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, Fort Lee, Virginia.
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
over 50,000 personnel. From 1965 to 1970, over 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
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 (“LURP’s”), a forerunner of the MRE, and tropical warfare
led to the development of jungle boots and fatigues. Subdued
shoulder patches and rank insignia were adopted for better concealment
and the need for lighter automatic weaponry resulted in the fielding of
the M-16. 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
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 U.S. commitment to the defense of South
Vietnam peaked at over 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 to the U.S. Today, the 1st
Sustainment Command located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, carries on
the lineage of the 1st Log, “The First With The Most”.
Army Quartermaster Museum is located in Building 5218, Avenue A, Fort
Lee, VA, and is open Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Weekends
11:00 am to 5:00 pm. There is no admission charge. For more
information call (804) 734-4203.