President Nixon Presents Presidential Unit Citation to the 1st Marine Division
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Type of Activity
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Award Ceremony
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Location
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Location
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Camp Pendleton San Diego County
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Date of Activity
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April 30 1971
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Coordinates
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+33°20′N 117°25′W
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April 30 1971 to Camp Pendleton with President Nixon
In April of 1971 the First Marine Division returned from Vietnam and was to be greeted by President Nixon. The event was scheduled to take place at Camp Pendleton, since the site was only 10 min from the Western White House the CCT was told to break out the recording equipment to rehearse the welcome home ceremonies. So here we were all radio and switchboard guys setting up on the Parade Field (which nobody was allowed to set foot on when they were not in a parade). Anyway Gen Redmond, Major Freed, and I don't remember all of the WHCA officers were out there, but we set up the PA and microphones where we thought they needed to be as the Troop Commander shouted commands. The problem was that when he was in front of the division no one could hear him and we couldn't put a mike stand there! Gen Redmond came over to me and asked if we could run a mike cable out on the parade field and lay the microphone on the ground. It took two min. and that solved the problem. After rehearsal we all took shovels and buried the cable thus inventing the “turf” microphone, the Marines couldn't believe that we were digging up their parade field and not going to the brig for doing it.
In April of 1971 the First Marine Division returned from Vietnam and was to be greeted by President Nixon. The event was scheduled to take place at Camp Pendleton, since the site was only 10 min from the Western White House the CCT was told to break out the recording equipment to rehearse the welcome home ceremonies. So here we were all radio and switchboard guys setting up on the Parade Field (which nobody was allowed to set foot on when they were not in a parade). Anyway Gen Redmond, Major Freed, and I don't remember all of the WHCA officers were out there, but we set up the PA and microphones where we thought they needed to be as the Troop Commander shouted commands. The problem was that when he was in front of the division no one could hear him and we couldn't put a mike stand there! Gen Redmond came over to me and asked if we could run a mike cable out on the parade field and lay the microphone on the ground. It took two min. and that solved the problem. After rehearsal we all took shovels and buried the cable thus inventing the “turf” microphone, the Marines couldn't believe that we were digging up their parade field and not going to the brig for doing it.
I
returned to Camp Pendleton the day before the event was to take place to meet
with the WHCA recording guys to help them set up the site and to point out
where the Troop Commander would be positioned. All went well at the
speech the next day at the official Welcome Back
ceremonies.
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| The President being escorted to receive salute |
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| President Nixon receives 21 gun salute at Camp Pendleton |
A striking scene on the Parade
Ground at Camp Pendleton on 30 April 1971, as RN reviews the 1st Marine
Division before awarding it the Presidential Unit Citation. On POTUS’s
left is the Corps Commandant, General Leonard F. Chapman. What appears to
be dust is, in fact, smoke from the artillery weapons that had just fired a 21 gun
salute. There was a large crowd of wives and dependents, as well as
invited dignitaries, on bleachers behind the photographer and on the other side
of the troop formation. Thanks to Jack Brennan for sending his personal
copy of this hitherto unpublished photo.
President Nixon went to
Camp Pendleton, California, to award the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) For
Extraordinary Heroism to the First Marine Division.
The First Marine
Division was activated aboard the battleship Texas at the
beginning of 1941. It is the oldest, largest, and most decorated division
in the United States Marine Corps, having received nine Presidential Unit
Citations.
The President spoke on
the Parade Ground just after noon. Also on the stand with him were USMC
Commandant General Leonard F. Chapman, and Navy Under-Secretary —and later
Senator— John Warner.
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| President Nixon and Commandant Chapman review the Troops |
The President’s Speech began by welcoming the Division home:
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| President Nixon Addressing the 1st Marine Division |
This is one of the
proudest moments of my service as President of the United States–to be here for
this ceremony; to award this Unit Citation, the eighth Unit Citation this
division has received in its long and proud history, to the First Marine
Division; and to welcome home the major elements of that division from Vietnam.
As I welcome you home, I can say to you that the Nation is proud
of you. I can say to you, you come home mission accomplished.
He continued, providing a context
for their service in Vietnam:
When you went to Vietnam
5 years ago, you found a country there with millions of South Vietnamese under
Communist rule, and the whole country threatened by a Communist takeover
As you return, you left a South
Vietnam with the South Vietnamese now assuming the major burden of their own
defense, and soon developing the capability for their complete defense without
the assistance of American fighting men.
Because of your service and the
service of other Americans, we can now say that Americans can continue to be
withdrawn at approximately or almost at a division a month. And because of your
service and the service of other Americans, we can set as our goal–and achieve
the goal–of a total withdrawal of all Americans; that goal to be achieved when
the South Vietnamese have developed, as they will develop, the capability of
defending themselves, and when we have returned all of our prisoners of war
wherever they may be in Southeast Asia.
And now to the many of these marines
who are young marines, and most of you are young marines, may I refer a bit to
the history of this division going clear back to World War I, when the Fifth
Regiment, which later became part of the First Marine Division, served them. It
is a proud and distinguished history. The names are proud in the history of the
Marine Corps and they are very proud in the history of this Nation: Belleau
Wood, in World War I; Guadalcanal in World War II; Inchon, in Korea; and now
Vietnam.
