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MAC-V Naval advisory Patch


Bearmon
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Patchcollector
Have either of you guys seen this design before? Just curious becuase I can't find any pictures of it anywhere.

Thanks

 

I think that I actually have this patch,but I'm going to have to really dig around to find it,I have'nt seen it for awhile! :lol:

If I do have one,I will post it,it just may take awhile!

BTW,I seem to remember doing a bit of research on it,I think that it was a late war unit patch,when some units were

leaving the war zone,and things were being reshuffled.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Patchcollector

Okay,I finally found mine,I knew I had one,but had to dig REALLY deep to find it!Bearmon,your patch and mine differ slightly;mine has the DAO embroidered on it,and yours is missing it.This may be the reason that you could'nt find out anything about this patch.The DAO stands for Defense Attache Office.This patch dates to around the end of hostilities in Nam.

I found some interesting info online about the DAO and MACV.The last days of the war came to a sad ending,and the DAO was at the epicenter of this final chapter of the war.The last evacuees were loaded onto helicopters,while US Marines and NVA soldiers fought the final desperate battle,where 2 Marines were killed,the last official US military casualties of the war.

 

 

 

Here's the info about the MACV,the DAO,and Operation Frequent Wind.

 

 

Defense Attaché Office

 

The Defense Attaché Office Saigon was organized according to requirements established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CINCPAC, and MACV, and was activated on 28 January 1973.

DAO Saigon was a unique organization. It performed the traditional functions of a defense attaché, managed American military affairs in Vietnam after the cease-fire including the programs for the support of South Vietnam's armed forces, administered procurement contracts in support of the RVNAF, and furnished housekeeping support to Americans remaining in Vietnam after the ceasefire. Aside from the support of the RVNAF, it reported on operational matters, such as violations of the cease-fire, and produced intelligence information on which subsequent decisions concerning the Military Assistance Program and American interests in Southeast Asia could be based.

The DAO occupied the offices turned over to it by the MACV adjacent to Tan Son Nhut Airport and most of its employees and officials conducted their work from those offices. Small field offices were located in Da Nang, Pleiku, Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, Bien Hoa, Long Binh, Nha Be, Dong Tam, Binh Thuy, and Can Tho.

To perform the traditional representational and information-collecting functions of military attaches, five professional attaches - two Army, two Air Force, and one Navy - were assigned to the DAO with offices in the United States Embassy, Saigon. The senior member of this group was the assistant defense attaché, an Army colonel who reported to the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington through attache channels. The attaches made frequent visits to the field where they observed RVNAF units and activities and reported those observations to the defense attaché and to Washington.

The largest element in the Operations and Plans Division was the Intelligence Branch. The Chief of the Intelligence Branch was responsible for American military intelligence activities in the Republic of Vietnam. He reported directly to the Ambassador and the Defense Attache, coordinated with RVNAF intelligence agencies and other U.S. intelligence activities in South Vietnam, and, in intelligence channels, reported simultaneously on most matters to USSAG, CINCPAC, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

The Communications and Electronics Division had functions which, like those of the Operations and Plans Division, included support of U.S. military activities as well as continued military assistance to RVNAF. The Communications and Electronics Division supervised a contract which provided communications for DAO, the American Embassy, and other U.S. agencies. The division also gave technical support, through contractors, to RVNAF military communications systems. It also provided liaison and assistance to the RVNAF Joint General Staff and the ARVN Signal Department.

Three divisions within DAO managed the complex military assistance programs for the ARVN, the VNAF, and the Vietnamese Navy: the Army, Air Force, and Navy Divisions.

Despite its broad responsibilities, DAO was authorized only 50 military and 1,200 civilians. It was also told to plan for an early reduction in strength and disestablishment, the latter expected to occur within a year. To accomplish its mission while planning on phasing out, DAO had to employ contractors to perform many functions. The contracts, however, were also to be reduced in number and scope throughout the year. When DAO Saigon became operational upon the disestablishment of MACV, no fewer than 383 separate contracts were on the books with a total value of $255 million. Over 23,000 people were employed by contractors in South Vietnam, of whom over 5,000 were Americans, 16,000 were Vietnamese, and the remainder were third-country nationals. By mid-year of 1973 the total was reduced by half. More than half the American contract employees were involved in training programs for the RVNAF. Of these, more than half were involved in aircraft maintenance, another large group was in communications and electronics, and the rest worked in technical fields ranging from vehicle repair and overhaul to ship overhaul and maintenance. Although most contract employees were located in the Saigon region, sizable groups were at the air bases at Da Nang, in Military Region 2 at Pleiku, Phu Cat, and Phan Rang, and at Binh Thuy, the VNAF air base near Can Tho in MR 4.

The cease-fire agreement in Vietnam signaled the end of the American advisory effort. The senior officials of DAO avoided offering operational advice to the Vietnamese with whom they worked intimately and continuously. The technical assistance provided by the military and senior civilian officials of DAO and by the contractors was essential to the RVNAF's modernization and expansion, but the South Vietnamese military would get no advice on military operations, tactics, or techniques of employment.

 

Officers who served as Defense Attache, South Vietnam

 

General John E. Murray January 1973-August 1974

General Homer D. Smith August 1974-April 1975

 

 

The original MACV Headquarters were at 137 Pasteur Street (10°46′58.25″N 106°41′35.94″E) in central Saigon.

