Abandoned in Hell : The Fight for Vietnam's Firebase Kate (9780698144262)

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Abandoned in Hell : The Fight for Vietnam's Firebase Kate (9780698144262) Page 34

by Albracht, William; Wolf, Marvin; Galloway, Joseph L. (FRW)


  CH-54 Sikorsky Flying Crane, 26

  Cham people, 10, 12, 14

  Childers, Captain Charles, 196

  Childs, Rudy, 99, 110

  Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), xii, 12–14, 20, 28, 35, 70, 71, 78

  Claymore mines, 88–89, 144

  Close, SP4 Edward J., 276

  Cobra gunship, 103, 110, 186

  Cole, CW2 James C., 201, 205, 275

  “College Colonel, The” (Melville), 228

  Collins, CW2 Robert, 275

  Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, 192

  Colt Automatic Rifle (CAR-15), 85, 147

  CONEX containers, 31–32, 99

  Conscientious objectors, 48

  Coonce, WO1 John “Jack,” 135, 136, 276

  Corcoran, Lieutenant General Charles A., 16, 220–22, 255–56, 260

  Cosmos, WO1 Charles “Pete,” 204, 276

  Craig, SP4 Jesse, 276

  Crane, Lex, 55, 58, 60

  Crites, Lieutenant, 169

  Crockett, Davy, 219

  Dak Lak Province, 10, 174, 268

  Dak To, 19

  Davison, WO John “Les,” 135–37, 186, 201, 203–5, 240, 249, 275–76

  DC-3, 162

  De Sio, WO1 David J., 276

  Degar Highlands Liberation Front, 13

  Degar tribes, 10, 12, 15

  Delaune, Lieutenant Colonel Elton J., 34, 154, 155, 174, 210, 288–90

  Demilitarized Zone, 15

  DeNote, Staff Sergeant Rocco, 81, 186, 189–90, 192, 220, 222, 277, 298, 299

  Diem, Ngo Dinh, 12, 13

  Dien Bien Phu, xii, 37, 86

  Donovan, CW2 Kenneth, 199–202, 204, 206–7, 249, 259–60, 275, 277–78

  Draft, US, 3, 27, 47, 48, 134, 135

  Draft dodgers, Vietnamese, 5

  Drang River Valley, 18

  Duc Lap Special Forces Camp, 9, 18–20, 32–34, 35, 36, 69, 112, 133, 136, 154, 191, 200, 201, 259

  Dykes, Captain Al, 162–70, 173, 207, 230, 237, 249, 278, 297, 298

  EC-47s, 16–17, 163, 207

  Eisenhower, General Dwight D., 162–63

  ELINT (electronic intelligence), 16

  Enuol, Y Bham, 14

  F-4 Phantom, xiii, 108, 109

  F-100 Super Sabre, xiii, 108, 109, 142, 174

  FADAC (Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer), 66, 225

  Falcon gunship, 135–38, 176, 186, 203, 206

  Farlow, SP4 Richard, 276

  FDC (see Fire direction center)

  Fenlon, WO1 Dennis, 206, 275

  Field guns, development of, 24

  Fire direction center (FDC), 32, 34, 77–78, 100, 118, 155–57, 188

  Fire direction specialists, 25

  Firebase Annie, 31, 32, 36, 65, 67, 156, 174, 268

  Firebase concept, 34

  Firebase Dorrie, 36, 282

  Firebase Helen, 36, 191

  Firebase Kate

  air support for, 96, 100, 103, 107–8, 111–12, 141, 142–50, 158, 161, 166–70, 176–80, 188–89, 195, 223–24, 249

  ammunition shortage on, xiii, 144, 146, 150, 186–87, 195, 213, 257

  ARVN and, xiii, 190–92

  attack on, 95–105, 107–20, 123, 137, 141–44, 146–50, 155–58, 167–70, 174–82, 186–96, 209, 211, 212, 250

