View 1 - This aerial view of Crum Compound and the new MACV Advisory Team 50 compound was taken from the west above the Rach Cao Lanh. The old French Eiffel bridge over the Rach Cao Lanh on Route 145 through town is out of view to the right. View 2 - The helicopter has swung around and is now on a northwest heading. The Rack Cao Lanh Route 145 bridge and old French watchtower are in the lower left corner. View 3 - The new Team 50 compound is directly below the helicopter (lower left quadrant of scene). The old French artillery parade ground and shed fills the lower left corner. View 4 - A column of ARVN APCs have stopped alongside the Team 50 Compound in Cao Lanh. View 5 - An ARVN ACAV sits in front of the movie theater where the Communist launched their February 8, 1968, attack against the MACV Advisory Team 50 compound. View 6 - A Vietnamese armored car used by the 44^th STZ. View 7 - This ARVN engineers' road grader was knocked out during a Communist attack on February 7, 1968. The ARVN's dug their fortifications under and around it. This crude facility doubled as enlisted quarters for several months until a suitable place could be acquired to move the Vietnamese. View 8 - This unidentified Cavalry aero-scout LOACH has alighted in the Team 50 construction area.- courtesy LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)

The Delta Advisor  was a newspaper circulated amongst MACV troops assigned to IV Corps Tactical Zone. This issue's lead story covered Quyet Chien (determined to fight and obtain victory against the enemy) - a Delta-wide combined US and Vietnamese military campaign intended to wrestle control from Communist forces operating in the western provinces of IV CTZ. The 44^th STZ, under the guidance of MACV Advisory Team 50, participated in several operations to secure the Seven Mountains area of South Vietnam. The Seven Mountains, situated near the Cambodian border, were stepped in Buddhist mysticism and considered lucky by virtue of their number. The individual mounts of the Seven Mountains rose beyond the western edge of the Plain of Reeds, a few klicks southwest of where the mighty Mekong River flowed from Cambodia into Vietnam . - courtesy LTC James Pyle, US Army (Retired)

Left - Nui Coto, the southernmost prominence of the Seven Mountains, looms over the southwestern edge of the Plain of Reeds in Chau Doc Province. In this view a 44^th STZ Vietnamese infantry unit, along with its MACV Advisory Team 50 advisors, moves forward. Center - An Vietnamese, towed, 105mm howitzer, artillery unit assigned to the 44^th STZ is emplaced in a temporary fire support base at the foot of Nui Coto.  Right - A Vietnamese Strike Force detachment prepares to move out of the fire support base. The French called South Vietnam's great expanse of reeds the Plaine des Joncs. The Seven Mountains  area was at the end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  - photographs LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)

View 1 - The 44^th STZ had been created in January 1968. When MACV Advisory Team 50 arrived on January 1, they occupied the southwest portion of an unfortified site in downtown Cao Lanh that had once housed a French artillery battery. In this overall view of the compound, the parade field and HQ building are to the extreme right. The old French barracks, mess hall, offices, and shops fill much of the scene. In the immediate foreground is the construction site of MACV Advisory Team 50's new compound. Partially visible jutting above center right of the photograph is the movie theater from where the Communist launched their attack of February 6, 1968. View 2 - The officer's mess in the old dining room reflected an earlier era of French colonialism. View 3 - The accommodations at the unimproved compound had been inadequate for MACV Advisory Team 50 and several tents had to be pitched. View 4 - The French artillery HQ building off the parade ground was later hardened by the 44th STZ after they move in. - photographs LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)

Left & Center - The gruff 9^th Infantry Division 1st Brigade commander with the bad-ass call sign Mal-Hombre, COL John P.  Geraci, would initially be MACV Team 50 Senior Advisor to the 44^th STZ prior to his coming to the 9^th Infantry Division on October 23, 1968. Later in his tour he would prematurely relinquish his command of the 1^st Brigade and return to the USA after the tragic loss of his wife. Right - Vietnamese MAJ Triet and COL Hanh of the 44^th STZ pose for a photograph with LTC Colonel Kelly of MACV Advisory Team 50 during 1968. - photographs LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)

On February 18, 1968, the Team 50 compound was again attacked necessitating an expedient air drop of ammunition and other supplies. In this view a USAF Caribou has just released a parachute drop. - photographs LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)

Unknown, CPT Ragland, PFC Tanner, MAJ Pyle, unknown

Military Assistance Command Vietnam (Saigon) had authority over all branches of service operating in the Republic of Vietnam. US Army advisors were under the direct command of MACV and were administered independently from the United States Army Vietnam (Long Binh). Most advisory teams were comprised of approximately 35 US advisors under the local command of a senior advisor. These advisors fought alongside Vietnamese ARVN and militia units. Although they did not share in the public limelight of their USARV counterparts, their mission was an integral part of US strategy in Vietnam. MACV arrived in-country on February 8, 1962, and departed over a decade later on March 29, 1973. - photographs LTC James Pyle (US Army Retired)