Days of Valor

by Robert L. Tonsetic

  Platoon Sergeant Wyers saw that Schneider’s men were pinned down, and shouted to his other squad leaders to bring their men on line and lay down a base of fire. The lead ACAV also rolled forward to support Schneider’s embattled squad. Platoon Sergeant Jayne’s 4th Platoon pressed forward on the east side of the road, trying to stay on line with the column of ACAVs.

  From the cupola of the lead ACAV, Sergeant Payne, the track commander, spotted a group of some 30 to 40 VC crossing the stream on the west side of the road, trying to flank Wyer’s 3rd Platoon. He turned his .50 caliber machine gun on the group, mowing down a number of the enemy soldiers. The survivors rushed forward until they ran into an unexpected obstacle. Months earlier, Army engineers had dug a large gravel pit while constructing the road. The VC ran right into it until they reached a steep embankment about ten feet high. The lead ACAV turned all of its firepower on the trapped VC. Schneider and a couple of his men took advantage of the covering fire and rushed to the ACAVs to retrieve their rucksacks that contained more ammunition and grenades.

  An enemy RPG team moved to a firing position next to a house on the east side of the road. The VC took aim at the lead ACAV as Sergeant Payne fired the vehicle’s .50 caliber machine at their comrades trapped in the gravel pit. Nick Schneider had just retrieved his rucksack from the ACAV and was rushing back to his squad when the RPG struck the vehicle’s right front side. The shaped charge burned into the engine compartment, setting the engine on fire and blowing the engine access panel into the side of the driver. Jim Choquette, the ACAV’s M79 gunner, was standing in the rear of the troop compartment when the RPG struck the vehicle. Miraculously, shrapnel from the blast blew over Choquette’s upper torso and head, missing him completely. He knew immediately, however, that the track was immobilized and that the fire in the engine compartment would soon reach the fuel lines and eventually the gas tank. He moved forward to assist the injured driver and other crewmembers off the vehicle.

  Hobbling along on his sprained ankle, Specialist Bob Archibald took cover in a ditch that paralleled the road once the firing began. He and two other grunts who were in the ditch made their way to the burning ACAV to assist the cavalrymen off the vehicle. George Hauer, a medic attached to Charlie Company, patched up the injured men and sent them to the rear. John Payne, Jim Coquette, and PFC Jerry Byers, crewmembers on the disabled ACAV, elected to stay in the fight. Under heavy fire, they ran to the second ACAV in the column and climbed aboard. Seconds later, two more RPGs slammed into the road, slightly damaging two ACAVs behind the lead track. The near misses caused only minor damage to the vehicles. A piece of the shrapnel from the blasts nicked Nick Schneider as he ran back to his squad’s position. The Cav platoon leader, Lieutenant Ehler, gave the order for the ACAVs to withdraw. Since the road was too narrow for the vehicles to turn around, and it had ditches on both sides, the ACAVs began to move in reverse.

  Platoon Sergeant Cliff Jaynes and most of 4th Platoon took cover in the drainage ditch on the east side of the road. Jaynes spotted the hideout of the RPG team in the abandoned house and yelled to his M79 gunners to fire their 40mm grenades at it. Two of the grenades dropped on the thatched roof of the house, setting it ablaze, while the riflemen took aim and poured a heavy fire into the windows and doors.

  Captain Tonsetic and his CP group were moving a few meters behind Wyer’s 3rd Platoon when the fight broke out. His immediate concern was that his men were about to be flanked on the west side of the road. After spotting a group of VC dart behind a house to his left, Tonsetic and his senior RTO, Cliff Kaylor, fired a couple of shots at the men. Then the Captain pulled two grenades from his web gear and lobbed them over the roof of the house. The grenades landed behind the house and exploded. The Captain then turned his attention to the house across the road. Tonsetic saw members of his 4th Platoon firing at the house that was now ablaze, and he shouted to the gunner on the recoilless rifle track to finish the job with a 106mm round. The ACAV was in the process of backing up the road, and Tonsetic couldn’t get the track commander’s attention over the noise of the battle. It didn’t matter. Seconds later, the burning house, containing a cache of enemy ammunition, including a stockpile of B40 rockets, exploded in a fiery blast that sent shock waves in all directions.

