long binh attack 1969
About 11:30 p.m., the gunship was diverted from patrol over the village of Lai Kai, north of Long Binh. In anticipation of what they would seize, many of Trans comrades packed can openers in addition to the noodle packets and dried rice they all carried. Just after 16:00 US Air Force F-100s and F-4s along with Republic of Vietnam Air Force A-1 Skyraiders were directed against the PAVN/VC positions in the village. 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. 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. Airman Levitow was setting [the ejection and ignition dials] and handing me the flares, Owen said. The idea was quite unsettling. Soldiers counting the notes. Flares took away the cover of darkness, on which the Viet Cong depended for their style of warfare. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Hide. Levitows hometown, Glastonbury, dedicated a memorial to him on the town green May 31, 2004. License Agreement | 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. I realize that what I say will be represented not only as a Vietnam veteran but as a Medal of Honor recipient, and the media will have a field day. 25/26 January 1969. (Vietnam War period). Between the town of Bien Hoa and the base was an old French minefield, never cleared and fenced by barbed wire. The panorama took on an aspect of high noon, the entire battlefield bathed with an eerie golden glow. Soldiers give forms to the soldier with type-writer. Behind the driver, strewn about the passenger seat and floor, was his personal combat gear, including his M14 rifle and several magazines filled with ammunition. . This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps. Some speculate that the attacks were mounted to test the will of the new U.S. President Richard Nixon who retaliated by secretly bombing PAVN/VC sanctuaries in Cambodia the following month. from 1969 to 1970. June The second of two new outpost's was built on the western end of the Finger Of Land. Troops lined up on a field. Except for the eruptions from our perimeter bunkers, the entire battlefield seemed devoid of peopleat least people who could be seen. YouTube, United States Army soldiers participate in military payment certificates (MPC) exchange at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam. With usual soldier directness the driver divulged the ominous news: Sir, were gonna get hit tonight, so youre gonna need your helmet, flak jacket and rifle., A Viet Cong deserter had warned South Vietnamese officials on Feb.19 that an attack would occur on Feb. 22, but Long Binh didnt get the word until the day of the planned assault. Large images may take a few minutes to appear. 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. They tell me that I had 40 pieces of shrapnel in me at the time, Levitow said. . Sixteen bulldozers were quickly deployed to spend the rest of the day sealing the entrances. War and peace. 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. The rounds landed on post with some igniting the POL fuel site east of the highway. Long Binh/Bien Hoa; Da Nang; References; External links; Most attacks centered on military targets near Saigon and Da Nang and were quickly beaten off. 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. Full-scale sweeping operations to secure the perimeter began just after noon that day. 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. The U.S. created an Afghan air force that was too technologically advanced for its native country to sustain, then pulled the rug out from under it, according to a U.S. government inspector general report. At that rate, a three-second burst placed a shot every square foot in an area the size of a football field. The Space Development Agency has added another batch of missile-tracking satellites to its expansive constellation, awarding Raytheon a $250 million contract March 2 to build seven spacecraft. This region includes ten provinces: Binh Duong, Binh Hyua, Binh Long, Binh Tuy, Hau Nghia, Long An, Long Kahnh, Phuoc Long, Phuac Tuy Tay Ninh. It was his 180th combat mission, but he had never flown with this crew before. I was a ticket office supervisor with several Vietnamese and Chinese-Vietnamese women reservations/ticket agents. Dennis Yenser checks in about Sapper Attack story. Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive.. The 199th later became known as the "Redcatchers" for its mission objectiveto seek out and destroy Communist cadres in Vietnam. Seriously wounded were, SSG Slaven the squad leader, SP/4 Robert Cressman, PFC Larry W. Holton, and CPL Lee Van Muon, their Popular Forces Interpreter. (Vietnam War period). Photo courtesy of Tom Lefavour and taken around October 1969. Thought to be in retaliation for Chuyen's disappearance. It was Feb. 24, 1969, and the second day of the Tet counteroffensive. The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? And that they would already have been shot three or four times before they got there. Over the years, there were numerous other recognitions. My hope was that no more than one or two VC would reach my position. The intense heat of the flare would burn rapidly through the aluminum floor of the cargo bay and drop on the empennage control cables, destroying them and causing the aircraft to go out of control. 83 Lt thch,23 Bnh lun.Video TikTok t Nguyn Huy Cng 1969 (@userz65oz3pvgr1969). Duration: 2 min 9 sec. 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. 