Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:53 | He corresponded with his family, but they made sure not to include news of the mood of the country about Vietnam. Hal Dayhuff was in the hospital with tropical diseases at the end of his tour, but he stayed on in the Army to become an instructor at Fort Benning as the focus switched from Cold War Europe to Southeast Asia.
Keywords : Pentagon hospital Fort Benning Germany Cold War Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Wall 50th Anniversary Vietnam Hal Dayhuff Joe Galloway
Vietnam was not in the picture in 1959 when Hal Dayhuff entered the Army with a commission out of ROTC. After a tour in Germany and an interlude instructing at Fort Benning, he found himself in Vietnam as one of the first advisors to the South Vietnamese. He quickly got to know his counterparts, who were genuinely happy to work with Americans.
Hal Dayhuff was part of a five man advisory team in Nha Be district. His friend and Captain of the team, Jim Ray, took his place on a night operation and was killed. This made him chief advisor and he began working with his Vietnamese counterpart to both build up hamlet infrastructure and disrupt Viet Cong activity.
His district was not heavily populated with Viet Cong, but advisor Hal Dayhuff's South Vietnamese unit had work to do uncovering booby traps on the bridges and piers along the Saigon River. The American team of advisors was highly thought of and welcome in the homes of their hosts.
After paying respect to his Vietnamese counterpart and also his friend, Jim Ray, who was killed in action, ARVN advisor Hal Dayhuff says that the best day of his tour was Christmas 1964 when he was given a ceremonial garment and name in the Cao Dai faith. This wasn't much help cutting red tape in Saigon, though.
