Days of Valor

by Robert L. Tonsetic

  When the grunts were pinned down by enemy fire in the street, they remembered the urban warfare refresher training they had had and blasted their way through walls from one building to the next using C4 explosives. One Cottonbaler recalled, “We used our 90mm recoilless rifles a lot during fighting in the city. We would use them on windows when we received fire from a building.” Progress was slow, measured by buildings cleared one by one. The moist air was stifling and reeked of cordite, burnt wood, rotting garbage, and the stench of dead bodies. Occasionally, the men had to hold their fire as fleeing civilians ran down the street attempting to get out of harm’s way. It was a scene reminiscent of World War II street fighting in Manila, Salerno, or St. Lo.

  At 1015 hours, Alpha Company’s lead element linked up with a group of US MPs. The MPs, who had fought for their lives throughout the night and on through the early morning hours, were more than happy to see the grunts. The lightly armed MPs reported that they had been under heavy fire until 15 minutes before the Cottonbalers arrived. They pointed out the buildings where the VC had their strongpoints, and Captain Smaldone radioed for the ACAVs to move forward. After a short break, Alpha Company moved out, leaving the five VC prisoners they had captured with the MPs. The ACAV with the mounted 106mm recoilless rifle moved alongside Smaldone’s lead platoon. Sniper fire was sporadic, but the closer the column moved to the racetrack the heavier it got. At 1120 hours, the advance was stalled by heavy fire, and Alpha Company reported that they were pinned down.

  Major MacGill was still on the rooftop with his artillery LNO and the two MPs. He’d been in radio contact with Smaldone directing Alpha Company’s advance. Both officers knew the Cholon area well from their previous Vietnam tours, and MacGill used landmarks they both knew, bars and night clubs, as reference points to direct the advance. A gunship team finally arrived to support the Cottonbalers. However, after a couple of passes at the VC positions on the rooftops surrounding MacGill’s building, the gunships departed the area after reporting mechanical problems. No replacements were available. Most of the US gunships in the Saigon area that morning were supporting US and ARVN troops battling around Tan Son Nhut.

  When he was notified that his OH-23 helicopter had refueled and was inbound, Major MacGill decided to go airborne again to direct the final assault on the racetrack. At 1130 hours, MacGill and his artillery LNO ran to their chopper that had landed on the rooftop. The major had just pinpointed the location of an enemy 12.75mm machine gun on a nearby rooftop for Captain Smaldone, ordering him to take it out. As MacGill’s chopper lifted off the rooftop, the 106mm recoilless rifle track blasted the building where the enemy machine gun was positioned. The blast sent chunks of cement and shards of metal for hundreds of feet in all directions, some narrowly missing MacGill’s helicopter. MacGill recalled that after several secondary explosions the building erupted in flames and smoke. He feared that the whole neighborhood might be set ablaze.

  The Alpha Company advance continued building by building, block by block. Specialist McCabe moved at the rear of his squad, turning around every few steps to cover the squad’s rear.

  After crossing an intersection where an alley opened onto the street, McCabe turned around and saw four VC walking out of the alley. He wrote, “One had an RPG on his shoulder, the others had AK-47s, and they were all wearing bright red armbands and scarves around their necks. I yelled to our guys, who were all looking the other way, and raised my M16 to fire, but the damned thing jammed…the guy with the B40 fired it at me…and the rocket sailed over our heads and exploded against a building…our M79 gunner…lobbed an HE round and hit them as they reached the other side of the street. It was a perfect shot. We opened up on them and finished them off.”

  Twenty minutes after Major MacGill’s helicopter lifted off, Alpha Company’s grunts reached the southeast corner of the racetrack. Heavy machine-gun, small-arms, and B40 fire from the grandstands and concrete towers cut down some of the men as they attempted to cross the main avenue south of the track. Eight more of Smaldone’s grunts were wounded. The men were evacuated to the 3d Field Hospital in Saigon.

  Seizing the racetrack was an easy matter. Major MacGill received clearance from CMD to fire artillery into the racetrack if necessary; however, the 105mm howitzers with concrete-piercing ammo were still at the Cottonbaler firebase in Binh Chanh, well out of range of the racetrack. Captain Smaldone’s Alpha Company, supported by the ACAV platoon, were on their own.

