While the VC attack on Camp Frenzell-Jones was stalled by the deployment of the 199th LIB’s ready reaction force, another battalionsize attack on the PLANTATION (II Field Force Headquarters Compound), was also stalled. A second enemy battalion of the 275th VC Regiment occupied Widows Village across Highway 316 across from II Field Force Headquarters, but the VC commander never ordered his men to begin the ground assault. Prisoners taken later in the day said that the VC battalion commander had waited for a heavy barrage of several hundred 122mm rockets to soften up their target before the ground attack. When only ninety rockets landed on the entire Plantation complex, the battalion commander delayed the ground assault to wait for a second round of rocket attacks. It was a fatal error. Ground forces from the 199th LIB, and air cavalrymen from A Troop, 3/17th Cav spotted the 122mm rocket launch sites after the initial salvos and called in artillery counter-battery fires, gunship strikes and tactical air strikes to destroy the sites. There would be no more 122mm rocket barrages that day.
Nonetheless, as dawn approached, the II Field Force Plantation Compound continued to receive fire from the enemy battalion holed up in Widows Village. The MP and headquarters personnel defenders returned fire from the bunker line, but couldn’t suppress the enemy fire. The incoming fire was aimed at the helicopter gunships and their crews as they took off from and landed at the refueling pads located within the compound. Something had to be done.
The II Field Force Provost Marshal was in charge of the defense of the II Field Force Compound. Not realizing the size of the VC force in Widows Village, he ordered the II Field Force Ready Reaction Force to leave the compound and clear the village. The reaction force was one mech infantry platoon from Bravo Company, 2/47th Infantry led by Lieutenant Henry Jezek. When the rocket attack began, Jesek’s platoon was inside the compound buttoned up in their parked M113A1s. Shortly after daybreak, the lieutenant was called to the II Field Force TOC and told by the Provost Marshal move out of the compound, cross Highway 316, and clear Widows Village.
Entering the village from the southwest, Lieutenant Jezek deployed his platoon on a 200-meter front. His dismounted infantrymen moved on-line between the advancing M113A1s.
The platoon’s right flank was anchored on a boundary road that paralleled Highway 316. Jesek’s platoon advanced slowly and cautiously up the village streets, expecting to encounter enemy snipers.
When the mechanized force was about a third of the way through the village, a group of VC concealed in a drainage ditch that paralleled Highway 13 opened fire with RPGs and small arms. They also detonated several Claymore-like mines on the platoon’s right flank. The M113A1 on the right took a direct hit from an RPG that disabled the vehicle and killed Corporal Robert Huie, who was firing the APCs .50 caliber machine gun. The driver and another crewman were seriously wounded. Seconds later, Lieutenant Jesek, who was moving on foot near the track, was also seriously wounded. Realizing that his platoon leader was out of the fight, Platoon Sergeant William Butler quickly took command. Butler knew his platoon was in trouble, and ordered the remaining tracks to direct their fire on the VC in the ditch. Under covering fire from the tracks, the dismounted infantrymen scrambled for cover and returned fire, while the wounded were carried toward the rear. The platoon was outnumbered and outgunned, but the 2/47th infantrymen fought off two assaults on their positions while waiting for reinforcements.
The closest unit to the hard-pressed Bravo Company platoon was the 2/47th Infantry recon platoon led by First Lieutenant Brice Barnes. When Barnes, a hard-charging Texan, got his marching orders from his battalion CO, LTC Towers, he lined up his eight ACAVs, and raced up Highway 316 toward Widows Village. After linking up with the Bravo Company platoon, Barnes put his ACAVs on line with two M113A1s from Bravo, and began to sweep through the narrow village streets. Barnes’ scouts and a dozen men from the Bravo platoon moved dismounted in front of the armored vehicles. Firing from small bunkers and tunnels beneath the houses and from a series of drainage ditches and culverts, the enemy refused to yield ground. Barnes’ troopers cut through barbed wire strung between some of the houses, slowing the advance. Enemy bodies soon littered the streets and ditches, but the enemy fought for every inch of ground.
At 0800 hours, Barnes’ scouts saw a flight of UH-1 lift ships descending in trail formation toward an open field adjacent to Highway 316. Captain Jim Lawson’s Bravo Company, 4/39th Infantry had been picked up in the Binh Son Rubber Plantation, and flown 17 miles to Long Binh to join the fight for Widows Village. The lift ships were under a hail of small-arms and machine-gun fire as they touched down. The Bravo Company grunts leapt from the helicopters, rushed for the nearest cover, and returned the VC fire as the aircraft lifted off. The II Field Force Headquarters troops manning the bunkers across the highway had ringside seats for the combat assault, and cheered as Lawson’s men secured the LZ.
Captain Lawson radioed LTC Tower, the 2/47th commander, for further orders. Tower gave Lawson’s company the mission of entering the village from the south and linking up with the recon platoon. Barnes’ ACAVs and scouts had advanced to positions in the center of the village near the eastern side. After linking up with Barnes force, the two units began a final attack to clear the village
The .50 caliber machine guns of Barnes’ ACAVs fired burst after burst into suspected enemy positions as the infantrymen closed on each enemy strongpoint in the village. The fires of the ground troops were supported by helicopter gunships that made run after run on the village, concentrating their rocket and mini-gun fires on the fleeing VC. When a number of VC took cover in a drainage ditch that paralleled the village’s main street, the gunships flushed the VC from their hiding place. Lawson’s infantrymen and Barnes’ scouts killed the fleeing enemy with well-aimed M16 and M79 fire. By 1200 hours, the village was nominally under US control; however, sporadic fire from bypassed enemy positions continued into the early afternoon. More than fifty enemy bodies were pulled from the network of ditches and fighting positions in the village, and some 30 prisoners, many of them wounded, were taken. The 9th Division troops that fought the battle for Widows Village then moved out to join the fighting around Bien Hoa Airbase.
The battle for Widows Village ended any immediate threat of an enemy ground assault on the Long Binh PLANTATION complex. However, mopping up operations around the base area would continue for several days as small groups of VC tried to evade and escape capture as they attempted to move back to their jungle sanctuaries in War Zone D. Meanwhile, II Field Force intelligence officers remained concerned about a second wave of attacks.
Combat medic and Silver Star winner, George Hauer. (Photo courtesy of George Hauer.)
Rifleman and Silver Star winner, Jim Pittman (center) with Charlie Company 4/12 Infantry buddies. (Photo courtesy of George Hauer.)
Medal of Honor winner, 199th Infantry Brigade Catholic Chaplain Angelo Liteky (left), and Major Ed Kelley, 4/12 Infantry, talk with a Warrior infantryman. (Photo by 40th Public Information Detachment [P.I.D.], 199th Infantry Brigade.)
4/12 Infantry Warrior commanders, January 1968. From left to right: Captain Pete Albers, Captain Bob Reynolds, Captain Bob Eaton, LTC Bill Schroeder, Captain Stan McLaughlin, Captain Bob Tyson, Captain Bob Tonsetic. (Author’s photo.)
Specialist Cliff Kaylor, Charlie Com pany, 4/12 Infantry RTO, January 1968. (Photo courtesy of Cliff Kaylor.)
Army helicopter gunships blast 275th VC Battalion positions north of Ho Nai village in support of Charlie Com pany 4/12 Infantry attack on 31 January 1968. (Photo by Specialist Depuis, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Warriors of 4/12 Infantry await helicopters to land on pick-up zone near Fire Support Base Stephanie, June 1968. (Photo by 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Destroyed ACAV from 3d Platoon, Delta Troop, 17th Armored Cavalry at Ho Nai village on 31 January 1968. (Photo by 1LT Mike Swearingen, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Weapons and VC dead left in the aftermath of battle on the first full day of the
Tet Offensive, 31 January 1968. (Photo by Capt. R.K. Anderson, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Charlie Co. Warriors with .51 caliber machine gun captured near Ho Nai village on 31 January 1968. From left to right: Specialists Ken Barber, Jerold Partch, and Nick Schneider. (Photo by 40th P.I.D., 199th LIB.)
Charlie Company, 4/12 Infantry command group prepares for lift-off during airmobile assault. Captain Tonsetic seated next to door. (Author’s photo.)
Specialist Dave Parks, 856th Radio Research Detachment. (Photo courtesy of Dave Parks.)
Colonel Frederic Davison (left), Deputy Commander of the 199th Infantry Brigade, conferring with LTC Herbert Ray, 5/12 Infantry, and LTC Bill Mastoris, 4/12 Infantry. At right is 199th Brigade S3 Don Bolduc. (Photo by Capt. Anderson, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Lieutenant Bill Trotter, 3/7 Infantry, confers with LTC Roy Herts and Major Jim MacGill. (Photo courtesy of Bill Trotter.)
