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. The two of them refused evacuation and neither reported his wound. 2. 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. F-100 Super Sabre and F-4 Phantom II drop Mark 82 bombs in Vietnam during U.S. air strikes. 1.19 The G3 adviser told me that they had received intelligence that Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese commanding general (the enemy equivalent of General William Westmoreland), had his command post in a Catholic church about a kilometer east of III Corps. convoy about two days before and were repairing anything that had failed
By Vietnam terms
Activity in the area had picked up in November and
0.22 The VC had run out of ammunition and were trying to escape. We were in a cloud of disarray
Jeep parked along road. Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the operations officers radio operator. However the VC/PAVN never made another ground attack on an air base and moved to attacks by fire with rockets, mortar and artillery. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. It had been over two days and many of us had no sleep. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. We could use our tracks as a base of fire or in a blocking position as the company maneuvered on foot. Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company. Casper rose from a prone position and yelled for his troops to follow him. 6 External links modified. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. I sounded off, "who is there"? As the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. The action occurs January 31st, 1968 (on "Tet", the Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday). As the scouts escaped, the volume of enemy fire began to slacken, then died altogether. The bombs descend and explode on structures in grove of trees near rice paddies 23 miles east of Binh Thuy on 19th August. Something was definitely about to happen. . According to the VC 5th Division official history, the 3rd Battalion, 5th VC Regiment was supported by the Bien Hoa Sapper Company; its mission was to overrun the compound, which was defended by about 15 ARVN soldiers and a smattering of MACV advisers. [3]:218, The town of Ho Nai (105812N 1065335E / 10.970N 106.893E / 10.970; 106.893) was located on Highway 1 north of the Widow's Village and Long Binh Post. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. 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. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. 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.). During this time, the battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. and the perimeter was still intact. LV EXPLOSIONS Early on January 30, we were told the Tet cease-fire was canceled, and our unit was deployed into a defensive line along the road that ran around the east side of the Long Binh base. I was never so happy in my life. 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. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. 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. AIR V..EXPLOSION 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. Around midnight on October 29th, 1966, the Viet Cong mortared or rocketed the Long Binh Ammo Dump. I was told to forget about them, which reinforced our feeling that this situation was different and that combat was certainly imminent. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. We had run through the rear of the 274th VC Regiment, which was attacking the airfield. Lookout tower in the background. 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. I sat behind the .50-caliber, munching and giving thanks for the fact that, incredibly, nobody in Charlie Company had been killed. Then things started falling out of the sky. View of surrounding areas. OK. We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. All day civilians had been darting from their homes and running from the fighting. I had inherited the job
I operated a heavy five
USAF (United States Air Force) F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter aircraft drops Mark 82 (Mk.82) high-drag (HD) bombs. As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. This was no surprise to us, since we could hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 4th Battalion 39th Infantry clearing a hamlet during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Sand bags near barbed wire fence. I called battalion headquarters and was told to forget about them, which reinforced our sense that combat was imminent. That night, no one slept, but instead scanned the jungles with Starlight scopes, seeing nothing. 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. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. Long Binh, again (Feb. 1967). U.S. air strikes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The view is from the compound of the 20th. Flames consuming huts. 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. II Field Force commander LG Frederick C. Weyand had also ordered the 9th Infantry Division to be prepared to send its 1st Brigade from Bearcat Base 16km south of Long Binh to Bien Hoa-Long Binh in the event of an attack. Big Boom! find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The
That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. 5. [3]:23950, In the late afternoon of 31 January after clearing the Widow's Village 2/47th Infantry advanced into Ho Nai from the south, the town appeared deserted. In addition we detained more than 20 probable VC fighters dressed in civilian clothes. The Vietnamese general and the III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not very happy when we pulled out. from Bien Hoa City. 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. Copyright Screenocean 2022 | Powered byImagen. He replied that I would have to wait. The helmet had stopped
Some were complete projectiles weighing
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. 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. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. No tactic I had learned at infantry school fit that situation, so we improvised. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 0.54 Refusing evacuation, neither reported his wound. I then jacked a round into my M-16 and who would you believe
all personnel to the flight line. Initials PW/VS/JH/BB/ES PW/VS/JH/ES 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. As he fell, a burst of automatic weapons fire stitched the wall right where he would have been had he not fallen.. All I could think of to say was, Please clear that weapon!During the meeting, a master sergeant adviser to a Vietnamese ranger battalion ran into the compound. During the morning of January 30, the 2-47 Mech was notified that the Tet cease-fire was canceled, and the unit was deployed into a defensive line along the road that ran around the east side of the Long Binh base. 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.. [2]:347, The ARVN 53rd Regional Force Battalion was responsible for security in the countryside around Bin Ha. Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, walking among the refugees. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. Company E engaged the PAVN/VC supported by artillery fire killing 47 PAVN/VC. My Account |
