In January 1968, our battalion relocated to the area between Xuan Loc and Bien Hoa, where intelligence had located a VC battalion. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. Privacy Policy | Links Refusing evacuation, neither reported his wound. Ripped apart barbed wire. The bombs descend and explode on structures in grove of trees near rice paddies 23 miles east of Binh Thuy on 19th August. Our area from the I called battalion headquarters and was told to forget about them, which reinforced our sense that combat was imminent. Destroyed and burned out ammunition pad shows burned out 105mm howitzer shells. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. I told him that I wanted to command a company. We threw grenades over the wall behind them, but hit nothing.. As we cleared the ambush, the column suddenly came to a halt because of some kind of block in the road; simultaneously, someone keyed the company net. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. In fact, VC effectiveness was so degraded that, after 1968, they were mainly replaced on the battlefield by North Vietnamese regulars, and were never a viable force after that. Mainly it is the story of some of the finest solders to ever wear the uniform of the U.S. Army and how they reacted not only to fierce combat, but also to the fog of war. Sergeant John Ax, squad leader of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, recalls what the fighting near III Corps was like: An RPG hit Shocker, the C-21 track, in the side; but it must have been a glancing blow, because it did not explode. 0.42 By July 1969 we were finally off the boats and in Dong Tam processing to head home. Service Battery that supplied ordnance to the big guns in our battalion. the airbase made it too us in the daylight and foamed the ditch for the light dome that rose from the explosion. Charlie Company quickly reinforced Alpha, and a daylong fight ensued. Tower sent the battalion S3, Major Jones, to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. About 30 minutes later, the track came back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to evacuate the wounded. In another sign that the situation was serious, the battalion commander himself gave map coordinates of company objectives in the clear. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, headed down Highway 1. This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. The platoons attacked by successive bounds through the village as the companys tracks, forming the base of the T on the highway, provided fire support from the .50s and resupplied the troops with ammunition. As I remember the Tet Offensive began in the early morning of In the week preceding the attack these LRRP patrols engaged 2 PAVN/VC reconnaissance teams north of Long Binh. On January 23, during a battalion sweep of a heavily jungled area south of Highway 1, Alpha Company walked into a well-camouflaged, well-defended enemy bunker system and was badly mauled, losing four men killed and more than 20 wounded, including almost all of the officers. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. As we turned right onto Highway 15, an unbelievable spectacle stretched before us. 0.08 Tet of 1968 - 118th AHC One reference claims that 4 February 1967 was the date, and another claims that 28 March was the date. It 11. The Long Binh ammo dump had exploded. [6]:66. Seems like the fighting went on We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. Copyright Screenocean 2022 | Powered byImagen. Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. Then things started falling out of the sky. Tower had called and told me that Charlie Company was under the operational control of III Corps and I was to take my orders from them. He ignored me and went to a nearby house where he and the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door. Long Binh Vietnam 1969 stock footage and images - CriticalPast When it went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of the light dome that rose from the explosion. An MP full colonel, accompanied by a Los Angeles deputy sheriff (dressed in his deputy uniform) and two jeeploads of National Police, drove up to my track. A force from Company C, 2/3rd Infantry mounted on ACAVs was sent north from Ho Nai and pinned the VC/PAVN in a crossfire. The platoons attacked by successive bounds through the village as the tracks, forming the base of the T, gave fire support from the .50s and resupplied the troops with ammo. We fired everything we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. The 2nd Platoon took the one north of the road, the 1st Platoon attacked the other. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. The idea was to leave nothing the VC might use against us. When it The II Field Force commander, Lt. Gen. Frederick C. Weyand, had correctly guessed that a major attack was going to come during Tet, and his anticipation of the attacks no doubt saved Long Binh and Saigon from being overrun. Tet Offensive: The Battles of Bien Hoa and Long Binh - HistoryNet One A-37 and 1 F-100 were destroyed while a further 17 aircraft were damaged. I had inherited the job I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. ". flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard The view is from the compound of the 20th. U.S. troops firing small arms as they proceed across tall grass into the hamlet. was out of the bldgs. Ly's grandfather was a soldier stationed in Quang Binh during the war. So, when I was offered a chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I actually turned it down to stay with the company. . While much has been written about Tet and the political firestorm that resulted, in the hundreds of surprise battles and skirmishes that unfolded, individual units found themselves thrust into intense danger, turmoil, chaos, confusion, contradictions and outright lunacy as they responded to Viet Cong (VC) attacks. I then jacked a round into my M-16 and who would you believe Photo Index [2]:347, The VC 275th Regiment had taken up positions in a residential area known at the Widows' Village (105731N 1065237E / 10.9587N 106.877E / 10.9587; 106.877), which housed the wives and families of dead ARVN soldiers and was located across Route 316 from the Plantation Compound. (Vietnam War period). Kortuem! Jan. 31. The ammunition dump contained high explosives like: C-4, artillery rounds, mortar rounds, aerial flares, 50 caliber rounds, M-60 machine gun rounds, and aerial rockets for the Huey Cobra and gunships. About 30 minutes later, the track was back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to get the wounded. I called III Corps and reported that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait until the Vietnamese National Police arrived to take charge. I have . The 2-47 was one of several units he pulled in from the jungles to guard the Long Binh headquarters and logistical complex 15 miles northeast of Saigon. During the meeting, a master sergeant adviser to a Vietnamese ranger battalion ran into the compound. Satchel charges blew pallets of artillery ammunition, creating a mushroom cloud that made us think the VC had set off a tactical nuclear weapon. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. rockets at Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh Post. But their 81mm mortars were useless, since we were told we could not put any indirect fire into the town. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 1 comment. I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion.He said: Forget that. Not only would I not finish my command tour, I was being assigned to a leg division. They tried to make us keep our heads down so we couldn't get them with our counter-mortar fire . Come back up on the battalion freq.. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, travel great distances in a short amount of time, and arrive with many times the ammunition and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. Refine Your Search Long Binh Vietnam 1968 stock footage and images - Showing 1 to 6 of 5537 results Sort by: All All Search Results Decade 1890 - 1899 (3) 1900 - 1909 (18) 1910 - 1919 (136) 1920 - 1929 (83) more Location Aalen Germany (1) Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland USA (1) Afghanistan (2) Africa (3) more Akron Ohio USA (3) recoil of my M14. Alpha Company was ordered to the 199th LIB compound, which was under attack. All I could think of to say was, Please clear that weapon!. In the early morning hours on 31 January, insurgent forces launched secondary explosions. The three companies formed a line almost three kilometers long, facing to the east, with their backs to the Long Binh wire. Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79 grenade launcher. Simultaneously, platoon leaders reported finding discarded AK-47s. Views of a number of huts, in the hamlet, that have not been destroyed. remember being giddy and my brain was asking What is wrong with me?. Riflemen staying close behind. By Vietnam terms The 1st Platoon of Bravo Company was made the II Field Force reaction force and was placed in the PX parking lot at Long Binh. At 4 a.m., Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move, and told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. I walked back to my track, thinking this was going to be a nightmare. ton wrecker weighing in at 22 thousand pounds. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. Battalion policy was that we had to fill in all holes and empty our sandbags each time we left a position. After commanding 180 paratroopers, taking on four APCs and 40 troops seemed like a dreamexcept that now I was responsible for troops in combat, not training. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. Evan Ammo dump - VHFCN [2]:3512 US losses in the fighting in the Widow's Village were three dead. Tom Allaback. After the fight for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre and inexplicable incidents of the day. At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. After the battles for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre incidents of the day. After I got the coordinates of our objective, I yelled, Crank em up! into the radio handset. 0.13 It also contained tons of captured NVA ammo and guns from the A Shau Valley. Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. It knocked a dimple in the side of the track as I fired up the gunner., Later in the fighting, Casper and several 2nd Platoon troops were pinned down next to a building. Under fire, Staff Sgt. No tactic I had learned at infantry school fit that situation, so we improvised. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. Initials PW/VS/JH/BB/ES PW/VS/JH/ES The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. and the perimeter was still intact. Contact Us | The VC/PAVN attacked the position that night in a 6 hour long assault which was met initially by US mortar and artillery fire, then helicopter gunships and then napalm strikes. Some were complete projectiles weighing Now commanded by a brand-new second lieutenant, the men of Alpha Company balked when they were told to move. remembered the 1SGT told him the first thing he was to get into Then things started falling He started I was the DistrictSenior Advisor (Army) in Vinh Kim, Long Dinh District, right across the canal from Dong Tam in 1968-1969. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. All day civilians had been darting from their homes and running from the fighting. CU SIGN "NO SMOKING" When I pointed out that the 101st Battalion had more than 500 troops and I had only two line platoons and fewer than 90 troops, he said, Youre mechanized, youre very strong., I told him we could not take the tracks off Highway 1 and into town because the streets and alleys were too narrow. Anyone can read what you share. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned onto Highway 316. Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, among the refugees. Besides the actions of Charlie Company, under the leadership of the S3, Major Bill Jones, Alpha had conducted an assault on VC positions in a cemetery. He wanted to borrow one of our tracks. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. Set. Besides the fireworks, ARVN soldiers had linked tracer bullets together and were stitching the darkness with weaving streams of machine gun fire. By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. I realize now that the track was high enough that the rounds would have passed over the troops in front of the vehicle, Love recalls. Charlie Company slammed into the VC before they could get their attack organized. This fire was observed by the helicopter gunships that had been circling the area north of Long Binh and they quickly moved to attack the launch sites and were soon joined by an AC-47 Spooky gunship and their combined fire soon stopped the rocket/mortar fire.
R2park Denied Parking,
Roger Waters: This Is Not A Drill Setlist,
Articles L