by Matt Jackson
Chapter 35
Another Stand-Down
“Major, sir, the battalion commander is on the phone for you,” announced First Sergeant Miller, standing in the doorway to the major’s office.
“Thanks, Top.” Adams reached for his phone. “Major Adams here, sir.”
“How are things in the Chicken Coop today, Major?” the battalion commander asked. Lieutenant Colonel Shelton was commander of the 52nd Aviation Battalion, to which Chicken-man had been attached on their move north from Lai Khe to Camp Holloway. He and Major Adams had hit it off right away.
“Sir, okay today,” Adams answered, wondering what was coming next. He knew this wasn’t a social call.
“Good. Let’s make it better than okay. Stand down your company tomorrow. No missions, although you do have one assignment tomorrow,” Lieutenant Colonel Shelton said.
“Sir?” was all Major Adams could say, a bit in shock that they were getting a stand-down day.
“Tomorrow, Major Brayboy, commander of the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company, will be giving a briefing at ten hundred hours in the mess hall on the actions and lessons learned in Lam Son 719. I want your pilots to hear the briefing, so you get a stand-down.”
“Sir, I know Major Brayboy. The Robin Hoods lived next to us in Lai Khe. Be glad to hear what he has to say.”
“Good. I may come by myself to listen to it as well if I can get away. This should give your maintenance people a little breather.”
“Sir, I know the entire company will appreciate having a down day. Can I ask, sir, when are my three aircraft that were attached to the Robin Hoods coming back to me?” Major Adams really wanted them back.
“They didn’t get attached to the Robin Hoods but were farmed out to whoever needed additional aircraft at the last minute. They got jerked around a lot I understand having talked with the battalion commander for the 223rd Aviation Battalion Commander. He said they did a great job. Those three should be back to you sometime today, unless they decided to fly over to the coast and spend a couple of days at the beach.
“Sir, they best not do that,” the major said very slowly. Continuing, “With our maintenance availability I need those three aircraft back here now. With my luck, those guys would go sun bathing and get sunburned so bad, Doc Christeson would ground them for three days.”
“Well, you folks have a good day tomorrow. You deserve it. Good job getting Lieutenant Thacker out of there.”
“Sir, he saved seven of my people. Getting him out is the least we could do for him. We’ve put him in for a commendation for his actions. It should be on your desk today.”
“I spoke with the commander of the Twenty-Second MACV Advisor Group, Colonel Mitchell, as well as the artillery battalion commander. They are both putting him in for an award. I’ll send your recommendation over to Colonel Mitchell to support their comments. Which award are you putting him in for?” Lieutenant Colonel Shelton asked.
“Sir, I talked to my guys, and the overwhelming consensus was for a Medal of Honor.”
“That’s going to require a strong recommendation and support, but that’s the same thing Colonel Mitchell is thinking. Good—as soon as I see it, I’ll endorse it and send it forward.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Well, enjoy your stand-down. Your guys deserve it. See you tomorrow,” Lieutenant Colonel Shelton said before he hung up.
Placing the phone back in the receiver, the major looked up and saw the first sergeant standing in the door.
“Good news, sir?” the First Sergeant asked.
“We have a stand-down tomorrow, Top. The pilots have to attend a briefing in the morning, but aside from that…we have the day off,” the major said with a smile on his face.
“I’ll notify the mess hall to be ready for afternoon burgers and steaks. The boys deserve as much.”
“Okay, and I’m going over to Ops to tell Captain Curran,” the major said, standing and picking up his hat. They both departed and headed in different directions to get things ready for the next day.
Walking into Operations, the major saw Captain Curran standing near the map board with a grease pencil resting against his forehead, deep in thought, it appeared. His train of thought was broken by a radio call.
“Chicken-man Three India, Chicken-man One-Niner.” Slowly Captain Curran turned and stared at the radio as the Ops clerk picked up the mike.
“Chicken-man One-Niner, Chicken-man Three India, over,” the clerk responded.
“Chicken-man Three India, Chicken-man One-Niner, the wonderful white-winged, wicked-weekend-warrior and a flight of three returning to the Chicken Coop. On short final at this time, over.” Cory was stealing a line from the radio show in Chicago that had made Chickenman famous.
