Residents of the city of Rochester Minn, have been the 'Adoptive Parents' of men of the 173d Airborne Brigade in Vietnam for nearly two years.
  In February 1966, the Rochester Jaycees initiated the adoption program to boost the morale of servicemen.
  Backing of the project came from civic, church, labor, business, veteran and student organizatlons.
  Thousands of buttons, bumper stickers and window decals were sold to raise funds for gifts and supplies for the Paratroopers. Since the inception of the 173d project, tons of supplies have been shipped to Units in the Brigade.
  In April 1966, Rochester played host to First Sergeant J R. Workman of the 173d and his wife, who were guests of the city for a week.
  A number of men in the Rochester area have been with the 173d over the past two years.
  Typical of the boost given by Rochester residents was a recent gift of $100.00 by Students of Lourdes Catholic Sigh School. Students raised the funds through a dance.
  The idea for the Christmas letter writing project came from Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, who was a Medical Officer with the 173d before coming to Rochester earlier this year. Mr. Hammargren, a native of Rush City Minn, is a resident in a Neurosurgery in the Mayo Graduate School.

  At a Hollywood USO dance, a pretty girl asked a young Paratrooper, his uniform bedecked with ribbons, where he was from.
"I was born in Brooklyn," he replied, "and grew up in Vietnam."

  TUY HOA, RVN- Operation Bolling claimed 368 enemy dead in four and a half months of fighting here as the Sky Soldiers maintained the momentum of their attack into areas controlled by the Viet Cong and NVA.
  Fifty-five enemy were killed in a major battle December 27 to help push the body count over the 300 mark.
  Another of the largest actions of the operation occurred during the 'Tet Holidays' when Paratroopers of the 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry reacted to a request to assist C Battery, 6th Battalion Artillery in defending their fire support base early on January 30. Elements of the Battalion were lifted into the area where they made contact with an unknown size NVA unit. As the battle progressed, air strikes and artillery hammered the communist soldiers. The enemy broke contact late in the night.
  The next morning elements of the Battalion moved to Tuy Hoa Airfield. Shortly after, a gunship located an NVA Platoon in a nearby village. The Paratroopers swept the area, making heavy contact several times during the day.
  During the bitter fighting Sky Soldiers reported killing 77 communist soldiers and capturing 7 small arms. The Airborne Infantrymen suffered 16 killed.
  In addition to destroying the enemy on the battlefields the Sky Soldiers also denied them large stores of food. Twenty three thousand pounds of rice and 2,600 pounds of salt have been captured during Operation Bolling.

  Opinions expressed in the Sky Soldier are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army.

  SAIGON (MACV)- A recently released MACV report revealed that November, 1967 included the construction of 1,726 new dwellings for the people of the Republic of Vietnam and repair of 48 others.
  Other construction during the month included 54 dispensaries, three hospitals, 127 new bridges, 451.2 kilometers of new roads and 101 public schools.
  The figures represent work performed by all branches of the US Armed Forces as well as that completed by members of the Korean, Australian and Filipine Forces either alone or jointly with members of the Republic of Vietnam's Armed Forces.
  In addition to this, US Forces contributed nearly all of 3.1 million piasters donated to support nine areas of need among the Vietnamese.
  Orphanages received almost a third of the money, while general welfare, religious activities, hospitals, medical care and schools were designated for large shares of the remainder.
  In the field of medical and dental care, it was reported that slightlv less than 600,000 medical treatments and over 26,000 dental treatments were given the Vietnamese people during the month.
  There were 1,149 surgical operations performed, 691 emergency evacuations completed and 233 Xrays made in addition to the medical and dental treatments.
  Some 200,000 immunizations and 37,560 physical examinations were given Vietnamese people during the month as part of Civic Action programs.
  The Allied Military Forces also redistributed 274,271 pounds of rice. 5,090 pounds of salt and 525 head of cattle to the people. These had been taken away from enemy forces.

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   Any personnel in grades E3 through E5 interested in working as Combat Correspondents or Combat Photographers for the Brigade Information Office are requested to apply by letter to the Information Officer, HHC Bde. Personnel with Civic Action experience, some college background or training at the appropriate Army schools are preferred. Applicants must have at least six months left in country.

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  A Vietnamese military spokesman said Saigon was quiet last night. He said that bands of Viet Cong numbering five to ten in a group were spotted in three suburban areas; Co Bat in Gia Dinh Province; Phu Long in Cu Long Province; and Binh Dong in Cholon.
  There were no further reports on the USAID warehouse in south Cholon where a enemy force was reported being fought by a force made up of National Field Police and ARVN groups.
  Government sources did report that two members of the force made up of a Company of ARVN Rangers and a number of policemen were wounded yesterday when the enemy opened fire with B-40 rockets and machine guns.
  Near the Binh Dien Bridge in Cholon a government jeep was burned and three Vietnamese military personnel abducted. No further information is available. The Saigon area is under a near curfew which began at 1900 last night and extends to 0800 tomorrow. Only military security personnel are permitted to move about.
  An estimated 2,000 refugees were reported in the Saigon area alone. There were no reports from the I Corps area on refugees. Ninety four hundred were reported in the II Corps zone; 20,000 in the III Corps area, and 125,000 in the Delta. These figures, however, include only 8 provinces in the Republic, and the cities of Da Trang, Vung Tau, My Tho, and Can Tho.
  Refugees throughout Vietnam are being aided by Government and voluntary agencies and officals reported that a sufficient quantity of medical supplies is on hand.
  Several attacks and shellings have been reported throughout the Republic last night, chiefly in the Delta where there were casualties reported.
  Casualty figures from throughout the Republic are extremely sketchy at this time, but in Saigon alone 2,400 Vietnamese have been cared for in the Saigon area hospitals since the fighting began. One hundred and eighty have since died. Nine American Civilians were among the dead.
  Incomplete Casualty figures through midnight last night showed 15,000 enemy have been killed throughout the Republic. More than 3,000 weapons have been captured.
  United States Military casualties are 367 dead, 2,063 injured throughout the Republic.