At that rate, a three-second burst placed a shot every square foot in an area the size of a football field. David L. Hamel, director of the institute. The training group headquarters building at Lackland AFB, Tex., is named for him. Soldiers of the United States Army Signal Group have military payment certificates exchanged at their headquarters in Long Binh Vi, U.S. soldiers handling 155mm artilery shells in an ammunition dump at Long Binh, Vietnam. Battle At The Rifle Range. A battalion of the 274th Viet Cong Main Force (VCMF) Regiment of the 5 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Division, attacked the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. I am interested in corresponding with any Black Scarf soldiers who . The aircraft veered sharply to the right and down.. The Geography and Map Division holds a map from the war that was printed and created by the 66 th Engineer Company (known as the "Topo Corps"). Soon we received word that every spare man was to report for perimeter duty, and within minutes my entire crew had been spirited away, leaving me to fend for myself. Back in the States, the aircraft had been fitted with a tank inside the fuselage to hold isopropyl alcohol. An ambush platoon reaction team that was held in ready reserve was assigned to conduct a sweep of the tree line where the post perimeter had received heavy enemy fire from during the early morning attack. Background. At the ceremonies, his son, John L. Levitow Jr., said: I have only one apology to make. The Tet 1969 offensive was carried out mostly by Viet Cong irregulars. An ammunition dump at Long Binh, Vietnam. Later I enrolled as an ROTC student at South Dakota State University, became an Army officer and was assigned to Long Binh in August 1968. Each one of the guns could fire two speeds, Levitow said. Members of the 1st Squadron 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, surround their M551, Air Droppable Assault Vehicle as they wait for the word to move out, 23 February 1969 Overview; The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launch artillery attacks on over 100 population centers and military . After years of Army training one cannot help but itch for a shot at the enemy, especially when all the advantages are on ones own side. center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. After Levitow left the Air Force, he worked in veterans affairs for more than 22 years. The three guns were mounted in window ports, just forward of the open cargo door. Amazingly five or six Viet Cong actually did sneak into the compound, but, luckily or unluckily for my sake, depending on the outcome, not in my area. The base was host to US Army Headquarters. The Army always tries to capitalize on a soldiers individual strengths. It had been flying in Vietnam since 1964, first with the air commandos and after that with the special operations squadrons. Perhaps a word of explanation is in order on how I and all the others in our mix of volunteers and draftees ended up in this hot, smelly, unsafe corner of the world. Tran, who was from the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, had high expectations for a victory in the attack, according to an interview in Stars and Stripes. I then looked back to see a flare that had slid up against the cans of 19,000 rounds of ammunition, Platt said. Im not going to bring shame on either the medal or myself, so I do watch it very carefully.. He delivered the keynote address. The clouds hung low, making flying helicopters . The gunship, situated on the lawn of the museum, was dedicated in October 2004. The troops sent to Saigon originally lived in army units dispersed throughout the city. Surely neither the. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. In 1968, a group of black inmates were fed up with their treatment and the war. Stephen Hugh Lane SP5 Lead Clerk Jan 1969 to Sep 1970, MOS 67N20 has checked in and joined the 3/4 Cav Chapter. Then there was a blinding flash and the aircraft was rocked from nose to tail by a violent explosion. 105837N 1064955E / . The villagers told the ARVN forces how they were driven out of their homes and confined to an area near a creek running alongside the village. On 19 February, a defector surrendered to Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces and revealed a large VC force would attack key installations in the Saigon area to include Long Binh Post.Unfortunately, the reporting was delayed and did not reach Long Binh until the morning of 22 February 1969, the day the defector . On 19 February, a defector surrendered to Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces and revealed a large VC force would attack key installations in the Saigon area to include Long Binh Post. . United States Army soldiers participate in military payment certificates (MPC) exchange at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam. On 29 October the Viet Cong attacked the South Vietnamese district capital of Loc Ninh, ran up the flag of the National Liberation Front, and tried to hold the city. A change of command at 2nd Field Force Artillery Headquarters at Long Binh, Vietnam. Military aviation and technology are ever-changing, from the prevalence of drones to a shift to jets for special mission surveillance, once the province of propeller aircraft. We're weird, he said. It includes footage shot between 17 Feb and 24 Feb 1. hightForP2 = 330 472.6.8 Records of the U.S. Army Central Finance and Accounting Office, Vietnam. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. The prisoners revealed that their mission had been to attack Bien Hoa city and the Bien Hoa Air Base. Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. It was originally called the FC-47D (for fighter cargo) but subsequently changed to AC-47 (attack cargo) in response to objections from fighter pilots. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. The enemy fire was situated across Highway 1A, directing a heavy concentration of fire into the 12th Group and II Field Force compounds. [1], The VC made several attempts to advance on the base, but were halted. Apparently, not much was out there, as there was no firing to speak of. It was thrown out of the aircraft and floated to the ground on a parachute, burning for as long as three minutes with an intensity of two million candlepower and making daylight over a square mile or so. Thought to be in retaliation for Chuyen's disappearance. The Hot War (1968-October 1969) The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in late 1967 launched several costly attacks. CRITICALPAST.COM: He did not yet have a five-level as a loadmaster, and without a five-level, he could not be promoted, and if not promoted, he could not re-enlist. nhc nn - Nguyn Quc Hng - cng ty Hng Long Phc. Photo courtesy of Corpman Bill Luppeti HM3 [Rach Soi 1967-1970] Day scenes show soldiers defending positions and firing at the enemy. Mr. Cook served with the 1st Infantry Division, 2-16th Infantry, as a 1st Lieutenant in the Long Binh area of Vietnam. (Jim Van Eldik), It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling, Behind the driver, strewn about the passenger seat and floor, was his personal combat gear, including his, The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? The gunship carried about 150,000 rounds of ammunition on each flight, Levitow said. The miniguns fired four rounds of invisible ball bullets followed by one tracer round, but the bullets came so fast they looked like a continuous red stream. nhc nn - Mo One Piece - Thnh Long Jr. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. Includes scenes shot in and around the base showing soldiers preparing for the attack. Except for the eruptions from our perimeter bunkers, the entire battlefield seemed devoid of peopleat least people who could be seen. . Shrapnel and jagged shards of metal ricocheted through the cargo bay, and a shock wave from the explosion swept the interior of the airplane. Long Binh Post was a sprawling, 3,500 building . ATTACK ON LONG BINH POST. Two of the pockets were destroyed by the next morning resulting in the capture of the acting commander of the 141st Regiment. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. Din vin Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Vit Trinh. (Vietnam War period). Landing short would have been a disaster. Edward Fuzie, the flight engineer] were knocked to the floor and the flare was knocked out of my hands. "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report #105 - Special Report: The Fourth Offensive - 23 February-3 April 1969", Cold War International History Project's Cold War Files, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_1969&oldid=1142428918, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 09:26. For my personal defense, I relied upon a somewhat rusty M16 kept around the office. I couldnt walk. ), and that the VC suffered heavy casualties that day, with about only 6 VC left after the shooting stopped, and these were taken prisoner. Week of December 12-18, 2021: Heroism Amidst an Ambush, December 17, 1968. SUMMARY: On December 17, 1968, a 39-vehicle convoy from the 48th Transportation Group was moving ammunition and food between Long Binh and Dau Tieng, South Vietnam when the lead vehicles were suddenly hit by mortar fire. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. Shopping Cart | 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. United States 2nd Field Force change of command ceremony at Long Binh, Vietnam. The ARVN units swiftly moved into blocking positions, and by daybreak, the PAVN/VC were surrounded. I had the aircraft in a 30-degree bank and how Levitow ever managed to get to the flare and throw it out, Ill never know, Carpenter said. The nomination package included statements from Carpenter and most of the crew. Spookys operators had successfully resisted pressure to change the call sign. Binh chng c cng c nhim v tp trung nghin cu, tham mu cho B Quc phng Vit Nam xy dng v pht trin cc lc lng . . I was not in this Regiment, but I believe I may have observed some of the Regiment's activities the day of the attack. When attacking, Spooky rolled into a level 30-degree bank turn, flying at an airspeed of almost 140 mph. Back home in Connecticut, he learned that his Medal of Honor had been approved. Intelligence had indicators of the pending attacks. Thomas Baer, the other gunner, and SSgt. The pilot was Maj. Kenneth B. Carpenter, flying his first combat mission as aircraft commander. Militarily, it was a failure for the North Vietnamese, but it undercut the confidence of the American public and it was a turning point in the war. YouTube, These units made occasional contact, often with PAVN or VC who fought stubbornly from trenches and spider holes. By 15:00 the 36th Ranger Battalion moved into the village attacking the PAVN/VC force. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. (Vietnam War period). Alsoand central to the story of Spooky 71it carried about 50 magnesium flares to illuminate targets on the ground. When we were hit, all of us [Owen, Levitow, Sgt. Welcome to the Long Binh google satellite map! After sundown on the 22nd, elements of the VC 274th Regiment, 5th Division made their final preparations while occupying three hills along Highway 15 approximately three kilometers south of the base. In 1998, Air Mobility Command named a C-17 Globemaster, The Spirit of Sgt. Instructions to promote Levitow to sergeant without regard to skill level had not been followed. "6 To Face Murder Charges for G.I.'s Riot in Prison." New York Times, October 1, 1968, p. 3. 128 KB. Pan Am had a ticket office on base. The following is a collection of photographs and letters sent to college friends, dated from 27 November 1969 to 26 May 1970, from John Cook. c, Holland h tr v kh cho Ukraine. They tell me I ended up jumping on it, finally getting control and dragging myself and the flare back to the rear cargo door which was open and just managed to push it outside the door as it ejected and ignited simultaneously., Later, the citation to accompany the Medal of Honor put it this way: Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands, he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare. At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, the battle gradually died out. [1], In the early morning hours of 26 February, a force of approximately 400 men from the VC 275th Regiment, 5th Division, had infiltrated into the tiny village of Thai Hiep on the outskirts of Bien Hoa. Following the employment of the supporting fires, the 36th Ranger Battalion moved back into the village. Privacy Policy | Links He will look for photos. .Anyway, the U.S. effort in Vietnam was (believe it or not) ultimately successful, for at the end, it was politically untenable for the Soviet Union to establish at Cam Ranh Bay its coveted "warm water" nuclear submarine base --- which, to my thinking, was what Vietnam was all about. Published in the October 2017 issue ofVietnammagazine. Carpenter set it down in a full shuddering stall. A VC mortar attack on the airfield at Binh Thuy on the banks of the Mekong resulted in the destruction of a Bird Dog FAC aircraft. We were officially MOS (Military Operational Specialty) 32F20, which was depot-level repair and maintenance on AUTOSEVOCOM (AUTOmatic SEcure VOice COMmunications) crypto . John T. Correll was editor in chief of Air Force Magazine for 18 years and is now a contributing editor. The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. We had no bunkers. It was also called Dragonship and Puff the Magic Dragon (after a song, then popular, by Peter, Paul, and Mary) but went mostly by Spooky, the call sign with which it flew its missions. The threat of communism was pounded into our heads all through elementary and high school at Rock Valley, Iowa. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. He is remembered at the Walk of Fame at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Levitow died Nov. 8, 2000, at his home in Connecticut after a lengthy battle with cancer. My Lightboxes | Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. Opportunity knocks. The 228th per DA consolidated orders of 1970 was "confirmed" as being awarded an MUC for time period 15 February 1969 - 15 August 1969, as was the 277th and other units/sections under its command { HHC . 