The question that I am sure must be
in your minds is: What will the verdict of history be about your service in
Vietnam? Certainly in terms of personal heroism there is no question about the
verdict of history. Forty-eight members of the First Marine Division were
awarded the Medal of Honor. It is the most decorated Marine division of all.
This is the second Unit Citation in this war.
And there are other heroes in this
division–heroes who received no medals; heroes who had a kind of heroism that
was not required of your grandfathers who served in World War I or your fathers
who may have served in World War II–a kind of service that was special to
Vietnam: building a nation, building schools and hospitals and clinics, and
helping people, and contributing thousands of dollars of your own funds for
helping the people of Vietnam gain what you wanted them to gain–the right to
build a nation free from outside control.
So there is no question about the
verdict of history so far as your heroism is concerned.
He ended on a proudly personal note: As I stand here today I look
back again over the history of this country. The marines and other Americans
who fought in World War I thought they were fighting in a war to end wars, and
then their sons fought in World War II.
The marines and other Americans who
fought in World War II, after it ended and the United Nations was formed,
thought that now at long last we can have an era of peace. And then their
younger brothers fought in Korea, and their sons fought in Vietnam.
Now the question is: What happens after
Vietnam? How do we end the war? What kind of a peace do we want? And we do want
peace.
As I think of peace and as you think
of peace, I think of the hundreds of schoolchildren who are here today. I think
that the kind of peace we want–and this is our goal is just not peace in our
time but peace in their time.
By your service you have done your
part in trying to achieve that kind of peace, and I pledge to you that in the
conduct of our foreign affairs we shall bring this war to an end in a way
worthy of your service and the service of other Americans-to achieve a just and
a lasting peace; to achieve what Americans have never had in this century: a
full generation of peace.
So proudly today, as Commander in
Chief, as one who was proud to serve with you and your predecessors in World
War II, I say, America welcomes you home with pride, and we will not fail you
in winning the peace.
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| Presentation of the Presidential Unit Citation to the 1st Marine Division |
By virtue of the authority vested in me as
President of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of
the United States, I have today awarded the 1st Marine Division
THE PRESIDENTIAL UNIT
CITATION FOR EXTRAORDINARY HEROISM TO FIRST MARINE DIVISION (REINFORCED) FLEET
MARINE FORCE
For extraordinary
heroism and outstanding performance of duty in action against enemy forces in
the Republic of Vietnam from 16 September 1967 to 31 October 1968. Operating
primarily in Quang Nam Province, the First Marine Division (Reinforced)
superbly executed its threefold mission of searching for and destroying the
enemy, defending key airfields and lines of communication, and conducting a
pacification and revolutionary development program unparalleled in the annals
of warfare. With the Division responsible for over 1,000 square miles of territory,
it extended protection and pacification to more than one million Vietnamese. The countless examples of courage,
resourcefulness, and dedication demonstrated by the officers and men of the
First Marine Division attest to their professionalism and esprit de corps.
Their combat activities were skillfully carried out in the face of adverse
weather and difficult terrain such as canopied jungles, rugged mountains,
swampy lowlands, and hot, sandy beaches. During the enemy Tet-offensive in late
January of 1968, the First Marine Division dealt a devastating blow to enemy
forces attempting to attack Danang. Again, in May 1968, the Division totally
crushed an enemy drive directed against the Danang area through the Go Noi
Island region southwest of Danang. The Division achieved this resounding
victory through the skillful coordination of ground forces, supporting arms,
and aircraft support. Most action in the I Corps Tactical Zone during August of
1968 was centered in the First Marine Divisions tactical area of responsibility.
The enemy, now looking for a victory which would achieve some measure of
psychological or propaganda value, again mounted an attack of major proportions
against Danang but were thoroughly repulsed sustaining heavy casualties. The
valiant fighting spirit, perseverance, and teamwork displayed by First Marine
Division personnel throughout this period reflected great credit upon
themselves and the Marine Corps, and were in keeping with the highest
traditions of the United States Naval Service.
RICHARD NIXON
After the ceremonies, President
Nixon greeted the crowd of some 10,000 by circling the Parade Ground standing
in the back of a jeep. After saying goodbye to Commandant Chapman, the
President started walking towards his waiting limousine, for the short drive
back to San Clemente.. Suddenly, a remarkable thing happened. A crowd of
Marines carried President Nixon on their shoulders for about 15 yards as he
toured the parade grounds after welcoming home the 1st Division from Vietnam, a base spokesman said
Saturday. The incident Friday wasn’t seen by most spectators, but television
cameras picked up a distant shot of the President being lifted and carried
until Secret Service agents called a halt.
The witnesses said the Marines involved were from Camp Pendleton and the 1st Division. “The President walked by the bleachers and waved,” said a corporal. “Suddenly about 15 to 20 guys spilled out of the bleachers, grabbed him, and put him on their shoulders. “They went about 15 yards when the Secret service forced them to put the President down.”
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| The President Departs with his daughter Trisha |
Nixon then shook hands with many of
them…..the witnesses said. It was quite a sight to see!
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