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THE NIGHT FIGHTERS

The United States Marine Corps' Combined Action Program in Vietnam
1965-1971

From 1965 to 1971 the United States Marines in Vietnam ran a small, little-known operation called the "Combined Action Program." CAP went through several phases: the first was unofficial and did not have a standard organization. Some of the first units were called "JACs," "Joint Action Companies." The "Joint" was changed to "Combined" because in military parlence, "joint" means combined forces of one nation, "combined" means forces of more than one nation, and they became "CACs," "Combined Action Companies." For various reasons, that was changed to "CAP," "Combined Action Platoons." The last phase, when Marines were no longer permanently assigned to individual villages, was called "CUPP," the "Combined Unit Pacification Program."
In many ways what CAP did was similar to what was done by the US Army Special Forces, the famous Green Berets, except the Marines concentrated most of their effort in the heavily populated coastal lowlands rather than the sparcely populated highlands. Most CAP units consisted of a Marine rifle squad and US Navy Medical Corpsman, and a Vietnamese Popular Forces platoon (roughly equivilant to the US National Guard, but with less prior training and poorer equipment), and were commanded by a Marine sergeant E-5 or sometimes a corporal. Combined Action Platoons were frequently semi-isolated and usually independent units. There has been very little written about them. The one in these novels is loosely based on the combat-outpost type of CAP I served in during the spring and summer of 1966. The Night Fighters, to my knowledge, is the only fictional treatment of a CAP.

In all honesty, in my CAP we didn't have exploits like these.

When I first put up my website, probably in the late 1990s, I said to stay tuned, that I planned to make my VN novels available as ebooks. Well, it's finally happening. Right now, the week before Christmas, 2011, I'm scanning the first of the books. Stay tuned for where and how to buy the complete books.

The books of THE NIGHT FIGHTERS
One: KNIVES IN THE NIGHT introduces the Marines of CAP Tango Niner and the Popular Forces of Bun Hou village, somewhere deep in "Indian Country." The Marines and Vietnamese soon find themselves pitted against Major Nghu, a sadistic North Vietnamese Army officer dedicated to wiping out the Marines and subjugating the South Vietnamese peasants.
Now available as a Kindle! And in other ebook formats here. The book is priced at $2.99.

Two: In MAIN FORCE ASSAULT, the Marines and their Vietnamese comrades are in a fight to the death against an almost overwhelming force of Viet Cong regulars, the Main Force VC -- and if that's not enough, they also go up against corrupt South Vietnamese officials. I anticipate having this book up about the end of January.

Three: OUT OF THE FIRE finds the Marines have been framed for drug dealing by the corrupt South Vietnamese officials they opposed in the previous book. They have to prove their innocence as well as defend Bun Hou village.

Four: A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE: A North Vietnamese senior sergeant defects when he decides the Americans aren't fighting fair, and is captured by the Marines of Tango Niner. He tells about a secret North Vietnamese communications installation several miles west of Bun Hou, but American officials don't buy his story when he tells them why he defected -- he saw a muscle-bound guy coated with body oil, wearing a red headband and too-tight pants, and carrying an M-60 machine gun with its belt wrapped around his arm! The Marines and Popular Forces of Tango Niner are left to undertake a secret and unauthorized mission to wipe out the communications center themselves.

Five: Major Nghu returns in A NGHU NIGHT FALLS, only the Marines have become so adept at night fighting he decides to operate during the day. It takes time for the Marines to work out Major Nghu's method, but when they do, they put an end to the sadistic North Vietnamese officer.

Six: CHARLIE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE brings everything full circle. Bun Hou is safe and doesn't really need the Marines any more -- except for one more mission. Five of them go deep into a North Vietnamese stronghold in the A Shau Valley to rescue a kidnapped child.

If you'd like more -- and more realistic -- information about the US Marines' Combined Action Program, go here. Tim Duffy, a CAP Vet, has put together an absolutely outstanding site on the Combined Action Program. I can't recommend it too highly to anyone with any interest in the Marines or the Vietnam War.

Semper Fi, Tim


	Patch designed to be suspended from left shirt pocket button, ca. 1967-1968.

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