  Smaldone ordered his ACAV forward to pound the VC positions in the racetrack with .50 caliber machine-gun fire and 106mm recoilless rifle fire, while he organized his men for an assault. The Captain’s plan was to assault the southeast corner of the racetrack. An ACAV would smash through the eight-foot-high wall that bordered the southern end of the track, and the Cottonbalers would pour through the opening, fan out, and rout the enemy from their positions in the towers and grandstands. Smaldone was counting on shock, speed, and surprise to overwhelm the defenders.

  The Alpha Company assault kicked off at 1435 hours, when an armored cavalry gunner took aim and fired a 106mm high-explosive anti-tank round into the racetrack’s cement wall. A 12-ton ACAV then sped across the intersection and smashed its way through the breach. Cottonbalers moved at double time behind the tracked vehicle and swarmed through the breach behind the ACAV. The grunts then fanned out and ran toward the grandstands, firing as they ran. Most were too pumped with adrenaline to notice the half-dozen or so terrified racehorses that were loose from their stables and stampeding around the infield. Once the grunts reached the grandstands, they began ascending the stairwells in the towers, clearing rooms as they went.

  Lieutenant Bill Starrett recalled tossing frag grenades into rooms before entering and spraying them with his CAR15. One of the rooms was a men’s restroom with cement walls and a recessed trench in the floor with brass foot plates for those using the facility. Starett recalled that his rounds ricocheted off the cement floor and he narrowly missed wounding himself with his own fire. Seven VC who were trapped in the grandstands were killed and four weapons were captured, but the remainder escaped through the racetrack’s rear gate when the US troops breached the south wall. They didn’t go far, but instead took cover in buildings that bordered the north end of the track. At 1555 hours, Captain Smaldone reported that the racetrack was secure at a cost of three US dead and fifteen wounded.

  The Alpha Company Cottonbalers were not surprised to see their CO seated in a folding chair in the infield, calmly reading a copy of the Wall Street Journal as he awaited the arrival of the rest of the battalion. They’d seen it before, and according to Cottonbaler Lieutenant Bill Trotter, “It had a calming effect on the men to see the old man reading his Wall Street Journal while chaos was running wild.”

  LTC Gibler had his Bravo and Charlie Companies standing by on a pick-up zone (PZ) near Binh Chanh, waiting for the racetrack to be cleared. Fifteen minutes after Smaldone gave the all clear, Charlie Company lifted off the PZ, landing at 1618 hours on the infield. Gunships hovered around the periphery of the racetrack like hungry sharks ready to strike the VC with rockets and machine guns. A few green tracer rounds from the enemy arched skyward from the surrounding rooftops in a defiant gesture. The enemy fire was quickly answered and suppressed by the gunships. The lift ships returned to Binh Chanh to pick up more Cottonbalers, and by 1715 hours, Bravo and Charlie Companies were on the ground at the track.

  When LTC Gibler arrived, he set up his forward command post in the racetrack director’s office where there was a large TV. Gibler and his officers tuned in the Armed Forces Network to catch the latest news on the fighting in other parts of the city. They were amused when the commentator announced that the VC still held the racetrack. As darkness fell over the tense city, the Cottonbalers steeled themselves for a counterattack. One of the grunts commented that “it had been a helluva long day.”

  CHAPTER 11

  NIGHT OF FIRE

  Phu Tho Racetrack, 3/7th CP—0030 Hours, 1 February 1968


  Darkness brought little relief from the swamp-like heat and humidity of Cholon. The smell of smoke from fires smoldering throughout the district spread through the night air. From atop the grandstands, the Cottonbaler riflemen peered through their Starlight scopes at the streets below and across the rooftops of nearby buildings. Occasional shots rang out, as the grunts traded fire with VC snipers.

