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 This
history deals with the activities, personnel and accomplishments of
the 75th Infantry (Ranger), Regiment companies during the period 1
February 1969 through 15 October 1974 and makes reference to the
units who preceded the designation of the 75th Infantry (Ranger).
The 75th Ranger Regiment is linked
directly and historically to the 13 Infantry Companies of the 75th
that were active in Vietnam from February 1, 1969 until August 15,
1972, the longest sustained combat history for an American Ranger
unit in more than three hundred years of United States Army Ranger
History. The 75th Infantry Regiment was activated in Okinawa during
1954 and traced its lineage to the 475th Infantry Regiment, thence
to the 5307th Composite Provisional Unit, popularly known as
Merrill's Marauders. Historically, company I (Ranger) 75th
Infantry, 1st Infantry Division and Company G, (Ranger) 75th
Infantry, 23rd Infantry Division (Americal) produced the first two
US Army Rangers to be awarded the Medal of Honor as a member of and
while serving in combat Ranger company. Specialist Four Robert D.
Law was awarded the first Medal of Honor with I\75 while on long
range patrol in Tinh Phoc Province RVN. He was from Texas. Staff
Sergeant Robert J. Pruden was awarded the second Medal of Honor with
G\75 while on reconnaissance mission in Quang Ni Province RVN. He
was from Minnesota. In addition to the two Medal of Honor recipients
above, Staff Sergeant Lazlo Rabel was awarded the Medal of Honor
while serving with the 74th Infantry Detachment (LRP), a predecessor
to Company N, (Ranger) 75th Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade while
on a long range patrol Binh Dinh Province, RVN. He was from
Pennsylvania.
Conversion of the Long Range Patrol
Companies of the 20th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 58th, 71st, 78th, and 79th
Infantry Detachment and Company D, 151st Infantry Long Range Patrol
of the Indiana National Guard, to Ranger Companies of the 75th
Infantry began on 1 February, 1969. Only Company D, 151st retained
their unit identity and did not become a 75th Ranger Company,
however, they did become a Ranger Company and continued the mission
in Vietnam. Companies C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O and P
(Ranger) 75th Infantry conducted Ranger missions for three years and
seven months every day of the year while in Vietnam. Like the
original unit from whence their lineage as Neo Marauders was drawn,
75th Rangers came from Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Signal,
Medical, Military Police, Food Service, Parachute Riggers and other
Army units. They were joined by former adversaries, the Viet Cong
and North Vietnamese Army soldiers who became "Kit Carson Scouts",
and fought alongside the Rangers against their former units and
comrades. Unlike Rangers of other eras in the 20th Century who
trained in the United States or in friendly nations overseas, LRP
and Rangers in Vietnam were activated, trained and fought in the
same geographical areas in Vietnam.
Training was a combat mission for
volunteers. Volunteers were assigned, not accepted in the various
Ranger Companies, until, after a series of patrols, the volunteer
had passed the acid test of a Ranger, Combat, and was accepted by
his peers. Following the peer acceptance, the volunteer was allowed
to wear the black beret and wear the Red, White and Black scroll
shoulder sleeve insignia bearing his Ranger Company identity. All
Long Range Patrol Companies and 75th Ranger Companies were
authorized Parachute pay. Modus Operandi for patrol insertion varied
, however, the helicopter was the primary means for insertion and
exfiltration of enemy rear areas. Other methods included foot,
wheeled, tracked vehicle, airboats, Navy Swift Boats, and stay
behind missions where the Rangers remained in place as a larger
tactical unit withdrew. False insertions by helicopter was a means
of security from ever present enemy trail watchers. General missions
consisted of locating the enemy bases and lines of communication.
Special missions included wiretap, prisoner snatch, Platoon and
Company size Raid Missions and Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA)
following B-52 Arc-Light missions. Staffed initially by graduates of
the US Army Ranger School (at the outset of the war, later by
volunteers, some of whom were graduates of the in-country Ranger
School, the Recondo School and, line company cadres), Paratroopers,
and Special Forces trained men, the bulk of the Ranger volunteers
came from the soldiers who had no chance to attend the schools, but
carried the fight to the enemy. These Rangers remained with their
units through some of the most difficult patrolling action(s) in
Army history, and frequently fought much larger enemy forces when
compromised on their reconnaissance missions.
Throughout history the need for a
small, highly trained, far ranging unit to perform reconnaissance
surveillance, target acquisition, and special type combat missions
has been readily apparent. In Vietnam this need was met by
instituting a Long Range patrol program to provide each major combat
unit with this special capability. Rather than create an entirely
new unit designation for such an elite force, the Department of the
Army looked to its rich and varied heritage and on 1 February 1969
designated the 75th Infantry Regiment, the present successor to the
famous 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill's Marauders), as the parent
organization for an Department of the Army designated Long Range
patrol (LRP) units and the parenthetical designation (RANGER) in
lieu of (LRP) for these units. As a result, the Long Range Patrol
Companies and Detachments (LRP): formally the Long Range
Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) (Provisional) assigned to the major
army commands in the Republic of Vietnam became the 75th Infantry
(Ranger) Regiment.
