Lieutenant Marv Stiles was an artillery officer who arrived at the scene of the battle that morning as a replacement for a wounded FO. Describing himself as a “newbie” that December, morning, Stiles recalled seeing “grotesquely mis-shaped steel helmets, burned out APCs, and debris all around.” He further recalled that, “The smell of blood and flesh hung in the air.” Stiles went on to spend ten and a half months in the field as a FO with various Warrior rifle companies, but this one scene, among the many he witnessed, remains indelibly etched in his memory.
Lieutenant Wayne Morris recalled that he and his men found dead US soldiers who “were laying where they had been killed as they fought their way into the base camp, along with enemy soldiers who were hastily buried in shallow graves” Arms and legs protruded from the dirt of these hasty graves. Blood soaked clothing and equipment and unexploded ordnance were scattered throughout the camp. As he made his way toward the center of the camp, Lieutenant Morris found a US platoon sergeant with a lieutenant lying next to him. It was apparent that the two had died in what must have been an epic struggle. Morris wrote, “It looked as if someone had emptied an entire machine gun belt into the platoon sergeant’s belly.”
Cliff Kaylor, a Charlie Company grunt, was also among those who walked through the enemy base camp that same morning. Kaylor recalled seeing “lots of American bodies lying dead in the trenches…. Many were shot between the eyes with a single round, as if executed. These were the first dead GI’s I had seen and there were many of them.”
Lieutenants Clark and Sognier were dead. Platoon Sergeants Dugger and Finley were dead. Squad and Team Leaders Hahn, Pruitt, and Ziegler were dead. Corporal Robert Pretty was dead two weeks before his 21st birthday. Medics Limbacher, Pultz, and Whitton were dead. Specialists McGovern, Moreu-Leon, and Hammerstrom were dead. PFCs Bawal, Brown, Buckner, DeHart, Fillipi, Harper, McLoud, Midcap, Puhi, Reynolds, Spainhower were all dead. The youngest among the dead was Clayton Marqui Spainhower of Fort Myers, Florida, 18 years of age, and the oldest was Guy Marvin Finley of Norfolk, Virginia, age 39. Four of the fallen heroes were native sons of the state of Ohio. Half regular army, half draftees, white, black, brown, representing nineteen states—all dead.
The 4/12th After Action Report for the battle near Fire Base Nashua lists enemy losses at: 67 enemy killed in action as determined by body count, along with an additional 85 enemy dead possible. As a result of the heavy artillery barrages and air strikes directed against the enemy positions, it was virtually impossible to verify the accuracy of the numbers of enemy casualties. Documents found on several enemy bodies identified the men as members of the D-800 Battalion (K1) of the Dong Nai Regiment.
Large quantities of mortar rounds, explosive devices, and small arms ammunition, along with stocks of medical supplies and unissued uniforms were also recovered from the camp. Remarkably, however, the enemy left no wounded or serviceable weapons on the battlefield. It was obvious to all that the enemy battalion, though battered during the fight, conducted a near perfect night withdrawal, perhaps the most difficult of all maneuvers in combat. The VC battalion, though bloodied, would continue to struggle for control of its territory.
After recovering and evacuating the US KIAs, and destroying the enemy bunkers with demolitions, Lieutenant Colonel Schroeder ordered his companies to return to FSB Nashua. Lieutenant Morris recalled, “Our uniforms were filthy and caked with mud and blood. Most had been snagged and ripped in several places. Our Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) was a mishmash of gear we had scrounged from the battlefield. Jones (PFC and acting platoon sergeant) held up his pants with twine he had picked up somewhere. But as we approached Nashua on the trail, each man straightened himself up as much as possible and we moved into a perfect tactical patrol formation and walked into the FSB as a solid and cohesive unit.”
The fighting on 6 December significantly reduced the “foxhole” strength of the Warrior battalion. Alpha Company alone lost forty percent of its men, and LTC Schroeder planned to temporarily deactivate the unit. With losses exceeding the number of replacements arriving in the battalion, Schroeder knew it would take weeks, if not months, to rebuild the company. When the men of Alpha Company learned of the battalion commander’s plan, a group of the company’s NCOs asked to speak with him. They talked him out of it.
Several days later General William Westmoreland, the MACV Commander, visited FSB Nashua. After he was briefed on current operations and intelligence, the General wanted to talk to the Alpha Company soldiers who had fought the 6 December battle. Escorted by Brigadier General Forbes, the MACV Commander walked to Lieutenant Morris’ platoon sector on the perimeter. Forewarned that the General was on his way, Morris had his men standing in formation. The troops had little time to prepare, but dusted each other off to look as good as possible. Their sweat-soaked jungle fatigues showed rents and tears from hard treks through the jungle, and some of the men still had bandaged shrapnel wounds. Dressed in heavily starched, perfectly creased fatigues with four stars embroidered on each collar, the general approached Morris’ platoon formation and proceeded down the line of ragged grunts, speaking a few words to each man. When he reached PFC R.D. Jones, he noticed a piece of baling twine hanging below the man’s tattered jungle fatigue jacket.
“What’s that?” Westmoreland asked the soldier. Jones grinned and replied with pride. “That’s my belt, Sir!” The General grinned and shook Jones’ hand before moving on down the line.
Schroeder was impressed with the pride and esprit that these soldiers displayed. He was also impressed with the bravery of the men who had fought the 6 December battle, and he instructed his adjutant to get to work on award recommendations. He also sent one of his staff officers to the in-country hospitals to obtain eyewitness statements to support the highest of these awards, Chaplain Angelo Liteky’s Medal of Honor recommendation. The officer returned with only three statements. Most of the men who had witnessed the Chaplain’s actions during the battle had already been evacuated to hospitals in Japan. Undeterred, Schroeder had orders cut sending the young staff officer to Japan to comb the hospital wards for survivors. The lieutenant returned a week later with more than enough statements to support the award of the nation’s highest medal for bravery.
In addition to Chaplain Liteky’s Congressional Medal of Honor, there were two Distinguished Service Crosses and twelve Silver Stars awarded to participants in the battle. Seven of these awards for valor were posthumous. There were also numerous other awards, including more than 100 Purple Hearts for those who had suffered wounds during the battle.
CHAPTER 5
THE ENEMY LIES LOW
After the battle on 6 December 1967, the II Field Force Commander, General Weyand, ordered more troops into War Zone D. A battalion of Vietnamese Marines arrived at FSB Nashua on December 7, followed by the 2/27th Infantry, the “Wolfhounds,” from the 25th Infantry Division. The Wolfhounds and ARVN Marines were assigned Areas of Operation contiguous to the 4/12th’s. Brigadier General Forbes, commander of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, later wrote, “Following the insertion of the 4/12th we quickly moved a battalion of the 25th Division (Wolfhounds) into an area we felt would surely cause the VC to react violently—the military camp area near Xam Suoi Dia (later known as FSB Keene); it was astride a junction of two major roads through War Zone D which the VC had to use to resupply their units.” Forbes wanted the enemy to take the bait and bring on another major engagement. The general ordered LTC Henry Meyer, the commander of the 2/40th Artillery, to move his headquarters to FSB Nashua, and also moved his own forward CP there.
With more US and ARVN boots on the ground, the enemy began to fragment into smaller-sized units that moved quickly throughout the area harassing US troops, trying to lure them away from the Communists’ major supply complexes, arms caches, and hospital facilities. These facilities were critical for the support of their upcoming Tet Offensive. In addition to safeguarding their storage and base areas, the enemy hoped to wear down the Allied forces by infl
icting the maximum number of casualties without bringing on a major engagement.
On 8 December, LTC Schroeder ordered Captain Jones’ Charlie Company to search an area two kilometers northwest of FSB Nashua where aero scouts from the 3/17th Cav had reported signs of enemy activity. Charlie was the only Warrior company not involved in the 6 December fight. Captain Jones, the Charlie CO, had been in command for a little over two months, but he had no experience operating in jungle terrain. His lieutenants were similarly lacking in experience but were eager to prove themselves. Lieutenant Richard Solczyk led the 1st Platoon. He was enthusiastic and aggressive, but he would not live to see the new year. The 2nd Platoon was led by Lieutenant Al Lenhardt, a thoughtful officer who had ideas of making the Army a career. Lieutenant Paul Viola was in charge of 3rd Platoon. Viola was the only married lieutenant in the company, and his amicable personality made him a favorite among his superiors and subordinates. His leadership skills would be put to the test before the month was over.
LTC Schroeder was less than satisfied with some aspects of Charlie Company’s performance. He thought the company moved too slowly, and observed that its CO lacked aggressiveness and had difficulty maneuvering his platoons in difficult terrain. Nevertheless, he recognized that Captain Jones possessed some solid leadership qualities, and he knew that the Captain was respected by his men. Schroeder decided that he would continue to mentor the Captain.
On 8 December, Charlie Company stood to before dawn and Captain Jones briefed his platoons on their mission. The company’s three rifle platoons, along with three ACAVs from Delta, 17th Cav, would move along a road that led north from Nashua for approximately two kilometers. At a point where the road turned east and crossed the stream, Suoi Dia, the company would halt and take up defensive positions while Echo Company air assaulted into an LZ two kilometers to the west. Echo Company would then sweep east toward Charlie Company’s blocking positions. It was a classic “hammer and anvil” operation employed by US forces in Vietnam. In this case, Charlie Company was the anvil.
Charlie Company departed Fire Base Nashua around 0800 hours, with 2nd Platoon in the lead followed by 3rd Platoon, while 1st Platoon brought up the rear. The three ACAVs from D/17th Cav, with the Charlie Company command group mounted aboard one of the vehicles, started along the road. The column moved slowly since each platoon had flank security traipsing through dense jungle on either side of the road. Lieutenant Paul Viola, the 3rd Platoon leader, was having foot problems, and Captain Jones told him to ride on the lead ACAV with his RTO. The column moved north searching for signs of the enemy.
When the column approached the stream crossing, the 2nd and 3rd Platoons began to spread out into the dense jungle on both sides of the road. Captain Jones’ command group, along with 1st Platoon and two of the ACAVs, halted behind a slight rise in the road waiting for the lead platoons to move into their blocking positions. Lieutenant Viola instructed the driver of the ACAV on which he was mounted to move forward so that he could direct 3rd Platoon into its positions. When the ACAV reached his platoon’s location, he dismounted the ACAV with his RTO. At that moment, the VC opened fire with small arms and machine guns from across the stream. Two of Viola’s men were hit, one with a serious head wound. Viola later wrote, “The VC had armor-piercing ammo as the rounds were going through both sides of the APC [ACAV] which I had been on.”
Specialist Jim Choquette of Warwick, Rhode Island was behind the .50 caliber machine gun on the ACAV. As he returned the enemy fire, an armor-piercing round slammed through the gun shield, slicing off a portion of his upper lip and splattering him with blood. Another round struck crewman Don Crueller in the mid-section.
On the west side of the road, Lindhart’s 2nd Platoon also came under fire that wounded four men. Lieutenant Viola radioed the Charlie Company CO requesting artillery support. Jones passed the request to his FO, but the artillery officer refused to call in a fire mission to his artillery battery. The FO thought the enemy was too close to risk a fire mission. Lieutenant Viola was furious and told the FO to move his ass forward to where he could adjust fire. Instead, the FO sent his recon sergeant, Sergeant Hapgood, forward to Viola’s position. Hapgood dashed forward with the FO’s radio until he was close enough to adjust fire, and radioed a fire mission to his battery.
As Sergeant Hapgood rushed forward, an enemy RPG team fired several rounds at the ACAV, but the rounds fell short and exploded in the dirt in front of the track. The track commander attempted to return fire with the ACAVs .50 caliber, but the gun jammed. The ACAVs M60 machine gunner took up the slack, and suppressed the RPG fire, but the distinctive crack of AK-47s continued. Meanwhile, Sergeant Hapgood continued adjusting fire on the enemy, walking the rounds back toward the enemy positions along the stream. While Hapgood adjusted the artillery, Lieutenant Viola radioed for a dust-off for the wounded. Fortunately, a resupply ship was on the ground at FSB Nashua and responded within minutes, landing on the road near Viola’s position. A pair of 3/17th Cav gunships suppressed the enemy fire during the dust-off. Three of the most seriously wounded were loaded aboard the resupply bird and flown to 93rd Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh.
Fifteen minutes later, Echo Company air assaulted into an LZ two kilometers west of Charlie Company’s location, and began to move toward the scene of the firefight. Meanwhile, Captain Jones ordered his 1st Platoon to move forward to the point of contact. With another rifle platoon in the fight, Charlie Company gained fire superiority and the enemy began to withdraw from their positions. Captain Jones then ordered Lieutenant Solczyk’s platoon to cross the stream and finish the fight. As Solczyk’s men crossed the stream, the remaining enemy pulled out of their fortifications and withdrew northward, leaving behind seven of their dead. Thirty minutes later the Echo Company troops linked up with Charlie Company. A second medevac was called for to evacuate three additional Charlie Company grunts, and two Delta Troop cavalrymen who were wounded in the fight.