Grabbing the hand mike from the Ops clerk, Major Adams was on the radio with an ear-to-ear grin. “Chicken-man One-Niner, welcome home. What is the status of your aircraft? Over.”
Recognizing the major’s voice, Cory responded a bit more seriously, “Chicken-man Six, it sounds like you’re glad we’re home. We’re all in good shape. Some patches have been added, but all flyable.”
“Roger, come into Ops when you’re down. Good to have you guys back. Chicken-man Six out.”
Grabbing up the telephone, Captain Curran called the maintenance tent. A soldier answered the phone.
“Maintenance.”
“Captain Curran here. Let me speak to Captain Finn.” Captain Finn replaced Captain Head just before the unit left Lai Khe.
A few minutes later, Finn came on the phone. “Don’t tell me we have an aircraft down.”
“Better. Our three aircraft that went off with the Robin Hoods are on short final and all appear to be in good shape.”
“Hot damn, our availability just went above fifty percent,” Captain Finn exclaimed. “I’ll have someone out to meet them and see what if anything needs to be done.”
“Cory said they were all in good shape,” Captain Curran stated.
“Well, we’ll see. They may be ready for a hundred-hour inspection. I’ll let you know as soon as we look them over.”
“Okay.” Captain Curran hung up and turned to the CO, who was still holding the hand mike.
“Sir, you wanted to see me?” the Ops officer asked.
“Yeah, tomorrow we have a stand-down. All the pilots will attend a briefing at ten hundred hours in the mess hall, but that’s it for tomorrow,” the major said as he handed the hand mike to the clerk.
“What’s the briefing about and who’s giving it?” Captain Curran asked, a bit puzzled.
“Major Brayboy from the Robin Hoods is giving a briefing on Lam Son 719 and what it was like. I guess the Aviation Brigade commander directed that he give it to all the units that didn’t participate in that operation. Maybe we can get Cory and them to give us a heads-up on what to expect.”
Fifteen minutes later, Cory, Sinkey and Price walked into Flight Ops. Damn, these guys look like they’ve been dragged through a knothole backwards, the major thought as they stood in front of him.
“Are you guys all right?” the major asked a bit concerned. They looked gaunt with dark circles under their eyes. All were in need of haircuts and clean uniforms.
“Yes, sir, just tired,” Cory answered for the group. Price and Sinkey just nodded their heads.
No smart-ass remarks from Sinkey or Price. They must be tired, the major concluded quickly.
“Okay, we can talk later. Tomorrow is a stand-down and Major Brayboy is giving a briefing at ten hundred hours in the mess hall about Lam Son 719. Maybe you guys can supplement his presentation with your own views afterwards. Go get some rest now,” the major directed.
“Thank you, sir,” Sinkey responded for the group, and the three left.
After they were gone, the major turned to Captain Curran. “I’ve never seen three more worn-out pilots in my life. I suspect tomorrow’s briefing will be very interesting.”
Chapter 36
Introduction to H
igh-Intensity Flying
The next morning, pilots begin drifting over to the mess hall, where the mystery briefing was scheduled. Everyone was wondering what this was about as Captain Curran hadn’t enlightened anyone except to say they all needed to be there. Only a few had a chance to talk to the crews that had returned, as they had gone to their quarters upon their return and pretty much kept to themselves.
Once everyone was seated, Major Adams and another major entered and walked to the front of the room. Cory recognized the other major as the commander of the Robin Hoods, who Cory had met in Dong Ha.
“Gentlemen, I’m glad to see you’re all awake,” Major Adams said as he addressed the group. “Some of you look like you started early on the stand-down. Should we turn the lights down lower? Because I do see some very bloodshot eyes out there.” He looked over the assembled pilots. “Holy cow, Bailey, you best be wearing sunglasses in here with those eyes. Are you going to live through this briefing?” the major asked with a grin on his face. He knew that some of the pilots had been consuming large quantities of beer last night, but they weren’t flying today, so he had no objection to their actions.
“Sir, I’ll do my best to be ever attentive to the information presented,” Bailey said, attempting to hold his head up despite his pounding headache.
“Thank you, Mr. Bailey. Well, let’s get on with it. As you all know, we were moved up here to replace units that went north and flew in Operation Dewey Canyon II and Lam Son 719. Cory, Sinkey and Price flew in that operation.” Some heads turned to observe the three that were sitting in the back along with the copilots that flew with them. There were no smiles from the small group. “Major Brayboy of the Robin Hoods has been directed by the group commander to conduct a series of briefings to those units that didn’t participate. The briefing you are about to hear will cover how that operation was conducted and some of the lessons learned. You may have heard the exaggerated stories of Cory and the others, so Major Brayboy will tell us the truth. He’s with us this morning and is partially responsible for us getting a stand-down today. So, let’s give him our undivided attention,” Major Adams said as he turned and introduced Major Brayboy. “You have the floor, sir,” Major Adams said, exchanging places with Major Brayboy and taking a seat.
Moving to the front of the seated assembly, two soldiers set up a map board in the center with graphic overlays in blue and red.
“Thank you, Major Adams. I have been directed to give this presentation, as Major Adams said. I ask that you hold questions until the end, when I’ll open the floor for questions, and I can stay as long as you like,” Major Brayboy said, taking a pause. “First, I was just a small piece of this operation and do not know all the details of what happened or how it happened. What I experienced and saw is only a small part of the entire operation. Others may have a different view point on what went down. I can only give you my observations and personal opinion about this operation. I’m sure that fifty years from now, some expert may have a totally different perception of what transpired. Monday morning quarterbacking is twenty-twenty hindsight. I can only give you my opinion for the operation, right, wrong or indifferent.
“Second, let me say this operation was nothing like what we saw in Cambodia last year. Cambodia, I would have to say, was a low-intensity operation. This was not, and I think when I’m done, you’ll agree with me. The objective of the operation was to launch an attack that would disrupt the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail for bringing supplies from North Vietnam south through Laos,” Major Brayboy stated.
“So what were Lam Son 719 and Dewey Canyon II? Both operations were conducted simultaneously, with the First ARVN Corps responsible for Lam Son 719 and the 101st Airborne and First Brigade, Fifth Mech responsible for Dewey Canyon II, which was really a deception operation to throw off the NVA.” Picking up a pointer, Major Brayboy indicated the town of Tchepone, Laos and Highway 9 on the map. “Lam Son 719 was a thrust by the ARVNs to destroy cache sites on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the vicinity of Tchepone along Highway 9.”
Pausing to allow everyone to study the map, he continued, “US helicopter support was critical to Lam Son 719, and included Army and Marine Corps aircraft as well as Air Force Jolly Green Giants to pick up downed crews. The 101st Aviation Group staged out of Camp Eagle. In the case of the 14th Combat Aviation Battalion, they staged our of Quang Tri. We staged out of Dong Ha. Refueling was out of Kha Sanh, which the Fifth Mech opened in the first week of February. We were based at Dong Ha, which was nothing when we arrived. I mean nothing—no showers, no latrines, no buildings. Nothing except a runway and tower. Us and the Forty-Eighth Assault Helicopter Company were located there, along with the 223rd Aviation Battalion headquarters, which had been a fixed-wing battalion until they were assigned five helicopter units to manage in this operation.”
A few murmurs of disbelief could be heard as everyone knew that a fixed-wing battalion staff wouldn’t know how to plan and coordinate combat assault helicopter operations. Turning back to his map board and pointing, he continued his presentation. “The first phase of the operation had US forces moving up to the Vietnam-Laotian border along Highway 9 in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. This highway passed through the abandoned base of Khe Sanh. The second phase called for an ARVN mech/armor force to move along Highway 9, pass through US forces and attack to seize the town of Tchepone in Laos. Major NVA supply bases were located around Tchepone, Laos. The northern flanks of this ground advance would be secured by elements of ARVN Airborne and Ranger infantry units conducting airmobile operations and the First ARVN Infantry Division airmobile assaults to secure the southern flanks. US helicopters would provide the lift capability for this portion of the operation. In the third phase, search-and-destroy missions were conducted to find and eliminate NVA supply dumps in the area of Tchepone. The last phase would be the withdrawal back down Highway 9 into Vietnam. That was the plan. The question asked was whether this operation could be carried out without US helicopter support. The answer was a resounding no.”
