Operation County Fair

As U.S. combat operations in South Vietnam expanded in the mid-1960's, the inability of the Saigon government to control large swaths of the countryside, as well as the primacy of the Communist 'shadow government', became major obstacles for American military planners. "This is not primarily a military problem," Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara would say. "It's a battle for the hearts and the minds of the people of South Vietnam." As a part of that effort, the Marines in South Vietnam would embark upon the County Fair project, a series of civil-military operations designed win back the support of local populations for the central government. Produced in 1967, this vintage informational film shows one such operation in action. Rather than a combat operation, County Fair emphasized security and aid, demonstrating how friendship and partnership with rural villagers could be used to solidify the legitimacy of the country's government in the minds of its citizens.