Precursor to the Mỹ Lai Massacre: 1968 Phong Nhị, Phong Nhất_#5
Chapter 5: The Ruthless Marines
February 1967; When the ROK Marine 2nd Brigade was stationed in Chu lai, a single squadron of 294 defeated the regimental force of the NVA and Viet Cong, which consisted of 2,400 troops. Dubbed ‘The Battle of Trà Bình Dong,“ as it took place in Trà Bình of Quảng Ngãi Province. The victory was a huge ego boost to the ROK Marines, who 6 months later launched a surprise attack on the Air force Flight Academy. A high-ranking U.S. official is inspecting the corpses of the enemy that died in the Battle of Trà Bình. Photo provided by Ryu Jin-seong.
The propeller began spinning rapidly. 25 year-old lieutenant Choi Young-un covered his ear with one hand as he grabbed his duffel bag with the other. A U.S. pilot in sunglasses motioned for him to get on. The back door of the helicopter opened. There was nobody else aboard. Inside there were cannonballs and live ammunition, as well as combat ration, water jugs, and boxes full of supplies. Choi found a place to crouch down. As the helicopter steadily increased its altitude, Choi looked down at the vivid green of the trees that survived through the rainy season to form the jungle he had heretofore only heard about. The intermittent rocks amid the dense growth of shrubs reminded him of the mountainous area in Gangwon Province, Korea.
Two weeks had passed since he boarded the South American transport ship, Pallet, at the Port of Busan. He had never been on such a huge ship before. Seasick troops vomited until they eventually made a stop near the coasts of Japan because of a storm. It took a week for them to arrive to a port in Chu Lai, Vietnam, where they had to wait at the brigade headquarters for another week. Choi was now on the CH-47 transport helicopter on his way to the company base where the 2nd Marine (Blue Dragon) Division was based. A soldier languidly greeted him. “You’re the new platoon commander, right?” It was midday in late December of 1967.
Choi was slightly behind compared to the other commanders. It had been a year and nine months since he started at the Marine Military Academy. Lee Sang-woo, 2nd platoon commander of the same company, was actually a year below, being a part of the 36th graduating class. Kim Ki-dong, 3rd platoon commander was two years below, in the 37th. Both Lee and Kim had arrived before Choi, however. In fact, Choi almost didn’t make it to Vietnam. If it weren’t for the dispatching of troops to Vietnam, he would still be in military prison with the rest of his classmates. The recollection made him both ashamed and proud. Choi thought back to sixteen months ago, when he was still receiving basic military training as a second lieutenant. The morning of August 8, 1966.
A military police who was dozing off in the guardhouse of the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School fell down backwards. It all happened in a matter of seconds. After knocking the police out with a punch, Choi pulled him back up on his feet, only to snatch away the gun that was secured away to the side of the police. Choi proceeded to disconnect the phone line and break the telephone as well. “Where are the pilot dormitories? Take me there now!” he demanded. The two police, now completely unarmed, had no choice but to do as they were told. Behind Choi were around 80 of Choi’s graduating class from the Jinhae Marine Military Academy, standing in a line of march (Jinhae is a city in Korea’s South Gyeongsang Province, Namhae County. It has been regrouped to be a part of Jinhae-gu district in Changwon City). Another 40 were on their way over on a bus. There were a total of 128 men. They had all joined the army in March of 1966, had undergone three months of training, upon which they became second lieutenants, and were undergoing basic military training from June. “Charge!” The marines all ran in unison, singing the military songs, “Let’s go, Marines,” and “The Blue Dragons are coming.” They made a beeline for the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School pilot dormitories. The irony of it was that one group of ROK military officers were running to attack another group of ROK military officers. It was all because of an incident that took place the day before.
Choi Young-un bought a ticket to Jinhae (the second largest city in Korea) at the bus terminal on August 7, 1966. It was the last bus of the day, scheduled to depart at 7:20pm. He had taken a two-day vacation to visit his hometown in Busan and was on his way back to the Jinhae Marine Military Academy. He had a good time drinking with his high school buddies and was dreading returning to the grueling training that awaited him. He ran into about ten of his colleagues from the academy in front of the platform. The terminal was crowded, and there were no empty seats left on any of the buses. Choi also saw 5-6 people wearing Gimhae Air Force Aviation School uniforms (Gimhae is a city adjacent to Busan). Air force pilots had been revered as heroes ever since a movie about the air force called “The Red Muffler” was released. The title referred to the red scarves that air force pilots wore around their necks during flight.