Soon after arriving in Vietnam the
commanders of the Divisions and separate Brigades realized the need
for an elite reconnaissance element to provide the combat
intelligence needed to accomplish the mission of finding a very
elusive enemy that fought a sustained battle when and where they
chose.
The Department of the Army had
authorized a Company size reconnaissance element at Corp level
throughout the US Army but the personnel and equipment had never
been assigned to the Corp level command. In fact the only Corp level
reconnaissance elements that existed were the V Corps and VII Corps
Long Range Reconnaissance companies that were stationed in Germany.
These units had the primary mission of a stay behind force that
would provide the Corps level command with the intelligence needed
after the allied forces had withdrawn from West Germany. The
reconnaissance teams would report on enemy troop movements and
tactical deployment of the enemy forces.
With the advent of the Vietnam war
escalation, each Division and Separate Brigade stationed in the
Republic of Vietnam (RVN) formed a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
(Provisional) unit known as the LRRP. Many variations of
organizational makeup characterized this ad hoc form of a
provisional unit. Each brigade commander organized the LRRP to suit
the needs of his command and the Tactical Area Of Operational
Responsibility (TAOR). Command and Control was decentralized and
given to the Brigade commanders who asked for volunteers from the
infantry units assigned to the brigade.
These units lacked peace time
schooling and had no Department of the Army approved Table of
Organization and Equipment (TO&E). The leaders were the officers and
non commissioned officers who previously had attended the RANGER
course or the RECONDO schools of the 1O1st Airborne Division and
82nd Airborne Division or the Jungle Operations Center in Panama.
These units were functional for the period of May 1965 through
December 1967. In December 1967 the Department of me Army authorized
the formation of the Long Range Patrol (LRP) companies and
detachments who absorbed the personnel of the previously
unauthorized Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (Prov) units.
| UNIT |
MAJOR COMMAND |
| Co. D, 17th Infantry, (LRP) |
V Corps Federal Republic of
Germany |
| Co. C, 58th Infantry (LRP) |
VII Corps Federal Republic
of Germany |
| Co. E, 20th Infantry (LRP) |
I Field Force Vietnam |
| Co. F, 51st Infantry (LRP) |
II Field Force Vietnam |
| Co. D, 151st Infantry (LRP) |
II Field Force Vietnam |
| Co. E, 50th Infantry (LRP) |
9th Infantry Division |
| Co. F, 50th Infantry (LRP) |
25th Infantry Division |
| Co. E, 51st Infantry (LRP) |
23rd Infantry Division |
| Co. E, 52d Infantry (LRP) |
1st Cavalry Division |
| Co. F, 52nd Infantry (LRP) |
1st Infantry Division |
| Co. E, 58th Infantry (LRP) |
4th Infantry Division |
| Co. F, 58th Infantry (LRP) |
1O1st Airborne Division |
| 71st Infantry Detachment
(LRP) |
199th Infantry Brigade |
| 74th Infantry Detachment
(LRP) |
173rd Airborne Brigade |
| 78th Infantry Detachment
(LRP) |
3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne
Division |
| 79th Infantry Detachment
(LRP) |
1st Brigade, 5th Mechanized
Division |
These units continued to operate
throughout the 4 Military Regions of the Republic of Vietnam
providing the major commands with the intelligence needed to find
the enemy and disrupt his line of communication and supply. The
mission designator of "Reconnaissance" was dropped as these units
performed not only reconnaissance type missions but also combat
missions such as ambush, prisoner snatch and raids.
Each individual unit conducted
their own training and indoctrination classes. On 1 February 1969
the above units became 75th Infantry (Ranger) companies except for
Co. D, l5lst Infantry (LRP) of the Indiana National Guard which only
dropped the (LRP) designation but added the (Ranger) designation.
Department of the Army ordered that the above shown units would now
be designated as shown below.
