Welcome to The Nam Zone

The An Hoa Project was started by Alan Waugh over ten years ago and over this time the the project has gathered stories, photos and movie footage about the US Marines in the An Hoa Combat Base area of Operations in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.

Alan used this information from the veterans along with USMC command chronologies to write the only complete history of An Hoa Combat base and its surrounding operational area.

Part One covers the years 1966-67 and this sees the build up of the Marines in the An Hoa Basin as General Walt was asked by President Ngo Dihn Diem to protect the fledgling industrial site at An Hoa as it had come under increasing Viet Cong and NVA attacks.

Part Two cover 1968-69. The Tet Offensive rips into Quang Nam province in 1968 and the Marines in the An Hoa AO come under attack. These years also see heavy fighting and the build up of NVA troops in the area.

These history disks are the real Nam at ground Zero. The stories are from men who served in the heat and grime of the rice fields. They took fire from an elusive enemy who were the masters at melting back into the jungle and scrub. They suffered booby-traps, Jungle rot, dehydration, dysentery and the loss of comrades in the mad moments of a fire fight.

They served their country and wanted to bring peace to South Vietnam. They returned to the World and blended back into civvy street as the USA did not honour her veterans and they were blamed for the loss of the war in Vietnam.

Times have thankfully changed and the Vietnam Veteran is now honoured and it is time to tell the stories that have waited so long to be heard. Time to view the personal photographs that have sat in draws or shoe boxes on top of the wardrobe, unseen. Time to learn about their war in what they called 'The Nam'.

FOREWORD BY G D NAVADEL COLONEL USMC RET

Of the many accounts covering the years of the United States' involvement in combat in the Republic of Vietnam, most authors concentrated on specific battles, campaigns or units. Alan Waugh has taken a different approach. He has focused his efforts on a specific area of operation centered on the then fledgling industrial complex of An Hoa located to the south-west of Da Nang. The time frame spans from 1966 to 1971 and introduces the reader to all the participants - both US and VC/NVA - who fought in the rice fields, villages, and neighboring mountains.

Extensive research of military archives to include after action reports, command chronologies and official documentation provides the framework for the account which, by itself, provides accuracy but no life. Alan remedied this to the reader's delight by including the personal human experiences of Marines and Corpsmen who toiled, sweated, and bled while performing their duty for their country and for their fellow team, squad, and platoon members.

A tribute to Alan's persistence and depth of his research is the inclusion of input from the Vietnamese director of the An Hoa Industrial Complex from 1962 to 1969. This coal-iron facility was the reason the US command commuted Marines to the basin. Also included is input from Dale Dye, actor, writer and military advisor to Hollywood, who has written an account of his time at An Hoa as a Marine Combat correspondent.

But we must not forget the stories from the Grunts on the ground who after their tour returned home to restart their lives after the ordeal of savage combat in Vietnam. It is for them and those who did not return that this history has been written by Alan. It is a tribute to the warriors of many years ago who were proud to serve the US Marine Corps.

George D. Navadel

Colonel USMC Ret. (1958 - '88)

RVN '66-'67; ''71-''72

George D Navadel is a highly respected & decorated Marine who won the Silver Star and Bronze Star with 'V' while in Vietnam