In early May 1961, a U.S. military aircraft taxied toward a
well-guarded terminal building. The plane slowed to a halt; steps
were maneuvered up to its side, and the door was pulled open. The
tropical night air was heavy and dank, and the moon shone dimly
through high thin clouds. On board the aircraft were ninety-two
members of a specially selected team. The men were dressed in
indistinguishable dark suits with white shirts and dark ties, and
each man carried a new red U.S. diplomatic passport inside his
breast pocket. The men held copies of their orders and records in
identical brown Manila envelopes, and each man's medical records
were stamped "If injured or killed in combat, report as training
accident in the Philippines."
In such clandestine fashion, the first fully operational U.S.
military unit arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam.
The unit was so highly classified even its name was top-secret. It
was given a codename, a cover identity to hide the true nature of
its mission. The unit's operation was housed in a heavily-guarded
compound near Saigon, and within two days of its arrival, Phase I
was implemented. Its operatives were intercepting Viet Cong manual
Morse communications, analyzing it for the intelligence it
contained and passing the information to the U.S. Military
Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam. The Army Security Agency was on
duty.
General
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