Gas ‘Saving Lives Of Civilians’

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30711, 29 March 1965, Page 11

Gas ‘Saving Lives Of Civilians’

SAIGON, March 28.

The use by Vietnamese forces of tear gas instead of bullets is saving the lives of civilians seized by the Viet Cong, who in typical gangster style have been pushing innocent women and children between themselves and Vietnam troops clearing rural areas of the marauding guerrillas, says the United States Information Service.

Government troops on selected occasions have used tear gas tactically in order to avoid civilian casualties

which might result from the use of artillery or other weapons, a United States military spokesman explained on March 23. Commenting on press reports that gas was being employed in Vietnam, the spokesman said that the only agents used are tear gas types, identical with those which have long been manufactured commercially for use by police departments for riot control.

They have been employed selectively, when the presence of civilians mixed in with the Viet Cong guerrillas made civilian casualties likely if other weapons were used, the spokesman pointed out.

He explained that the three types of tear gas in the stocks of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam are nonlethal. They cause weeping, leading to temporary discomfort and do not have any after-effects. One of the three types can cause temporary nausea in heavy concentrations, the spokesman said. Tear gas agents were first used tactically in Vietnam in December. 1964, the spokesman said, and have been employed on three occasions.