United States Army- Vietnam
"USARV"
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United States Army, Vietnam as we know it on its anniversary, was created on July 20, 1965. But U.S. involvement in Vietnam goes back to the late 1950s with the establishment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina. After committing itself to the defense of Southeast Asia under the Geneva Agreements and the Southeast Asia Defense Treaty, the U.S. set up a Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam to provide economic, technical and military assistance. Military aid and advice was forthcoming until late 1961. Then the Republic of Vietnam declared a state of national emergency on Oct. 18, 1961, and asked the United States for combat troops. The first complete combat units of American forces arrived in December, together with a support team, the 9th Logistical Command on Okinawa. This small team formed the nucleus from which USARV evolved. As the Army units in country increased, the U.S. Army, Ryukyu Support Group, Provisional, took over logistics control of U.S. units in Vietnam. Further increases in U.S. troops necessitated that the support command be changed to U.S. Army Support Group, Vietnam. During 1965 the increase of U.S. forces was rapid, and, with the arrival of the additional combat units, the U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam, was redesignated United States Army, Vietnam. Increased roles in combat operations spurred the creation of two subordinate field commands, I Field Force, Vietnam, and II Field Force, Vietnam. IFFV was located at Nha Trang to command U.S. Army units in II Corps Tactical Zone; IIFFV was located in III Corps to command Army units there. General Bruce Palmer Jr., then USARV deputy commanding general, paid tribute to the men of USARV on their second anniversary in 1967 when he named USARV "a fighting command of dedicated solders, young and not so young, career men and citizen-soldiers, but All-Americans in the truest sense."
