‘Co van dang tin cay’ — trusted friend or adviser, by Sentinel veterans columnist

Sentinel Source.com Robert “Gunny” Brewster, a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant and Vietnam veteran from Fitzwilliam, sent me this picture of when he was “young and better looking.” His words.

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Naturally, I replied he was younger anyhow. That being said, Gunny was once a part of a U.S. Marine Corps Advisory Unit in Vietnam. They were known as COVANS, from the Vietnamese “Co van dang tin cay” — “trusted friend or adviser.” Beginning in 1954, the USMC supported the Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC) and watched the VNMC grow from a very few men to a brigade and division-sized organization. More...

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