Page 353 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

destroyed and 188 darnaged inside Quang Ngai city' A large nurnber
of these were thatched or serni-concrete houses'

The local governrnent provided 4,000 piastres to each of
the victirnsr farrrilie s {or each Person killed and 2, 000 piastres for
each person wounded. The victirns also received other ernergency
relief supplies and building rnaterials to help thern rebuild their
houses. The relie{ supplies included canned food, rice, rnilk, clothing
etc. The building rnaterials included cernent and tin roofing. The pro-
vince had been releasing large arnounts of relief funds {rorn its budget
since I965 when the enemy started increasing rnilitary pressures on
it. There were 68 re{ugee centers throughout the province. Son Tinh
district alone had 3l centers. The 68 centers sheltered a total of
66,749 refugees living in abject Poverty and virtually jobless. Worse
still a nurnber of these centers becarne targets for enerny terror
shellings, Of the total of 8,842- re{ugee houses in these 58 centers
I,232 were destroyed or collapsed by enemy rnortar and rocket
shells. In Duc Pho District 1,878 refugees were rnade horneless when
their carnp with 115 houses $/as burned down by terrorists.

Five re{ugee carrrps in Nghia Hanh district were likewise
destroyed by enerny terrorists resulting in another 7,493 persons
becorning horneless. Frorn a corrrbined total of 735 houses in the dis-
tricl , 442 were pulled d.own, collapsed or burned down. Son're 394
people unable to wait for new shelters left the area- for unknown des-
tinatlons. Terrorists killed 39 of the Nghia Hanh re{ugees and abduc-
ted another 40 who were never heard of again and were thus presurned
dead. The civilian casualties resulting {rorn enerny shellings were
never counted. but were believed to be nurnerous. At stages o{ the war
the shellings were alrnost daily occurrences.

The war profiteers, blackrnarketeers and racketeers of
various sorts added to these rniseries of war suffered by these unfor-
tunate Quang Ngai people. Four o{ these dishonest cheaters were
arrested and lined up before a crowd along with eleven teenage enerrly
captives. The war profiteers were paraded by th'e locaI adrninistration
in order to warn thern against pursuing their path of crirnes.

The enerrry Tet truce violations and offensive obviously
did extensive harrn to the city and its people and defenders, but these
violations also benefited thern. These violations taught thern the
lesson o{ unity and deterrnination, and motivated thern into joining in
a do or die struggle against the enerny and his cohorts.

-356-