| UNIT |
MAJOR COMMAND |
PERIOD OF SERVICE |
| Co A (Ranger),75th Infantry |
Ft Benning / Ft Hood |
1 Feb. 1969 - 15 Oct. 1974 |
| Co B (Ranger),75th Infantry |
Ft Carson / Ft Lewis |
1 Feb. 1969 - 15 Oct. 1974 |
| Co C (Ranger),75th Infantry |
I Field Force Vietnam |
1 Feb. 1969 - 25 Oct. 1971 |
| Co D (Ranger),151st
Infantry |
II Field Force Vietnam |
13 May 1968 - Nov. 1969 |
| Co D (Ranger),75th Infantry |
II Field Force Vietnam |
20 Nov. 1969 -10 Apr. 1970 |
| Co E (Ranger),75th Infantry |
9th Infantry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 12 Oct. 1970 |
| Co F (Ranger),75th Infantry |
25th Infantry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 15 Mar 1971 |
| Co G (Ranger),75th Infantry |
23rd Infantry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 1 Oct. 1971 |
| Co H (Ranger),75th Infantry |
1st Cavalry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 15 Aug. 1972 |
| Co I (Ranger),75th Infantry |
1st Infantry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 7 Apr. 1970 |
| Co K (Ranger),75th Infantry |
4th Infantry Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 10 Dec. 1970 |
| Co L (Ranger),75th Infantry |
1O1st Airmobile Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 26 Dec. 1970 |
| Co M (Ranger),75th Infantry |
199th Infantry Brigade |
1 Feb. 1969 - 12 Oct. 1970 |
| Co N (Ranger),75th Infantry |
173rd Airborne Brigade |
1 Feb. 1969 - 25 Aug. 1971 |
| Co 0 (Ranger),75th Infantry |
3rd Brigade, 82nd
Abn. Division |
1 Feb. 1969 - 20 Nov. 1969 |
| Co P (Ranger),75th Infantry |
1st Brigade, 5th Mech.
Division |
1 Feb. 1969 -31 Aug. 1971 |
NOTE: The above
Ranger companies of the 75th Infantry conducted combat Ranger
missions and operations for three years and seven months, every day
of the year while in Vietnam, and companies A,B, and 0 performed
Ranger missions state side for five years and eight months. Like the
original unit from whence their lineage as Neo Marauders was drawn,
75th Rangers came from the Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Signal
Medical Military Police, Food Service, Parachute Riggers and other
Army units. They were joined by former adversaries, the Vietcong and
North Vietnamese Army soldiers who became "Kit Carson Scouts" and
fought alongside the Rangers against their former units and
comrades.
Unlike Rangers of other eras in the
20th century who trained in the United States or in friendly nations
overseas, Rangers in Vietnam were activated, trained and fought in
the same geographical areas, a high speed approach to training.
Training was a combat mission for volunteers. Volunteers were
assigned and not accepted in the various Ranger companies until
after a series of patrols by which the volunteer had passed the acid
test of a Ranger, combat, and was accepted by his peers. Following
peer acceptance, the volunteer was allowed to wear the black beret
and red, white and black scroll shoulder sleeve insignia bearing his
Ranger company identity. All Ranger companies were authorized
parachute pay.
Modus operandi for patrol insertion
varied, however the helicopter was the primary means for insertion
and ex-filtration of enemy rear areas. Other methods included foot,
wheeled, tracked vehicles, airboats, Navy swift boats and stay
behind missions where the Rangers stayed in place as a larger
tactical unit withdrew. False insertions by helicopter was a means
of security from ever present enemy trail watchers. General missions
consisted of locating the enemy bases and lines of communication.
Special missions included wiretap, prisoner snatch, Platoon and
Company size Raid missions and Bomb Damage Assessments (BDA's)
following B-52 Arc Light missions as well as the ambush mission that
was common after the Ranger team had performed its primary mission.
Staffed principally by graduates of
the US Army Ranger School Paratroopers and Special Forces trained
men, the bulk of the Ranger volunteers came from the soldiers who
had no chance to attend the school, but carried the fight to the
enemy. Rangers in the grade of E-4 to E-6 controlled fires from the
USS New Jersey's 16 inch guns in addition to helicopter gun ships,
piston engine and high performance aircraft while frequently
operating far beyond conventional artillery and infiltrated enemy
base camps, captured prisoners or conducted other covert operations.
The six man Ranger team was standard and a twelve man team was used
for combat patrols in most instances, however some units operated
occasionally in two man teams in order to accomplish the mission.
The Vietnam Rangers of the 75th
Infantry were awarded the title of Neo Marauders by the Secretary of
the Army, Stanley Resor, for having lived up to the standards set by
the original Marauders during World War II. Army Chief of Staff
Creighton Abrams who observed the 75th Ranger operations in Vietnam
as commander for all US forces there selected the 75th Rangers as
the role model for the first US Army Ranger units formed in
peacetime in the history of the United States Army. Today, the
modern Rangers of the 75th Ranger Regiment continue the tradition of
being the premier fighting element of the active army. The
traditions and dedication to their fellow RANGERS continues!!
75th INFANTRY (RANGER) REGIMENT,
VIETNAM ENTITLEMENTS
75th Infantry (Ranger) Regiment,
Vietnam is entitled to the following:
Campaign Streamers, Vietnam
- Counteroffensive Phase VI
- Tet 69 Counteroffensive
- Summer- Fall 1969
- Winter- Spring 1969
- Sanctuary Counteroffensive
- Counteroffensive Phase VII
- Consolidation I
- Consolidation II
- Cease Fire
Decorations, Vietnam
- RVN Gallantry Cross w/Palm -
23 Awards
- RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal
- 10 Awards
- US Valorous Unit Award - 6
Awards
- US Meritorious Unit
Commendation - 2 Awards
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