Specialist Jerry Partch of Charlie Company, 4/12 Infantry, during Operation Valley Forge, March 1968. (Photo by PFC Hansell, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Grandstands at Phu Tho Race track, Tet 1968. (Photo by 40th Pub lic Information Detach ment, 199th Infan - try Brigade.)
Brig. Gen. Robert Forbes (center), 199th Infantry Brigade, looks over the base camp of the 4/12 Infantry with LTC Bill Mastoris (right), 13 April 1968. 1Lt Douglas Lee (left), the General’s aide, accompanies. (Photo by Specialist Whinnery, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry B.rigade.)
LTC Ken Hall, Commander 3/7 Infantry, confers with Cottonbaler NCOs. Major Jim MacGill, 3/7 Infantry S3, is at far right. (Photo courtesy of Bill Trotter.)
Captain Robert Tonsetic, Charlie Company, 4/12 Infantry, receives congratulations from First Sergeant George Holmes upon receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for actions on 31 January 1968. (US Army photo printed by 221st Signal Company.)
Brigadier General Robert Forbes, commander 199th LIB, presents awards to soldiers of the 4/12 Infantry for heroic actions during the Tet Offensive. Lt. Colonel William Mastoris, commander 4/12 Infantry, accompanies. (Photo by 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Duster in action on northern perimeter of Fire Support Base Stephanie on 7 May 1968. (Author’s photo.)
ACAVs of D Troop, 17th Cavalry, 199th Infantry Brigade, provide covering fire for advancing Warriors of 4/12 Infantry west of Saigon on 8 May 1968. (Photo by Specialist J. Van Wyngarden, P.I.D., 199th LIB.)
PFC James McKensie of Delta Company, 4/12 Infantry, inspects captured NVA weapons and gear after contact five miles west of Saigon, 6 May 1968. (Photo by Specialist Whinnery, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
An NVA Hoi Chanh points out enemy positions in the village of Binh Tri Dong, two miles west of Saigon on 8 May 1968. (Photo by Specialist J. Van Wyngarden, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
Warriors from 412 Infantry advance under fire from NVA west of Saigon on 8 May 1968. (Photo by Specialist J. Van Wyngarden, 40th P.I.D., 199th Infantry Brigade.)
A 90mm recoilless rifle team from Bravo Company, 4/12 Infantry, moves into position to fire on enemy bunkers southwest of Saigon. SFC Johnny Velasquez is seen carrying ammo. (Photo courtesy of Bill Hill.)
Two Warriors of 4/12 Infantry hit the dirt while assaulting NVA positions west of Saigon on 8 May 1968. (Photo by Specialist J. Van Wyngarden, 40th P.I.D., 199th LIB.)
Charlie Company, 2/3 Infantry, mortar squad at Fire Base Hun, left to right: Robin Hickenlooper, George Schuetzle, Tim Moore, Allen Newland. (Photo courtesy of Tim Moore.)
CHAPTER 9
ASSAULT ON SAIGON
Low clouds and smoke hung over the city as dawn broke on Wednesday, 31 January 1968. Reeling from Communist surprise attacks on military and political targets throughout the Saigon area, US and Vietnamese security forces struggled to maintain control of the city. No less than eleven enemy battalions were within the city limits. The Communists hoped to incite a general uprising among the civilian population that would topple the South Vietnamese government. Despite a full day’s warning, US and Vietnamese security forces were not prepared for large scale attacks within the Capital Military District.
By daybreak, Army MPs, reinforced by a platoon from the 101st Airborne Division, were mopping up diehard VC at the US Embassy. The VC had blasted their way into the complex four hours earlier, killing four MPs. The attack resulted in minimal damage to the Embassy, but it had huge political consequences. For many back in the United States, the attack on the Embassy became the defining moment of the Tet Offensive, if not the entire war. However, it was just the beginning of US and ARVN operations to defeat Communist forces and reestablish security in the Capital.
