75th Ranger Infantry Regiment (Airborne)
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The 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) was the United States Army Ranger unit of the Vietnam War era.
[edit] History
On 1 January of 1969, as part of the U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), the U.S. Army Rangers were re-organised in Vietnam as the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger). [1] Fifteen Ranger companies (two, Co. A-75 and Co. B-75, based in the U.S.), were recruited from long range reconnaissance units in Europe since the late 1950s, and in Vietnam since 1966, as long range reconnaissance patrol and long range patrol companies. The genealogy of the new Rangers descended [2] directly from Merrill's Marauders, the 5307th Composite Unit, effective on the 1st of February 1969.
In Vietnam, the Rangers were independent companies: C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O and P. There was no J Ranger Company; the Army considers the phonetic "juliet" an effeminate name for an infantry unit. Each company was attached to a major combat unit. Rangers in Vietnam conducted long range reconnaissance behind enemy lines. They collected intelligence, planned and directed air strikes, acted as conventional operations force-multipliers, assessed bombing damage of enemy territory, executed night and day ambushes, and sniper attacks.
Additionally, Rangers attempted recovering friendly prisoners of war, captured enemy soldiers for interrogation, tapped the wire communications of the North Vietnam Army and the Viet Cong on the Ho Chi Minh trail, and mined enemy trails and roads.
[edit] Organization
| Company | Unit attached | Company | Unit attached |
| Company A | V Corps | Company I | 1st Infantry Division |
| Company B | VII Corps | Company K | 4th Infantry Division |
| Company C | I Field Force, Vietnam | Company L | 101st Airborne Division |
| Company D | II Field Force, Vietnam | Company M | 199th Infantry Brigade |
| Company E | II Field Force Vietnam | Company N | 173rd Airborne Brigade (Sep) |
| Company F | 25th Infantry Division | Company O | 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division |
| Company G | 23rd Infantry Division | Company P | 1st Brigade, 5th Mechanized Division |
| Company H | 1st Cavalry Division |
[edit] References
- ^ SuaSponte.com Vietnam Rangers page
- ^ on 1 Feb. '69, the Army designated the 75th Infantry Regiment successor of the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill's Marauders).
- ^ Lock, John D. and Moore, Harold G. To Fight With Intrepidity: The Complete History of the U.S. Army Rangers 1622 to Present Fenestra Books, 2001 ISBN 1587360640 pp. 515-516
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