“What sticks to memory, often, are those odd little fragments that have no beginning and no end...”

Frequently embedded with U.S. Troops, these native allies served as translators, navigators,

and fixers for regular units and Special Operations.

These allies were often mistreated by jaded regular American 'big army' units that seldom interacted with non-combatant Vietnamese.

Just as the United States backed South Vietnam, so too was the communist North sustained by precious aid supplied by the Soviet Union and Vietnam's northern neighbor, the People's Republic of China.

Assistance was dispatched in the form of money, materiel, medical equipment, and military and industrial advisors.