Company "E", Marine Security Guard (MSG)
Battalion, fielded an average of
five officers and 145 enlisted Marines during the first
half of 1970 to protect then American Embassy in Saigon.
Activated on February 1, 1969, Company "E" was
commanded from January to November 1970 by Captain Herbert M. Steigelman Jr.
Captain William E. Keller Jr. took command in November 1970.
Primary responsibilities of Company "E" were to
safeguard classified material and protect American personnel and property at the
Embassy. To accomplish this mission the company was organized into three elements: a
headquarters section of two officers and 10 enlisted Marines; an interior guard
force of two officers and 90 enlisted Marines; and an exterior guard force of one officer and 46
enlisted.
Exterior security would normally be the
responsibility of the host country. Company "E" was the first MSG unit tasked to provide external
security - essentially a tactical mission in Saigon - to an American Embassy.
Partially as a result of the attack on the American Embassy during Tet 1968, a reinforced
rifle platoon was formed to control access into the compound and provide a reaction
force in the event of another attack. Unlike the exterior guard force, the two platoons
assigned to interior guard duty were trained MSGs. In addition, a detachment of 7
Marines were selected as the Ambassador;'s Personal Security Unit (PSU). The
PSU provided reconnaissance when the Ambassador left the compound. All posts,
vehicles, and buildings in the compound were connected by a sophisticated communications
system, known as "Dragon Net". which was manned by a 5-man
detachment.
On April 29, 1971, at the American Embassy
Compound, the Chief of Mission, Saigon. South Vietnam, the Honorable Ellsworth Bunker,
presented the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) to Company "E" for meritorious
service as the immediate defense and security force for the U.S. Mission,
Saigon. Republic of Vietnam, from February 1, 1969 to December 31, 1970. Company "E"
joined Sub-Unit One, 1st ANGLICO, and the Marine Advisory Unit as the
only U.S. Marine commands remaining in South Vietnam.
By April 23, 1974, the Exterior Guard had absorbed
the Ambassador's Residence Platoon. On May 20, 1974, the Interior Guard Platoon
was redesignated the Marine Detachment, Saigon, and placed under the control of
the Hong Kong based regional company, Company "C", of the MSGBn. On June 17,
1974, Captain James H. Kean, the Executive Officer of Company "C", arrived in
Saigon to complete the reassignment
of the Interior Guard Platoon and coordinate the
pending transfer of the consulate detachments. Additionally, Captain Kean traveled
to the American Consulate at Can Tho to begin planning for the activation of a
security detachment there.
On June 30, 1974, Major Daniel F. Bergen, the
Commanding Officer of Company "E", deactivated it and transferred to Company "C" the
remaining 90 enlisted Marines who comprised the Embassy Exterior Guard Platoon
and the detachments at Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Bien Hoa.
The MSG Detachment in Saigon, which would be
transferred on June 20, 1974 to Company "C", headquartered in Hong Kong, would
ultimately be the last American unit evacuated from South Vietnam on April 30,
1975, nearly four years after the Marine Corps tactical role ended in that
country.
Master Sergeant Juan (John) Valdez became the NCOIC
of the newly created Embassy MSG Detachment. I arrived in Saigon in September
1974, after having served in the position of
Detachment Commander at the U.S. Embassy,
Budapest, Hungary (March 1973-September 1974). I relieved Captain J. P. Perkins
USMC, and OIC in Saigon. The NCOIC had been GySgt Perez, but he had already
departed post when I arrived.I have no idea how Perkins wound-up in Saigon,
where he came from, if he was part
of the original Co "E", etc. LtCol Kean would have the answers.
SSgt Roger F. Painter assumed charge at Nha Trang,
SSgt Walter W. Sparks took charge of Da Nang, and SSgt Michael K. Sullivan was
in charge of Bien Hoa and subsequently was relieved by GySgt Robert W.
Schlager. Sullivan became the ANCOIC in Saigon.
