Business screen magazine (1967)

The American Navv in Vietnam The Naw's Aliility l<> K«>>|miii<I yui<-kl\ anil l)<» a Siir|>ri"-in^ \'ari«-lv of Uil'lVreiil Ta»k« liflalt-d in a (!i>lor noriinicniarv OS August 2, 1964, the United States Navy destroyer MadDox, on patrol in international waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, picked up three unidentified contacts on her radar scopes approaching from the northwest and coming fast. Within minutes they were identified as North Vietnamese PT boats armed with torpedoes and 37mm guns and, with ensuing exchange of gunfire, the Navy's role in Vietnam had suddenly expanded. In the two and a half years that have passed since the Tonkin Gulf incident, the United States Navy has done an unprecedented variety of different jobs in Vietnam, which the general public often knows very little about. Aided South \'ict nam's Navy Even before Tonkin Gulf, the Navy had been active in an advisory capacity, trying to help the small South X'ietnamese Navy increase the effectiveness of its efforts to defend the rivers and coastal waters from the Vict Cong. In addition, the Navy was called upon to take command responsibility for all support activities in Vietnam — an assignment which developed into the Navy's largest single overseas shore command. The Marines were sent to help fight the land war; never before has the potential of the NavyMarine Corps team been so fully realized. Naval air power from land and from carriers in the South China Sea has been a primary factor in American military strength. >\'ritcr-dircclor Tom Carroll, Jr., (/(.scii.v.vcv filminfi of on-camera narration uilh Chrt Ihintley and canierainan llirman Kilclicn aboard I'SS GUAM in New York Harbor. .And along with it all. the Navy has pursued a vigorous program of civic action designed to help the people of South Vietnam rebuild in the face of a conflict that often threatens to destroy them. Informs Public of Its Role In an effort to inform the public about the full scope of its activities in Vietnam, the Navy's Chief of Information assigned to Sun Dial Films, Inc. the task of researching, writing and producing uuxi)i.i;. i'I(:tx.v Project Handclasp at work in Viitimm as VS. Xaiy Chief Radioman (Urald Bisslcr helps a young Monlagnard girl choose new dress from clothing sent by American people. a half-hour film, to be entitled, "The American Navy in Vietnam", which would give complete picture of the U.S. Nava' effort, including even those activities which, while they are less glamorous and more overlooked, are often vitally important. Producer Carl Ragsdalc. in turn, assigned staff writer-director Tom Carroll. Jr., to supervise the project and he began a series of research conferences with interested naval commands and personnel from the Secretary of the Navy and the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet to a young navy journalist recently returned from .issignment in the Mekong Delta and a pilot back from carrier duty. Covers All Naial .\ctivities On-location photography in \'ietnam took Sun Dial's camera crews from the Mekong Delta in the south to Danang in the North Since the assignment was to cover all phases of naval activity, the locations ranged from administrative and command offices in Saigon to Navy ships offshore in the South China Sea: the Attack Car ( CONCLUDED ON PAGE 218) High-speed patrol craft of the U. S. Navy, called Swift Boats, participate m (Operation Marketimc to deny rivers, coastal waters to Viet Cong traffic. FROM: CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS TO: COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF PACIFIC FLEET SUBJECT: FILMING "AMERICAN NAVY IN VIETNAM" 1. SECNAV HAS AUTHORIZED A NAVY-SPONSORED 28-MINUTE COLOR MOTION PICTURE TELLING THE STORY OF NAVAL ACTIVITIES IN VIETNAM. CONTRACT FOR THE FILM HAS BEEN LET TO SUN DIAL FILMS OF NEW YORK. DIRECTOR/WRITER TOM CARROLL AND CREW OF SEVEN WILL ARRIVE SAIGON 21 MARCH. GROUP PLANS FOUR TO SIX WEEKS FILMING IN VIETNAM AND SHIPS OF 7TH FLEET. 2. FILM WILL COVER ALL ASPECTS OF THE NAVY ROLE, INCLUDING CVA/AIR STRIKES, NGFS, AMPHIBIOUS OPS., LOGISTICS, MARKET TIME, RAG'S, JUNK FORCE, SEABEES, HSA, USMC. 3. IN COUNTRY AIRTRANS, COD AND EMBARKATION SHIPS AND UNITS, AS REQUIRED, AUTHORIZED. 4. FULL COOPERATION IS NECESSARY TO COMPLETE REQUIREMENTS IN ACCORD WITH PUBLIC AFFAIRS IMPORTANCE OF THIS PROJECT. \ eriical Knvelopment, one of niuesi concepts in strike warfare, is slutwn as helicopters loaded tcith Marines lift nfi irntn \hips oj the ~th Fleet . . . r ■ \'^ I7lh PRODICTION RKVIFW