" the Full Blade " Operation Golden Fleece Vietnam War Civic Action Program (1965)

Synopsis

This Vietnam era propaganda film displays Operation Golden Fleece. This mission was carried out by the US Marines in 1965 and 1966. The intention of the operation was to protect the rice harvest in the Mo Duc District from Vietcong forces. During this time period, the Viet Cong entered villages at night and taxed the villagers in rice in order to fortify the Northern Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong themselves. Marine operations were designed to protect the villager’s rice harvests while simultaneously denying food to the enemy forces. It was considered to be a civic action mission designed to win “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people. This operation was considered to be less than successful however as they weren’t fully able to protect the villagers. A Vietnamese official was tortured to death for aiding the Marines. The operation was carried out by the first battalion, 9th regiment of the United States Marine Corps in the Song Con Bien Valley. This film was presented by the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps (:10). The US Marine seal appears in the top left corner. The film opens with gunfire popping as a Vietnamese woman carries a small child across a dirt field (:21). Marines guide civilians to safety (:34). The narrator mentions the Vietnamese civilians were looking to the Marines for safety. Flare smokes rolls over the ground (:42). Wounded are airlifted (:50). Crates of food are unloaded (1:06). The narrator mentions the villagers were concerned about an…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

14 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage