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A burst of VC machine gun fire erupted nearby, causing the colonel, the deputy and their Vietnamese escorts to pile into their vehicles and roar off in the direction from whence they had come. We usually got mortared at night whenever Dong Tam was getting it from our district. We threw grenades over the wall behind them, but hit nothing.. 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. [3]:2305 By dawn the VC/PAVN were retreating northwards pursued by helicopter gunships and at 06:15 Company C, 4/12th Infantry began moving north in pursuit, intending to pin the VC/PAVN against a force from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment which was moving south. build bunkers, and help pick up the dead enemy across the fence. No tactic I had learned at infantry school fit that situation, so we improvised. As darkness settled in, Charlie Company was ordered to move back the way it had come, to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, where we would form a screen in front of the 199th LIB base camp. on the Bailey Compound, only in the 145th CAB HQ which could I had assumed I would be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. I assigned areas of operation to my two rifle platoons and positioned the weapons platoon inside the compound as a reserve and security force. "[3]:205, The Tet offensive attacks on Bien Hoa AB and Tan Son Nhut Air Base slowly led to an improvement in air base defense across South Vietnam, with improved bunkers and heavier defensive armament including 0.50 cal machine guns, M67 recoilless rifles and M29 mortars. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. On the morning of 31 January 1968, the Bien Hoa Air Base, III Corps HQ, the Prisoner of War Compound, and other key installations around Bien Hoa--Long Binh area received enemy mortar and rocket fire. Well, the piece of shrapnel around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then The only contact I had had with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course just after I entered the Army. Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, among the refugees. the wrecker operator had to know how to weld. The Commo track, C-007, nicknamed Abdula and the Rug Merchants, with then- Pfc (and current Vietnam editor) David Zabecki behind the .50-caliber, brought up the rear. The combat around III Corps headquarters was intense. After telling them to stop shooting His action probably saved the lives of everyone on my track. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. During this fighting, the two platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. wire on the top of LBJ (Long Binh Jail). I was never so happy in my life. I walked back to my track, thinking this was going to be a real nightmare. Specialist 4 Bill Rambo, assistant driver and .50-gunner on my command track, remembers my response to the firing as being absolutely irate. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. Long Bnh Post and the Vietnam War | Worlds Revealed 15. ", "We mustered everyone we could Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. https://www.historynet.com/tet-offensive-the-battles-of-bien-hoa-and-long-binh/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. 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). 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. January 12, 1972. by: Arnold John Houchin Bin Ha, USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron 1970-1972 Phu Cat, 37th SPS; Thu Hoa, 31st SPS; . As I walked around the front of a track, the .50-caliber gunner accidentally hit the trigger and pumped five rounds into the ground about three feet in front of me. John Gross received the Silver Star for his actions in command of Charlie Company on the first day of the Tet Offensive. Toward dark, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. Tet airstrike Long Binh Ammo Dump - YouTube A VC guerrilla hiding behind a parked ARVN jeep had fired the rocket. As you know there were no officers I had been in command for five months and had been assured that I would be in command for one year, which suited me fine. AIR V..EXPLOSION After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. As we rolled by, we looked down into the compound and saw soldiers in khakis milling about with boarding passes in hand. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, and we arrived with many times the ammo and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. (Vietnam War period). Many of the enlisted personnel with medical MOSs work two to three days per week at the 93 rd Evacuation Hospital, then came back to the 24 th to work on the various construction projects. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. Big Boom! Click Here. Dressed as travelers returning to ancestral homes for the Tet holiday, the guerrillas had quietly drifted into their urban assembly areas and put together their weapons. With the explosion of the entire ammunition dump imminent, and in the midst of exploding shells, fire and debris, the men of COMPANY B, . Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. (National Archives), On February 2, 12968, an APC passes buildings damaged by the Americans in the course of flushing out enemy troops from their hiding places in Bien Hoa. 6. Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. [3]:242, The VC/PAVN attacks were a failure. The Vietnamese brigadier general, who was the ranking man at III Corps, drew circles around two equal-sized areas of downtown Bien Hoa. M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier on guard. We packed up our gear, rolled up our wire and waited. Tower ordered Charlie Company to attack eastward to clear the village of Ho Nai, a suburb of Bien Hoa. find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The ". From our positions we could see and hear the celebratory fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. The view is from the compound of the 20th. This article was originally published in the February 2006 issue of Vietnam Magazine. The Communists were starting to carry out a plan that they had studied for a considerable period. My Talk:Long Bnh, Bin Ha - Wikipedia After a eventful As the ammo dump burst into flames, secondary explosions erupted in other storage areas, and for the next three days, fires burned out of control. was his helmet and flack jacket! The weapon was aimed at the newly built and painted (orange-white 118th during the Tet of 1968, also called the Defense of Bien His battalion was in heavy contact and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. . Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. door at the petroleum dump ruptured and fuel flowed down the ditch in 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. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the M-113 APCs of the 9th Infantry Division storm VC positions 200 meters outside II Field Force headquarters at Long Binh on February 1, 1968. Bin Ha Air Base: Memories of Bin Ha, TET 1969, by Larry - VSPA The attacks by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces were one of several major attacks around Saigon in the first days of the Tet offensive. I had inherited the job In another sign that the situation was serious, the battalion commander himself gave map coordinates of company objectives in the clear. For additional reading, see: The Battle for Saigon, Tet 1968, by Keith Nolan; and History of the 5th Division, by Ho Son Dai and Nguyen Van Hung. him in. The 2-47s enemy body count came in at more than 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. Sergeant was already tucked under a 5 ton truck parked about 50 feet My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. He replied that I would have to wait. 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. During TET 1969 in front of Bunker Hill 17, VC sappers tried to penetrate our fence line. 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. 8. In addition, gunships killed many more as they tried to escape from the villages. The Long Binh ammo dump had exploded. All rights reserved. Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 4th Battalion 39th Infantry clearing a hamlet during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. was out of the bldgs. Tower sent Major Jones to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. We packed up all of our gear, rolled up our concertina wire and waited. Remembering Tet 1968 Fifty Years Ago - quanloi.org The 2-47 was one of several units General Weyand pulled in from the jungles to guard the Long Binh headquarters and logistical complex 15 miles northeast of Saigon. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, located on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company. (Vietnam War period). 11K views 9 years ago This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. to contact the Commanding Officer(MAJ Guidroz). The 2-47s enemy body count came in at over 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. We were ordered to go there and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. 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. Seems like the fighting went on I sounded off, "who is there"? hightForP2 = 330 13. The Commo track, C-007, nicknamed Abdula and the Rug Merchants, with Pfc (current Vietnam editor) David Zabecki behind the .50-caliber, brought up the rear. Now When the Tet cease-fire period began on January 28, the battalion was called back to the vicinity of Bear Cat, a base camp near Long Thanh. Story Text: 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. NEARER AIR V..SMOKE bunker. NEARER V..EXPLOSIONS remember being giddy and my brain was asking What is wrong with me?. We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. At 3 a.m. on January 31, I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as operations officer. He said his battalion was in heavy contact, and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. Terms & Conditions | At the time of the Refusing evacuation, neither reported his wound. 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. By Vietnam terms This was no surprise to us, since we could hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. more that happened that night. A soldier, who has been hit, lying prone between two other soldiers, tries to get up. July 10, 1969 - Page 3 - Brownwater Vietnam Veterans The bombs descend and explode near structures in grove of tress in agricultural area 30 miles southwest of Saigon on 19 August, 1968. After the battles for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre incidents of the day. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard while we were gone. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Some of the enemy had tunneled under the fence and exploded an SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. 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. AIR V..FIRES 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 . ton wrecker weighing in at 22 thousand pounds. LV EXPLOSION, SIGN ON BOARD "DISNEY LAND FAR EAST" The attacks were repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses, having inflicted minimal damage on the bases. GV AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. As we rolled back through Bien Hoa, we were astounded to find the battalion S4, Captain Leroy Brown, in the middle of town with a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker and several ammunition trucks. He The progress was slow and ammunition was becoming a scarce, particularly grenades, which city fighting consumes at an enormous rate. Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were . [2]:347 Within Bien Hoa AB, the USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron was responsible for security manning bunkers and operating mobile patrols within the base perimeter. 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. ", "I then went to the CP and tried The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. As the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. As the C-23 track Stormy, which was in the lead, turned into a side street, an RPG slammed into its front, smashing the radiator and wounding several soldiers.