Marines Land in Da Nang

Apr. 10, 1965 - Advance elements of a Marine Corps jet fighter squadron landed at the air base in Danang today. They are part of the growing Marine task force in South Vietnam, which is to number about 7,000 men.

The jets arrived shortly after the first of two additional 1,400-man battalions came ashore with tanks 10 miles north of Danang to bolster the Ninth U.S. Marine Expeditionary Brigade. The four F-4 Phantom fighters arrived after a five-hour flight from an undisclosed base in the Pacific.

The jets were led by Lieut. Col. William McGraw of St. Louis, commander of Fighter Aircraft Squadron 531. He said the rest of his twin-jet fighters were expected tomorrow. There are about 18 craft in the squadron.

“I’ll tell you, we have been waiting a long time for this,” said the Marine commander, Brig. Gen. Frederick Karch, as he welcomed the pilots to Danang. “This is really great!”

Col. Donald Stapp of Fort Meade, Fla., called the Phantoms “the hottest aircraft in Vietnam right now.” The Navy has also used them from carriers.

Col. Stapp, who arrived a week ago as Gen. Karch’s chief of staff, said each Phantom could carry eight tons of bombs and ammunition.

Asked about reports that still another squadron would be assigned to support the brigade, he replied:

“It will depend on the tempo of operations. We would expect to have more aircraft than we have now, considering the number of ground troops we have here now.”

“They will have the primary mission of supporting the brigade’s ground troops,” Gen. Karch said of the Marine jets. 

Asked whether they might take part in strikes on North Vietnam, he said: “It is within their capability. I would imagine their role will expand considerably. But that is a matter that will have to be decided at a high Government level.”

Asked if he would like to see the Marines take a more aggressive role, he replied: “Did you ever see a Marine that didn’t like an aggressive role?”

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