  While Gibler’s men braced themselves for a VC counterattack at the racetrack, the grunts at the battalion’s fire support base at Binh Chanh prepared for the long night ahead. The 3/7th support staff and the battalion’s direct support artillery battery remained at FSB Zindernuef. When the Cottonbaler rifle companies deployed to Cholon, the battalion’s Echo Company was left behind to secure the firebase perimeter. The battalion XO, Major John Borgman, was the officer-in-charge at Zindernuef. Borgman breathed a sigh of relief when Bravo and Charlie Companies of the 5/60th Infantry, nicknamed the “Banditios,” rolled into Binh Chanh on the evening of 31 January after a long road march from their base in the Mekong Delta. Upon their arrival, the two companies were attached to the 3/7th Infantry at the direction of Major General Ware. As darkness fell, the Bandito APCs rolled into positions along the perimeter of FSB Zindernuef, significantly enhancing the defensive posture of the base. The deployment of the two mech infantry companies to Zindernuef was a timely move.

  A few hours later, the perimeter of the Cottonbaler firebase was attacked with RPG, machine-gun, and mortar fire, resulting in three WIA in Echo Company and seven WIA in the Bandito Bravo and Charlie Companies. The troops along the perimeter returned fire with small arms and the mech infantry’s .50 caliber machine guns to break up the ground attack, while artillery fire knocked out the enemy mortars. The attack was part of a larger enemy effort to pin down the US troops outside Saigon to prevent their deployment into the city.

  At 0030 hours, Major General Ware radioed the Cottonbaler CP at the racetrack to coordinate a plan of action for February 1st. The General directed LTC Gibler to begin clearing Cholon, starting with the area around the Phu Tho Racetrack. Bravo and Charlie Companies from the 5/60th Infantry were ordered to road march from FSB Zinderneuf at first light to reinforce Gibler’s battalion. The remainder of LTC Bill Steele’s 5/60th Infantry was ordered to conduct operations in the Binh Chanh area. Echo Company, 3/7th was attached to Steele’s battalion. After his conversation with General Ware, LTC Gibler and his S3, Major MacGill, formulated a plan for clearing the area around the racetrack.

  Bravo and Charlie Companies, 3/7th were ordered to search and clear the area west of the track. The two companies were directed to move north from Highway 4 on the west side of Highway 235, while Captain Smaldone’s Alpha Company stayed behind as battalion reserve. When the two 5/60th mech companies arrived in Cholon, they were under orders to conduct a reconnaissance-in-force to the northwest of the racetrack, while the 33d ARVN Ranger Battalion, operating under the control of the 3/7th, was assigned the mission of clearing the area to the east.

  Bravo and Charlie Companies of the 5/60th Mech departed Binh Chanh for Cholon at 0642 hours on the morning of 1 February. The Banditios were the first 9th Division units ordered to the capital city in response to the Tet attacks. Following Highway 4, the long column of Armored Personnel Carriers rumbled past the same scenes of devastation witnessed by Smaldone’s company the day prior. As the column crossed a bridge on the outskirts of the city, the tracks took small-arms fire, but the column raced on toward Cholon. When the column entered the southern part of Cholon, the mech infantry companies halted at a street intersection where an MP truck had been overturned. Several dead MPs lay beside the vehicle, and the survivors had taken cover in a building. The MPs related that their truck had been hit with a large command-detonated explosive device. After rescuing the badly shaken MPs, the mech infantry moved out toward the racetrack. When they arrived, the Bandito COs were briefed by the Cottonbaler S3, Major MacGill, on the reconnaissance-in-force mission.

  Cholon—1500–1800 hours, 1 February

  Captain James Scarboro’s Bravo Company, 5/60 Mech, began a reconnaissance-in-force northwest of the racetrack at 1500 hours, moving out on the west side of Highway 235. It was their first taste of urban combat. Moving cautiously, Scarboro’s infantrymen halted frequently to dismount their tracks and search suspicious buildings, covered by the APCs’ .50 caliber machine guns By 1600 hours, Bravo’s mech infantrymen were about a kilometer northwest of the racetrack. As the company turned a corner, the men noticed a number of Vietnamese civilians departing the area while others ran into the houses that lined the street. Although the Vietnamese told Scarboro’s troops nothing about what lay ahead, it was obvious to the Americans that they were headed into trouble. Captain Scarboro, in a 1968 interview with the 9th Division’s Old Reliable magazine, told what happened next.

  “As we moved slowly along the street, I noticed women pulling their children into the houses, and people covering their ears with their hands. I knew something was waiting for us.”

  Scarboro then related how his company continued cautiously about one third of the way down the street until they neared a large cemetery off the right side of the road. As he scanned the buildings along the road, a small Vietnamese boy ran alongside his command vehicle, shouting “VC, VC, VC!”

