U.S. Marines land at Da Nang
The USS Henrico Union and Vancouver carrying the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade under Brig.Gen.Frederick J.
Karch take up stations 4000 yards off Red Beach Two north of Da Nang.First ashore was the Battalion Landing Team 39 which arrived on the beach at 815 a.m.Wearing full battle gear and carrying M-14s the Marines were met by sightseers South Vietnamese officers Vietnamese girls with leis and four American soldiers with a large sign stating Welcome Gallant Marines.Gen.
William Westmoreland senior U.S.military commander in Saigon was reportedly appalled at the spectacle because he had hoped that the Marines could land without any fanfare.Within two hours Battalion Landing Team 13 began landing at Da Nang air base.The 3500 Marines were deployed to secure the U.S.
airbase freeing South Vietnamese troops up for combat.On March 1 Ambassador Maxwell Taylor had informed South Vietnamese Premier Phan Huy Quat that the United States was preparing to send the Marines to Vietnam.Three days later a formal request was submitted by the U.S.
Embassy asking the South Vietnamese government to invite the United States to send the Marines.Premier Quat a mere figurehead had to obtain approval from the real power Gen.Nguyen Van Thieu chief of the Armed Forces Council.
Thieu approved but like Westmoreland asked that the Marines be brought ashore in the most inconspicuous way feasible.These wishes were ignored and the Marines were given a hearty conspicuous welcome when they arrived.
