National Police Station... The village had its own Canh Sat, (CS) National Police Compound (police station) staffed by a group of approximately twenty members of the Uniformed Service Police and Regular Force/Popular Force Village Militia (RF/PF).

        When the Battalion assigned B Company to take over total operations in the Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) on 26 June 1968, MPs would be assigned to the compound as added security and to perform liaison services. The station handled all Vietnamese civil law violations within the TAOR as well as serving as a holding facility for known and suspected Viet Cong pending their transfer to Bien Hoa or another military intelligence units, and was the location of the Village Chief's office. The chiefs office actually consisted of nothing more than a small wooden desk.

        The station consisted of a large block and cement walled compound with the main entrance situated on the main village roadway. The compound was approximately 50' wide and 100' deep. It was situated in a row of buildings along the south side of the roadway with only a small alley on the west side of the compound wall. The front entrance had bunkers built into the block wall. The small courtyard opened to the roadway by the use of a large wooden door (north end), and at the southern end (rear) the main police station building. Two other bunkers were located at each corner of the wall in the back.

        The MPs that worked the police station lived there as in the other battalion outpost. They ate C Rations, used a lister bag for their drinking water and slept on cots in the main building. Their only communications was a PRC25 field radio. Once a week they would be allowed to return to post for hot meals, and showers. The only regular contact they had with the other members of the company was visits by the Platoon Sergeant, ambush teams on patrol, and on payday each month when a Platoon Leader would stop by.

        At night the two MPs would join the local PF's in ambush patrol within the village limits at least 5 night a week. With the exception of the night security mission, the daytime assignment was strictly a liaison function.

        On occasions ambush squads would be assigned to increase the stations night defenses when intelligence on impending enemy activity in the village warranted it.

        The National Police stationed at the compound dealt mostly with civil violations of Vietnamese Law. There were no Field Forces Police stationed there on a full time basis. The Field Forces Police were paramilitary and concerned themselves exclusively with counter insurgency operations against the Viet Cong.

        Since it was a liaison duty station and not am MP desk, not much in the way of US operations were involved. The TAOR was an off limits area to US military personnel (other than legitimate 720th MP Battalion assignments) and with Outpost #3 and #4 located at the only roadway entrances to the area, very little unauthorized US military traffic got through the OP check points.

        Enemy activity directed at the police station consisted mostly of harassment sniper fire, and even that was very rare. To date only two serious attacks are known to have been directed against the police station or its officers while the TAOR was under 720th MP Battalion control.

1 May The VC attacked the police station just after dark with a barrage of small arms fire. One PF at the station was wounded, and two villagers that lived next to the station were also wounded. The PF’s engaged the VC with small arms fire of their own, with unknown results. The wounded PF and the old Papasan who lived next to the station were not hurt to badly, however, a young boy was seriously wounded in the head. A patrol from A Company arrived to provide added security at the station.

26 June, Consolidation To improve organizational and operational control of the mission the task of Operation STABILIZE within the Tactical Area of Responsibility was delegated entirely to the MPs of B Company. They would draw on the other organic companies for support when needed.

        It was at this time that MPs were assigned full time at the National Police Station. The first B Company MP assigned there was SP/4 Jack H. Buckner, Jr. In several days he was followed by a second MP, who at this time is unidentified.

20 October SP/4 Brownenberg, a member of the National Police Station MP staff, and SP/4 David Richards of the 212th MP Company Scout Dog Unit) were both wounded when the ambush team they accompanied during a night recon patrol, encountered a squad of Viet Cong in the south eastern sector An Hoa Hung.

Standoff At An Hoa Hung  The exact date of the incident escapes me, however the incident doesn't. The PF’s (Popular Forces) at the National Police Station in An Hoa Hung Village were all Catholic and the black shirts (Canh Sat's, Vietnamese National Police) stationed with them were all Buddhist.

        Out in the village an argument took place between a PF and CS, they said it was over religion. The end result was the PF shot the Can Sat and took off. He fled back to the National Police Station compound to hold up.

        The National Police angered over the shooting of their brother officer, surrounded the compound and were ready for a shoot-out if the PF didn't come out.

        Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, I and my partner packed quickly and moved out to the other village outpost (Outpost #3).

        The District Chief arrived and mediated the standoff, it ended the next day without further blood shed.

SP/4 Jack H. Buckner, Jr. (SSG Ret), B Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, April 1968 to June 1969