Two Tours In Vietnam With Special Forces, A Wedding, And Working Post-War Issues In South East Asia

This interview is a supplement to Mike and Chan Eiland’s first interview and focuses on his service in Vietnam and in South East Asia and their life together. Mike Eiland decided to join President Kennedy’s Special Forces after an NCO from 10th Group, who served in Operation White Star in Laos, talked with Mike about the opportunities in Special Forces. Because of the War in Vietnam, he completed an abbreviated Special Forces course before spending four months training with his team, which focused on Vietnam-specific missions, highlighting language training, ambushes, and weapons ranges. Some members of the team were new Soldiers and some were Korean War veterans, including Team Sergeant Richard Pegram. Mike remembers learning the key lesson of being decisive, noting, “Make a decision and act.” They trained in national forests and all of his instructors were veterans. His first deployment to Vietnam was in 1966, and after spending 48 hours in a C-130, he landed in Nha Trang on March 29. He worked with three companies of Vietnamese. The companies of Hoa How (a religious sect) and ethnic Cambodians were easy to work with, but the third company, consisting of “Saigon Cowboys,” was a constant struggle. There was also an ARVN Special Forces team on their camp. The Hoa How were extremely anti-communist, as were the Cambodians, but there were also racial tensions between the Cambodians and the Vietnamese. Once the battalion was established, Mike felt that it was effective. At one point, he was sent to reinforce a Special Forces Camp in War Zone D near Bien Hoa and found a classmate, Hank Kenny, at the camp. Mike then established a new camp along the Cambodian border near the Parrot’s Beak. He describes building the camp, establishing defensive positions, and conducting patrols along the Vàm Cỏ Đông river. He recalls encountering Viet Cong “every time we left the wire.” In 1968, he returned to Vietnam for his second tour. He discusses the B-57 Detachment and MACV-SOG (Studies and Observation Group), a fairly secret organization, and describes some of the special training he received to prepare for Special Forces operations. At this time the MACV J2 was interested in finding the enemy’s Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN) and it was discovered by SIGINT (Signals Intelligence). From October 1968 to June 1969, he was the Operations Officer for Operation Daniel Boone, cross-border reconnaissance missions into Cambodia along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Command and Control South was in charge of the Cambodia mission, while Command and Control Central was responsible for reconnaissance operations in Laos. In Cambodia, teams were restricted to only three Americans on a team of twelve total, had no tactical air support, and were limited to only 20km across the border (operations in Laos were less restrictive). Mike recalls coordinating with ambassadors via secure teletype or voice from a hotel in Saigon. Following a B-52 strike against the COSVN headquarters, Special Forces were sent in to conduct Battle Damage Assessment, and suffered a lot of casualties, which he describes as “a terrible disaster.” He also worked with CORDS (Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support), a pacification effort, where he feels that the refugee program was counterproductive, but the Chiêu Hồi (Open Arms) program encouraging defectors was “very good.” He also describes the Airborne Operations Group running indigenous operations and their efforts to encourage North Vietnamese Defectors. Over his five years in Vietnam, he observed the adversary change from the Viet Cong to the North Vietnamese Army. In 1972, he was assigned to the 1st Special Forces Battalion in Thailand, where he commanded a company composed of five teams. In 1975, he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, a position he served in until 1977. In 1977, under the Carter administration, he began working with the Department of State, where he worked to normalize relations with Vietnam in 1978, including dealing with the POW / MIA issue. In 1980, he returned to Thailand where he worked the Indochina Refugee Program from 1980 until 1983. That effort included the Khmer Emergency Group and incorporated international organizations that sought to help. Remembering that assignment, he notes, “At the end of the day, you helped some people.” At the end of Mike’s interview, his wife Chan joins in and they share some memories of their life together. They talk about their wedding, Chan’s first impressions of the United States, and changes in America in the late 60s and early 70s. They talk about working with refugees and helping them resettle in the United States, noting there were “heartbreaking stories from the women.” They describe Mike’s work as Chief of the East Asia Division, and his postings at American Embassies. They recall bringing Chan’s family to the United States over a span ranging from 1975 to 1991, and describe their travel through South East Asia and Europe. They discuss President Clinton’s historic visit to Vietnam in November 2000. During that visit, Mike served as Clinton’s interpreter for his keynote speech. At the end of the interview, they reflect on what West Point means to them.