Three Months with the Regional Forces’ Soldiers.

Michael Do

The conference room of Quang Tri Military Sector was crowded with about thirty men who were eager to receive their assignment orders. They were new officers who had recently graduated from Thu Duc Infantry School and six cadets from the Polwar College. They would soon depart to six sub-sectors to work closely with the RF and PF soldiers in the next three months. They were members of a political campaign that was vital to the destiny of the republic during the great turning point of its history.

There were more than two years since we entered Polwar College.  Now that it was the end of our long journey of tough military training and an academic curriculum. We were very excited waiting for a beautiful day to earn the final reward as newly commissioned officers of the Vietnamese Armed Forces.

Michael Do

Dalat was famous for its beautiful hilly landscape and its mild climate all around the year. Dalat was also well-known because it was home to the three most important military schools of the ARVN: The National Military Academy, the Polwar College, and the Staff and Command College.

The Polwar College was located on a low hill north of the city. On the other side of the narrow street Vo Tanh, on the other hill, there was a school for girls – the Bui Thi Xuan High School.

The first class of Polwar cadets arrived at Dalat in May 1967 after four months of basic training at Thu Duc Infantry School. Every Monday morning, two hundred young men of the Polwar cadet battalion in their dress uniforms fell into formation in front of the headquarters building to perform the flag raising ceremony. At the same time, hundreds of young girls in purple Vietnamese dresses were standing at attention to observe the same ritual.