The progress was slow and ammunition was becoming a scarce, particularly grenades, which city fighting consumes at an enormous rate. 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. The 2nd Platoon took on the one on the north side of the road, and the 1st Platoon attacked the other. Our arrival had canceled fears that III Corps headquarters might be overrun. opened his mouth but, SGT Cuffee, the supply SGT. My only previous contact with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course. The ARVN general and III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not happy when we pulled out. According to him, I told him 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. I told him we couldnt take the tracks off Highway 1 into town because the streets were too narrow. Then, for the last week in January, the 2-47 was sent south of the 9th Divisions base camp to patrol the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. 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. From our positions we could see and hear the celebratory fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. 5 Explosion at Long Binh ammunition storage facility. Waking Dead. OK. Most of these photos were taken in an area a few miles north of Chu Lai and south of Hoi An. His action probably saved the lives of everyone on my track. 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. Contact Us | 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. The Vietnamese brigadier generalthe ranking man at III Corpsdrew circles on a map around two areas of downtown Bien Hoa. 1968 - 1969, To See Lawrence's Service Battery Photos 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. Click Here. In fact, the Communists had already infiltrated the city of Bien Hoa, suburban Ho Nai village and Widows Village, where pensioned families of deceased ARVN soldiers lived. He wanted to borrow one of our tracks. The Communists were starting to carry out a plan that they had studied for a considerable period. As the 2nd Platoon began to run short, Spc. more that happened that night. The acting commander of the 199th LIB, Col. Frederic E. Davison, ordered three of his infantry companies operating north of Long Binh to attack the rocket launch site, while LG Weyand ordered the 9th Infantry Division to send the 1st Brigade from Bearcat Base. Then I got a call from battalion commander Tower, asking how things were going. LV EXPLOSIONS Meanwhile, Hueys reported VC running from the village. 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. I had been in Vietnam about nine months. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned left onto Highway 316. AMMUNITION DUMP. Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company, and in a fight, the company had 22 .50-caliber machine guns, a 106mm and several 90mm recoilless rifles, and more radios and M-60 machine guns than a walking company could ever carry. Unfortunately for them, the hapless VC had no weapons other than the RPG launcher, and Dames dispatched them with a burst from his M-16. I find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The 4 "Late in the war" 1 comment. 102 comments 105 shares. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. Riflemen moving cautiously. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. At 3 a.m. on January 31, I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as operations officer. Big Ammunition Dump Near Saigon Hit by Blasts, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/02/archives/big-ammunition-dump-near-saigon-hit-by-blasts-laotian-reports.html. In a fight, the company had 22 .50-caliber machine guns, a 106mm and several 90mm recoilless rifles, and more radios and M-60 machine guns than a walking company could ever carry. At that time, I received a call on my company frequency from the battalion commander, Colonel Tower, asking how things were going. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. In Bin Ha itself the 3rd Ranger Task Force, consisting of the 35th and 36th Ranger Battalions, provided a rapid reaction force supported by 2 155-mm howitzer battalions located on the southeast of the city. After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. Following that fight, the 2-47 was ordered south of the 9th Divisions base camp. As the sun sank low, 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. After the battles for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre incidents of the day. Service Battery 6/27th 4. Something was definitely about to happen. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. Tom Allaback. probably one of the best deals I had been Used for because the The unit left their position at Firebase Concord north of Bin Ha and moved east proceeding along trails north of Ho Nai towards the LRRP position. As he fell, a burst of automatic weapons fire stitched the wall right where he would have been had he not fallen.. I Incredibly, nobody in my company had been killed the day before. In October, the 2-47 was given the mission of securing engineers as they cleared Highway 1 from Xuan Loc to the II Corps boundary near Phan Thiet. 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. No answer. 2 comments. Bill Langan, aka "Sparky" was on duty in the 573rd hanger at the Bird Cage and took the slide photo. I was not sure what to do about the bunkers we had dug. Hoa. remembered the 1SGT told him the first thing he was to get into The explosion echoed over an area of 50 miles. ", "We mustered everyone we could I sat behind the .50-caliber, munching and giving thanks for the fact that, incredibly, nobody in Charlie Company had been killed. 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. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. 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. 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. During this fighting, both platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. At dawn on 2 February the US counted approximately 50 VC/PAVN dead in the area and captured 3 VC. The VC concentrated their attack on Bunker 10 an old French concrete bunker on the eastern perimeter, hitting it with Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and mortar fire, however the Security Police in Bunker 10 and adjacent bunkers fought back keeping the VC from penetrating far into the base. I assigned areas of operation to my two rifle platoons, and positioned the weapons platoon inside the compound as a reserve and security force. There was an ammo dump explosion in 1968 also and both 1967 and 1968 are correct and were of course separate incidents. On that fateful night, explosions began at the bomb dump, I immediately responded to CSC as the SP's . 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. [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. At 08:00 the VC south of the Plantation withdrew into the Widows Village. A great deal has been written about the battles of Tet 1968 and the political firestorm that resulted from them. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. However the ammunition storage bunkers prevented a chain reaction and the lost munitions were easily replaced with no impact on supply. 