We closed within a few hundred meters of the scout platoon and watched as helicopter gunships destroyed a large yellow house from which the VC were pinning down Barnes troops. Now commanded by a brand-new second lieutenant, the men of Alpha Company balked when they were told to move. ruary 1968 in support of Saigon and Long Binh Post during the TET Offen- Sive. [2]:347, At 01:00, a 6-man LRRP from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment spotted PAVN/VC moving through rubber trees several hundred meters to the north of Long Binh Post. sixteen guns stationed next to the western border of Vietnam. 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. the airbase made it too us in the daylight and foamed the ditch for Ive just been told you work for me again. A VC guerrilla hiding behind a parked ARVN jeep had fired the rocket. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. I had no way of knowing who it was with no light in the HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Seems like the fighting went on We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. In April 1967 I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. (Vietnam War period). Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. Four men were killed and more than 20 wounded, including most of the officers. LV EXPLOSIONS officer around. In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion headquarters to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Company C. In October, the 2-47 was tasked to secure engineers as they cleared Highway 1 from Xuan Loc to the II Corps boundary near Phan Thiet. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. was out of the bldgs. ton wrecker weighing in at 22 thousand pounds. Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company. [2]:352[3]:2067, At approximately 05:30, the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, mounted on M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles (ACAVs) coming from Bearcat approached the Plantation from the southwest and formed a skirmish line to engage the VC, while helicopter gunships from the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment swept in to rocket and machine gun the VC positions. 0.08 door at the petroleum dump ruptured and fuel flowed down the ditch in The 2-47s enemy body count came in at more than 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. Long Binh, again (Feb. 1967). the light dome that rose from the explosion. Following that fight, the 2-47 was ordered south of the 9th Divisions base camp. I sounded off, "who is there"? Soon we could hear leaders moving up and down the bunker line yelling for the guards to stop firing. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policyand cookie policyand for us to access our cookies on your device. [3]:20, At 00:30 on 31 January, a patrol from Company E, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment detected a company-size PAVN/VC force approximately 10km north of Bien Hoa, moving in the direction of Bien Hoa AB. It HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. I dismounted the platoons and placed them on line on each side of the road: the second on the left, or north, and the first on the right, or south. Relevant to these events; post recollections and descriptions, questions,. The combat around III Corps headquarters was intense. Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were . The battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. . Another VC battalion infiltrated near the area of the 3rd Ordnance (Long Binh) ammunition dump [and] in a few moments, the huge dump became a fireball. Kortuem! The gun-jeeps were progressively replaced by M113s and XM-706 Commando armored cars. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. As we rolled by, we looked down into the compound and saw soldiers in khakis milling about with boarding passes in hand. The VC who had fired the RPG slipped away, but Pfc Jim Love, who was tossed into a sewage ditch by the explosion, remembers killing the jeep with his M-16. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. Several soldiers gathered in front of the track to help the wounded, and Love climbed up to man the .50-caliber. After the fight for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre and inexplicable incidents of the day. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. The village of Ho Nai, now a ghost town, was still smoldering. APCs advance, firing 50 caliber machine guns. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Men at Long Binh ammunition dump. About Us | It dawned on us that the VC were throwing down their weapons, changing clothes and slipping away. Charlie Companys 3rd Platoon was also detached for a security mission inside the base. The 2-47s scout platoon had just finished a brutal fight in Widows Village, and at 1600 hours, it was ordered to move to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, and to attack westward through the village of Ho Nai toward Charlie Company, in the hope of pinning the VC between us. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. Charlie Company quickly reinforced Alpha, and a daylong fight ensued. Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the S3s radio operator. Benny Toney, the 2nd Platoon sergeant, hooked a tow cable to Stormy. As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE 939939. danger and the probable best course of action. LV DITTO All rights reserved. Construction on the 24 th. Tower ordered Charlie Company to attack eastward to clear the village of Ho Nai, a suburb of Bien Hoa. During Tet 1968, the 856th Radio . secondary explosions. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry. At the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry (2-47), nicknamed the Panthers, the commander, Lt. Col. Arthur Moreland, asked me what job I wanted. AIR V..FIRES Dames walked down a side alley toward the highway. On that fateful night, explosions began at the bomb dump, I immediately responded to CSC as the SP's . My only previous contact with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course. Ammo Dump Explosion 18 Feb 1968 where 8 pads detonated with a total ammo value of $2,774,348: f. On 18 February 1968 at approximately 0300 an attempted penetration of the depot was. A VC commander captured later in the battle revealed that his orders were only to start the attack after several hundred rockets had hit the Plantation, but as the rocket sites had been neutralized before the rocket threshold was reached, the ground assault on the Plantation never began. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. They tried to make us keep our heads down so we couldn't get them with our counter-mortar fire . He read a memorandum charging that 100 days after the signing of the Vientiane ceasefire accords, the seven men had been planning to take command of groups of saboteurs recently infiltrated into the area., See the article in its original context from. STOCKPILES OF BOMBS AND ARTILLERY SHELLS AT THE U.S. ARMY AMMUNITION DUMP AT LONG BINH, IN SOUTH VIETNAM, ERUPTED YESTERDAY (SATURDAY) WHEN TIME CHARGES, PLACED BY VIET CONG RAIDERS, DETONATED AMID TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) I was not sure what to do about the bunkers we had dug. I jumped down and ran from track to track, pounding on the sides and yelling, Check your handsets! As I ran back through the weapons platoon in the pre-dawn gloom, with small-arms fire cracking overhead, I was amazed to see young girls carrying bottles of Coca-Cola, trying to sell them to the troops. Chu Lai and LZ Baldy Photos. He wanted to borrow one of our tracks. We found out later from captured VC that many guerrillas had been given only two magazines for their weapons. 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. Most of we RAD 152 crew members arrived in-country on July 22, 1968. Explosion at Long Binh ammunition storage facility. The G3 adviser told me that they had received intelligence that Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese commanding general, had his command post in a Catholic church about 1 kilometer east of III Corps. It also contained tons of captured NVA ammo and guns from the A Shau Valley. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. The armed helicopter teams had a field day shooting guerrillas trying to flee into the jungle. When the shooting started it It had been over two days and many of us had no sleep. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. In addition we detained more than 20 probable VC fighters dressed in civilian clothes. Click Here. Charlie Company had reported 38 VC killed, at the cost of only 11 U.S. wounded and three APCs damaged by RPGs. The II Field Force commander, Lt. Gen. Frederick C. Weyand, had correctly predicted a major attack during Tet, and his anticipation no doubt saved Long Binh and Saigon from being overrun. We use cookies on this website. Sergeant John Ax, squad leader of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, recalls the fighting near III Corps: An RPG hit Shocker, the C-21 track, in the side; but it must have been a glancing blow, because it did not explode. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. Back view of jeep with open doors. I was told to forget about them, which reinforced our feeling that this situation was different and that combat was certainly imminent. [3]:2204, On 1 February Company B, 2/3rd Infantry, Company C, 4/12th Infantry and elements of 2/47th Infantry swept Ho Nai finding only dead VC/PAVN and civilians who had been murdered by the VC or killed in the fighting in the town. When I pointed out that the 101st Battalion had more than 500 troops and I had only two line platoons and less than 90 troops, he said, Youre mechanized, youre very strong.. The village of Ho Nai, now a ghost town, still smoldered. [2]:3523, General Weyand later noted that in their attacks on the Saigon area "Despite the large number of Communist troops committed, insufficient force was applied in any one area to take and hold the objectiveThe assault had been launched piecemeal and it was repulsed piecemeal in a series of relatively small battles. 