While the firefight at the Embassy reached a climax, fighting also raged near the Presidential Palace, the South Vietnamese government radio station, the Vietnamese Navy Headquarters, the South Vietnamese Armored Command Headquarters, and a host of smaller installations and facilities within the city. A larger battle was also in progress around Tan Son Nhut airbase, where the enemy had attacked the western perimeter. The main attack by three battalions was directed at Gate # 51. Attacking on a narrow front, the three battalions were in a column formation, one behind the other. Each battalion had a specific mission. The lead battalion’s mission was to penetrate into the base, the second battalion was to exploit and widen the penetration, and the third battalion was to destroy the facilities and equipment at Tan Son Nhut. In addition to the civilian aviation terminal, the US MACV headquarters and US Seventh Air Force headquarters were located at the airbase. Secondary attacks were also launched from the north at Gate # 58, and from the east at Gate #10.
Airmen of the 377th Security Police Squadron, reinforced by three platoons of USARV troops and a mix of RVNAF units, blocked the penetration at Gate # 51. Helicopter gunships and USAF aircraft pounded the attackers before they could exploit their penetration. The timely arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Otis’s 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, from the 25th Infantry Division, completely disrupted the attack, and after a long day’s battle the enemy battalions were totally decimated.
The 716th Military Police Battalion was the only US unit in the city capable of responding immediately to the attacks. The battalion was responsible for the security of some 130 US installations and facilities in the greater Saigon area. It was not an accident that no US combat troops were stationed in Saigon. The South Vietnamese government was always sensitive to the presence of US troops within the city itself, preferring to rely on their own police and security forces. During Operation Fairfax, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade had operated in the peripheral area around the Capital, but when the operation concluded on 15 December 1967, MACV turned over full responsibility for the close-in defense of Saigon to the Vietnamese. Neither the Americans nor the South Vietnamese had anticipated a full-scale attack on the city during the Tet holiday period. Most of the Vietnamese troops assigned to security missions in Saigon were not on duty because of the leaves that were granted for the holiday.
The 716th MPs responded to the swarm of attacks, but they were heavily outgunned and outnumbered. As a result, the MPs sustained heavy casualties during the first few hours of the fighting. In addition to the casualties at the US Embassy, two MPs were killed near the National Palace, and 16 more fell in a bloody ambush while responding to an attack on BOQ Number 3 near Tan Son Nhut airport. An additional 21 MPs were wounded in the same fight. The MPs also sustained casualties near the Phu Tho Racetrack in Cholon, when a jeep patrol was ambushed by a force from the 6th VC Local Force Battalion. The 716th MP Battalion suffered more deaths on 31 January than any other unit fighting in and around Saigon.
In recognition for their heroic efforts against overwhelming odds, twenty Silver Stars for valor were awarded to men assigned to the battalion, and PFC Paul Healey received the nation’s second highest award for heroism, the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross.
While the attacks in most sections of Saigon were contained and subsequently defeated in the first full d
ay of fighting, mopping up operations continued for the next two weeks.
The most troublesome area within the Capital Military District was Cholon, and in particular the area surrounding the Phu Tho Racetrack.
CHAPTER 10
A DAY AT THE RACES
Cholon—0445–0630 Hours, 31 January 1968
At 0445 hours, the 716th MP Battalion headquartered in Saigon received an urgent radio transmission from one of its patrols. “My driver just caught a slug in the gut and I’m under heavy automatic weapons fire. Can you send some help?” Before the MP duty NCO could reply, he heard a burst of fire and the radio went dead. Both MPs were later found dead in their shot-up jeep near the Phu Tho Racetrack.
About one hour later, two soldiers from the Phu Lam Signal Site, Specialists Lacy and Behrens, were driving from Phu Lam to the Regional Communications Group Headquarters in Cholon. They never made it. They, too, were gunned down in their jeep near the racetrack.
At 0630 hours, an alert force from the 716th MP Battalion reported that it was pinned down by heavy fire near the racetrack, and the MPs ordered a reaction force from Charlie Company, 52nd Infantry to head there as reinforcements. Lieutenant Stephen Braddock, 21 years old, from Abilene, Texas, led the reaction force. As Braddock’s men sped down Plantation Road toward the racetrack, they came under heavy machine-gun fire and Lt. Braddock was killed. The VC then threw a satchel charge into the lieutenant’s jeep, completely destroying the vehicle. Another officer and NCO were wounded as they tried to recover Braddock’s body. Despite the ambush, the reaction force linked up with the besieged MP element near the racetrack.
Days of Valor Page 18