  bomb damage assessment of, 267

  building, xi–xii, 29–32

  communications on, 65–66, 166–67, 225

  cross-border strike and, 189

  escape from, xiii–xiv, 231–40, 243–48

  food on, 68–69

  geography of, 30, 86, 87, 89

  operational chain of command on, 34–35

  perimeter breached, 175–76

  perimeter defenses of, 87–89

  planning escape from, 214–15, 220, 223–27, 229–30

  recon expeditions from, 69–71

  recreation on, 71, 89, 90

  registering of guns on, 67–68

  reinforcements for, 112, 116, 120, 141

  replaced howitzer, 114, 119

  rescue plan for, 192–94, 196, 211–13

  sanitation and hygiene on, 70, 72, 90

  size of, 65

  supplying, xii–xiii, 80–81, 144, 146, 150, 186–87, 202–3, 206–7, 275–76

  troop rotation on, 81

  underground FDC built on, 77–78

  water on, 185–87, 213

  weapons on, xii, 26, 31, 34, 67–68, 86, 188

  weather and, 66, 71–72

  wounded on, 98–100, 102, 104, 105, 109–10, 135–38, 147–49, 179, 187, 194, 195

  Firebase Martha, 36, 191

  Firebase Mike Smith, 284, 288, 290

  Firebase Susan, 31, 32, 36, 65, 67, 68, 156, 174, 268

  Firebase Swinger, 29

  Flight school, 130–31

  Forward air controllers (FACs), 62, 143, 147, 150

  Foster, First Lieutenant Walter, 276

  Franco-Prussian War of 1870, 23

  French, in Vietnam, xii, 12, 37, 86

  Friendly fire, 4, 176

  Frye, Mary Elizabeth, 140

  Galloway, Joseph L., xi–xiv

  Gay, CWO Harold Benjamin, 115, 130–33, 135, 142–44, 146–50, 249, 279

  Geneva Accords of 1954, 12, 135

  Geromin, SP4 Warren, 72–73, 78, 112–13, 115, 148–49, 194, 233, 247, 248, 279

  Ghost soldiers, 5

  Gia Nghia, 104, 107, 112, 126, 146, 174

  Giáp, General Vo Nguyên

  Gillikin, SP4 Larry, 275

  Gooch, Sergeant First Class Jimmy, 76, 284

  Graft, in ARVN, 4, 5

  Gulf of Tonkin, 15

  “Gunga Din” (Kipling), 184

  Gunpowder, invention of, 23

  Guthrie, Wilbur, 144–47, 149, 150

  H-34 helicopter, 129

  Hall, Colonel Charles, 35–37

  Hare, Phil, 295

  Harrell, WO2 Denny, 136–38

  HC-47, 163

  Healey, Colonel “Iron Mike,” 254, 257

  Hearne, WO2 Maury, 143, 148–50, 249

  Helmich, Major Gerald R., 224, 227, 279–80

  Henry V (Shakespeare), 266

  “High Flight” (Magee), 198

  Hill 875/Dak To, Battle of, xii

  Hitch, First Lieutenant James A., 206

  Hmong people, 15

  Ho Chi Minh Trail, 17, 19, 163, 188

  Hon Tre Island, 62

  Honest John rockets, 74–75

  Hopkins, Kenn, 25, 30, 31, 71, 73, 91, 97–98, 108, 113–19, 141, 142, 154–55, 157, 192–94, 211, 248, 280–81, 284

  Houghtaling, Sergeant, 28, 113, 168–69, 173, 177

  Houston, Sam, 219

  Howitzers, 24, 31, 34, 67–68, 73, 76–77, 86, 97–98, 101, 107, 113–14, 119, 225

  Hue, 20

  Huey gunship (see UH-1 gunship)

  Ia Drang, Battle of, 18–19

  Ia Drang Valley, xii

  Indian Wars, 34

  Indirect fire, concept of, 24

  Ingram, WO1 Larry D., 276

  Jarai people, 15

  Jesuits, 11

  Johnson, Lyndon B., 3, 14

  Johnson, Marlin, 174, 269

  Johnson, Peewee, 225

  Johnson, SP4 Bob, 32, 66–67, 69, 77–78, 99, 118, 155–56, 214, 220, 224, 236–37, 239, 247, 281

  Kadel, SP4 David E., 275

  Kampuchean people, 14

  Kate (see Firebase Kate)

  Kennedy, John F., 292

  Kerr, Lieutenant John, 25, 65, 67, 68, 77, 78, 80, 87, 91, 99, 108–11, 119, 120, 141, 146, 147, 155–57, 173, 177, 248, 282–83, 290

  Ker
ry, John, 189

  Khe Sanh, siege of, xii

  Khmer Krom people, 15

  Khmer people, 10, 12

  Khmer Republic, 270

  Kinh people, 10–12

  Kinnard, Major General Harry, 124–25

  Kipling, Rudyard, 64, 128, 160, 184, 242

  Klein, First Lieutenant Tom, 154, 289

  Kontum province, 16, 20

  Koon, SP4 Nelson, 73–75, 77–79, 96, 98, 113, 115, 118, 120, 137, 138, 154, 155, 157–58, 187, 192, 194, 210–11, 225, 226, 230, 235, 237, 246–48, 283–85

  Korean War, xiv, 31, 33, 222

  Ky, General Nguyen Cao, 3, 5, 14

  Lam Dong province, 16

  Laos, 2, 10, 14, 17, 18, 101

  Larson, Lieutenant General Stanley “Swede,” 125

  Lartéguy, Jean (Jean Pierre Lucien Osty), vii

  Lattin, Major George, 107, 109, 111, 188, 249, 273, 285–86

  Law of the Jungle, The (Kipling), 64

  Leaves of Grass (Whitman), 84

  Lillie, Gordon W., 222

  Long Binh, 61

  Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 106

  “Lost Legion, The” (Kipling), 242

  Lott, SP5 Douglas Hugh, Jr., 143, 150, 249

  Love, SP4 Thomas W., 275

  Lu Lan, General, 222

  LZ Albany, 18

  LZ X-Ray, 18

  M16 rifle, 85, 147, 192

  M60 machine gun, 120, 145, 192, 194

  M79 grenade launcher, 114, 192

  M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, 85

  MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), 13, 190

  MACV RECONDO Combat Operations Course (COC), 62

  Maddox, Bob, 136, 137

  Magee, John Gillespie, Jr., 198

  Malvestuto, Terry, 286

  Matlock, Jim “Herbie,” 144–50, 249, 286–87

  Matson, SP4 Richard D., 276

  McFarland, Sergeant, 98, 113, 154, 225

  McKim, Randolph Harrison, xxiv

  McNamara, Robert, 109

  Melville, Herman, 218, 228

  Mike Force (Mobile Strike Force), xiii, xiv, 14, 15, 18, 41, 62, 112, 192–94, 196, 211–13, 224, 231–33, 237–39, 244–47, 263

  Military Occupational Specialty 13B, 75

  Ming, General Duong Van, 13–14

  Moffett, Ken, 290, 294, 295

  Monsoon season, 17

  Montagnard soldiers, v, xi–xiii, 6, 10–14, 26, 28–30, 69–71, 78, 87–91, 95–96, 123, 124, 148, 175, 190, 192, 213–14, 220, 223, 226, 234, 235

  Moore, Major, 176

  Moore, PFC Thomas M., 275

  Mortars, development of, 24

  Mosher, SP5 Craig W., 275

  Murphy, Joe, 47–50

  My Lai massacre, 53

  Nachtigall, Dave, 136

  Nadine, PFC Dennis, 120

  Napalm, 4, 147, 176

  National Security Agency (NSA), 16

  Native Americans, 11–12

  Newsweek magazine, 189

  Nha Trang, 16, 37, 61, 125, 254, 293

  Nha Trang Bay, 62

  Nixon, Richard M., xi, 3, 126, 189–91

  North Vietnamese forces (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)

  Norton, PFC Michael R., 114, 249–50, 274, 280

  Nung troops, xiii, 15

  NVA (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)

  O-1 Bird Dog, 17, 104, 107, 111, 112, 114, 129

  Officer Candidate School, 49–58, 67

  Officer promotions, 40–41

  OH-6 Cayuse (LOACH), 103–4

  Olsen, SP4 Pete, 145, 146

  Operation Switchback, 13

  OV-1 Mohawk, 17

  Owen, Major Dean M., 201–4, 249, 260, 276

  Palmer, Captain William, 62, 63

  Parachute training, 57–58

  Parker, Steven, 272

  Patton, George S., Jr., 94, 152

  PAVN (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)

  People’s Army of [North] Vietnam (PAVN), 1, 2, 6, 14, 15, 36–37, 70, 79, 80, 86, 89, 90, 96, 97, 101–4, 107, 112, 115–16, 119, 124–26, 141–44, 147–50, 156–58, 167–69, 174–79, 186, 188–91, 194, 202, 206, 207, 209, 211, 212, 224, 226, 230–31, 235–38, 245–47, 250, 253–54

  24th Infantry Regiment, 19

  28th Infantry Regiment, 18, 212

  32nd Infantry Regiment, 19

  40th Artillery Regiment, 18

  66th Regiment, xii, 18–19, 81, 207, 212

  174th Infantry Regiment, 19

  K-393 Artillery Battalion, 18

  Pepke, Major General Donn R., 125–26

  Phan Rang, 34, 170, 174

  Phuc, Phan Thi Kim, 4

  Phyllis Ann project, 162, 163

  “Picket-Guard, The” (Beers), 208

  Pierelli, Sergeant Dan, 79–80, 86, 87, 89, 90, 95, 99, 101, 102, 161–62, 166, 168, 169, 174, 187, 191, 195, 211, 225, 226, 232–36, 243, 245, 246, 248, 263–64, 273, 287

  Platt, Air Force FAC William E., 112, 179, 287

  Plei Me Special Forces Camp, 124–26

  Pleiku City, 15, 16, 62, 124, 125, 145

  Pluhar, Larry, 268

  Plummer, SP4 Ernest C., 276

  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 33, 195

  Pries, Colonel Hugh, 297

  Project Friday Gap, 269–70

  Pugh, Dick, 278

  Quang Duc province, 16

  Quang Tri province, 19

  “Reaper and the Flowers, The” (Longfellow), 106

  Recoilless rifles, 97

  Relief columns, 123–24

  Republic of Korea troops, 16

  Resquist, Lieutenant, 169

  Rickenbacker, Captain Eddie, 223

  Riovo, Major, 77

  Rock Island, Illinois, 45

  Rogers, Gerald “Tex,” 69, 73, 77, 98, 229, 230, 232, 245, 248–49, 288

  Roosevelt, Theodore, 19

  Ross, First Lieutenant Ronald A., 153–56, 173, 174, 180–82, 195, 215, 274, 288–90

  Ross, John, 290

  Ross, Trisha, 290

  ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), 49, 53, 62

  Royal Thai Army, 15, 60

  Ryder, First Lieutenant Ken, 142

  Saigon Cowboys, 5

  Schilling, Bobby, 290, 294–95

  Schmidt, Elvira, 291

  Schulz, Charles, 223

  Scott, Forrest, 29, 30, 80–81

  11 Corps, 16, 34, 261

  Serain, SP4 Calvin, 136, 275

  Shadow (see AC-119G Shadow)

