

Saturday, June 3, 1972

37 GI Units To Pull Out Of Vietnam
SAIGON (UPI) --The U.S. command Thursday announced the first major withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam under President Nixon's new order to reduce U.S. manpower to 49,000 by June 30.
Spokesmen said 37 small Army units began to pack for home Thursday. A total of 2,460 men are involved in the newest withdrawal, they said.
The command said that as of May 25 there were 64,800 American servicemen remaining in Vietnam. It said a near-record weekly average of more than 3,000 men would have to be withdrawn to meet Nixon's order.
A buildup in air forces in Vietnam, coupled with the normal "bureaucratic lag" in preparing units for withdrawal will mean a heavy pullout rate during June, spokesmen said.
The units involved in Thursday's standdown announcement included doctors and staff from three drug treatment centers, where heroin addicts have been sent.
Spokesmen said patients from the Da Nang, Cam Ranh Bay and Can Tho centers have been transferred to the only one still remaining in South Vietnam at Long Binh, 15 miles north of Saigon.
With fewer servicemen -and therefore fewer addicts -one center will be able to handle the load, they said.
The rest of the units are all support battalions, companies and detachments. They include signal, military police, engineer, transportation, medical and ordnance units.
"37 GI Units to Pull Out of Vietnam", by (UPI) published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Saturday, June 3, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes. |