Precursor to the Mỹ Lai Massacre: 1968 Phong Nhị, Phong Nhất_20: The White Jungle of Platoon Commander, Choi Young-un
“We’ll all die together, you bastard!”
Sergeant Kim yelled in the middle of the jungle. He was the second in command of the platoon, as the leading noncommissioned officer. He picked up an M16 and aimed it at the forehead of the pilot of the U.S. Medevac. They could hear the sound of the breechblock being loaded. The index of his right hand touched the trigger. The American pilot turned ghastly pale. Medevac, a helicopter used for transporting patients, had arrived in a hurry to help the ROK allied forces, only to have its pilot be threatened with a rifle. From the menacing look on the sergeant’s face, and his glaring eyes, it looked as though he might really pull the trigger. Platoon commander Choi Young-un who had initially been the one arguing with the pilot stepped in saying, “Just do as I said. Have them all board.”
In the spring of 1968, the first company members who were mid-operation in Điện Bàn District, Quang Nam Province, discovered an elderly Vietnamese lady and radioed the upper ranks, asking how they should handle the situation. To the right side of the lady in her satgat is the first company leader, Eun Myung-soo, and the one wiping his sweat with a towel is the first platoon commander, Choi Young-un.
The platoon was attacked by the enemy's rocket. During the search operation, they found about 10 people who appeared to be Viet Congs and followed behind. Maybe they had come too far west. There were reeds everywhere. The enemy's rocket hit their forces precisely, causing six of them to fall. There were some who were injured beyond the point of being able to get up. Fortunately, a U.S. military helicopter arrived immediately after receiving radio calls. But they had to make sure nobody would be left behind. They could not afford to take turns supporting the wounded while also carrying their rifles, backpacks and other equipment. This could make them defenseless in the case of an enemy attack. The American nevertheless pilot shook his head, no. The helicopter was too old to carry all of the injured people. He said he could only accommodate two people. They tried to persuade him, but it didn't work. In a time like this, the only solution was coercive browbeating.
The helicopter soared over the clear blue sky. The sound of the propeller faded into the distance. The pilot had given in. There was no way he could object to the South Korean marines' demand for the repatriation of everyone injured. All six were crammed in. The soldiers who were less injured were first to be laid on the narrow backseat. The more severely injured ones were piled on top of them. The equipment was all packed in as well. First Lieutenant Choi Young-un's conscience felt much lighter. That day on March 2, 1968, the leader and the members of the platoon, who briefly fell into a state of mental discombobulation in the afternoon, successfully exited the jungle and were able to relocate to a safe haven.
The 2nd Brigade of the Marine Corps (The Blue Dragon Unit) was conducting the second Goeryong (fearsome dragon) operation in the area of Quangnam Province. It had been four months since Lieutenant Choi Young-un came to Vietnam. This was his second operation since he became the 1st lieutenant general of the first battalion of the first company. If the first Goeryong operation, which took place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 29, had been a counterattack on Viet Cong's "Tet Offensive," the second operation focused on "sweeping the remnants." They assumed that the enemy's base had been compromised to a certain extent by the first Goeryong operation. March 2nd was the first day of the second operation. But they weren’t so lucky this time. They enemy had the upper hand this time.
Just before the first platoon was attacked that day, members of another platoon achieved modest results. This is how it is recorded in "Korean Warriors Dispatched in Vietnam 4· 5": "We found a cave while searching through the old houses, and we found traces of people having entered the cave. After encircling the area, we shouted toward the cave, demanding that they surrender, but there was no response, so we threw a grenade and thereafter found one VC (Viet Cong) dead, one CAR rifle (carbine rifle) and seven grenades."
They say they demanded surrender in front of the cave, but how likely is it that the Vietnamese person inside the cave understood the Korean that was being spoken? To him, it might as well have simply been a death threat. He wouldn’t have dared to go out because he was scared. The soldiers carrying grenades outside the cave were also likely just as scared. There was no way to know who was inside and whether he had any weapons.
