Rok Marines Were America’s Toughest Allies In The Vietnam War

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Of each nan subject forces that fought against nan communists successful Vietnam, nan ROK Marines had the astir fearsome reputation.

This coming April will people nan fiftieth anniversary of the end of nan Vietnam War. With each of the controversy complete America’s domiciled successful that war, it’s easy to hide that it wasn’t just the United States and oft-derided South Vietnam (officially nan Army of nan Republic of Vietnam, aliases ARVN, on pinch nan irregular troops of nan indigenous Montagnards and Hmong tribesmen) fighting against nan Communist forces of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC).

Actually, nan conflict against nan specter of communist tyranny successful Indo-China was besides carried retired by galore friends from crossed Asia, including the Royal Australian Air Force guardant aerial controllers and today’s existent subject, South Korea, much specifically the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marines.

The ROK Marines Arrive successful Vietnam

Of each nan sovereign nation-state subject forces that fought against nan communists successful Vietnam, nan ROK Marines—who trace their founding backmost to April 15, 1949—arguably had the astir fearsome reputation. One could reasonably infer that their ain bad experiences pinch communist tyranny stemming from the Korean War of 1950-1953 were a awesome motivational facet down that fierceness, and those memories were surely lingering successful nan minds of nan first ROK 2nd Marine Brigade troops (nicknamed nan “Blue Dragon Unit“) erstwhile they arrived in-country successful October 1965 (thus becoming 1 of nan earliest friends to nonstop combat troops to nan war), a specified 12 years and 2 months aft the signing of nan Korean War armistice.

The anonymous Team Mighty unit of the We Are nan Mighty website, successful a March 30, 2023 article bluntly titled “Why nan North Vietnamese feared South Korean Marines“ picks up nan communicative from there:

“‘We person only 1 intent present — combat,’ he [the brigade commander, that is] said. He went connected to opportunity that they would beryllium fresh to conflict immoderate communist ‘anywhere, anytime.’ And they were … A full of 37,000 Korean Marines would find their measurement to nan battlefields of Vietnam and they were capable to execute what different friends could not. Korea’s 2nd Battalion took complete nan battle connected Ca Tau Mountain successful November 1965. It was a heavy fortified position that nan North had held for much than 18 years. The French couldn’t return it. The South Vietnamese grounded to return it. The South Koreans took it successful conscionable 9 hours.” [emphasis added]

As if that weren’t awesome enough, nan authors tack connected this recounting of an engagement that further cemented nan ROK Marines’ legendary status:

“Everywhere South Korean Marines went, they cleared full areas of communist aggression, securing atom fields, ports and nan flanks of U.S. and South Vietnamese allies. In February 1966, nan NVA attacked nan Korean 3rd Marine Division astatine Tra Binh Dong. The Koreans held disconnected nan advance, contempt being outnumbered 5-to-1 … What should person been an easy triumph for nan North Vietnamese Army turned into a full disaster, sidesplitting a tenth of nan attacking force. Half of nan communist dormant were really killed successful nan manus to manus fighting wrong nan Marines perimeter. The South Koreans mislaid 15 of their own, but nan NVA didn’t effort different violative successful nan area until aft nan Korean Marines departed.” [emphasis added]

Yet to this day, many pundits successful academia and nan mainstream media insist the Vietnam War was unwinnable, shrouding nan communist forces successful a veil of invincibility. The ROK Marines’ combat capacity intelligibly demonstrates nan folly of those claims.

ROK Marines successful Pop Culture

I first learned of nan ROK Marines arsenic an eighth grader successful 1989 erstwhile I read The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford, nan Vietnam War caller upon which nan screenplay to Stanley Kubrick‘s iconic 1987 mobility picture Full Metal Jacket was based; Hasford, conscionable for illustration his Pvt. Joker/Cpl. Joker/Sgt. Joker protagonist, was a U.S. Marine Corps combat correspondent; he shared screenplay in installments pinch Kubrick and Michael Herr.

In nan novel, nan first-person narrator and protagonist, Cpl. Joker (in nan movie, Pvt. Joker, played by Matthew Modine) pays nan ROK Marines a rather, shall we say, colorful and imaginative compliment, stating that they person “muscles successful their $h*t.” Coming from Hasford/Joker, that’s nary mini feat of praise, arsenic the author and his protagonist do not springiness you galore sincere compliments; they’re particularly cynical and unflattering successful their depiction of nan ARVNs.

ROK Marines Today

The present-day Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) is 29,000 strong, organized into 2 divisions and 2 abstracted brigades nether nan wide bid of Headquarters ROK Marine Corps, which is located in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province. Proud possessors of 300 tracked vehicles including the K1 (aka, nan Type 88) main conflict tank, the K-55 (M109) self-propelled howitzer, and nan Israeli-made Plasan SandCat armored fighting vehicle, their mottos are “For Justice and Freedom (jung jayureul wihaye)” and “Certain Victory (hwaksilhan seungri).”

About nan Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was antecedently a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is simply a erstwhile Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal rule enforcement officer, and backstage subject contractor (with assignments worked successful Iraq, nan United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and nan Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. successful International Relations from nan University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. successful Intelligence Studies (concentration successful Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has besides been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is simply a Companion of nan Order of the Naval Order of nan United States (NOUS). If you’d for illustration to prime his encephalon further, you tin ofttimes find him astatine the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge successful Manassas, Virginia, partaking of good stogies and bully value quality camaraderie.

Image: Marines from Arlington, VA, United States – 100203-M-2739S-302, Public Domain,

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