  LRP Team 37 was still concealed in their position about a kilometer to the north of the battle. Lieutenant Colonel Maus was unable to land in the area to extract his team. Enemy soldiers were still arriving in the area. At 0445, the LRP team leader, Specialist Vincent, radioed to his CO to report a huge explosion to his south. The team saw smoke rising 200 to 300 feet in the air. He reported that several houses in the village had blown up. In fact, it was the house that Tonsetic’s men had just destroyed. The patrol also spotted the flames and thick black smoke that engulfed the burning ACAV. Ammunition stored on the ACAV was cooking off, showering the surrounding area with sparks and shrapnel. It was like an awesome fireworks display. Orbiting overhead in his C&C ship, LTC Maus radioed his patrol leader, Specialist Vincent, and told him to sit tight, telling him, “We will pull you out when you link up with the infantry.” There was one problem. Vincent knew that the better part of a VC battalion was between his team and the embattled Charlie Company.

  South of the LRP team’s position, the battle continued to rage. Captain Tonsetic radioed for gunship support and was told a gunship team was en route. The heavy volume of enemy small arms, machine gun, and 61mm mortar fire was taking its toll. The enemy held the high ground to his north, and continued to place accurate fire on Tonsetic’s two platoons. Lieutenant Ehler’s ACAVs had backed up the road out of RPG range, and were no longer able to provide covering fire for the infantrymen.

  Platoon Sergeant Wyers’ 3rd Platoon held the most exposed position. Wyers’ had been wounded and knew he could not hold his position for long. Sizing up the situation, he ordered Specialists Nick Schneider, Alonzo Shelton, Ken Barber, and PFC Dale Reidenga to lay down a base of fire to cover the platoon’s withdrawal. The remainder of the platoon began to pull back with their wounded. In addition to Platoon Sergeant Wyers, Specialists Lester Brown, James Hayward, Terrance Miller, and Jerold Partch were all wounded, as were PFCs Ronald Bills and Mattlaw.

  Fourth Platoon was in better shape than 3rd Platoon, but Jayne’s unit had casualties as well. Sergeant Ronny Simons was wounded, and so were Specialists Frank Tesler and Michael Tuszl. Jaynes told his wounded sergeant to take the platoon’s casualties back to the rear, while the remainder of 4th Platoon continued to protect the company’s right flank with rifle and grenade fire. Most of Jaynes’ men were firing from the drainage ditch that paralleled the road.

  Captain Tonsetic and his CP group took cover in one of the houses, along with an M60 machine gunner from 3rd Platoon. He directed the machine gunner to cover the rear of the house from a window, while Bob Archibald covered a side window with his M16. Archibald recalled that after squeezing off a few rounds, “My M16 jammed up tighter than a sealed drum…if my CO hadn’t been there, I might have just smashed it.” Specialist Cliff Kaylor and the Captain worked the radios as enemy fire was directed at the house.

  Sergeant Wyers radioed that his platoon was falling back, and Tonsetic told Kaylor to call for artillery fire to cover the withdrawal. He had no idea of the whereabouts of his FO. While Kaylor radioed for artillery support, Tonsetic radioed the Warrior battalion TOC requesting gunship support and reenforcements. LTC Mastoris informed Tonsetic that a gunship team was en route, and that a company from 2/3d Infantry was conducting a forced night march to reinforce Charlie Company. The Old Guard company was reportedly five kilometers to the north and moving south to link up. Charlie Company’s request for artillery support was denied. According to the arty FDC, the impact area was too close to the village, and the rules of engagement did not allow for collateral damage.

  CHAPTER 8

  FIGHTING ON ALL SIDES

  Camp Frenzell-Jones—0500 Hours, 31 January 1968

  As dawn broke on the first full day of t
he Tet Offensive, both the west and east perimeters of Camp Frenzell-Jones (the LIB’s main base) were under heavy fire. UH-1C gunships from A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, nicknamed the “Silver Spurs,” engaged the VC positions. Streams of green tracer rounds arched skyward as the VC anti-aircraft gunners tried to bring down the gunships. The gunships took multiple hits but managed to stay airborne, pounding the VC positions with rockets and machine-gun fire. Under murderous fire from the Silver Spur gunships, the VC were unable to mass their troops for a ground attack.

  A 12.75mm machine gun firing from the hospital tower in Ho Nai village was scoring most of the hits on the gunships. The pilots radioed for assistance to silence the anti-aircraft gun. Two howitzers from A Battery, 2/40th Artillery were moved to firing positions on the northeast side of the perimeter where they could engage the tower with direct fire. LTC Myer, the 2/40th commander, shouted directions to the gun crews manning the guns. The crews lowered the tubes to the direct-fire level, and began slamming 105mm rounds into the tower. The gun section scored six direct hits on the tower, silencing the enemy antiaircraft fire.