The Marine Corps' 2nd Brigade 1st company members are moving to an operational area in an amphibious armored vehicle (LVT) provided by the U.S. military.
Once the operation was launched, Lieutenant Choi Young-un's mind went blank. Perhaps the term "white jungle" would be most appropriate in describing what went through his head. He erased all memories of South Korea, his hometown of Busan, his father, a civil servant, his mother who always worried about her children, his three younger siblings who were still in college and high school, and his friends. There was nothing more important than here and now. During the first Goeryong Operation, he left his base and lived as a wanderer for a month. He only learned later that the name of the operation was "Goeryong No.1" The platoon leader was not allowed to know the operational outline and progress. He only followed the instructions handed down from the higher ranks. Looking at the map, they went out on patrol to the designated coordinates, went outside their set boundaries, and when they were sniped at, they either shot back or reported to the upper ranks via radio before beginning a search. At night, they went out in platoons to lay in ambush. When they couldn't return to their base, there was no set time to sleep. They didn't even set up a tent. They slept in the jungles or in the open, using their raincoat ponchos as blankets. There was no set time for dinner either. When they became hungry, they ate their " C ration," which didn’t require cooking. The U.S. helicopter diligently airlifted live ammunition, food and water.
When they entered Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất on February 12, after being sniped at, they were in the middle of the first Goeryong operation. That day, something unsettling occurred among a certain squad in a certain platoon. The next day, the troops were so tired that they had no energy to reflect back on the events of the previous day. Their comrades fell shedding blood before their very eyes. They had to protect themselves lest they get hurt, or worse, die. They had to stay alert.
There were about 40 members of the 1st platoon headed by Lieutenant. Choi. Thirteen people per squad. On top of this, the firearm squad was divided into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions to form a firearm squad for each platoon. As a result, there were actually about 50 soldiers in the 1st platoon (about 150 soldiers in the company). The fire squad was armed with Caliber 30 machine guns. There was a 60-millimeter mortar gun under the leadership of the company commander. The Marines were given one M79 grenade launcher per squad, and a rocket launchers for every three persons. Everyone was given an M16 rifle at a bare minimum. They also had to carry live ammunition, grenades, smoke bombs, light gas masks, daggers, water bottles, poncho raincoats and C rations. There were also boxes of claymore mines and ammunition. All this had to be carried on the shoulders, worn around the waist, or carried by hand. Otherwise, they could choose to carry it in their backpacks. It was the Marines' point of pride that they outperformed Army infantry in not only infamy and audacity, but also firepower. Hundreds of people could have been killed with even if only squad had fired.
The Viet Cong hiding in the jungles and marshes were constantly targeting the lives of these troops. The platoon leader moved with the signal corpsman. The signal corpsman, with his antenna, was the easiest prey for the enemy, which then also put the platoon leader next to him in danger. The Marines tore off the thin, long steel plates of the C ration boxes and marched with them sticking out like antennae on their backpacks. It was their disguise tactic to make them all look like signal corpsmen to the Viet Cong. Digging trenches during the day was also dangerous, as the enemy would shoot mortars or rockets in that direction at night. The Marines constantly moved from place to place without a break.
In the Hoi An and Quang Nam areas, the Korean military could hardly take a step forward without the cooperation of the U.S. military. Firstly, they needed LVT support. Many rivers, including the Thu Bồn River, flowed from the west inland to the east coast. The Viet Cong set up shelters around riversides and swamps to attack. They were a significant obstacle to the maneuvers and search operations of the allied forces. Each day, three or four armored vehicles led each company, increasing the efficiency of operations by transporting troops from rivers and swamps. The armored vehicles also had the function of blocking booby traps that were placed everywhere.
