don't bother to count their purple hearts. These are the men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, separate, Airborne, all the way. By now, most of the men of the 173rd that I knew have rotated in new assignments. The ranks are filled with new names and faces. But the Sky Soldiers are still in Vietnam fighting and working to help the Vietnamese people to build a free society of their own choice. And they'll probably stay until the job is done. Well done.