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0.08 First was sand then bigger stuff. I walked back to my track, thinking this was going to be a nightmare. danger and the probable best course of action. 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. The churches were cleared in short order. 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. 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. Gradually, I became a mechanized soldier. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. Meanwhile, Hueys reported VC running from the village. August 1966 November 1966 December 1966. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. However the ammunition storage bunkers prevented a chain reaction and the lost munitions were easily replaced with no impact on supply. On that fateful night, explosions began at the bomb dump, I immediately responded to CSC as the SP's . into the bunkers. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! Long Binh Ammo Dump October 29, 1966 . We had returned from a
charred. Riflemen staying close behind. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79 grenade launcher. Sappers had placed satchel charges on pallets of artillery ammunition, and the resulting mushroom cloud caused all its witnesses to think the VC had employed a tactical nuclear weapon. 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. 3 Merge Long Binh Jail into Long Binh. We packed up all of our gear, rolled up our concertina wire and waited. had defended the Long Binh ammo dump and had helped in the Widow's Village fight. It
We were ordered to go there and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. 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. He waved me off. the bunker. 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. This article was originally published in the February 2006 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Consequently, I was disappointed when I received orders to join the 9th Infantry Division. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the
The North Vietnamese Army had circled
to contact the Commanding Officer(MAJ Guidroz). By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. Barbed wire torn apart by Vietcong who infiltrated through Longbinh ammunition camp. 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. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. the light dome that rose from the explosion. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, located on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company.
introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. The Long Binh ammo dump had exploded. ". The explosions at Long Binh, 15 miles northeast of Sia gon rattled windows and shook doors here in the capital. At 0700, as daylight was breaking, my track rolled past the ARVN III Corps compound gate. When it
Suddenly he came upon a VC RPG team drawing a bead on my command track, which was a prime target given the number of radio antennas jutting from it. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. He said I would have to wait. Tower ordered Charlie Company to attack eastward to clear the village of Ho Nai, a suburb of Bien Hoa. At the meeting, I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. During this fighting, both platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scouts into Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. [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. Soon we could hear leaders moving up and down the bunker line yelling for the guards to stop firing. 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. Terms & Conditions |
After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. 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. The battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. Charlie Company quickly reinforced Alpha, and a daylong fight ensued. who was tossed into a sewage ditch by the explosion, remembers 'killing the jeep' with his M-16. At 0300 hours I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as S3, stating 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 had run through the rear of the 274th VC Regiment, which was attacking the airfield. [2]:346, The US 199th LIB was responsible for security in the towns and countryside around Long Binh, while the 720th Military Police Battalion was responsible for security within the base perimeter. 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. When the G3 adviser told me to lend the rangers a track, I told the sergeant that the M-113 was not a tank and to be careful with it. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. [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. Under fire, Staff Sgt.
build bunkers, and help pick up the dead enemy across the fence. GV EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army used the base as a logistics and command center. At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. Service Battery that supplied ordnance to the big guns in our battalion. APCs advance, firing 50 caliber machine guns. We use cookies on this website. The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 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. In addition, gunships killed many more as they tried to escape from the villages. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! Our arrival had canceled fears that III Corps headquarters might be overrun. 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. 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, 47th Infantry. Painting outside. I had been in Vietnam about nine months. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. 4 Joseph Dames was tasked to return to the tracks for more grenades. for days and days. Advanced Search |
They bowed and looked confused. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, headed down Highway 1. An MP full colonel, along with a deputy sheriff from Los Angeles (dressed in his deputy uniform) and two jeeploads of Vietnamese National Police, drove up to my track. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. 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. 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. All day civilians had been darting from their homes and running from the fighting. 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. January 12, 1972. by: Arnold John Houchin Bin Ha, USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron 1970-1972 Phu Cat, 37th SPS; Thu Hoa, 31st SPS; . [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. [4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track, as we called it. A slightly wounded soldier, lying on the ground, smiles as he points to his leg as another soldier helps him. Soon we could hear leaders moving up and down the bunker line yelling for the guards to stop firing. 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. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, situated on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company. An accurate body count could never be compiled since so many VC bodies were dragged away or were burned in the many fires that ravaged the towns and villages. Get under! Troops opened their attacks with volleys of grenades, then went in shooting. bunker. 7. [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. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. 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. Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Charlie Company. In the early morning hours on 31 January, insurgent forces launched 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. 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. 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. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians seeking refuge. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. ordnance pad in the huge ammo dump. In a few moments, the huge dump became a fireball, the shock of the explosion echoing over an area of 50 miles. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company.