Pausing long enough to take a drink of coffee that had been placed on a table next to the map, Major Brayboy continued, “Unfortunately, the plan was not well executed for a variety of reasons, one being that the enemy had a vote on the execution. Too little planning time, bad intelligence, too few resources, poor coordination and personality conflicts all contributed to the failure of the operation in my opinion. On January 30, US ground forces began moving on Highway 9 to reopen the abandoned firebase at Khe Sanh. By February 5, Route 9 to the Laotian border was open and secured. Phase II was initiated on February 8, when the ARVN Airborne Division executed it’s attack to seize the intermediate objective, the town of A Luoi in Laos and conducted multiple insertions securing the right flank along Highway 9. Ranger units, under the ARVN Airborne Division command, inserted on hilltops to screen the right flank with ARVN First Armored Brigade moving on Highway 9, which was an unimproved dirt road. Simultaneously, two insertions were conducted by First ARVN Infantry Division on the left flank to prevent enemy forces from flank attacks on the south. On February 15, a new airstrip was opened at Khe Sanh as the old strip was no longer usable. Initially, casualties around Khe Sanh were almost nonexistent as the NVA had few forces in the area but did shell the area every night with artillery and mortars.” This comment brought a low murmur from the audience. Most of the pilots had been on the receiving end of rockets or mortars, but none had experienced being shelled by artillery.
“Across the border, it was estimated that the NVA had approximately twenty-two thousand soldiers, both combat and support personnel as well as some guerrilla fighters. Intelligence also estimated between one hundred seventy to two hundred antiaircraft weapons would be in the area. In addition, it was believed that two divisions from the north could reinforce in fourteen days. Truth be told, they had a lot more than what the intel weenies told us they would have.”
One of the soldiers standing by the map board pulled an acetate sheet over the map that indicated
enemy forces in red, to include anti-aircraft positions. Some soft whistling could be heard above the grasps of breath. Major Brayboy waited for the acetate overlay to be in place before he continued.
“By February 8, five divisions and seven regiments of artillery, antiaircraft weapons, and some tank battalions, totaling sixty thousand troops, were identified in the area facing the ARVN advance. From the start, the cross-border attack was difficult. The massive tactical air strikes planned to precede the ground attack were called off because of bad weather. The ground attack on Highway 9 traveled through the Sepon River valley became bogged down because of the poor condition of the road. The condition of Highway 9 was such that much of the resupply fell on helicopter support since wheeled vehicles couldn’t traverse the highway without difficulty.
“Approximately halfway to Tchepone, the ARVN forces stopped, consolidating at the town of A Luoi on February 11. The consolidation was reported to be a strategic pause to assess the enemy’s intentions. They did not continue the attack until March 3. Helicopters in support on day one came under intense enemy small-arms fire from the surrounding hills that looked down on the valley, but it was minor compared to what was unleashed starting on February 11 and for the remainder of the operation, when 23-millimeter, 37-millimeter and 100-millimeter guns opened up on us.”
Groans replaced murmurs at this point from the audience. Again Major Brayboy paused to let the fact that a “strategic pause” had lasted almost thirty days and anti-aircraft fire had increased significantly sink in.
“North Vietnam’s response was initially slow due to deceptive actions being carried out. With the ground attack stalled at A Luoi, the decision was made to seize Tchepone with an airmobile assault conducted by the ARVN First Division. On March 3, two lifts were conducted, resulting in eleven helicopters shot down and forty-four damaged inserting one battalion. On March 6, two hundred and seventy-six assault helicopters escorted by Cobra gunships and fighter aircraft conducted the largest airmobile operation of the war. Only one aircraft was shot down. Tchepone was seized, but little was found as the South Vietnamese command felt that the objective was reaching the town, not moving into the major supply dumps north of the town. On March 9, the order was given to begin withdrawing, which was carried out through the month. Casualties and captured ARVN soldiers were high. Helicopter losses were equally high. Besides helicopter losses, US Air Force aircraft were also taking losses to enemy antiaircraft fire. NVA losses were equally huge, but the tenacity, courage and discipline that they displayed carried the day for them.” Major Brayboy paused and took another drink from his coffee.