  Shakespeare, William, 266

  “Sheridan at Cedar Creek” (Melville), 218

  Shriver, WO1 Kenneth, 276

  Sidle, General Winant, 36

  Simmons, Lieutenant Colonel Frank, 9, 10, 192

  Simmons, Sergeant First Class Don, 248

  Simpson, First Lieutenant Norman, 275

  Smith, Elizabeth Clark, 27, 291

  Smith, First Lieutenant Mike, 26–31, 67, 68, 70, 71, 77, 78, 80, 87, 91, 97, 99–100, 110–11, 116, 154, 209–11, 214, 226, 230, 235, 237, 243, 245, 246, 248, 256, 288, 290–91

  Smith, Justin, 291

  South Vietnam Air Force (VNAF), 3, 4, 14

  South Vietnamese forces (see Army of the Republic of [South] Vietnam), 2–3

  Special Forces (see United States forces)

  Spectre (see AC-130H Spectre gunship)

  Spooky (see AC-47 Spooky gunship)

  Stevens, Sergeant First Class, 246–48

  Strange Captain John, 104, 105, 114, 249

  Sullivan brothers, 60

  Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 8

  Tet Offensive, 2–3, 145

  TH-55 Osage, 131
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br />   Thanh Hoa, 18

  37 mm anti-aircraft gun, 142

  Tidmore, Sergeant, 76

  Tierney, Lieutenant George, 63

  Tiranti, PFC Bernie, 98, 113, 118, 154, 157, 187, 248, 284, 291

  Trace ammunition, 147

  Trang Phuoc (Ban Don), 28, 29, 69, 79

  Travis, William, 219

  12.7 mm machine gun, 235–36

  Typhoon, The, magazine, 191–92

  U-2 spy plane, 16–17

  UH-1 gunship, 110, 114–16, 131, 132, 142, 144, 176

  Uhring, WO1 Frank G., 276

  United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races Front (Front Unifié de Lutte des Races Opprimées, FULRO), 14

  United States forces

  First Air Cavalry Division, 18–19, 124

  First Aviation Brigade 48th AHC, 114, 132, 133, 134, 142, 249

  First Aviation Brigade 155th AHC, 131, 133–35, 144–46, 199, 201, 203, 240, 249, 259

  First Aviation Brigade 189th AHC, 144, 145, 249

  1st Cavalry Division, xii, 19

  I Field Force Vietnam (IFFV), 36, 41, 42, 16, 17, 19, 32–34, 125, 191, 220, 260

  First Infantry Division, 221

  United States forces (cont.)

  4th Infantry Division, xiii, 19, 125, 126, 132, 190

  Fifth Special Forces Group, 13–15, 35, 59–62, 190, 257

  6th Special Operations Squadron, 223

  17th Cavalry, 103

  22nd Artillery, 34, 153, 154, 210, 289

  27th Artillery, 28

  35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 108

  46th Special Forces Company, 60

  52nd Artillery Group, 41

  71st Evacuation Hospital, 177

  92nd Artillery, 25–26, 28

  101st Airborne Division, 38, 51, 133, 134

  155th Assault Helicopter Company, 18

  173rd Airborne Division, 19

  185th Recon Company, 80, 104

  486th Bomb Squadron, 177

  559th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 108

  after-action reports, 70, 125, 148

  Air Force, 129–30

  Army Air Corps, 129, 162

  Army Security Agency, 16

  Army Signal Corps, 53

  Army Special Warfare Center, 58

  Military Intelligence, 18

  Special Forces Officers’ Course, 58–59

  Special Forces Team A-233, 28, 29, 69, 79–81

  Special Forces Team A-234, 29, 112, 269

  Special Forces Team A-236, 9, 10, 12, 15, 81, 253

  Special Forces Team A-239, 19

  Special Forces Team B-23, 9, 81, 112, 150, 158, 192, 220

  Strategic Air Command, 175

  Task Force Alpha, 125

  Task Force Fighter, 125–26

 

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