Activity in the area had picked up in November and recoil of my M14. - Officers and soldiers examine barbed wire fence where Vietcong broke through to enter Longbinh ammunition dump. [4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. He Charlie Company soldiers, used to months of patrolling and fighting in the jungles, suddenly found themselves fighting house to house as their fathers had done in World War II. (Vietnam War period). 4 and future U.S. senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel) had defended the Long Binh ammo dump and had helped in the Widows Village fight. remember that my right shoulder and chest were black and blue from the Toggle the table of contents Talk: Long Bnh, Bin Ha. After I received the coordinates of our objective, I yelled, Crank em up! into the radio handset, and we moved out. We never saw them again. F-100 Super Sabre and F-4 Phantom II drop Mark 82 bombs in Vietnam during U.S. air strikes. Tom Allaback. Those orders were for us to clear the VC from the houses surrounding the corps headquarters. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians seeking refuge. 11K views 9 years ago This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. [3]:2515, A VC/PAVN attack on the prisoner of war camp in Bin Ha which held over 2000 prisoners was repulsed by a platoon from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and a platoon from Company D, 17th Cavalry and their ACAVs. https://www.historynet.com/tet-offensive-the-battles-of-bien-hoa-and-long-binh/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. [2]:347, The VC 275th Regiment had taken up positions in a residential area known at the Widows' Village (105731N 1065237E / 10.9587N 106.877E / 10.9587; 106.877), which housed the wives and families of dead ARVN soldiers and was located across Route 316 from the Plantation Compound. 3. During this fighting, the two platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. Not only would I not finish my command tour, I was being assigned to a leg division. By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. I almost did Toward dark, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the operations officers radio operator. Chu Lai and LZ Baldy Photos. Fighting our way to the scout platoon, we were stopped when we came upon two large churches, straddling Highway 1, each occupied by VC. U.S. troops firing small arms as they proceed across tall grass into the hamlet. John Gross received the Silver Star for his actions in command of Charlie Company on the first day of the Tet Offensive. USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II bomber aircraft drop two Mk.84 HD bombs. [2]:347 Weyand also requested the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) to defend the eastern approaches to Long Binh/Bien Hoa and 1 ATF had commenced Operation Coburg on 24 January. Following that fight, the 2-47 was ordered south of the 9th Divisions base camp. 1 comment. In addition, we were tremendously flexible. 14. We threw grenades over the wall behind them, but hit nothing.. 0.28 I jumped down and ran from track to track, pounding on the sides and yelling, Check your handsets! As I ran back through the weapons platoon, I came upon an unbelievable sight. A force from Company C, 2/3rd Infantry mounted on ACAVs was sent north from Ho Nai and pinned the VC/PAVN in a crossfire. The bombs descend and explode near structures in grove of tress in agricultural area 30 miles southwest of Saigon on 19 August, 1968. The battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. [2]:347[3]:225, At 03:00, the PAVN 84A Artillery Regiment began a barrage of approximately 100 82-mm. 0.48 6. Satchel charges blew pallets of artillery ammunition, creating a mushroom cloud that made us think the VC had set off a tactical nuclear weapon. No answer. GV EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES Service Battery 6/27th [2]:349, At dawn several AH1 Cobra gunships from the 334th Assault Helicopter Company joined the defense spraying the VC with rockets and machine gun fire which started fires causing the VC assault to lose its impetus. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. At 7 a.m., as daylight was breaking, my track rolled past the ARVN III Corps compound gate. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. The weapon was aimed at the newly built and painted (orange-white The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. What we came up with was a T formation. Widows Village made a perfect attack position for the VC, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters in the Long Binh complex. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Jeep parked along road. License Agreement | Flames illuminated the clouds, forming an eerie glow; flares hung in the sky and helicopter gunships crossed back and forth firing red streams of tracers into the city. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. It was the first such occurrence since the ceasefire of Jan. 28. According to the official history of the VC 5th Division, the 3rd Battalion, 5th VC Regiment, supported by the Bien Hoa Sapper Company, had the mission of overrunning the compound, which was defended by about 15 ARVN soldiers and a smattering of MACV advisers. However the ammunition storage bunkers prevented a chain reaction and the lost munitions were easily replaced with no impact on supply. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. According to the VC 5th Division official history, the 3rd Battalion, 5th VC Regiment was supported by the Bien Hoa Sapper Company; its mission was to overrun the compound, which was defended by about 15 ARVN soldiers and a smattering of MACV advisers. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly and, despite what was reported in the press, American and ARVN forces handed the VC a devastating defeat during Tet. In April 1967, I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. secondary explosions. The progress was slow and ammo was becoming scarce, particularly grenades, which get consumed at an enormous rate in city fighting. Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. bunker. [3]:2015, At 04:00 a 60-man VC sapper team penetrated the northeastern perimeter of the base killing three MPs and entered the massive ammunition dump (105646N 1065436E / 10.946N 106.91E / 10.946; 106.91) where they planted eighteen Satchel charges before being forced to withdraw by the 720th Military Police Battalion. STOCKPILES OF BOMBS AND ARTILLERY SHELLS AT THE U.S. ARMY AMMUNITION DUMP AT LONG BINH, IN SOUTH VIETNAM, ERUPTED YESTERDAY (SATURDAY) WHEN TIME CHARGES, PLACED BY VIET CONG RAIDERS, DETONATED AMID TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES. known as Widows Village. Simultaneously, platoon leaders reported finding discarded AK-47s. About 30 minutes later, the track came back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to evacuate the wounded. We came up with a T formation. introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. They bowed and looked confused. Some were complete projectiles weighing Even though it was about 6-8 miles away to the NE of Bien Hoa, it was plainly visible . He stated that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. But their 81mm mortars were useless, since we were told we could not put any indirect fire into the town. AMMUNITION DUMP. This is the airstrike on snipers at the 195th AHC perimeter and the Long Binh ammo dump explosion set off by sappers the morning of the 1968 Tet offensive with sound effects added. All night he stared at the body, which had one arm grotesquely sticking in the air, and wondered why nobody had taken the gold wristwatch off the arm. to check-in and see what was going on, and found myself the only the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. 939939. My only previous contact with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course. In fact, VC effectiveness was so degraded that, after 1968, they were mainly replaced on the battlefield by North Vietnamese regulars, and were never a viable force after that. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. on the Bailey Compound, only in the 145th CAB HQ which could LV EXPLOSION, SIGN ON BOARD "DISNEY LAND FAR EAST" [3]:20, At 00:30 on 31 January, a patrol from Company E, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment detected a company-size PAVN/VC force approximately 10km north of Bien Hoa, moving in the direction of Bien Hoa AB. Our area from the Besides the fireworks, ARVN soldiers had linked tracer bullets together and were stitching the darkness with weaving streams of machine gun fire. During December we made little enemy contact, probably because the Communists were lying low preparing for Tet. The II Field Force commander, Lt. Gen. Frederick C. Weyand, had correctly predicted a major attack during Tet, and his anticipation no doubt saved Long Binh and Saigon from being overrun. Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79 grenade launcher. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. As the 2/47th Infantry approached the town a Vietnamese warned that it contained many VC and the VC then launched an ambush on the column knocking out 3 ACAVs with RPGs setting off a 4-hour battle as the US forces engaged the VC position and rescued the survivors in the damaged ACAVs. Alpha Company, still licking its wounds from the January 23 fight, was left intact. Charlie Company soldiers, used to months of patrolling and fighting in the jungles, suddenly found themselves fighting house to house as their fathers had done in World War II. [2]:347, At 01:00, a 6-man LRRP from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment spotted PAVN/VC moving through rubber trees several hundred meters to the north of Long Binh Post. The combat around III Corps headquarters was intense. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. Four men were killed and more than 20 wounded, including most of the officers. CU SIGN "NO SMOKING" There was an ammo dump explosion in 1968 also and both 1967 and 1968 are correct and were of course separate incidents. Privacy Policy | Links I told him we couldnt take the tracks off Highway 1 into town because the streets were too narrow. convoy about two days before and were repairing anything that had failed He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. Then things started falling Shopping Cart | It involved transfer of powder projectiles and fuses enough to keep Our outfit was a Tet Offensive I had returned to Long Binh Post. We were ordered to go to that church and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. According to Jones, that assault went so perfectly that it could have served as a demonstration at the infantry school. Initials PW/VS/JH/BB/ES PW/VS/JH/ES The explosions at Long Binh, 15 miles northeast of Sia gon rattled windows and shook doors here in the capital. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. LV EXPLOSIONS We found out later from captured VC that many guerrillas had been given only two magazines for their weapons. During TET 1969 in front of Bunker Hill 17, VC sappers tried to penetrate our fence line. In command for five months, I had been assured that I would be leading the company for one year, which suited me fine. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, and we arrived with many times the ammo and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. The Vietnamese general and the III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not very happy when we pulled out. The progress was slow and ammunition was becoming a scarce, particularly grenades, which city fighting consumes at an enormous rate. Flames illuminated the clouds, forming an eerie glow; flares hung in the sky and helicopter gunships crossed back and forth firing red streams of tracers into the city. By late afternoon the 275th Regiment retreated north, leaving over 200 dead. A slightly wounded soldier, lying on the ground, smiles as he points to his leg as another soldier helps him. When it Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company, and in a fight, the company had 22 .50-caliber machine guns, a 106mm and several 90mm recoilless rifles, and more radios and M-60 machine guns than a walking company could ever carry. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. He replied that I would have to wait. bore in my M14 barrel had begun to flake off and the wooden stock was Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. probably one of the best deals I had been Used for because the around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then I was disappointed when I received orders to join the 9th Infantry Division. Later, captured VC said many guerrillas only had two magazines for their weapons in expectation that the population would rise up against the Americans and have plenty of captured weapons to fight with. I operated a heavy five [2]:348, As the rockets hit Bien Hoa AB, 2 battalions of the VC 274th Regiment emerged from a rubber plantation 500m east of the eastern perimeter of Bien Hoa AB. USAF (United States Air Force) F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter aircraft drops Mark 82 (Mk.82) high-drag (HD) bombs. The two of them refused evacuation and neither reported his wound. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. By 1968 the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex was the largest US/South Vietnamese military base in South Vietnam. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. I had inherited the job Smoke rises from surrounding area. We closed within a few hundred meters of the scout platoon and watched as helicopter gunships destroyed a large yellow house from which the VC were pinning down Barnes troops. In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion headquarters to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Company C. In October, the 2-47 was tasked to secure engineers as they cleared Highway 1 from Xuan Loc to the II Corps boundary near Phan Thiet. The unit left their position at Firebase Concord north of Bin Ha and moved east proceeding along trails north of Ho Nai towards the LRRP position. Explosion at Long Binh ammunition storage facility. Something was definitely about to happen. was a point where the Ho Chi Min Trail came close to the countrys West He said his battalion was in heavy contact, and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. The Commo track, C-007, nicknamed Abdula and the Rug Merchants, with then- Pfc (and current Vietnam editor) David Zabecki behind the .50-caliber, brought up the rear. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. GV DUMP To ensure you can use all the features please enable it. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. This article incorporates public domain material from the .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Air Force Historical Research Agency. About Us | We fired everything we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. The probing attack units included VC sapper squads. I was not sure what to do about the bunkers. Specialist 4 Bill Rambo, assistant driver and .50-gunner on my command track, remembers my response to the firing as being absolutely irate. As darkness settled in, Charlie Company was ordered back to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, where we would form a screen in front of the 199th LIB base camp. [2]:352[3]:2067, At approximately 05:30, the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, mounted on M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles (ACAVs) coming from Bearcat approached the Plantation from the southwest and formed a skirmish line to engage the VC, while helicopter gunships from the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment swept in to rocket and machine gun the VC positions. I was told to forget about them, which reinforced our feeling that this situation was different and that combat was certainly imminent. This was no surprise to us, since we could plainly hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. APCs advance, firing 50 caliber machine guns. The VC had run out of ammunition and were trying to escape. Ammo Dump Explosion 18 Feb 1968 where 8 pads detonated with a total ammo value of $2,774,348: f. On 18 February 1968 at approximately 0300 an attempted penetration of the depot was. We use cookies on this website. [American sources in Vien tiane said, as quoted by The Associated Press, that the captured American was prob ably the pilot of a Continent al Air Service plane that was forced to land behind Pathet Lao lines after running out of fuel. Charlie Companys 3rd Platoon was also detached for a security mission inside the base. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. The acting commander of the 199th LIB, Col. Frederic E. Davison, ordered three of his infantry companies operating north of Long Binh to attack the rocket launch site, while LG Weyand ordered the 9th Infantry Division to send the 1st Brigade from Bearcat Base. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. [2]:347, The ARVN 53rd Regional Force Battalion was responsible for security in the countryside around Bin Ha. "[3]:205, The Tet offensive attacks on Bien Hoa AB and Tan Son Nhut Air Base slowly led to an improvement in air base defense across South Vietnam, with improved bunkers and heavier defensive armament including 0.50 cal machine guns, M67 recoilless rifles and M29 mortars. The action occurs January 31st, 1968 (on "Tet", the Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday). Tower sent Major Jones to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. All day civilians had been darting from their homes and running from the fighting. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. It was As usual, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. PAVN/VC losses were 137 killed and 25 captured. I dismounted the platoons and placed them on line on each side of the road: the second on the left, or north, and the first on the right, or south. At the meeting I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. 200 pounds. into the bunkers. The churches were cleared in short order. Sugar Bear Dames, as he was called by his many friends, walked down a side alley toward the highway. From our positions, we could see and hear the fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. The armed helicopter teams had a field day shooting guerrillas trying to flee into the jungle. After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. The Vietnamese brigadier general, who was the ranking man at III Corps, drew circles around two equal-sized areas of downtown Bien Hoa. About two days later one the huge fuel bags next This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. A VC guerrilla hiding behind a parked ARVN jeep had fired the rocket. The attacks on Bin Ha, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968. Ive just been told you work for me again. By July 1969 we were finally off the boats and in Dong Tam processing to head home. I called III Corps to report that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait for the Vietnamese National Police to take charge. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Artillery ], The Laotian representative said six members of the Meo special forces were also cap tured with the American on May 7 in Xieng Khouang Province near the North Vietnamese bor der. (Vietnam War period). As the ammo dump burst into flames, secondary explosions erupted in other storage areas, and for the next three days, fires burned out of control. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. LV DITTO Bill Langan, aka "Sparky" was on duty in the 573rd hanger at the Bird Cage and took the slide photo. In addition to the US bases, the city of Bin Ha was the headquarters of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) III Corps and home to a large prisoner of war camp. I realize now that the track was high enough that the rounds would have passed over the troops in front of the vehicle, Love recalls. Somehow the foam trucks from trooper was injured by a piece of shrapnel that had come down 102 comments 105 shares. About a month earlier I had been loaned out to weld the razor Under fire, Staff Sgt. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, situated on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company. 15. because Mankato (Minnesota)Vocational school had taught me to weld as Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymores and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. Fred Casper, one of the bravest of the brave, was killed during the May offensive at the Y Bridge in Saigon, leading from the front as was his custom. and the perimeter was still intact. Back view of jeep with open doors. all personnel to the flight line. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. opened his mouth but, SGT Cuffee, the supply SGT. We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. [3]:210 Instead at approximately 03:30 the VC began firing across the road at the Plantation Compound being met by return fire from the perimeter bunkers. . Company B, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, which was placed under the operational control of the 2-47, made a combat air assault under fire into the middle of the Widows Village battle and fought bravely beside the Panthers all day long. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. Widows Village made a perfect attack position, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters. The only contact I had had with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course just after I entered the Army. As we turned right onto Highway 15, an unbelievable spectacle stretched before us. It then dawned on us that the VC were throwing down their weapons, changing clothes and slipping away. The platoons attacked by successive bounds through the village as the companys tracks, forming the base of the T on the highway, provided fire support from the .50s and resupplied the troops with ammunition. Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, among the refugees. [2]:3512 US losses in the fighting in the Widow's Village were three dead. A great deal has been written about the battles of Tet 1968 and the political firestorm that resulted from them. I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion. Bien Hoa Air Base was the largest air base in the country, home to over 500 United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) aircraft, while Long Binh Post was the US Army's largest logistics base, headquarters of II Field Force, Vietnam, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (199th LIB) and the 12th Aviation Group and home to over 20,000 US personnel.