As the US military presence in South Vietnam grew, MACV quickly outgrew these quarters and on 2 July 1966 construction of a new purpose-built facility (10°48′45.62″N 106°39′57.49″E) adjacent to Tan Son Nhut Airport and the ARVN Joint General Staff Compound was commenced.Due to the size of this facility, the new headquarters were labelled Pentagon East.

Following the closure of MACV and the establishment of the DAO, the MACV Headquarters became the DAO Compound.

 

 

 

Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind

 

The two major evacuation points chosen for Operation Frequent Wind were the DAO Compound for American civilian and Vietnamese evacuees and the United States Embassy, Saigon for Embassy staff.

At 03:30 on 29 April a PAVN rocket hit Guardpost 1 at the DAO Compound, instantly killing Marine Corporals McMahon and Judge, they would be the last American ground casualties in Vietnam.

At 13:50, 2 UH-1 Huey helicopters carrying General Carey and Colonel Gray (commander of Regimental landing Team 4 (RLT4)) landed at the DAO Compound. During their approach to the compound, they experienced a firsthand view of the PAVN's firepower as they shelled nearby Tan Son Nhut Airport with ground, rocket, and artillery fire. They quickly established an austere command post in preparation for the arrival of the Marine CH-53s and the ground security force.

At 15:06, a first wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-462 loaded with the BLT 2/4 command groups "Alpha" and "Bravo," and Company F and reinforced Company H arrived in the DAO Compound and the Marines quickly moved to reinforce the perimeter defenses. The second wave of 12 CH-53s from HMH-463 landed in the DAO Compound at 15:15 bringing in the rest of the BLT. A third wave of 2 CH-53s from HMH-463 and 8 USAF CH-53Cs and 2 USAF HH-53s (operating from the USS Midway) arrived shortly afterwards.

"Alpha" command group, two rifle companies, and the 81mm mortar platoon were deployed around the DAO Headquarters building (the Alamo) and its adjacent landing zones. Companies E and F respectively occupied the northern and southern sections between the DAO Headquarters and the DAO Annex. "Bravo" command group, consisting of two rifle companies and the 106mm recoilless rifle platoon, assumed responsibility for security of the DAO Annex and its adjoining landing zones. Company G occupied the eastern section of the Annex, while Company H assumed control of the western section.

The HMH-462 CH-53s loaded with evacuees and left the compound.They unloaded the first refugees delivered by Operation Frequent Wind at 15:40.

At about 17:30 General Carey ordered the extraction of 3rd Platoon, Company C of BLT 1/9, which had been landed at the DAO Compound on 25 April to assist the Marine Security Guard.

Between 19:00 and 21:00 General Carey transferred 3 platoons (130 men) of BLT 2/4 into the Embassy Compound to provide additional security and assistance for the Embassy.

At 19:30 General Carey directed that the remaining elements guarding the Annex be withdrawn to DAO Headquarters (the Alamo) where the last of the evacuees would await their flight. Once completed, the new defensive perimeter encompassed only LZ 36 and the Alamo. By 20:30 the last evacuees had been loaded onto helicopters.

At 22:50, with the evacuation of the landing control teams from the Annex and Alamo completed, General Carey ordered the withdrawal of the ground security forces from the DAO Compound.

At 00:30 on 30 April, thermite grenades, having been previously placed in selected buildings, ignited as two CH-53s left the DAO parking lot carrying the last elements of 2nd Battalion 4th Marines.

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Patchcollector

5.9th MAB map of the DAO Compound and Air America Compound showing Landing Zones used in Operation Frequent Wind, Saigon, Vietnam.

post-13386-1321065664.jpg

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Thanks for the info about the patch. lots of history there. Great info about DAO

Are you sure your patch says DAO and not PAO Public Affairs Office.

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Patchcollector

6.A Marine provides security as Sikorsky CH-53 helicopters land at the Defense Attaché Office compound. Military helicopters dropped the ground security component at landing zones. Once on the ground they set up security positions.

post-13386-1321070439.jpg

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Patchcollector

8.The last few fortunate Vietnamese evacuees board a CH-53 at LZ 39 in the DAO Compound, Saigon, Operation Frequent Wind, 29 April 1975.

post-13386-1321070514.jpg

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Patchcollector
Thanks for the info about the patch. lots of history there. Great info about DAO

Are you sure your patch says DAO and not PAO Public Affairs Office.

 

 

Wow,OK,I finally got to upload my last three pics.Was it just me,or did everyone lose access

to this website for the last 30 or so minutes?Anyway,yes,it could be possible that the letters are PAO,and not DAO.

I even found some references to a public affairs office assigned to MACV online.

If anyone knows for sure what this patch is for,please post,because I am only guessing as

no one seems to know for sure.

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I am not swearig to anything as far as PAO or DAO my eyes are old. Just throwing another wrinkle out there. But I do appreciate the details you add to posts, I always leave with more knowledge after reading them!

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Patchcollector
I am not swearig to anything as far as PAO or DAO my eyes are old. Just throwing another wrinkle out there. But I do appreciate the details you add to posts, I always leave with more knowledge after reading them!

 

 

You have raised a good question though.Up close,it does look like a P.Well,whether it is a DAO,or PAO,maybe someday someone who knows for sure will be able to tell us.

Either way,we both have really cool patches!I can't believe the detail on them,I never thought anyone could embroider letters and designs so small!

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