  After knocking out the anti-aircraft position, LTC Myer was informed that the 195th Assault Helicopter Company pad and the II Field Force Headquarters area were taking heavy fire from a densely overgrown area east of their perimeter. The artillery commander responded, displacing a howitzer section to that threatened area. The howitzer was towed by truck to a firing position near the 12th Aviation Group helipad, where it was soon in action. The howitzer crew zeroed in on the target area with three white phosphorus rounds. The gunners then followed-up with 20 HE rounds, and a beehive round for good measure. The enemy fire ceased. Days later, an engineer unit that was clearing away the brush from the area found 18 mangled enemy bodies.

  While LTC Meyer’s howitzers blasted away at the VC, Colonel Davison contacted the II Field Force Commander requesting reinforcements for his embattled brigade. At 0500 hours, the 199th LIB was given operational control of a task force consisting of a portion of the battalion headquarters and Companies A and C of the 2/47th Infantry. Colonel Davison directed the force to link up with the brigade’s embattled Ready Reaction Force north of Ho Nai village. A 2/47th mechanized task force under the command of Major Bill Jones was more than 12 kilometers away when it received the order to reinforce the 4/12th company. The enemy, not the distance, was the problem. In order to link up with Captain Tonsetic’s force at Ho Nai village, Major Jones’ task force had to move west of Highway 15 to an intersection with Highway 316, and then turn northeast and fight its way to the intersection with Highway 1. The mech infantry column then had to move east through Ho Nai village until it reached Charlie Company’s position on the north-south engineer road. There were enemy snipers and likely ambush sites all along the route.

  Ho Nai Village—0530–0630 Hours

  First Sergeant George Holmes began moving Charlie Company’s wounded back toward the center of Ho Nai village. When he reached a schoolyard that was large enough to land a medevac chopper, he set up a perimeter using the walking wounded, and called Long Binh dustoff control. Holmes had two things on his mind. First, he wanted to medevac the most serious of the wounded. He was also concerned that his CO, Captain Tonsetic, his RTOs, and a few grunts were cut off from the remainder of the company. Holmes knew from the radio traffic that the “Old Man” was in a forward position directing gunship strikes on the enemy battalion. When the gunships had to leave station to rearm and refuel, Holmes knew that the Captain’s position would likely be overrun.

  Dust-off 19 arrived on station over Ho Nai village at 0538 hours. A VC anti-aircraft machine gun opened up on the helicopter with 12.75mm fire. Braving the heavy machine-gun fire, the pilot tried to land at the LZ in the schoolyard, but was driven off on its first two attempts after sustaining several hits. Undaunted, the WO pilot landed on the small LZ on his third attempt. Amid a whirlwind of dust and smoke kicked up by the chopper’s rotor blades, three wounded Charlie Company grunts and four Cav troopers were loaded onto the UH-1H. At 0605, the dust-off ship lifted off and flew toward the 93d Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh. Four wounded grunts from Charlie Company opted to stay and fight it out with the company.

  From his forward position, Captain Tonsetic continued to direct the gunships on the enemy battalion less than 100 meters to his north. The burning ACAV illuminated the area, and Tonsetic could clearly see the VC as they were cut down by machine-gun and rocket fire from the gunships. A few 3rd Platoon grunts dashed by the door of the house where the Captain stood directing the strikes. Figuring that none of his men were forward of his position, Tonsetic began to direct the strikes closer to his own position. He told the gunship team leader to plaster the area around the burning ACAV that was about thirty meters away from the house where his CP group had taken cover. The Captain was not aware that Platoon Sergeant Jaynes and a few men from 4th Platoon were still providing covering fire for the command group from a drainage ditch across the road. Jaynes’ men spotted several VC rushing toward the house where Tonsetic and his RTOs were holed up, and cut them down with M16 fire.

  When First Sergeant Holmes saw the dust-off ship lift off, he grabbed a squad from 3rd Platoon and headed north through the village to find his CO. Holmes and his squad crept forward to a position about twenty meters from the house where the CP group was set up. He shouted to his CO to withdraw toward his position: “You’ve got to fall back. The rest of the Company is back up the road. We’ll provide covering fire.”

  Since the gunships were running low on ammunition, Tonsetic decided his CP group had better make a break for it. One by one, the RTOs, machine gunner, and the Captain sprinted out the doorway toward Holmes’ position, while the rifle squad accompanying the First Sergeant laid down a base of covering fire. Once Jaynes saw that Captain Tonsetic and his men had made it out of the house, he began pulling back toward the company position at the juncture of the engineer road and Highway 1 in the village. Dawn began to break over the smoke-covered battlefield.

