This history deals with the formation, activities, accomplishments, and personnel of Co. P (RANGER) 75th Infantry during the period the company was activated in 1969 until "PAPA" Company was officially de-activated in 1971.

Reference will be made to Co. F (LRP) 51st Infantry whose assets were used to man Co. P (RANGER) 75th Infantry in its infancy.  History has shown the need for small, highly trained, highly motivated, volunteer forces with the capability to range far from it's home base, deep into enemy territory, or enemy held territory to conduct surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, and to sometimes engage the enemy.

For the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (MECHANIZED), this elite force was Papa Company (RANGER) 75th Infantry. Throughout the major combat units in Vietnam, 13 RANGER companies of the 75th Infantry provided these forces, with the alphabetical identifiers C through P.

The 1st Brigade of the 5th Infantry Division (MECH) arrived in northern South Vietnam in the I Corps area in July of 1968 as part of the final Army deployment into the combat theater. The 5th Infantry Division, supported by Armored Personnel Carriers, tanks, and other assorted motorized equipment was based at Camp Red Devil in the Quang Tri Province in the northernmost area of I Corps.

They were assigned a large sector of responsibility along the Demilitarized Zone, from the Gulf of Tonkin on the east, to the Laotian border on the west. The "RED DEVIL BRIGADE" conducted cordon and search missions around villages, performed search and clear expeditions on the Khe Sanh Plains, and secured roadways throughout its assigned area of operation.

Other tasks included, but were not limited to, guarding the rice harvests and denying the enemy access to the agriculture rich coastline.  Extended foot reconnaissance was needed for many of these tasks, and the 79th Infantry Detachment (LRP) was activated on 15 December 1968. The detachment never reached operational status.

Still in training, the detachment was supplemented by personnel transferred up north from F Co. (LRP) 51st Infantry of the II Field Force. The "HURRICANE PATROLLERS" had been replaced by Co. D (LRRP) 151st Infantry, an Indiana National Guard unit activated during the Vietnam conflict, and it's assets were used to form Companies O and P of the 75th Infantry.

On 1 February 1969, Co. P (RANGER) 75th Infantry was activated to perform reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition for the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (MECH). The personnel used to man PAPA Company were all volunteers and usually Airborne qualified, with a few exceptions. Team Leaders were usually graduates of the U. S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia or combat experienced non-commissioned officers. This was not always the case, as the most experienced and qualified men in the company were not always the ones with the highest rank.

Team members had a wide variety of Military Occupational Specialties (M.O.S.) and training was usually done on the job. Recondo training was at the 5th Special Forces RECONDO SCHOOL in Nha Trang and was available to selected personnel as training allocations became available. PAPA Company was also equipped with trained Snipers, but because of terrain and mission objectives, they were seldom used operationally.

The process of getting the company combat ready was declared complete in March of 1969.  PAPA Company fielded on average, six combat ready 6 man Ranger "HUNTER-KILLER" teams that consisted of a team leader (TL), an assistant team leader (ATL), a radio operator (RTO), and 3 scout observers. Each team member performed a variety of tasks as assigned by the team leader. Generally speaking, 2 Ranger teams would be out in the field, 2 teams would be on "READY ALERT" to back up teams out on patrol or to become a "REACTIONARY FORCE" as needed, and 2 teams would be in a stand down mode to resupply and prepare for their next assigned mission.

Missions assigned by the 1st Bde., 5th Inf. Div. (MECH) generally consisted of an assigned 4 to 6 square kilometer area known as a "BOX". The mission duration was usually 5 days and 4 nights unless the team was compromised or if contact was made with the enemy.  In the northern I Corps area, to include the entire Demilitarized Zone, the enemy encountered was usually the hard-core NVA regulars, who were better equipped, better trained soldiers than their Viet Cong counterparts.

A typical Ranger mission, if there is such a thing, would have the team recon and observe an area for enemy presence or movement for the first 4 days and attempt to ambush on the last night and day of the mission, prior to extraction. This was not always the case as some teams were authorized to ambush earlier in their mission, depending on circumstances.

PAPA Company Ranger teams were usually inserted and extracted by helicopter, but also used the assets of the 5th Infantry Division (MECH) which resulted in 'stay-behind' missions and direct insertions by tanks and armored personnel carriers.

Support for the PAPA Company teams was provided by "REDLEG" artillery units at firebases A4 (known as Alpha 4) and C2 (known as Charlie 2) which were located just south of the Demilitarized Zone, a buffer zone that separated North and South Vietnam. Air support was provided by among others, the 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion of the 101st Infantry Division (AMBL) in Camp Evans, near Phu Bai, and the 17th Air Cavalry, stationed at Camp Red Devil in Quang Tri.  Also at the disposal of the Rangers were naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin for fire missions, land and ship based attack and fighter aircraft, and bombers based in Thailand. Forward Air Controllers (FAC) and their aircraft were also available for spotting, radio relay, and for directing air strikes as needed.  Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) missions were common for the Rangers in PAPA Company.

By late 1970, the PAPA Company Rangers found their missions to be centered more in the Khe Sanh Plain.  Much of the intelligence gathered during this period, through the early part of 1971, was instrumental in the success achieved by friendly forces during LAM SON 719 in April of 1971. The PAPA Company Rangers continued patrolling the DMZ, Khe Sanh area, the Citadel, Rockpile, and the Tri- Border Area until they began stand down procedures on 23 July 1971. All personnel were transferred out of the unit by 5 August 1971.  Co. P (RANGER) 75th Infantry was officially de-activated on 31 August 1971.

Terry B. Roderick

Co. P (RANGER) 75th Inf.

1st Bde., 5th Inf. Div. (MECH)

A. P.O. San Francisco,

Calif. 96477

COMPANY P (RANGER) 75TH INFANTRY ENTITLEMENTS

Co. P (RANGER) 75th Infantry is entitled to the following:

RANGER DESIGNATION

Rationale: The rationale for selecting the 75th Infantry as the parent unit for all Department of the Army authorized Rangers is/was as follows:

 

1. Similarity of missions between those missions performed by Merrill's Marauders, the 75th Infantry, Ranger Companies in the Republic of Vietnam, and those of the 75th Ranger Regiment-- operations deep in enemy territory.

2. It returns to the rolls of the active Army Regiment having a distinguished combat record and a unique place in the annals of the United States Army.

3. It provides the 75th Ranger Regiment and the United States Army with a command regimental designation identifying an uncommon skill.

Company P (Ranger), 75th Infantry