Men like Captain Ken Crabtree, Commander, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 321st Field Artillery, who was my boss, mentor and personal friend. Their early identification of the enemy force moving toward Delta Company saved many lives. In early May 1969, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong were threatening Tam Ky, the capital of Quang Tin province in northern South Vietnam. I attended Fort Benning for basic training, Fort Gordon for airborne training. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. I vividly remember being in a makeshift bunker on a knoll when all hell broke loose on this very day forty-six years ago on January 30, 1968. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Maj. Baldwin was signaling to the aircraft where to drop a basket for the wounded the moment the photo was taken. Reaching a position in the tree line near the eastern end of the berm, they can go no farther. Embedded with the Soldiers of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Greenspon caught the moment after an ambush where Soldiers from the company were moving casualties to a landing zone to be evacuated. Pre-Owned. Units based at Phu Bai during this period included: On 20 October 1972 the base was handed over to the South Vietnamese.[12]. "Watson Baldwin was the finest platoon sergeant I had when I was in the Army," said Wintenburg. Elements of the 101st Airborne made clearing sweeps in the mountains and valleys along the route. In Courage Under Fire: The 101st Airbornes Hidden Battle at Tam Ky, he gives a detailed, day-by-day account of his battalions actions during the operation, with a focus on Delta Company. D Company occupied several bombed out buildings, and during the search of the area found large quantities of Vietnamese booze, individual weapons, enemy radios and other supplies.. In case a Recon soldier is wounded, they can easily go forward to treat the soldier. He did two tours in Vietnam and retired as a sergeant major. The needle is in. Only afterward is it known the Recons two PRC-25 radios are purposely left behind by the RTOs to lighten their load. "I'm extremely proud of Soldiers today and how professional they are. They normally are at or near the rear of Recon when the unit is moving. of the valley was the major North Vietnamese Army (NVA) staging area
That wont happen until the enemy contact has ended. Jeremiah Purdie . Camp Evans, base of the 101st Airborne Division's First Brigade, 14 miles northwest of Hue, was struck by 10 mortar rounds. Artillery batteries from the . Sleep-deprived soldiers instinctively react to the unwelcome wake-up call. Stoner tells the medic, Nothings happening! Doc tells Stoner, Loosen the tourniquet. That works. Opinions expressed by writers are solely their own. The LZ has two advantages. Roy is on the LZ checking the progress of the brush clearing just 30 feet to the east of when the enemy grenade explodes. What is obvious immediately is the enemy attack hasnt and wont reach Delta Companys position. Operation Lamar Plain officially ended on Aug. 13. The bursting shell kills three soldiers: Sgt. The Wall location: 04W-115. He ends with June 12, Deltas extraction from Hill 376 a few days after a massive artillery barrage destroyed the enemy force. For reference purposes the book Where We Were by Michael P. Kelly, Hellgate Press, 2002, provided much of the information. The early reporting of a smashing communist victory went largely uncorrected in the media and led to a psychological victory for the communists. . On 10 April 1965 Task Force Alpha of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines was landed by helicopter from Da Nang Air Base to secure the area. Brown, who has the photo hanging in his house, along with the Screaming Eagle flag, explained why it was so memorable in his eyes. As I was in-processing for basic training, I attended a briefing for Officer Candidate School [and] decided to apply during basic training. troops from the 1st Cavalry and the 101st Airborne worked to cut off communist supply lines outside Hue against elements of three North Vietnamese divisions that US planners had thought . Nothing could be further from the truth. The enemy position near the west end of the berm is continuing to fire AK-47s. Brown and Wintenburg each spent about a year in Vietnam, and both men struggled with anxiety for years. "Being in the Army helped give me an excellent work ethic," said Wintenburg. That is what good soldiers do. known as Base Area 611. The base was used to support U.S. and ARVN forces fighting in the Battle of Hu. B Med: B Company 326th Medical BN supported the 1st Brigade 101st Airborne Div. In the opinion of most Vietnam combat veterans, the movie was the most realistic depiction of deadly combat. He tosses a saline solution bag from his medical kit to Stoner. This article was published in the February 2022 issue of Vietnam magazine. As a young "butter bar" forward observer attached to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division it was the beginning of my travels on the road to hell and beyond. The former Imperial capital of Hue took almost a month of savage house-to-house combat to regain. November 28, 2014. He wore military issue, heavy, black-framed glasses, had reddish, short-cropped hair and a quick wit. "During the Christmas holidays, 1965, I received a letter from Uncle Sam stating 'you have been selected to serve your Country' and entered the Army in January 1966. The 90th NVA Regiment was committed to its capture and defense. All three Soldiers ended up assigned to Company A, 2-327, a battalion in the 1st Brigade [Separate] of the 101st Airborne Division. Once within the perimeter, Doc treats Clouatre with Strands help. The suppressive fire from Deltas perimeters keeps them from improving their position. I readied my M16 and NVA regulars began to