  The Captain reported that, “Near the edge of the cemetery, I saw a flash from behind one of the many large trees growing in the cemetery. Then a B40 rocket hit the second track in my column.” Then all hell broke loose.

  The M113 burst into flames as a murderous barrage of rocket and machine-gun fire raked the column. The VC were firing from buildings to the southeast and northwest, and from the cemetery. Rounds ricocheted off the street around the tracks, showering the area with concrete shards. Captain Scarboro immediately deployed his tracks in a battle formation and returned fire with .50 caliber machine guns, while the remainder of his infantrymen dismounted and took up firing positions around the tracks. While his men returned fire, Scarboro ordered the driver of his command track to move forward through the intense fire to rescue the wounded from the burning vehicle.

  Scarboro stated in his interview that “The VC were firing down on us from the treetops. You could see them tumble out of the trees as our shots found their mark. They were using B-40 rockets and had a recoilless rifle set up in a shack at the center of the cemetery.”

  As Scarboro’s command track rolled forward toward the burning M113, it was hit on the left side with a recoilless rifle round. The Captain received multiple fragmentation wounds from the blast, and the vehicle’s radios were destroyed. In the magazine interview Scarboro recalled, “I was grazed by the shrapnel and was helped out of my track to a building nearby. My men continued to return fire. Some dismounted to check the buildings adjacent to the cemetery.”

  First Lieutenant Bruce Mills, Bravo’s 2nd Platoon leader, then moved forward with his men to aggressively engage the enemy in the cemetery. When he learned that his CO was out of the fight, the Bravo Company Executive Officer, First Lieutenant Robert Whitworth, assumed command. Unaware that the VC were rushing reinforcements into the cemetery, Whitworth ordered an assault on the enemy positions. A few minutes after the Bravo Company attack began, it stalled when the VC unleashed a volley of rocket fire. At that point, Bravo Company had three men KIA and 12 wounded.

  The casualties were loaded onto two Bravo Company APCs for evacuation to the racetrack, the nearest location where a dust-off could land. Lieutenant Bill Starrett from the 3/7th had set up an emergency evacuation LZ at the track’s “winners circle,” when he learned that the Bandito casualties were en route. Starrett stated, “The M113s rumbled into the racetrack, lowered their troop compartment ramps, and the wounded troops, many with chest wounds, were carried off on stretchers by the medics.” Starrett also recalled that the APCs that were used to evacuate the wounded had “50-cent-size holes in them.” The casualties were flown from the racetrack to 3d Field Hospital in Saigon.

  Meanwhile
, LTC Gibler and Major MacGill flew overhead of the Bravo Company fight and took control of the battle. MacGill thought that Bravo Company was blocked in, and he was concerned about losing the entire company. LTC Gibler requested artillery support and air strikes to smash the enemy force in the cemetery, but his request was denied due to possible civilian casualties and collateral damage. Frustrated by the restrictions, the Cottonbaler commander ordered the Banditos’ Charlie Company, 5/60th to reinforce the embattled Bravo Company. A “Razorback” gunship team was also diverted to the area to provide fire support to the ground troops.

  As Charlie Company raced toward the cemetery, the Razorback gunship team began to rake the enemy positions with rockets and machine-gun fire. Rumbling down the streets of Cholon at breakneck speed, Charlie Company’s column soon reached the northeast corner of the cemetery. The Charlie CO brought his tracks of on-line, and opened up on the enemy’s exposed flank with .50 caliber fire, tearing the VC positions to pieces. Taking advantage of the overwhelming firepower, Bravo Company launched a frontal assault on the VC stronghold in the cemetery, routing the enemy from their positions.

  After the savage fighting, an estimated 128 enemy bodies lay strewn in and around the cemetery along with numerous weapons and munitions. The Banditos had no time to police the battleground. They were ordered by LTC Gibler to mount up and return immediately to the racetrack. A Viet Cong force was preparing to attack the track from the west. There was no time to recover the badly damaged M113s. Gibler ordered the Razorback gunships to completely destroy the damaged M113s with rocket fire to prevent their capture by enemy forces.

  Phu Tho Racetrack—1700–1900 Hours, 1 February