ROK TIGER DIVISION IN VIETNAM AWESOME IN COMBAT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000400120019-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2005
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: April 27, 1966
• Content Type: OPEN

Approved-For fleas 2095I - 7B0044SR00.0.40012QQ19-5_
A2286
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - APPENDIX
Several weeks 'ago, another policeman
stopped him along the depot path and told
,him the same thing.
Pat lost his temper again and "I told him
to run me in if he wanted to; he'd have all
the bird lovers on his neck."
"Anyway, the birds eat up every kernel and
crumb within a half hour," said Pat, "so
how can I be littering?"
There's no city ordinance against fee
the birds, "and I always put my empty
ROK Tiger Division in Vietnam Awesome
in Combat
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
OF
OF HAWAII
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, April 27, 1966
Mr. MATSUNAGA. Mr. Speaker,
there are few experiences as poignant as
watching a crack,. physically fit combat
unit in action. A reporter who was re-
cently treated to such an experience was
Steve Northrup, and the combat unit
which displayed this action was part of
Korea's 15,000-man Tiger Division.
The ROK division which arrived in
Vietnam less than a year ago has rapidly
gained a reputation for being one of
the world's toughest fighting machines.
The mere presence of the ROK troops
in the coastal area near the city of Qui
Nhon has discouraged and deterred Viet
Cong terrorist attacks on truck convoys
as well as on ROE-troop occupied
hamlets.
Reporter Northrup not only witnessed
the tough daily regimen of the troops in
their immaculate camp, but accompanied
them on precision-sharp combat heli-
copter landings as well as on perilous
night marches through Viet Cong terri-
tory. And although he has observed al-
most all the American and Vietnamese
units stationed in Vietnam, he neverthe-
less describes the men of the Tiger Di-
vision with admiration mixed with awe:
These guys are not men. They are big
mean machines-tough as hell. They really
are tigers.
Reporter Steve Northrup's account of
his experiences with. the ROK Tiger Di-
vision appeared in the April 18, 1966
issue of the Honolulu Advertiser. I sub-
mit the article for inclusion In the Cox-
GRESSIONAL RECORD:
VIETCONG CAREFUL To AVOID KOREA's TOUGH
"TIGERS"
(By Steve Northrup)
QUI NHON, VIETNAM: It is a lonely 15-
mile drive from this coastal Vietnamese city
to the main camp of the Republic of Korea
(ROK) Tiger. Division.
But the trucks of the Koreans don't carry
the machineguns and heavy armament that
most forces consider necessary for survival
fin a country where ambushes are a dime a
dozen.
The reason is simple: The Vietcong have
learned better than to fool with the 15,000-
man Tiger Division, a group which has es-
tablished itself as one of the world's tough-
est fighting machines in a little less than a
year on the job-.k
I arrived at the ROK base camp about
sundown, quitting time in most armies. But
the sturdy ROK's had work parties still
out digging trenches.
While I was with the Koreans they kicked
off an operation named "Panther" in which
troops were helicoptered into a Vietcong-.
controlled area 10 miles northeast of Phu
Cat.
A Korean combat landing is a sight to be-
hold. The ROK's are all business. They
come off the choppers charging at full speed,
shooting as they run and running every
step of the way.
In a short time the PON's covered a lot
of ground and did it very well. No American
'unit moves this fast in combat.
At one point I was jogging along, trying
to keep up, when I saw a sight I could
hardly believe. A ROK soldier raced past
me at a full gallop. On his back was a 00 mil-
limeter mortar tube, the baseplate, tripod
and six rounds of ammunition. His carbine
and bandoleers of ammunition were slung
on top of the fantastic load that must
have weighed 150 pounds.
When the day's work was finally done the
Koreans immediately kicked off a furious
volleyball match. They play hard too.
The ROK camp.is Immaculate. There is
absolute discipline. Every man knows his
job and does it with a will, There's no
goofing off or goldbricking around here.
In the little Vietnamese hamlet of Hoa
Hoi, the Koreans are very welcome as a
police force.
They pulled out of the village on orders
last February 18. For the next three nights,
the hamlet' was mortared, machinegunnod
and terrorized by the Communists.
One company of ROK troops returned.
The Communists left, and the villagers have
petitioned the ROK commander to keep a
unit there permanently.
