Word: phuoc
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Saigon one night last week, the cafés were crowded and new cars streamed along the boulevards beneath the red, green and blue of neon signs. But 40 miles to the north, the small provincial capital of Phuoc Thanh was shrouded in darkness, and the only sounds were the hoots and crackles of the jungle. Its inhabitants slept uneasily behind the protection of a low earthen rampart and tangles of barbed wire guarded by a handful of sentries...
...Phuoc Thanh woke to the bludgeoning explosion of a plastic bomb that ripped away a corner of the concrete administration building. As the provincial chief and two of his aides rushed to the street, they were shot down. Over the rampart swarmed 600 Viet Cong Communist guerrillas brandishing rifles and machetes. Most of the town's 50 Civil Guards were machine-gunned as they slept. A company of 70 U.S.-trained Vietnamese Rangers retreated to the jungle, leaving the town to its fate. Their commander explained later that he intended to ambush the guerrillas as they withdrew...