10. I remember one He stated that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. We fired all we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. 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. From our positions, we could see and hear the fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. I almost did 15. Company E engaged the PAVN/VC supported by artillery fire killing 47 PAVN/VC. As the 2/47th Infantry approached the town a Vietnamese warned that it contained many VC and the VC then launched an ambush on the column knocking out 3 ACAVs with RPGs setting off a 4-hour battle as the US forces engaged the VC position and rescued the survivors in the damaged ACAVs. I then jacked a round into my M-16 and who would you believe Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company. John Gross received the Silver Star for his actions in command of Charlie Company on the first day of the Tet Offensive. January 12, 1972. by: Arnold John Houchin Bin Ha, USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron 1970-1972 Phu Cat, 37th SPS; Thu Hoa, 31st SPS; . [3]:2515, A VC/PAVN attack on the prisoner of war camp in Bin Ha which held over 2000 prisoners was repulsed by a platoon from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and a platoon from Company D, 17th Cavalry and their ACAVs. I told him that I wanted to command a company. We had run through the rear of the 274th VC Regiment, which was attacking the airfield. 9. [2]:347[3]:236 The rocket/mortar attack was the signal to start the ground assaults on Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh. Its predominantly Catholic population was made up of many Vietnamese who fled North Vietnam in 1954 after the Viet Minh victory. By 1968 the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex was the largest US/South Vietnamese military base in South Vietnam. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. night on alert at the Birdcage, I was awakened (trying to sleep [3]:220, When the Company F, 51st Infantry LRRP team reported VC/PAVN moving past their position a reaction force from Company C, 4/12th Infantry mounted on ACAVs was sent to investigate. Since I was in an airborne unit, I was sure I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. LV EXPLOSION, SIGN ON BOARD "DISNEY LAND FAR EAST" maxhightForP2 = 13904; 3. 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. As we turned to head back, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. License Agreement | Benny Toney, the 2nd Platoon sergeant, hooked a tow cable to Stormy. 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. [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. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. The chrome Ammo Dump Exlosion Sapper Attack! The North Vietnamese Army had circled Charlie Company soldiers, used to months of patrolling and fighting in the jungles, suddenly found themselves fighting house to house as their fathers had done in World War II. Charlie Company slammed into the VC before they could get their attack organized. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. This is the story of one rifle companycomprised of some of the finest soldiers to ever wear the uniform of the U.S. Armyand what they all faced on that decisive day. I had inherited the job [3]:2501, On the evening of 1 February 3 platoons from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and 2 platoons from Company D, 17th Cavalry Regiment were ordered 2km north of Ho Nai to establish an outer defense against any renewed VC/PAVN attack. 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. Alpha Company, still licking its wounds from the January 23 fight, was left intact. Other than temporarily disrupting operations at Bien Hoa AB for half a day and destroying ammunition at the Long Binh ammunition dump, the VC/PAVN inflicted minimal damage to the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex. 12. 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 . We all knew these moves were more than precautionary. Then things started falling out of the sky. introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE The battle proved significant, as Alphas leadership was seriously depleted immediately prior to Tet. Smoke rises from surrounding area. it and only slightly pierced the skin a little. The churches were cleared in short order. During the last week of January, the battalion patrolled the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. Over the two month recovery and clearing operation, tens of thousands of these hazardous munitions were recoverd by hand, one at a time. I explained to the colonel that this was not a police action, and that we werent searching houses, we were in combat. 0.28 went off and all hell broke lose. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. main target because they were outnumbered 5 to 1. We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. Ly's grandfather was a soldier stationed in Quang Binh during the war. Flames illuminated the clouds, forming an eerie glow; flares hung in the sky and helicopter gunships crossed back and forth firing red streams of tracers into the city. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Binh Hoa Airbase was lucky they were not the around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. There we would be assigned a unit we would serve with in Vietnam. Seems like the fighting went on and completely out of sync. 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. Come back up on the battalion freq.. The attacks on Bin Ha, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. [3]:242, The VC/PAVN attacks were a failure. They ordered us to clear the VC from the houses surrounding the corps headquarters. At the meeting I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. [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. One reference claims that 4 February 1967 was the date, and another claims that 28 March was the date. "I was the 1SGT of the We could shoot about 21 miles into Cambodia. 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. ruary 1968 in support of Saigon and Long Binh Post during the TET Offen- Sive. During December we made little enemy contact, probably because the Communists were lying low preparing for Tet. ". Well, the piece of shrapnel forever the big pieces stopped. During this fighting, the two platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. Website Terms & Conditions | About two days later one the huge fuel bags next View of surrounding areas. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned onto Highway 316. We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. But no one would be leaving the country that day. 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). This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. The bombs descend and explode near structures in grove of tress in agricultural area 30 miles southwest of Saigon on 19 August, 1968.
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