Aug. 20, 1962 - For 4 days in the southern swamplands of South Vietnam, crack Government troops supported by U.S. Marine helicopters, fighter planes, and armored river craft rolled across Camau peninsula seeking 2,000 Communist Viet Cong guerrillas. As weary troops returned to Government security areas over the weekend, it became obvious that once again the Viet Cong had used its powers of survival effectively. The Government high command is arguing with U.S. advisers over the tally of Communist dead. The Government reports 124 killed. The Americans say the number is 60. Neither figure changes the fact that the Viet Cong’s main body got away again. Faced with an overwhelming Government force and hemmed in by the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, the guerrillas disappeared into the mangrove swamps.
