During the meeting, a master sergeant adviser to a Vietnamese ranger battalion ran into the compound. Specialist 4 Bill Rambo, assistant driver and .50-gunner on my command track, remembers my response to the firing as being absolutely irate. As the scouts escaped, the volume of enemy fire began to slacken, then died altogether. Tower sent Major Jones to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. 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. He ignored me and proceeded to a nearby house where he and the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door. August 1966 November 1966 December 1966. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. 4 and future U.S. senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel) had defended the Long Binh ammo dump and had helped in the Widows Village fight. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Helicopter gunships took off from Bien Hoa AB to investigate, but were unable to locate the force in the darkness. The Vietnamese brigadier generalthe ranking man at III Corpsdrew circles on a map around two areas of downtown Bien Hoa. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. 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. By 1968 the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex was the largest US/South Vietnamese military base in South Vietnam. Alpha Company was ordered to the 199th LIB compound, which was under attack. Featured Collections | 90th Replacement Battalion | My Vietnam Experience 0.13 I assigned areas of operation to my two rifle platoons and positioned the weapons platoon inside the compound as a reserve and security force. We fired everything we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. I yelled at Lieutenant Casper, and everybody looked around as the VC tore out running the last few yards to safety. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard At the meeting, I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. During December we made little enemy contact, probably because the Communists were lying low, preparing for Tet. Powerful Explosion In Ammunition Dump Rocks S. Viet Nam Madera There we would be assigned a unit we would serve with in Vietnam. 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 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. Benny Toney, the 2nd Platoon sergeant, hooked a tow cable to Stormy. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. In addition we detained more than 20 probable VC fighters dressed in civilian clothes. The mushroom cloud slowly dissipated after hours of By some veterans' accounts, it had the unofficial name "Long Binh Junction." In 1968, the base fell under attack during the Tet Offensive, and the Viet Cong assault force was repelled by American troops. We usually got mortared at night whenever Dong Tam was getting it from our district. We began to pop hand-held flares so they could see we were there, but the shooting persisted, one round hitting my track. 2,400,000 pounds of 8 inch high explosive artillery projectiles. SP4 Lawrence Korteum 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. 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. about 1/3 mile, All this carried on for about three maybe four days and the dead Most of we RAD 152 crew members arrived in-country on July 22, 1968. Meanwhile, Huey gunships reported VC running from the village. rockets at Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh Post. As we rolled by, we looked down into the compound and saw soldiers in khakis milling about with boarding passes in hand. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, started off down Highway 1. opened his mouth but, SGT Cuffee, the supply SGT. I told the platoon leaders to prepare to dismount and to take all the ammunition and grenades they could carry. First was sand then bigger stuff. We packed up all of our gear, rolled up our concertina wire and waited. Tet Offensive: The Battles of Bien Hoa and Long Binh - HistoryNet I told him that I wanted to command a company. . I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion. There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. 9. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp. [3]:210 Instead at approximately 03:30 the VC began firing across the road at the Plantation Compound being met by return fire from the perimeter bunkers. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. Under fire, Staff Sgt. I called battalion headquarters and was told to forget about them, which reinforced our sense that combat was imminent. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. 4 Joseph Sugar Bear Dames returned to the tracks for more grenades. 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 have . 2. 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. I called battalion headquarters and asked what to do about the bunkers. The churches were cleared in short order. His battalion was in heavy contact and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. 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. From our positions we could see and hear the celebratory fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. Updated 7/26/2015. U.S. air strikes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. 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. 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. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. Riflemen moving cautiously. We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. Ive just been told you work for me again. At about 6 a.m., Lt. Col. John Tower, the new battalion commander, called with orders. 856th RRD-Defending Long Binh - ASA LIVES Talk:Long Bnh, ng Nai - Wikipedia As we turned to head back, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army used the base as a logistics and command center. 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. [3]:2289, The Tt ceasefire began on 29 January, but was cancelled on 30 January after the VC/PAVN prematurely launched attacks in II Corps and at 17:30 the 7th Air Force commander General William W. Momyer ordered all air bases in South Vietnam to security condition red. As I remember the Tet Offensive began in the early morning of I sounded off, "who is there"? 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. Some VC crossed Route 316 and took up firing positions in bush at the southern perimeter of the Plantation. 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. As he fell, a burst of automatic weapons fire stitched the wall right where he would have been had he not fallen.. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. Sergeant was already tucked under a 5 ton truck parked about 50 feet VC informants inside the base had provided detailed information as to the base layout and defenses. 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. 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. and no one was injured. recoil of my M14. on the Bailey Compound, only in the 145th CAB HQ which could unless they could see someone, I went to our Operations shack 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. This site was called Hill 63 because there was a hill nearby that had an elevation of 63 meters on the map. bunker. ", "We mustered everyone we could When offered the chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I turned it down to stay with the company. him in. At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. At 0700, as daylight was breaking, my track rolled past the ARVN III Corps compound gate. The 2-47s enemy body count came in at more than 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. I had inherited the job I remember one 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. That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. [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.
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