The bus was supposed to depart Busan and arrive at Jinhae via the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School. The young officers who were very competitive and full of bravado, somehow got into an argument by the time the bus made a stop at the rear entrance of the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School. An air force officer made some kind of hand gesture to a marine officer as he was getting off the bus. It seemed as though he was also saying something offensive. As the air force officer was about to enter the school premises, the marine officer jumped out of the window of the bus, yelling, “Stop that bastard!” After violently punching and kicking the air force officer, the marine officer dusted off his hands and jumped back on the bus.
The bus continued driving on the dark and silent road. There was nothing but fields all around. The victory of the marines didn’t last long, however. Two trucks came following from behind, with their headlights on and honking loudly. One of the two trucks drove ahead and blocked the front of the bus. Even in the pitch-black darkness, they could the make out the several air force officers who were glaring at them, each holding a club in his hand. They had returned for revenge. “Everyone, get off the bus!” The air force officers shattered the windows of the bus with their clubs as passengers shrieked in fear. Shards of glass flying caused a high-school girl to start bleeding. Two marine officers were also injured. It seemed futile to go out and fight back. The marines never did open the bus door, which saved them from further violence, but the ordeal was a huge blow to their egos.
The next day at 2:00 am, in the short span of time that the post guards were switching shifts, 128 shadows crawled out of the Jinhae Marine Military Academy through an opening below the barbed-wire fence. All the marines from the 35th graduating class, except the few who were injured, ran to the nearby train station. Upon hearing about the ordeal with the air force officers, the entire class plotted together and managed to circumvent the watch of the night duty officer. “We need to restore the dignity of the marines,” they decided, planning a counterattack on the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School. Although they decided not to arm themselves, the marines did come up with a command system among themselves. Kim Do-sam would lead the first section, Choi Young-un, the 2nd, and Jeon Do-bong, the third. The marines got off at a train station near the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School, and from there took three buses to the front gate of the academy. It was 5:50 am when they arrived.
“We demand that the headmaster of the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School issue an official apology to the headmaster of the Marine Military Academy with respect to the incident of assault.” Second Lieutenant Choi Young-un had to step in because Second Lieutenant Kim Do-sam was scheduled to arrive a bit later on the next bus. Led by the military police, Choi and his men walked two kilometers to the pilot dormitories, where he made this dauntless demand to Lieutenant Lee Yang-ho, who was on night duty. Lee was dumbfounded by Choi’s audacity. He only replied that he would report the incident to his chain of command. Everything thereafter was in complete disorder. The static from the walkie-talkies accompanied the assembly siren ringing loudly from the training ground. Military leaders came rushing in through the front gate in their jeeps. Officers and soldiers who had gone out to inspect the airplanes before wake-up time came back in a hurry as well.
An article in the Donga Il-bo regarding the attack on the Gimhae Air Force Aviation School by the officers of the Marine Military Academy. The title indicates how the officers crawled in to make a surprise attack, reminding them of the actual war.
A fight broke out at the pilot dormitories. The marines took the fire prevention shovels and hooks in the hallways and wielded them as weapons. Both sides began incurring injuries, one man after another. About 200 air force soldiers who had assembled in the military training ground encircled the dormitories before entering, some of them throwing rocks. The marines, who were outnumbered, ran out toward the landing strip. They figured the air force soldiers would refrain from throwing rocks, lest they harm their own airplanes in any way. The rocks continued flying toward them nonetheless. Choi, along with his colleagues, tried to find shelter under the wing of a fighter plane. Second lieutenants like Park Yoon-pil and Chung Kyu-ho, who had an air force background, actually boarded the TS28A and the TA858 and maneuvered the aircrafts a couple meters.
In the final moments of escape, the marines experienced a loss both irreversible and tragic. After successfully climbing over the barbed-wire fence, Second Lieutenant Lee Ui-il got tangled up in a marsh while trying to swim across. His colleagues did manage to extricate him, but Lee died after two hours of being transported to the air force hospital.
This incident of August 8, left the entire country in a frenzy. It would forever be remembered not just in the history of Korean Marines, but in the military history of Korea altogether, for there was never any incident like it, either before or after. It was difficult to tell why the marines had recklessly stirred up so much trouble. “We can’t accept defeat.” Choi Young-un had heard this sentence repeatedly throughout his training. “We the Marines, are invincible, even against demons. Under no circumstance will we ever accept defeat.”
