Forty-six years ago, in November 1971, I was a member of the last group to be sent to the U.S. Army Military Assistance Command Vietnam. I arrived in Quang-Tri, the northernmost province of what was South Vietnam and was quickly given a staff job. Many of the positions were becoming vacant as the policy of Vietnamization was reducing the U.S. staffing by attrition as individuals rotated to the states.

In January 1972 the province chief (like a governor) told the U.S. senior adviser that many of his district chiefs (like our county commissioners) still needed MACV advisers. So the senior adviser assigned another major and me as a two-man roving advisory team to five districts, including Dong-Ha. I was soon informed that there were many Americans living in various hamlets in the villages with their girlfriends. A village was like a Pennsylvania township. Since these deserters likely had firearms, we were not going to contact nor try to apprehend them.

On March 30, 1972, the North Vietnam Army launched the largest ground attack in world military history since the Chinese Army entered Korea in November 1950. Two days later I was selected by the province chief and the senior adviser to fill the vacant position of province operations adviser. I had previously served two years as an infantry battalion, and regiment combat adviser and had various ARVN awards as well as having some time as an ARVN division operations staff adviser. In addition I had attended language school and was fairly fluent in Vietnamese.

Suddenly at least seven soldiers/Marines showed up in Hue and Danang asking to rejoin their units. All of their units had rotated to the states, some as much as five years before. They said they had been lost and wanted to return to the states. They were arrested by U.S. Army military police in Danang and sent back to the states as deserters.

As operations and now also intelligence adviser, I received agent reports of “white men” working with the North Vietnamese. I didn’t know if they were Russian, French or Americans. I didn’t care. However, since they were probably with a NVA unit — probably a headquarters — I was able to have an “ARC Light” (three B-52s) attack the position.

I should note that in 1965 a U.S. Marine, Robert R. Garwood, who had been working in a motor pool (not a dangerous job) in Danang took a jeep and drove north on Highway One until he met NVA soldiers and deserted to the NVA. Similar to the story about Charles Robert Jenkins who deserted in Korea the same year. His story was printed recently in the Butler Eagle. Except there were many reports that Garwood was helping the NVA. The NVA said that he was a “rallier” and had crossed over willingly. They also said there was a “liberation ceremony” and Garwood was given a rank in their army and was known as “Nguyen Chien Dau” which is translated to mean “Fighter.”

In February 1973 it was reported by the returning POWs that Garwood helped the NVA interrogate captured Americans and had been seen carrying a rifle and guarding Americans in Hanoi. He did not ask to return to the states with the released POWs. Then, when the war ended with the surrender of ARVN in April 1975, he still did not return. He finally asked to return in March 1979 — four years after the war ended. Garwood was tried by a General Courts Martial and found guilty on Feb. 8, 1981.

I would like to add that in April 1972, we had a very large group of reporters and TV crews in Quang-Tri. As operations adviser, I tried to give them accurate briefings and told them where not to go. A few of them thought that as member of the free press they were protected. They soon found out that the NVA artillery didn’t care. I was forced to endanger troops to rescue wounded reporters.

The province fell to the NVA on May 1. It was the only province to fall to the NVA until 1975. I then became an infantry adviser to a battalion-plus size unit when the counterattack began in July. I was soon on Highway 555, the “Street Without Joy” made famous by the French writer Bernard Fall, when a vehicle with four reporters stopped at my position. I spoke “fluent English,” so they wanted to talk to me. They said they were going to Quang-Tri city to “see what is going on.” I started to object when they decided to give me the “First Amendment speech” and threatened me if I did anything to stop them. So I said, “So long” and they left.

The next day they came back, one was killed and two were wounded. I have since learned on the Internet that three reporters are listed as being killed in Quang-Tri on that date. Three reporters died because they didn’t trust me as a member of Military Assistance Command Vietnam. So sad.

In September, Quang-Tri was recaptured and President Thieu met me and two other advisers in the city. No bodyguards, just three heavily armed U.S. advisers — and he felt safe.

Gerald Wetzel is a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer living in Butler Township.