On July 16, 1974, Capt Kean, a Major selectee,
relieved Major Donald L. Evans as the CO, Company "C" MSGBn, Hong Kong. Two months
later, Captain Kean oversaw the activation of the MSG Detachment at Can Tho,
the first ever in that city. On September 23, 1974, he placed SSgt Boyette "Steve"
Hasty in charge of the Can Tho Marines. Located in the capital of Phong Dinh
Province, this detachment would never
celebrate it's first anniversary of
existence.
The American Embassy in Saigon was a very
impressive six-story building with a rooftop heliport (75x49ft). The building was
located on approximately 3.18 acres at 4 Thong Nhut Blvd. The total cost for construction
was $2,600,000. Ground breaking ceremonies took place on June 11, 1965, and work on
the foundation and first floor structural began in October 1965. The completed
building eventually stretched along
Thong Nhut from To Du (Independence Palace) on the
west to Saigon's Zoo and the Botanical Gardens on the east. The front address
of the Embassy was 4 Dai Lo Thong Nhut. After the communist take-over the
address was changed to: 4 Le Duan Blvd, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. The Embassy has
since been torn down and a new American Consulate occupies part of the
site.
The street to the right of the embassy (facing from
the front) was Mac Dinh Chi (where the vehicle access steel gate was located).
The left side of the embassy had a retaining wall that separated the French
Embassy.
If one accesses www.uscongenhcmc.org and under the U.S. Consulate
General section (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), scrawl down to "Photo Gallery (New)", and then scrawl to "Dedication Ceremony - Nov 14, 2002", one will see a plaque with names of the five servicemen killed during
the Tet Offensive. Last time I visited
this site was Jan 2005. Things
might have changed
The old U.S. Chancery building had been located at 30 Dai Lo Ham Nghi, by the Saigon River waterfront and harbor. The Viet Cong
entered the scene briefly on March 30, 1965, when a car loaded with explosives
was detonated outside The Chancery. The blast killed 22 people, including
two Americans, and injured 188 others.
The need for a new U.S. Embassy had long been
recognized, and plans for a new embassy had been approved as long ago as 1960, but
nothing was done because funds were not available. Two days after the
incident, President Johnson asked Congress for $1,000,000 to commence construction in
the new embassy, and the request was quickly approved. Not for certain if
Ambassador Bunker was at the
old Chancery or some other Ambassador.
The Viet Cong entered the scene briefly once more
at the new embassy on January 31, 1968, and the assault became known as
the Tet Offensive, named after the Vietnamese celebration of the lunar New
Year.
The $2.6 million compound had been completed just
three months earlier. In the end the death toll from the Embassy battle stood at
five American servicemen (Four Army MPs and one Marine MSG), killed along
with 17 Viet Cong sappers (Which had blown a hole through the Embassy wall).
U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker was The Ambassador at the time.
The Marine House located at 204 Hong Thap Tu,
during my brief 8-month tour in Saigon prior to the evacuation, quartered the MSG
Detachment, and was named Marshall Hall in memory of Cpl James C. Marshall
killed during the Tet Offensive. The Marine House in Ho Chi Minh City is now the
Saigon Hotel with an address of: 204 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Blvd.
The MSG School at Quantico, VA., is also named
Marshall Hall. There are classrooms named after LCpl Darwin L. Judge and Cpl Charles
McMahon Jr., killed on April 29, 1975 during the evacuation. Classrooms also bear
the names of other MSGs killed in the line-of-duty. A good deal of
emphasis is placed at school remembering those KIA, both as a way of reminding MSG students
that this special and rewarding
duty isn't all tea and crumpets, and providing them
examples to emulate.
Some information was taken from:
- U.S. Marines In
Vietnam (Vietnamization and Redeployment) 1970-1971, and an article "The
United States Presence in Southeast Asia.
- The Leatherneck Sept 1975.
- U.S. Marines in Vietnam (The Bitter End)
1973-1975.
- The Marines in Vietnam 1954-1973.
- Tears Before The Rain (Chapter IX) -
Marines.
- U.S. Embassy, Saigon NewsLetter.
Hope some of these info helps to answer some of
your questions.
Semper Fi
John Valdez
MGSgt Ret
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