On August 10, President Park Chung-hee expressed deep regret regarding the incident. The headmaster of the Marine Military Academy was arrested and transferred, and the company commander was also arrested, but there wasn’t much public scrutiny. Choi, who was considered the mastermind behind the attack, was imprisoned for 45 days at the Jinhae navy headquarters military prison along with 10 of his colleagues. Their final decree based on military law was a 15-day probation. It was lighter than the punishment for drunken misdemeanor. The consequences for their actions were so negligible that they felt no dishonor. Senior officers who had returned from service in Vietnam paid them visits with American cigarettes. Outside of the prison, junior officers cheered for them aloud.
It was all because of the Vietnam War. At a time when there weren’t enough officers to dispatch to Vietnam, demoralizing the troops in any way was not something the army could afford. By August of 1966, the dispatching of ROK Marine 2nd Brigade, the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division (the Brave Tiger Division), and the 9th Infantry Division (White Horse Division), had almost been completed. News of victory in Vietnam was published and broadcasted daily. But since there weren’t enough marine officers to continue dispatching to Vietnam, in April of 1967, the marine headquarters imposed a compulsory extension of the service term of obligated involuntary officers from three years to five years. Lieutenants who were compiling joint signatures against this extension were imprisoned in April of 1967. The annual executive leadership election of the Marine Military Academy now took place biannually. Vietnam had become top priority.
A year later in December 1968, in the jungles of Vietnam.
Ever since he arrived at the company base in Chu Lai, Choi was extremely tense. Fortunately, there hadn’t been any significant event since his arrival. Platoons lay in ambush and conducted reconnaissance patrol, but there was no attack from the enemy, perhaps because the war was drawing to an end. Less than a month into his stay, Choi and the rest of the 2nd Brigade, were relocated 38 km north to Hội An and surrounding areas in the Quang Nam Province. This marked the marines’ third time moving northward, as after landing in Cam Ranh Bay in October, 1965, the marines had been relocated to Tuy Hòa that December, and then again to Chu Lai in August of 1966.
December 1967; a Viet Cong scarecrow in a tree in front of the entrance of the ROK Marine 2nd Brigade Headquarters in Chu Lai. ROK military officers and soldiers were constantly jolted by the sight. The scarecrow was placed there by the Brigade Headquarters as a reminder to always be alert with regard to the enemy. Photo provided by Choi Young-un.
At the time, U.S 3rd Marines Headquarters was paying close attention to the military confrontation in Khe Sanh, located 20km below the demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel. They needed to tighten their control over the area while ensuring the safety of Da Nang, the city where the U.S. Marine Headquarters was located. For this reason, they wanted the 2nd Brigade of the ROK Marines to be closer in proximity. Coincidentally, the 2nd Brigade also wanted to be stationed closer to the U.S. Marines in order to be able to receive better strategic support through U.S.-ROK combined operations. Relocation of a total of 4,800 troops to Hoi An began from December 22, 1967. Choi, along with the first battalion, was of the last few to depart on a helicopter on January 28, 1968--three days before the Tet Offensive. .
The marines could not accept defeat. Anyone who misbehaved was killed. The 2nd Brigade left the ‘Legend of the Battle of Trà Bình’ in Chu Lai. The Korean Marines, who fought in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, were most proud of their accomplishment in Trà Bình. The ROK Marine history recounts that from February 14-15, 1967, a single ROK squadron of 294 defeated the regimental force of the NVA and Viet Cong, which consisted of 2,400 troops, when the latter came attacking the former’s camp. The incident most definitely boosted the egos of the the Korean marines. Six months later, the marines, still high from their sweeping victory in Trà Bình’, decided to attack the ROK Air Force Military Academy. They were reckless; They were fearless. Under no circumstance would they accept defeat to the Air Force. Such was even more so the case with the Viet Cong. The marine command decided that they had to wipe out the Viet Cong. The ensuing collateral damage would be unfathomable.
Written by humank (Journalist; Seoul, Korea) Translated and revised as necessary by April Kim (New York, NY) The numbers in parentheses indicate the respective ages of the people at the time in 1968.
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Chapter 4 : Mean Streets of Saigon, and Loan, the Man of Power
Chapter 3: The Blue House Raid and Thuy Bo
Chapter 2: No ordinary gunshots
Chapter 1: Three Trivia Questions