Newspaper 1971-04-14

CAVALAIR — 1st Cav Division Standdown Special (14 April 1971)

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A twelve-page standdown special edition of The CAVALAIR — the 1st Air Cavalry Division's weekly command newspaper — marking the division's departure from Vietnam and the stand-up of its 3rd Brigade (Separate), the "Garryowen Task Force." Commanding General as of this issue: MG George W. Putnam Jr.

The standdown ceremony. The lead account, "Standdown ceremony typifies First Team," reports that the division formally stood down on 26 March 1971 in a brief ceremony at the Cav's rear headquarters area at Bien Hoa — relocated from the long-planned Phuoc Vinh site only that morning. Present were Gen. Creighton Abrams (commander, U.S. forces in Vietnam, and himself a former member of F Troop, 7th Cavalry), Lt. Gen. Michael Davison (II Field Force), Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Minh (III Military Region), and division commander MG George W. Putnam Jr. The posting of the division colors closed the ceremony; the colors were to be shipped to Fort Hood, Texas, and reflagged for the 1st Cavalry Division (TRICAP), which assumed the assets of the 1st Armored Division.

The transition. Other pages guide troops on whether they would remain with the 3rd Brigade (Separate) or redeploy, recount the origin of the regiment's "Garry Owen" tradition, and review the division's history from its arrival in Vietnam in September 1965.

This issue independently confirms the 26 March 1971 standdown date referenced in SGT Marvin Dale Miller's letter home of 26 March 1971.

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CAVALAIR — Standdown Special, 14 April 1971 (PDF)

Source: Texas Tech Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive.