FORT LEE, Va. (June 4, 2009) -- The story of the 1st Logistical Command, the Army's largest organization during the Vietnam War, is now being told in an exhibit, "The First With the Most: The 1st Logistical Command in Vietnam," at the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum.
The 1st Logistical Command, known as the "1st Log," provided support for the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Activated in Saigon in April 1965, the command became the largest Army organization in Vietnam growing to more than 50,000 personnel.
From 1965 to 1970, more than 700,000 tons of supplies entered Vietnam each month, handled and distributed by a wide variety of 1st Log organizations such as truck units, boat companies, supply and transportation companies, and supply depots.
The command was responsible for railroad facilities, port operations, fuel distribution, repair parts, equipment maintenance, graves registration activities, airlift and aerial resupply operations, all supply distribution, and food and clothing services. Five hundred and ninety-one 1st Log Soldiers were killed in action while another 1,500 were wounded. Two were awarded the Medal of Honor.
The 1st Log's motto, "The First With The Most," states the command's commitment to making sure that the American Soldier fighting in Vietnam was the best supplied, fed, and clothed Soldier in the world.
The war provided a variety of logistical challenges among which were the lack of deep water ports and local supply facilities within Vietnam, all of which had to be created by the 1st Log. The war saw the beginning of automated supply procedures as computers assumed a larger role in the supply requisitioning and tracking process. Innovations in field rations included development of the Long Range Patrol Packets, a forerunner of the MRE, and tropical warfare led to the development of jungle boots and fatigues. With artifacts and images, these topics and more are explored along with the quartermaster missions of food service, petroleum operations, memorial activities, supply distribution and aerial delivery.
Among the artifacts on exhibit is a sampling of canvas bunks containing soldier graffiti retrieved from the U.S.N.S General Walker, a World War II-era troop ship that carried Army units to Vietnam from 1965 to 1967. A World War II jeep given to the French, captured by the Vietnamese when the French were defeated in Indochina, and recaptured by U.S. forces, evokes the complicated history of the region. Memorabilia provided by Vietnam veterans document their tours while a home movie, filmed by a member of the 528th Quartermaster Petroleum Company, chronicles that unit's history.
Forty years ago this year, the United States commitment to the defense of South Vietnam peaked at more than 540,000 military personnel. The following year, U.S. forces began to draw down and at the end of 1970, the 1st Log was redeployed.
The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum is located in building 5218, Avenue A, Fort Lee, and is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. There is no admission charge. For details, call (804) 734-4203 or visit the museum Web site at www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil.
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