After examining the enemy fortifications, it was determined that Charlie Company had been ambushed by an enemy platoon-size force. Although the enemy had been outgunned, they’d fought stubbornly for more than two hours before they were driven from their positions. There were questions that were never answered in Lieutenant Viola’s mind about the fight. Upon reflection, he never understood why his CO didn’t move forward with his FO to direct the fight. He wrote that, “He [Jones] seemed reluctant to push or pursue.”
Back at the Brigade Main Base Camp (BMB) at Long Binh, the Charlie Company XO, First Lieutenant Carl Frazier, was notified that the company’s WIAs were at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital a few miles away. Frazier and his jeep driver, Specialist Bob Archibald, drove to the hospital to check on the wounded men and retrieve their weapons and equipment. Archibald had been pulled out of the field and sent back to base camp after only one month in-country to be the XO’s driver. He had a cushy job, but he was worried. With the recent high casualty rate in the battalion, he knew his days in the rear were numbered. There weren’t enough replacements coming in to fill all the vacancies in the rifle platoons. His intuition was correct. By mid-December, he was “humping the bush” again with Charlie Company’s 3rd Platoon.
The fact that an enemy platoon was able to ambush one of Schroeder’s rifle companies within two kilometers of FSB Nashua angered Brigadier General Forbes. General Creighton Abrams, the Deputy MACV Commander, arrived at Fire Base Nashua minutes after Charlie Company’s contact. Abrams and Forbes conferred in private. Abrams told Forbes to expand the area of operations to locate the enemy’s large logistic bases that were in the area and destroy the enemy main force units. Forbes knew he had to clear the areas immediately surrounding the firebase first. After General Abrams departed, Forbes summoned LTC Schroeder and told him to get the area around Nashua cleared without delay.
LTC Schroeder increased the number of patrols around the base, and from 8 December onward, every patrol that left Fire Base Nashua uncovered evidence of recent VC/NVA activity. Overland movement
to and from Nashua continued to be hazardous. On 9 December, a 2/40th Artillery convoy en route to Nashua lost a 2-1/2-ton truck when it hit a mine several kilometers east of the FSB. Two artillerymen, Staff Sergeant Glenn Livingston and Specialist Four Charles Jasmine, were KIA and two men were WIA.
In the days that followed, several Warrior patrols engaged the enemy in short violent firefights, after which the enemy would melt away into the jungle, but two of these encounters resulted in company or larger-size fights. In both cases, the firefights began after LRP teams encountered enemy units and had to call for reinforcements.
The first of the company-size fights occurred on December 19th, when an air cavalry rifle platoon reinforcing a LRP team made contact with a squad-size enemy force some three kilometers northwest of Nashua. After suffering two KIAs, the cavalrymen called for reinforcements. Captain Stan McLaughlin’s Echo Company conducted an airmobile assault into an LZ about one kilometer to the west of the air cav platoon. McLaughlin’s company landed unopposed at 1000 hours, and began to sweep toward the beleaguered platoon’s location.
After linking up with the air cav platoon, both outfits came under intense automatic weapons fire that wounded another of the air cav troopers. McLaughlin’s grunts responded with a volley of rifle and M79 grenade fire, killing one enemy soldier. The remainder of the enemy force fled south with McLaughlin’s grunts in hot pursuit. In a running firefight, the Echo Company grunts dropped four more of the enemy. The KIAs were all armed with new AK-47 rifles and grenades, and were clad in khaki uniforms. After searching the bodies, McLaughlin’s men pushed on in pursuit of the others. The Echo Company point man soon reported finding green commo wire laid up the trail where the enemy had fled. After following the wire for a kilometer, the grunts rounded a bend in the trail and came face to face with two enemy soldiers laying the wire from a spool. The VC dropped their spools and opened fire, killing one Echo Company soldier. The grunts returned fire, killing the two VC. Captain McLaughlin moved forward to assess the situation. He didn’t want to march his company into an ambush.
Days of Valor Page 9
