OP-31 Maritime Studies Branch - Code Name: "Plowman"
January 1965, the Maritime Operations Section was establish as the staff at MACV-SOG headquarters for its operational arms, the NAD. As with the Airborne Operations, the inception of Rolling Thunder lead to a change in mission from punitive and harassment operations to intelligence collection and shipping interdiction.
Six Nasty PTF’s and three Swift PCF’s were in the inventory at the beginning of the year. Four new PTF’s were added for a total of ten. However due to maintenance problems sit PTF’s and two Swifts were normally all that were operational at any one time. During the year the number of Vietnamese Sea Commandos declined to 148. MAROPS conducted 155 missions in 1965 during which fifty North Vietnamese vessels were destroyed and nineteen were damaged, including three naval patrol craft. There were 59 shore bombardments and 25 psychological harassment missions. 1,000 radio 28,742 gift kits and 1,124,600 leaflets were distributed. CSS casualties for the year were one man killed in Action and eighteen wounded. PTF 4 lost on an operations and the gasoline-powered Nasty’s that had arrived during 1963, (PTF’s 1 and 2 were stripped and suck for target practice).
South Vietnamese Role
April 1, 1964 the Special Branch for Clandestine Operations of the Technical Exploitation Service that have been tasked covert operations and intelligence gathering was split into two sections. 1. Strategic Exploitation Service (SES) became MACV-SOG Vietnamese counterpart. One of it’s elements was the Coastal Security Service (CSS) that was to conduct maritime operations for OPLAN 34A. Secondly the Vietnamese Liaison Service, which conducted intelligence collection and clandestine Operations in Laos.
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- RM2 Sam Canada NAD
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- Sam Canada SOG’s Safe House 22 Lei Loi Street, Danang 1964.
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- John A. Palmer SOG’s Safe House 22 Lei Loi Street, Danang 1964.
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- John Palmer US NAVY
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- Bunker on beach Paradise island
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- 1967 Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- Swift Boat Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- Checking Fisherman Paradise island Do Do Camp
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- Beach Area Paradise island Do Do Camp
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- Paradise island Do Do Camp
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- Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- “Ong” (Mr.) Nhung Paradise island Do Do Camp
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- Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- South China sea Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- Operation and sleeping quarter Paradise island Do Do Camp Do Do Camp
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- beach-front hut Paradise island Do Do Camp
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- Master Sergeant Kenneth Mancil and Captain Hoang Cong Kham
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- Major Grubbs (L) and SP4 Zeke (R)
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- Mancil and more friends
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- Tet celebration, 1967.
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- American and Vietnamese CSS personnel
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- American MACVSOG and CSS Personnel – Cu Lao Cham 1967.
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- I think the pig was purchased from the islanders. Not sure.
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- Captain John Robbins and Ron Kauffman
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- his may have been prior to our closing down operations- When the bombing of North Vietnam was halted; our operations North the the 17th Parallel were halted also. We had a farewell party with our friends from CSS.
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- Camp Fay
