# U.S. COAST GUARD IN VIETNAM WAR NGUNG LAI RIVERINE FORCE 78754

This Vietnam War-era United States Coast Guard film takes the viewer to the coast of South Vietnam onboard the cutter Point White (CG82308), as a sailor is heard lamenting the tedious nature of the patrol to make sure supplies are not being delivered to the Viet Cong. “You’re at sea more than 70 percent of your time. What a life,” he notes at mark 1:00 . As the ship approaches a vessel, an officer shouts “Ngung Lai” and the meaning of the Vietnamese phrase — “STOP!” — flashes on the screen at mark 01:30 , along with the explanation that it is the mission of Operation Market Time to stop the flow of all water-born supplies to the enemy. Huddled men, women, and children look up at the camera from their wooden boat as armed Coast Guard sailors stand over them. Although the majority of the fishing boats or floating markets are peaceful, the film cautions that there is still a risk of having one of those boats ready to aid the enemy with guns or ammunition. For the men onboard, the film notes, life onboard was not terrible. Unlike soldiers in the jungle, those in the Coast Guard enjoyed air conditioning and a good supply of food. “We were well stocked. The only thing to be added was a little imagination from the cook,” we are told as the scene flashes on cake being served in the mess aboard the Point Cook (CG82312). With experience in patrol and inspection in maritime waters, however, the narrator says it came as no real surprise when the Coast Guard was called to duty in…

- Kind: Film
- Genres: War, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/78754NgungLai)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/78754NgungLai?play=1)