Next the Koreans rounded up a dozen or so
male suspects and a quantity of Vietcong
military gear. The only problem was they
couldn't find out which of the suspects
owned the gear.
So they grabbed one man out of the group,
hustled him over to a trench that looked
suspiciously like a grave, and blindfolded
April 27, 1966
Harford County, Md., County Commis-
sioner Abe Davis Dies at 72
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
HON. CLARENCE D. LONG
OF MARYLAND
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, April 27, 1966
Mr. LONG of Maryland. Mr. Speaker
it Is with a great sense of loss that I bring
to the attention of my distinguished col-
leagues, of the death of Mr. Abe Davis,
chairman of the county commissioners
of Harford County, Md. Mr. Davis
served the public with great loyalty
for many years, and he climaxed his civic
career with 3 years as chairman of the
Harford County commissioners. I
should like to insert In the CONGRESSIONAL
RECORD at this point the tributes paid to
Mr. Davis by the newspapers of Harford
County:
[From the Harford County (Md.) Aegis,
Apr. 21, 1968]
THE COUNTY'S Loss
The death last week of Abe Davis, chair-
man of the Harford County commissioners, is
a severe loss to all of this county's residents.
Mr. Davis had served Harford ably during
his tenure in office, while maintaining an
even disposition that permitted him to always
show courteous and tactful relationships with
the many persons with whom he came in
contact.
We always had a high regard for this pub-
lic official who remained extremely active, be-
lying his age, until the past few weeks of his
illness. A gentleman, who had proven effi-
cient with the C. & P. Telephone Co. and in
business, Mr. Davis reached his true poten-
tial as a public official in the past 3 yea:,s
when he served as chairman of the countys
governing body.
The loss of the second of three commis-
sioners in the same term of office here is uI-
him. fortunate for Harford and the loss of sun
A ROK soldier fired one shot directly over a devoted public servant as Abe Davis is
the prisoner's head. For a second the prix- lamented.
onor thought he was dead, then he began
quivering. [From the Harford County (Md.) Aegis]
The blindfold was jerked off and quick as a COMMISSIONER Ann DAVIS EXPIRES
flash the prisoner ran over to the group and County Commissioner Chairman Abraham
picked out one man-the owner of the mili- (Abe) Davis died on Friday, April 15, at the
tary gear. He quickly told all he knew of the Harford Memorial Hospital after a lingering
guerrilla operation, illness.
Tough but very effective. That's the way The popular 72-year-old resident of Havre
the Koreans operate. And they don't know, de Grace had been 111 since early January
the fear of darkness that hampers other and had been confined to the hospital since
military units in this country. . February 23.
The first night out we slept until mid- A son of the late Jacob and Katherine
night, Then there was a hand on my shoul- Peterson Davis, of Havre de Grace, Mr. Davis
der. "It is time to go now," a soldier said.. I was employed by the Chesapeake & Potomac
looked at my watch again, thinking perhaps Telephone Co. for 39 years, and before his
it had stopped. retirement in 1954, he was supervisor of the
But between then and 6 a.m. we covered company's cable division in the Harford
5 miles through known Vietcong territory, County area.
making our way through unbelievable terrain - Mr. Davis was first elected a county com-
in the darkness, missioner in 1954 after serving on the Havre
No American unit, except perhaps the de Grace City Council. Reelected in 1938
crack U.S. Special Forces delta teams would and 1062, he was made the board chairman
even attempt such a night march. In 1963 after the death of D. Paul McNabb,
A Korean battalion often covers 15 miles a who was chairman.
day through rice paddies and tangled jungle. Mr. Davis, a Democrat, did not limit his
civic activities to politics.
I thought to myself, "These guys are not He was on the board of directors of the
men. They are big mean machines-tough Harford Memorial Hospital, the Harford
as hell." County chapter of the State Blood Bank As-
In 9 months of covering the war in Viet- sociation, the Havre de Grace Salvation Army
nam I have marched with virtually every and the Citizens Nursing Home.
major American and Vietnamese unit. None He was the oldest active member of the
of them impressed me as much as the Ko- Susquehanna Volunteer Fire Company and
leans. was past exalted ruler of the Elks Club of
They really are tigers. Havre de Grace. He was also a member of
Approved For Release 2005/06/29 : CIA-RDP67B00446R000400120019-5