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. Media Battle of Long Binh 1969 Parts 1 & 2 11thACRCombat Operations After Action Report of Attacks in Northern Binh Long Province 10-13aug69 (All content and photos on this site are the property of their named owners and may not be copied or used for any other purposes without permission. Advanced Search | (Vietnam War period). They fought to the last because (1) they were told that they would be tortured mercilessly by US soldiers should they be captured, and (2) being Buddhists, they did not want to die on foreign soil, but hoped to escape so they could go home to North Vietnam to die. Thomas Baer, the other gunner, and SSgt. Shrapnel and jagged shards of metal ricocheted through the cargo bay, and a shock wave from the explosion swept the interior of the airplane. My Account | Three B Company ambush squads were positioned along the eastern end of the TAOR on the "Finger Of Land," and a reinforced squad of twelve MP's, including two Scout Dog handlers from the 212th MP Company, were positioned on Hill-15 along the Buong River. 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 . Remember: Using others' images on the web without their permission may be bad manners, or worse, copyright infringement. But now the tough Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army itself were coming. 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. "Text of Camp Lejeune Committee's Report to Commanding General." By mid-1967, United States Army, Vietnam (USARV), 1st Logistical Command and many other Army units dispersed in Saigon were moved to Long Binh Post to resolve centralization, security, and troop billeting issues. Nothing was more effective than a gunship in breaking up such attacks. License Agreement | 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. The cavalry troopers also stumbled onto a large tunnel complex not more than a mile from our perimeter. The Viet Cong had constructed some sort of headquarters compound, or staging area, or supply depot or maybe even an officers club. The pilot fired the guns, using a sight at the left side of the cockpit. As noted, the 277th S&S BN (DS) stationed in Long Binh became the superior command 30 August 1968, physically arrived in Tay Ninh by early January 1969 and remained in Tay Ninh until mid July 1970 {approximate} when it was re-assigned to Di An {near Saigon} - (see 1970 History, where the 228th was for all intent and purposes reduced to a . 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. Dedicated to those who were there. The flare was armed and rolling loose in the aircraft. 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. Well, not everybody had departed. An ammunition dump at Long Binh, Vietnam. The attack continued into 27 February when the Marines overran the PAVN resulting in a total of more than 200 killed. I spent nine years working for Congressional Liaison between the Veterans Administration and members of the Congress, he said. 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. Danil_1969 4 ting trc. The remaining elements of the company were held in ready reserve. The pilot was Maj. Kenneth B. Carpenter, flying his first combat mission as aircraft commander. Navy) F-100C Super Sabre 54-1956 120 TFS, 35 TFW, USAF . 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. The aircraft veered sharply to the right and down.. Unlike our headquarters, theirs was built under a hill rather than on top of one. Surely neither the Viet Cong nor North Vietnamese Army would attempt such a suicidal mission. He had been nominated for the Medal of Honorat Carpenters urging, Gen. George S. Brown, the 7th Air Force commander, had marked the recommendation up from an Air Force Crossand he was no longer allowed to fly in combat. A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. Grabbing my helmet and flak jacket (and finding that, after sitting on the shelf for several months, neither would fit properly), I departed with my Jeep driver for the Logistics Commands large yellow headquarters building. Scenes of Viet Cong bodies around the perimeter of the base.Please Note! Viet Cong sappers infiltrated the base and lay in long grass between the runways for several hours before placing their satchel charges. At the end of his tour in Vietnam, Levitow was assigned to Norton AFB, Calif., as a loadmaster on C-141s. By 15:00 the 36th Ranger Battalion moved into the village attacking the PAVN/VC force. Tran Van Thiet, 19, had been left behind. The gunners kept the guns loaded and working during the flight. 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. [4]:97, After midnight on 23 February Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines and Company D, 1st Military Police Battalion detected VC approaching the Song Cau Do river bridges and attacked them killing 47 and capturing 11. Easily create a Forum Website with Website Toolbox. 99-08 286 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis, I stay away from publicity and things like that. (Vietnam War period). The ARVN units swiftly moved into blocking positions, and by daybreak, the PAVN/VC were surrounded. c bit n nh mt phi n ngh s nhiu ti ni ting . 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. . Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. These ingredientswhen mixed with the C-ration Beef, Spiced with Sauce or the Beans w/ Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Saucewould have provided the Viet Cong a feast for the ages. We were being attacked by at least a full enemy battalion in a fight raging with remarkable intensity. Privacy Policy | Links Ike originally intended these dominos to represent Chinas neighbors such as North and South Vietnam. It was presented in ceremonies in February 2002 by his son to CMSgt. With the progression of the battle came a feeling of incredulity. Near Saigon, the VC made attacks on Long Binh and Bien Hoa. I couldnt walk. The firing grew to a continuous roar, with lines and lines of red tracers emitted by M60 machine guns crisscrossing the battlefield. It would be relieved by another gunship for the midnight-to-dawn shift. FAQs - How to Order | United States Army soldiers exchanging MPC currency at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam. He was a man that was proud to stand tall. Photo courtesy of Corpman Bill Luppeti HM3 [Rach Soi 1967-1970] Contents. In 1998, Air Mobility Command named a C-17 Globemaster, The Spirit of Sgt. 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.