The Montagnards - 2

     Of the American military and civilian personnel, the Army Special Forces and CIA (paramilitary) and AID types were not the only ones that came into contact with the montagnards, or the 'yards, as some called them.  Most of the Marine and Army units in the Central Highlands region had some contact with montaganards, since the 'yards were the primary residents of the area.  However, all of the other American units lived in large military camps confined to Americans only.  Locals who worked in the camp came in the morning and left in the evening.  The contact these American conventional troops had with the montagnards was minimal and not personal.  On the contrary, the Special Forces and the CIA paramilitary personnel lived side by side with the 'yards, trained them, and led them in battle, and not only got to know them intimately, but became very close.
     The montagnards had a ceremony similar to native American ceremony of becoming "blood brothers."  Unlike the native American ceremony, no blood was shed in this version.  This ancient ceremony was conducted to create a tighter alliance and a gesture of true friendship and lifelong bond.  The montagnard and the non-montagnard subject who were to become "brothers" performed the ceremony by stripping off all "modern" clothing and donning colorful loincloths.  A "medicine man" or shaman conducted the ceremony and jars of rice beer were brought in for the occasion.  After incantations and other ritualistic performances, everyone consumed rice beer and a brass ring bracelet was presented to the non-montagnard, signifying that he was now a montagnard! 
     Some individuals who became "brothers" with several montagnards ended up wearing multiple bracelets.  Normally, most had only one brass ring bracelet.  It was considered a great honor to have undergone this ceremony and earned a brass ring bracelet.  It also assured that the one with a bracelet had the loyalty and friendship of all montagnards!  The Special Forces soldiers and CIA officers who earned these bracelets were rightfully, very proud of them.
     The main montagnard tribes that were recruited and worked for Americans were the H'mong in Laos and Vietnam, and the five main groups in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.  These were, going from north to south, the Bahnar, Jarai, Rhade, M'Nong, and Koho.  There were, of course, many others, but these were the main larger groups of montagnards employed by Americans.  The 'yards were organized at first as CIDG type paramilitary units.  But this was expanded to Mobile Guerrilla Forces and the Mobile Strike Forces which were much more structured and were like regular military units with ranks, etc.  They were also used in much smaller units by both the Special Forces and CIA for SOG (Studies and Observation Group) Recon Teams and as PRUs (Provincial Reconnaissance Units).  SOG Recon Teams were led predominantly by Army Special Forces, however, there were Marine and Navy (SEALs) volunteers in this top secret organization.  Although dominated by the Army Special Forces, it was nevertheless an inter-service group. The indigenous personnel were mostly montagnards or Nungs.  However, there were some Cambodians and Laotians as well, used for infiltration into those countries.
     The montagnards were used not only as organized units, trained and led my US personnel, but also as guides hired from a local village.  Sometimes when operating in an area that was not familiar to the montagnards of the unit, a local guide from a smaller tribe was hired to lead the patrols.  These local guides were, of course, not uniformed, but usually were dressed in loincloths and armed with crossbows.  They served exactly as the Indian Scouts did during the Indian Wars in the American West.  After they performed their services, they were paid off and sent home.
     The montagnards and Nungs were the first non-US personnel that underwent US Army parachute training in Vietnam.  Special Forces set up a jump school and started qualifying the montagnards and Nungs who were in Mobile Guerrilla Forces and Mike Forces.  Theoretically the Republic of Vietnam paratroopers were also U.S. qualified since it was the U.S. Army MAAG (Military Assistance and Advisory Group) that set up their jump schools and in fact, continued to monitor the training.  In other words, the Vietnamese qualification program for parachute training was identical to the U.S. program.  However, the Vietnamese awarded their own parachute badges to their personnel. 
     Initially when we qualified the Nungs and the montagnards, we intended to award them Vietnamese parachute badges.  But, when the Vietnamese got wind of it, they insisted that all indigenous troops would have to go through "their" jump school before receiving qualifying badges.  This was too much of a hassle, and we knew where it would lead, with demands of money, etc.  So we instead awarded the Nungs and the montagnards U.S. parachute badges, which they rightfully earned.  This created an unexpected bonus, so to speak.  The Nungs and the montagnards were extremely proud of their "American" jump wings and the esprit de corps soared!  The newly qualified troopers would strut around with their "American" jump wings just as a newly qualified 18 year old American paratrooper or a freshly minted Marine would!  The 'yards and the Nungs would make derisive comments about the Vietnamese jump wings whenever they ran across Vietnamese paratroopers.  In Special Forces camps, where there were the Vietnamese counterpart LLDBs (Vietnamese Special Forces), the Nung and the 'yard paratroopers looked down their noses at the RVN LLDBs!
     During the Vietnam War, there was only one official combat parachute drop conducted by the U.S. military.  It was the so-called Operation Junction City in which the 173rd Airborne Brigade made a mass daylight jump, without meeting any enemy resistance.  There were many smaller drops made by platoon size units, namely the Pathfinders who jumped into some hot areas to set up landing zones for helicopters. There were many "classified" jumps made by Special Forces and SOG, but they were not registered because they were classified.  For instance, Special Forces made a combat drop in Laos in 1960 during the classified "White Star" mission.  Credit for the combat jump was given only recently. Sadly, many of the veterans of that jump have since died, never receiving due credit.
     In contrast, the Mobile Guerrilla Forces and the Mike Forces, led by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, made numerous combat jumps at night, under hostile enemy fire!  However, they were not given credit for it because they were not "U.S. military units."  It didn't matter that they were completely a product of U.S.; organized, financed, trained, and led by U. S. personnel, which by any standards would make them a U.S. unit.  The fact that they were not U.S. citizens or residents disqualified them, and their efforts were ignored.  Some of our military regulations and bureaucratic red tape can be incredibly byzantine and mind numbing! It was only recently, about a decade ago, that the Pentagon finally decided that credit would be given where it was due and those night time drops by the Mobile Guerrilla Forces and Mike Forces led by American soldiers, have been designated as U.S. combat parachute operations!