24:11. Troops lined up on a field. The AC-47 was the first of the Air Forces side-firing gunships. Soldiers counting the notes. Inside the aircraft is a mannequin of Levitow, struggling to get the flare to the door. I try to control what I say, although for the most part, Im very quiet. Let us know if you remember Steve as we seek more information and photos to make a MyPage for him. Those satellites will join the already-planned 28 satellites in the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer of SDAs Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. My driver arrived at the usual time, a little before sundown, on Feb. 22, for my 12-hour graveyard shift at the 1st Logistics Command headquarters. On 23 February 1969, Task Force Privette (A and B Troops, 1st Squadron, 11th Cav and a company of 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry) reacted to an attack on the Long Binh perimeter, killing 88 NVA. 1965 January 1 - February 7, 1965: Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. . If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. The award-winning exhibit, designed by curator William I. Chivalette, includes a lifelike mannequin of Levitow, paintings, photographs, uniform items, and artifacts. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. Note: Your browser does not have JavaScript enabled. (On earlier AC-47s, one of the guns had been mounted in the door.) By 01:00 the next morning, the bodies of 264 PAVN/VC soldiers lay in the village, and 87 had been captured or surrendered. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. Hc_Thn. Dense blue smoke was pouring out of the burning flare fuze.. Some speculate that the attacks . Long Binh Post was a sprawling logistics facility and the largest U.S. Army base in Vietnam, with a peak of 60,000 personnel in 1969. He went back on active duty in 1983 and retired in 1995. Dailymotion, On searching the site at dawn it was found that 2 PAVN 81mm mortar teams had been destroyed in the barrage. A sign reads 'Headquarters II Field Force Vietnam Artillery'. 23 February, Attack on Long Binh Post The rumors of an impending attack became fact when at 0200 hours [2:00 AM] the first enemy rockets soared across the eastern end of the TAOR and landed on Long Binh Post. The next day, I was promoted to E-4, retroactive nine months with pay, Levitow said, but by then, he had decided to take an early out. The enemy was too close for artillery, so gunships were . South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding . HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. He decided to try a different specialty after an experience in which the power was not turned off when I thought it was turned off, so he cross trained as a loadmaster. . Numerous bases were attacked, these attacks were all beaten back but did inflict casualties and reinforced the fact that PAVN/VC forces were able to mount attacks at will. More than 100 individual and crew-served weapons were captured. Brigadier General Leo D. Kinnard speaks to the troops. But now the tough Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army itself were coming. I immediately detected signs that all was not right. c bit n nh mt phi n ngh s nhiu ti ni ting . Levitow and one of the gunners, Sgt. On the morning of 26 February following Napalm and Snake Eye air strikes, Company L, reinforced by Company M assaulted the PAVN position making slow progress against determined PAVN resistance. ARVN casualties were 10 killed and 100 wounded and one US Army photographer was killed. Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. I was experiencing what soldiers for more than half a century referred to as the empty battlefield. Modern battlefield weapons had become so lethal that to expose oneself, even for an instant, to their fire was tantamount to suicide. Answer (1 of 6): Now I can answer that from a very odd perspective. Seventh Air Force, among others, expressed concern that transmissions might be intercepted and give warning of the gunships approach to the enemy. Among those present was Carpenter, the commander of Spooky 71, now retired and living in Marshall, Tex. Night was approaching as Spooky 71, an AC-47 gunship, took off from Bien Hoa Air Base, a few miles northwest of Saigon. Textual Records: Correspondence and daily journal, 1972-73. . Levitows Medal of Honor is prominently displayed at Enlisted Heritage Hall. He worked in "The Iron Triangle" included Phu loi, Ton sahn Nut, and Long B. Nowhere, however, is Levitows memory recalled more vividly than at the Enlisted Heritage Research Institute at the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Maxwell AFB, Gunter Annex, Ala. Levitow willed his Medal of Honor to the Enlisted Heritage Hall there. For the first time the U.S. territory of Tinian, a small island around 100 miles north of the American military hub of Guam, hosted F-22 Raptors. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. For the next six hours, Spooky 71 would fly a combat air patrol circuit over the Saigon/Tan Son Nhut area, ready to respond wherever its fire support was needed. I had a real tough time grabbing hold of it with two hands because of the pain in my leg and everything. There was also a Vietnamese liaison officer. Nothing was more effective than a gunship in breaking up such attacks. Vit Trinh thng hiu tht l trn Vit Trinh, sinh ngy 27 mon 11 nm 1972, l con gi din vin nng lng in nh, tn dn chng trnh, o din vi gim kho ngi vit Nam. Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. It took considerable effort to get Spooky 71 back to base. Duration: 2 min 9 sec. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. Soldiers give forms to the soldier with type-writer. About 11:30 p.m., the gunship was diverted from patrol over the village of Lai Kai, north of Long Binh. For months I observed various combat actions outside the perimeter and every now and then even sought cover beneath a nearby steel desk as a stray mortar or artillery round came flying in our direction, which, whenever it occurred, was astonishing enough. I felt as if someone had taken a two-by-four and squarely hit me against the whole right-hand side of my body, Levitow said later. The villagers met elements of the South Vietnamese 5th Marine Battalion, the 3rd Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment, 18th Division and the 3rd Squadron, 5th Armored Cavalry moving on the road less than a half mile from Thai Hiep in response to the contact at the air base. Excerpt from 1st Aviation Brigade Newsletter: The VC attack at Long Binh was directed at the 12th Combat Aviation Group and II Field Force Vietnam. The first explosion, seemingly an earth-shattering blast, occurred perhaps 30 or 40 yards outside our office, spraying the building with gravel and steel fragments, perforating our walls and windows. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Flares took away the cover of darkness, on which the Viet Cong depended for their style of warfare. Smoke rises from surrounding area. Levitow had joined the Air Force in June 1966, some 20 days ahead of being drafted into the Army. Filmmaker Mel Brooks once said he looked upon his Army experience in World War II as a newsreel.. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. Ahead of the release of Pentagons 2024 budget release in the coming weeks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin touted major investments by the DOD across a broad array of portfolios, including the nuclear triad, space, and next-generation fighter aircraftwhile promising once-in-a-generation expenditures for shipyards and munitions manufacturing in particular. In reality, it is a collection of ideas, images, and information that enough people have chosen to preserve and disseminate. The paperwork for advancement in skill level (from three to five) in his original specialty had been lost. Levitows hometown, Glastonbury, dedicated a memorial to him on the town green May 31, 2004. If you like this movie trailer, go to https://militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 60 minute video. As Ole-Luk-Oie, the pen name for British officer Ernest Swinton, wrote in the 1915 book The Great Tab Dope: Who can blame a desire for the real thing, or professional zeal, whether it be that of a burglar, a Harley Street appendix hunter, or a trainer of blind monkeys?. It was used as a base of operation for the increased ambush and reconnaissance patrols conducted in the uninhabited eastern end of the TAOR. As Levitow dragged one of the other airmen toward the center of the cabin, he saw the flare between No. aring, as AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships began strafing the battlefield with 7.62 mm minigun bullets fired at the rate of about 4,000 rounds per minute. The brigade was comprised of 2d Battalion, 3d . The brigade was activated on 1 June 1966 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as the 199th Infantry Brigade (Light), with emphasis on counterinsurgency operations and mobility. The loadmaster on Spooky 71 was A1C John L. Levitow, 23, from Glastonbury, Conn. FAQs - How to Order | The decision to make the fix to. Banned from the Long Binh O'Club: The Club was a . Later I learned that we were attacked by the 274th Regiment, 5th Viet Cong Division, which was repulsed by the firepower of the 720th Military Police Battalion, the 18th Military Police Brigade and helicopter gunships from the 145th Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. There are some night scenes of the base under attack showing mostly flares, explosions and gunships firing on enemy targets. The idea seemed absurd! Southeast Asia is a very strange part of the world, where for centuries its leaders have had little or noregard for the lives of their own people. The research for this After Action Report included OPERATIONAL REPORTS, DAILY STAFF JOURNALS and DUTY OFFICER S LOGS at the Battalion, Brigade and Division levels located in the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. "Text of Camp Lejeune Committee's Report to Commanding General." The pilot fired the guns, using a sight at the left side of the cockpit. Although at first overwhelmed by the intensity of the enemy fire the MPs stood their ground, suppressed the enemy fire, eliminated an enemy machine gun emplacement and were able to evacuate their seriously wounded point man, SP/4 Brown. Most of us were "Regular Army," almost a year into a 3-year hitch. He was told his unit would capture many C-rations. Food was always a dominant concern for the habitually starved Viet Cong. View of surrounding areas. Ike originally intended these dominos to represent Chinas neighbors such as North and South Vietnam. Website Terms & Conditions | The rocket and mortar attacks on the bases picked up when darkness fell. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. As Ole-Luk-Oie, the pen name for British officer Ernest Swinton, wrote in the 1915 book. The miniguns fired four rounds of invisible ball bullets followed by one tracer round, but the bullets came so fast they looked like a continuous red stream. [4]:97 Later that day rockets hit the An Hoa Combat Base destroying 15,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and igniting 40,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 50 rockets were fired at Naval Support Activity Da Nang with more than half going into the sea and the remainder causing minor damage. Featured Collections | Metacafe, (true?/false? Between 1970 and 72 my father wound up in Vietnam as a civilian aircraft mechanic, working on helicopters. The soldiers with old (MPC) currency notes takes the receipt and proceeds towards the next officer. The Viet Cong were no longer in the tunnels around Long Binh, most probably having taken the subway back to the main tunnel complex at Cu Chi. 6924th Security Squadron Base Name. Apparently, it was impossible for an Iowa corn farmer to get his mind around the idea of hundreds of men actually trying to kill each other. 20 July 1969 circa - Mortar attack on base camp A-414 Thanh Tri. The Medal of Honor was presented to John L. Levitow at the White House by President Nixon on May 14, 1970. . Jim Van Eldik, who kept count of ammunition from an office at the Long Binh logistics complex, spent the battle in a defensive position along the edge of the building, far from the fighting. Tet offensive attack on Long Binh and Bien Hoa, 31 January 1968: Date: 31 January-2 February 1968: Location: Bien Hoa, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, South Vietnam. Location of service: Long Binh Post THOSE WHO SERVED To mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first U.S. ground troops in Vietnam, the Quad-City Times is profiling two dozen war veterans. During the Vietnam War, Long Binh Post was the U.S. Army's largest base located in the former South Vietnam. The Tet lunar new year of 1968the one history remembershad seen large-scale coordinated attacks on cities, provincial capitals, and bases all over South Vietnam. Shortly before midnight the entire perimeter lit up with machine gun fire. This was teh first time the M551 Sheridan was in action in the Blackhorse Regiment. 3 Lt xem. Members of the reaction team were, SSG Larry J. Mentink, SGT Dennis E. Wiehle, SP/4 Clinton Brown (WIA), SP/4 Fred H. Pazmino (WIA), SP/4 Clay F. Creamer (WIA), SP/4 Michael A. Coto, PFC Robert S. Johnson, PFC Clinton M. Lloyd (WIA), PFC Simpson and others yet identified. The last pocket along the An Tan ridgeline proved more difficult and Company L, 3/7 Marines suffered numerous casualties forcing it to withdraw. Once the sun came up, a troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment found 139 dead enemy soldiers, Tran, who was from the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, had high expectations for a victory in the attack, according to an interview in, On the other hand, one is left to ponder what affect seeding the battlefield or, even better, seeding the, https://www.historynet.com/long-binh-battle/, 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. One of the MP ambush squads held a position within a kilometer of the VC stronghold. A soldier with a typewriter creates a receipt. I crawled to the location of the flare. A regimental commissar had assured the men in Trans company that the attack would be easily successful and after it was over we would be able to go home to North Vietnam. The rationale given for the supposedly easy victory: The VC battalion would face only desk soldiers without field experience (ouch!). Dennis E Haines, Recipient of the Images Of Bravery Award, Patient at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, December 1968. It includes footage shot between 17 Feb and 24 Feb 1969. The airplane made it over the minefield and onto the overrun, just barely. Soldiers of the 221st Signal Company Vietnam have military payment certificates (MPC) exchanged at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam as part of a country wide general order. Sorry, Dad, I couldnt make that happen.. The spilled ammunition19,000 rounds of it by Platts estimatewould start cooking off in seconds.

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