emerge.". The rotors, engines and deep-throated roar of almost continuous minigun fire is impossible to describe. The airfield is now used as Phu Bai International Airport. . He has been talking with the 101st Airbornes air cavalry team, which was loitering nearby. When we spoke to the Soldiers at Fort Campbell, they basically rolled out the red carpet for us and told us how honored they were to continue the tradition. Report, Map of Fire Support Bases in the A Shau Valley, 1969. The delayed muffled booms rapidly echo across the mountainside. They are also now without their equipment and radio. Despite initial victories by the Communists forces, the Tet Offensive resulted in a major defeat for General Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) designer of the Tet Offensive. An incoming 105 mm round falls short and explodes in Bravo Companys position. Just as they begin to withdraw, no more than 50 meters away they spot a large enemy force of undetermined size moving east among the trees. $48.00. As the house band at the Whiskey a Go Go on the Sunset Strip, they had built a large local following and strong industry buzz, and out on the road, they were fast becoming known as a read more, Off the coast of Gravelines, France, Spains so-called Invincible Armada is defeated by an English naval force under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Bastogne was constructed in 1968 by the 101st Airborne Division. Otherwise, there would be several more casualties. He has never done an IV before. I remember thinking that God is sending a message that life goes on even among all the carnage we had witnessed since January 31st. Among them is the ancient city of Hue. The heavy U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with President Johnsons conduct of the war. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. It takes more than a few minutes since Clouatre is bleeding badly from multiple shrapnel wounds. A 159th aircraft, but no visible markings. The enemy doesnt return fire. From 5 March 1975, the PAVN shelled the base as part of the HueDa Nang Campaign. The Battle for Hue lasted from January 31st to February 26th. The brigade completed its move via C130 transport aircraft through the Phu Bai and Quang Tri City airfields between 23 and 29 January. It is also in a swale with high ground immediately to its north and south, which provides protection from enemy observation and anti-aircraft fire. Ghost Riders B Co.158th Avn. Stories from the 591st Engineer Company who were taske with maintaining the highway Route 547 from the Hue City area of northern South Vietnam westward towards Laos into the A Shau Valley during the VIetnam War. While the Cav attacks the enemy position on the berm, the enemy force stops its advance and takes cover. Doc makes sure he hasnt overlooked any life-threatening wounds and applies bandages to the worst of them. 4 Gary Winkler and Spc. Vietnam War: Elements of 2nd Brigade and 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division 10 miles NW of Hue during Operation Carentan II, 1 May 1968. ", "What people didn't understand back then but understand more now is that we were Soldiers doing our jobs," said Wintenburg. The A Shau Valley was one of the strategic focal points of
I could see clouds of dirt jumping as the bullets hit and I barely dove out of the way. SOARING WITH EAGLES IN THE GREAT BEYOND. 10km NW Pleiku. Theyve performed a vital mission. A firefight soon ensued between A Company and the NVA and multiple Soldiers were hit. Patch - GRIM REAPER - 101st Airborne - HUE, PHU BAI - Vietnam War - #.637. House at the 101st Airborne Division, Camp Eagle, Hue, Vietnam, 1964. . HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. [1] The operational unit was later redesignated as the 8th Radio Research Field Station (8th RRFS). sonofdec58 (1,616) 100%. This was another example in the Vietnam War of an inaccuracy becoming the perceived truth. Just then, the cavalry arrives, just like in the movies. Wharton directs the Cav team to make several runs along the berm with miniguns from east to west. Cadillac was founded out of the ruins of automotive pioneer Henry Fords second failed company (his third read more. 472.2 RECORDS OF THE MILITARY ASSISTANCE ADVISORY GROUP (MAAG) VIETNAM 1950-64 154 lin. "About six of us from my high school decided we were going to go into the Army." Steve Strand, all from 3rd Platoon, begin work with machetes clearing the west end of the LZ. The brigade . Overgrown with vegetation, the berm is part of an abandoned terraced area once used for farming. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. U.S. forces, including the 101st Airborne Division as well . "There was a major trail and we had to set up a perimeter for security as the company moved through," said Brown. Recon knows their small element is in great danger of being overrun. As soon as the Recon team is clear of the hill, Sahrle and several others open fire on the enemy force with their M16s. Baldwin was also very compassionate. detailed map of Phu Loc and near places. Aerial views of the U.S. 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division base camp in Phu Bai, Vietnam. "I was sitting on my rucksack eating while we waited and I noticed a tree moving. He was a great soldier, fondly remembered by all who knew him. From Sahrles position, their easterly movement is from left to right in an attempt to flank Delta Companys position on the north before beginning their attack. Under Hitler, the Nazi Party grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany as a totalitarian state from 1933 to 1945. Camp Eagle was used to support the 101st Airborne's major operations in the A Shau Valley - Operation Apache Snow in 1969 and Operation Texas Star in 1970. Fifteen rounds are still a deadly barrage. 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