Scope and Contents

Approximately 58 linear feet of military documents, correspondence, historical summaries, casualty lists, personal recollections, records inquiries, notes, weather charts, award citations, photographs, scrapbooks, maps, film, audio and electronic media records, periodicals, newsletters and newspapers used by Lawrence McDougal for research for his book on the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, In Country and On Line with the Light Infantry 1966-1970. The collection also contains correspondence, military documents and artifacts from McDougal’s military service.

This collection is divided into two series: Personal/Redcatcher Association; and Government Documents. The first series, Personal/Redcatcher Association focuses on material regarding McDougal’s time in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, the research process into the history of the brigade and his interactions with the Redcatcher Association and other 199th Light Infantry Brigade veterans, which include the History Project handouts that McDougal provided at Redcatcher Reunions. The second series, Government Documents, focuses on the military documents McDougal gathered from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and other repositories. These military documents include Daily Staff Journals from the Brigade and its battalions, After Action Reports, Officers Rosters, and Operational Reports, Lessons Learned. The collection also contains some After Action Reports and Operational Reports from the 1st Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

The 199th Light Infantry Brigade, also known by their nickname, the Redcatchers, formed in April 1966 at Fort Benning, Georgia and arrived in Vietnam in November 1966. Except for the 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry who were sent to Cambodia in 1970, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade served in the III Corps Area from 1966-1970. In 1967, the Brigade was involved in Operation Fairfax/Rangdong, working with ARVN forces near Saigon. In 1968, the 199th established the Brigade Main Base, Camp Frenzell-Jones. During the Tet Offensive, the Brigade fought in the Bien Hoa province and at the Phu Tho racetrack. Later in 1968 and the first half of 1969, the 199th was stationed west of Saigon in the pineapple plantation region. In September 1968, 199th Brigadier General Frederic Davison became the 3rd African American brigadier general in the history of the United States Army. In the second half of 1969, the brigade served in the Xuan Loc area in the Long Khanh Province. In April 1970, Brigadier General William R. Bond was killed by sniper fire. In September and October 1970, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade withdrew from Vietnam and became inactive.

The 199th Light Infantry Brigade consisted of the following units:
2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry
3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry
4th Battalion, 12th Infantry
5th Battalion, 12th Infantry
2nd Battalion, 40th Artillery
Troop D, 17th Cavalry
Company F, 51st Infantry Rangers
Company M, 75th Infantry Rangers
7th Support Battalion
Headquarters and Headquarters Company 199th
HHC MP Combined Reaction Infantry Platoon
71st Infantry Long Range Patrol Detachment
49th Scout Dog Platoon
179th Military Intelligence Detachment
87th Engineer Company
313th Signal Company
152nd Military Police Platoon
76th Infantry Combat Tracker Dog Detachment
152nd Military Police Platoon
76th Infantry Combat Tracker Dog Detachment
44th Military History Detachment
503rd Chemical Detachment
856th Army Security Agency Detachment
40th Public Information Detachment

Biographical / Historical

Sergeant Lawrence "Larry" D. McDougal was born in March 1943 in Detroit, Michigan. He served with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, Company A in the mortar platoon in the Republic of Vietnam from May 1967-May 1968. In February 1991, McDougal with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry veteran Robert "Bob" Stanard sent an outline to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade’s veterans’ organization, the Redcatcher Association, to indicate their intent to create a written history on the activities of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade during the Vietnam War. Starting in 1987, McDougal and Stanard researched and documented the 199th’s activities through government documents and personal recollections. Stanard passed away in 1998, which prompted McDougal’s wife Paulette to take over some of his research duties. McDougal completed the project in 2009 with the publication of his self-published book, In Country and On Line with the Light Infantry 1966-1970. During this time period, McDougal served as the Redcatcher Association’s historian.

Series

• Series 1: Personal/Redcatcher Association
• Series 2: Government Documents
• Series 1: Personal/Redcatcher Association
• Series 2: Government Documents