Secondly, they needed helicopters. As mentioned earlier, when an urgent situation would occur in the jungle, there was no means of maneuver better than a helicopter. The U.S. military helicopters served as a "Big Brother" that kept the ROK Marines at bay. At night, even if the coordinates were slightly moved according to the company leader's judgment that it would be safer to do so, there would be radio contact to each company from the U.S. military, which took aerial photos from the sky by helicopter, examining every little movement of ROK troops. For the ROK marines in Vietnam, the roar of armored vehicles and helicopters had been reduced to something of a background music that was playing on repeat.
Lieutenant Choi Young-un is handing out candy and biscuits from the C ration boxes to Vietnamese children in downtown Hoi An. The Vietnamese people in the central part of the country still remember the image of South Korean troops being kind to the civilians. This is why they are all the more taken aback by the civilian massacre incited by the ROK troops.
There was a thrilling moment for Lieutenant Choi Young-un as well. It was during the "First Operation of the Western Dragon" on April 13. It was the second operation after Operation Goeryong 2 under the banner of "defeating the remnants of the Viet Cong." They were lucky this time around. It was near the National Highway No. 1 which was not too far from Hoi An. Each platoon took turns laying ambush in areas where they thought the enemy would infiltrate. That day it was the first platoon’s turn. It was around 8:30 p.m. when Lieutenant Choi discovered the enemy of about a squad size approaching from 200 meters ahead. They looked rather humorous in their effort to not make any noise while walking over holding their guns. He radioed the headquarters. They were directed to wait for the enemy to approach closer.
The enemy was finally 50 meters ahead of the troops. As soon as they tried to cross the last paddy bank, a flare was fired from the battalion headquarters. Flames lit up the surrounding area. It was a clear open land. After pressing the claymore switch, they fired their M16 rifles and caliber 30 machine guns all at once. Grenades went off in a torrent. They killed 11 of the enemy. According to "Korean Warriors Dispatched in Vietnam 4· 5, "the first company acquired two AK automatic rifles, three 82-millimeter shells and seven hand grenades among other ammunition. Choi, along with the platoon members, received a presidential citation for their feat.
The president's encouragement did not relieve them of their anxiety however. One by one, the soldiers began displaying abnormal behavior. There was a soldier standing guard at night at the headquarters near Điện Bàn district, talking nonsense. "There’s a black figure approaching,” he would exclaim. It was a night when the moon was shining bright. There was absolutely nothing in sight. Only the leaves shook in the wind. Some soldiers even hurt themselves by shooting M16 rifles at their own feet. They had to be evacuated.
Lieutenant Choi Young-un had been freed from combat since May. His position was changed from 1st platoon leader to 2nd lieutenant general. The 2nd lieutenant general was responsible for the encampment boundary and supplies. He didn't have to go out to patrol or lay ambush in the jungle. He also got a chance to bathe in a U.S. military resort in Da Nang. He wrote a letter to his parents in his hometown for the first time. When he came to Vietnam, he didn't keep in touch with anyone in Korea. As the eldest son, he felt that there was no reason to constantly worry his parents. Enclosed with the letter to his parents was a photograph of him with his colleagues on the beach wearing swimsuits, all of them in the most relaxed and peaceful expressions. "I am living comfortably in Vietnam. Mother, Father, please don't worry about me."
When he had time to spare, he took time off on weekends and went out to downtown Da Nang or Hoi An. He drank coffee or beer at a cafe in the retro downtown area filled with old relics. His pockets were filled with chocolate and candy. He had taken them out of the C ration boxes. He recalled his childhood memory of crying out, "Give me chocolate," to U.S. soldiers in his hometown of Busan. Like the U.S. soldiers from his childhood days, he handed out chocolate and candy to Vietnamese children. The giddy children held out their open hands. Technically, these chocolates that he was handing out were from the United States. To the unknowing Vietnamese people, however, Choi was a benevolent South Korean Marine officer.
- Written by humank (Journalist; Seoul, Korea)
- Translated and revised as necessary by April Kim (Tokyo, Japan)
The numbers in parentheses indicate the respective ages of the people at the time in 1968.
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