DA NANG -- An ocean of smiling faces greeted Marines distributing 500 baseball caps to the Vietnamese children of An Ngai Tay and Hoa Ninh, near Da Nang.
    The caps, made in Hong Kong and purchased with money contributed by 7th Engineer Bn. Marines, bore the inscription "A Free South" over a small Vietnamese flag.
    "We thought we'd do something for the kids," said GySgt R.E. Maddox, NCOIC of the battalion's civil affairs office.
    The caps were originally intended as Vietnamese New Year presents but were delivered too late.  It is a Vietnamese custom to give articles of new clothing for New Year's gifts.
    "We designed the caps ourselves," Maddox explained, "and then had it cleared through Psychological Operations.
    "We are so pleased with the children's reactions," Maddox concluded, "that after we give out the 300 caps we have left we'll start collecting money to buy more."