The Rung Sat Special Zone was one of two special zones in Viet Nam. Rung Sat means "killer jungle" in Vietnamese. It was located about 20 miles southeast of Saigon. For years, the VC (aka Viet Minh), and the NVA used it as a sanctuary.The Rung Sat was approximately four hundred square miles in size and in the monsoon season, eighty-five percent of it was under water. The eastern boundary was along the Thi Vi River (Song Thi Vi) this area known as the Thi Vi-Go Gia area, because of the rivers, was very lush and green and provided many areas for the enemy to hide. It was known that the headquarters for all of the Rung Sat was in this area, but it was never found. The Long Tao River (Song Long Tau), flowing through the middle of the zone, was the major shipping channel from the South China Sea to Saigon and was very narrow in several spots. If the enemy could have sunk a ship in any one of these areas, it would have blocked the main shipping channel for a very long time. The task of the Army's 9th Infantry Division, mostly 2nd Brigade, 3,4/47th, 45th, and 60th infantries was to rotate a patrol into the Rung Sat every 72 hours searching for the enemy's sanctuaries, and confiscating any weapons, ammunition, and supplies. In the beginning, they would depart from Vung Tau for the 5 hour sea sickening journey to a landing zone, then plunge out of the LCM (landing craft, mechanized) into the mud. This would be their home for the next 3 days. Their constant companions were the mosquitoes, red ants, and poisonous snakes.In some places, the mangroves were so thick, and it was so dark, you couldn't take a photograph. The enemy could be a few yards away, and you wouldn't see him...Later, the Navy moved several LSDs (Landing Ship docks), and berthing facilities to accomodate the 9th ID troopers closer to the Rung Sat. Meanwhile, the brown water Navy's mission was to sweep the Long Tao river for mines which the enemy would plant at night, and patrol the many waterways which fed into and out of the Long Tao. Together, these men made up what came to be known as the Mobile Riverine Force (TF117 eventually becoming TF116), and over time, would become legendary in South Vietnam's Mekong River Delta. This render shows the last few troopers departing the LCM and heading into the dense jungle that would be their home for the next 3 days. LCM from BeyondVR (LCM3) freebie here at rendo textures, bdus, weapons from Panko some helmets from adh3d LCM texture from old photos of mine and some from memory