4 Joseph Sugar Bear Dames returned to the tracks for more grenades. At 07:30 the VC/PAVN force stopped and made a stand in a cemetery where they continued to be hit by the gunships and the ACAVs of Company C. At 08:00 Company C was joined by a force from 2/47th Infantry and they proceeded to methodically kill all the VC/PAVN in the cemetery. build bunkers, and help pick up the dead enemy across the fence. Some VC crossed Route 316 and took up firing positions in bush at the southern perimeter of the Plantation. Widows Village made a perfect attack position for the VC, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters in the Long Binh complex. was a point where the Ho Chi Min Trail came close to the countrys West As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Activity in the area had picked up in November and [2]:347[3]:236 The rocket/mortar attack was the signal to start the ground assaults on Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh. Privacy Policy | Links He started In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. 1.04 Cambodian border to the South China sea was already considered a As we fought our way toward the scout platoon, we were blocked by two large churches that were directly across Highway 1 from each other, both occupied by the VC. As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. This is the airstrike on snipers at the 195th AHC perimeter and the Long Binh ammo dump explosion set off by sappers the morning of the 1968 Tet offensive with sound effects added. ", "We mustered everyone we could After the cemetery had been cleared Company B, 2/3rd Infantry joined Company C, 4/12th Infantry and they made a night defensive perimeter north of Ho Nai, while the 2/47th Infantry was withdrawn to Bin Ha. To get to the church, we had to run a gantlet of fire, through the VC 238th Regiment and into the flank of the 275th, which was fighting the 2-47s scout platoon in Widows Village. [2]:348, As the rockets hit Bien Hoa AB, 2 battalions of the VC 274th Regiment emerged from a rubber plantation 500m east of the eastern perimeter of Bien Hoa AB. Policy was to fill in all holes and empty our sandbags when we left a position, to leave nothing the VC might use against us. The scout platoon had fought . CRITICALPAST.COM: Dismounted troops of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, stay close to their M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) as they clear Widows Village, near Long Binh Army Post, of Viet Cong who had overrun it during the Communist 1968 Tet Offensive (National Archives). At the beginning of the Tet Offensive, one rifle company was ordered to to clear the village of Ho Nai, a Bien Hoa suburb. No answer. CU SIGN "NO SMOKING" 6 comments. When the Tet cease-fire period began on January 28, the battalion was called back to the vicinity of Bear Cat, and Charlie Company was ordered to a large open field across Highway 15 from the Long Tan airfield. At 08:00 the VC south of the Plantation withdrew into the Widows Village. maxhightForP2 = 13904; [6]:12, Several dozen of the PAVN rockets exploded near the II Field Force and 199th LIB headquarters in the Plantation Compound (105728N 1065241E / 10.9577N 106.878E / 10.9577; 106.878) causing minimal damage. 0.59 One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. General Patton's son, then Lt. Col. George Patton III, commander of the U.S. Army's 11th Armored Cavalry (Black Horse), positioned his tanks in between our big bunker hills . Rambo claims that the bunker guards were MPs with the call sign of Filmy Milker. According to him, I told their commander that any fool could see that the VC did not have M-113s, and that we had 22 .50-calibers and a 106mm recoilless rifle and they, for sure, did not want us to return fire. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, started off down Highway 1. What we came up with was a T formation. The chrome charred. 0.22 An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. the wrecker operator had to know how to weld. [2]:347 Weyand also requested the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) to defend the eastern approaches to Long Binh/Bien Hoa and 1 ATF had commenced Operation Coburg on 24 January. GV EXPLOSIONS, AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. forever the big pieces stopped. Bravo Company was sent to protect the Long Binh ammunition dump and Charlie Company was ordered into downtown Bien Hoa, where the ARVN III Corps headquarters was in danger of being overrun. HANOI, North Vietnam, June 1 (Agence FrancePresse)An American major was captured last month in a Communistcon trolled area of northern Laos by Pathet Lao forces, a Laotian representative said here today. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, located on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company. resulting in the explosion of the ammo dump at Bin Ha Air Base. This was no surprise to us, since we could hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. We never saw them again. Officers and soldiers examine barbed wire fence where Vietcong broke through to enter Longbinh ammunition dump. 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. SOUTH VIETNAM: VIET CONG EXPLODE U.S. At 0700, as daylight was breaking, my track rolled past the ARVN III Corps compound gate. As he fell, a burst of automatic weapons fire stitched the wall right where he would have been had he not fallen. (Casper, one of the bravest of the brave, died during the May offensive in Saigon, leading from the front.). Forget that, he said. remembered the 1SGT told him the first thing he was to get into At dawn on 2 February the US counted approximately 50 VC/PAVN dead in the area and captured 3 VC.
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