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Thailand’s Black Panther Division Begins to Arrive in Vietnam

July 1, 1968

1968-07-01_ThiaBlackPanthers
1968-07-01_ThiaBlackPanthers
The Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force’s Black Panther Division arrives in Vietnam, disembarking from the USS Okanogan in Saigon, August 15, 1968. (National Archives)

Having agreed to expand its forces in Vietnam, Thailand begins the deployment of its Black Panther Division northeast of Saigon. By the time the division completes its deployment in early 1969, Thailand has roughly 11,800 military personnel in South Vietnam.1

1Stanley Robert Larsen and Lames Lawton Collins, Jr., Allied Participation in Vietnam, Vietnam Studies (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, 1985), 42–43.