  When Captain Tonsetic and his RTOs arrived at the road junction where his men had set up a perimeter, he assessed the situation. Of the original eight ACAV, one was destroyed and two were damaged. The 106mm ACAV was positioned to cover the engineer road leading north out of the village, while the undamaged tracks were positioned in a herringbone pattern along Highway 1. The Captain asked his First Sergeant how many men were still able to fight. Holmes replied that there were 30 men in the two platoons, including four who were slightly wounded. The Captain knew that there was a Company from the 2/3d Infantry somewhere to his north, and that a 9th Division mech outfit was on the road headed for his location, but he didn’t know how long it would take for either of the reinforcing units to arrive. He knew that the VC battalion to his north was not going to sit and wait. He had to keep the pressure on, or the enemy would regain the initiative.

  Captain Tonsetic decided to attack the enemy dug in on the high ground to his north. With gunship support, he hoped to gain a foothold on the high ground. Then he would hopefully be reinforced. The Captain ordered the Cav platoon leader to secure the road junction with his ACAVs. The 106mm recoilless rifle track was positioned facing north on the engineer road to support the attack. The signal for Charlie Company’s infantrymen to move out was a blast from the 106mm Recoilless rifle aimed straight down the road. Third Platoon again took the west side of the road while 4th Platoon moved out on the east side. Resistance was light until the grunts arrived in the vicinity of the destroyed ACAV.

  As the Charlie Company grunts approached the burned out ACAV, enemy 61mm mortars opened fire from the high ground to the north. Some rounds fell short into the stream bed, but one detonated in the branches of a tall tree that grew next to the road, showering the area with shrapnel. Scanning the ridgeline, Captain Tonsetic spotted the enemy mortar crews dropping rounds into their tubes, and shouted to Platoon Sergeant Jaynes to take them out with M79 fire. Jaynes’ grenadiers, all experts with high-trajectory fire, lobbe
d round after round of 40mm grenades at the enemy mortars, destroying the position.

  Platoon Sergeant Wyers’ 3rd Platoon made good progress on the west side of the road until an enemy squad concealed in a patch of brush south of the streambed opened fire with a light machine gun and AK-47s. Wyers’ men hit the dirt and returned fire. PFC Alfred Lewis, a 21-year-old from Detroit, and 20-year-old Mike Raugh, a native New Yorker and new replacement, jumped into the ditch that paralleled the road. Standing upright in the ditch, Lewis fired several 40mm grenades from his M79 toward the enemy position. From the ditch, Lewis couldn’t tell if his grenades hit their target. After telling Mike Raugh to stay put, Lewis crawled forward for several feet, then crept out of the ditch. He made his way up a gentle slope until he was silhouetted against the skyline. The VC machine gun opened up with a long burst that was answered by a volley of M16 fire from a group of 3rd Platoon riflemen. Lewis, who was caught in the crossfire between his own men and the VC, was shot.

  Several members of 3rd Platoon crawled forward to pull Lewis to safety, but he died before they reached him. Continuing on, the 3rd Platoon grunts engaged the enemy squad with hand grenades and M16 fire, killing eight and capturing a light machine gun and several AK-47 rifles. The 3rd Platoon was then taken under fire from the enemy-held ridgeline north of the stream. Specialist Byrd took a round through the cheek that shattered his jaw and knocked out several teeth. Bleeding profusely, he stumbled to the rear, assisted by the platoon medic, George Hauer. The 3rd Platoon’s advance was stalled by the heavy volume of enemy fire.

  Captain Tonsetic was standing beside the burned-out ACAV hulk directing a gunship team when an enemy soldier armed with a machine pistol jumped out of the brush fifteen meters away, and fired a burst at the Captain and his RTOs. Sharp pings of bullets against the armored hull of the ACAV sent Tonsetic, his commo sergeant Larry Abel, and his RTO Cliff Kaylor diving for cover. The intrepid VC then dashed for the cover of a culvert that ran beneath the road. Several Charlie Company grunts fired at the fleeing VC, but missed as he dove into the culvert opening. The artillery FO, Lieutenant Tillotson, and his recon sergeant were closest to the culvert. The pair moved forward and the FO pulled the pin from a hand grenade and tossed it toward the culvert opening before hitting the dirt. The grenade bounced off the rim of the culvert into some weeds. The artillery lieutenant thought that the grenade was a dud. As he moved his body to the push-up position to have a look, the grenade exploded. A small piece of shrapnel tore into his right shoulder.