long binh ammo dump explosion 1968

This was no surprise to us, since we could plainly hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. charred. 0.22 An accurate body count could never be compiled since so many VC bodies were dragged away or were burned in the many fires that ravaged the towns and villages. Shoe of soldier on ground. Its predominantly Catholic population was made up of many Vietnamese who fled North Vietnam in 1954 after the Viet Minh victory. A few minutes later, a jeep drove up carrying two extremely frightened white-shirted policemen. As the scouts escaped, the volume of enemy fire began to slacken, then died altogether. 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. secondary explosions. As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. the light dome that rose from the explosion. The 2nd Platoon took on the one on the north side of the road, and the 1st Platoon attacked the other. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians. The 2-47 was one of several units he pulled in from the jungles to guard the Long Binh headquarters and logistical complex 15 miles northeast of Saigon. I sat behind the .50-caliber, munching and giving thanks for the fact that, incredibly, nobody in Charlie Company had been killed. Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. Then I got a call from battalion commander Tower, asking how things were going. Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were the work of Vietcong sabotage teams. Sugar Bear Dames, as he was called by his many friends, walked down a side alley toward the highway. Bravo Company was sent to protect the Long Binh ammunition dump, and Charlie Company was ordered into downtown Bien Hoa, where the ARVN III Corps headquarters was in danger of being overrun. I had assumed I would be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. Many of the enlisted personnel with medical MOSs work two to three days per week at the 93 rd Evacuation Hospital, then came back to the 24 th to work on the various construction projects. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Somehow the foam trucks from 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. At the time of the At the end of the previous day, Charlie Company had reported 38 VC killed, at the cost of only 11 U.S. wounded and three APCs damaged by RPGs. AMMUNITION DUMP. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. we were a bit more trigger happy than usual. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. [3]:2289, The Tt ceasefire began on 29 January, but was cancelled on 30 January after the VC/PAVN prematurely launched attacks in II Corps and at 17:30 the 7th Air Force commander General William W. Momyer ordered all air bases in South Vietnam to security condition red. 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. It also contained tons of captured NVA ammo and guns from the A Shau Valley. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. 0.17 As darkness settled in, Charlie Company was ordered to move back the way it had come, to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, where we would form a screen in front of the 199th LIB base camp. I was not sure what to do about the bunkers we had dug. I had no way of knowing who it was with no light in the Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were . The combat around III Corps headquarters was intense. We were ordered to go to that church and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, travel great distances in a short amount of time, and arrive with many times the ammunition and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. Besides the actions of Charlie Company, under the leadership of the S3, Major Bill Jones, Alpha had conducted an assault on VC positions in a cemetery. Construction on the 24 th. Kortuem! Then things started falling out of the sky. As we turned right onto Highway 15, an unbelievable spectacle stretched before us. carried on into that night with tracers flying everywhere. His two daughters, Ly's mother and her sister, are disabled. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. was a point where the Ho Chi Min Trail came close to the countrys West He waved me off. As I remember this night, around 12 or 12:30 a.m. the sirens Simultaneously, platoon leaders reported finding discarded AK-47s. [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. 7. The bombs descend and explode on structures in grove of trees near rice paddies 23 miles east of Binh Thuy on 19th August. a noise! As we rolled back through Bien Hoa, we were astounded to find the battalion S4, Captain Leroy Brown, in the middle of town with a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker and several ammunition trucks. Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the operations officers radio operator. the wrecker operator had to know how to weld. 102 comments 105 shares. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry. Sand bags near barbed wire fence. Views of a number of huts, in the hamlet, that have not been destroyed. As dawn broke, everything was deathly quiet. 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. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. recoil of my M14. USAF (United States Air Force) F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter aircraft drops Mark 82 (Mk.82) high-drag (HD) bombs. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. on the Bailey Compound, only in the 145th CAB HQ which could About 30 minutes later, the track was back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to get the wounded. [2]:346, The US 199th LIB was responsible for security in the towns and countryside around Long Binh, while the 720th Military Police Battalion was responsible for security within the base perimeter. The idea was to leave nothing the VC might use against us. danger and the probable best course of action. (Vietnam War period). Seems like the fighting went on By late afternoon the 275th Regiment retreated north, leaving over 200 dead. I had been in Vietnam about nine months. In fact, the Communists had already infiltrated the city of Bien Hoa, suburban Ho Nai village and Widows Village, where pensioned families of deceased ARVN soldiers lived. into the bunkers. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. Our area from the Contact Us | 9. I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion.He said: Forget that. We charged southeast down Highway 316 to the Highway 15 intersection, located on a small hill overlooking the 90th Replacement Company. The VC/PAVN attacked the position that night in a 6 hour long assault which was met initially by US mortar and artillery fire, then helicopter gunships and then napalm strikes. The 1st Platoon of Bravo Company was made the II Field Force reaction force and was placed in the PX parking lot at Long Binh. At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. Cambodian border to the South China sea was already considered a Destroyed and burned out ammunition pad shows burned out 105mm howitzer shells. Officer and soldiers examine barbed wire torn apart by Vietcong who infiltrated Long Binh ammunition dump. The 2nd Platoon led the way under Lieutenant Fred Casper, followed by my track, then Lieutenant Howard Jones 1st Platoon and, finally, the weapons platoon under Lieutenant Don Muir. Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 4th Battalion 39th Infantry clearing a hamlet during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Not only would I not finish my command tour, I was being assigned to a leg division. By Vietnam terms 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. So, when I was offered a chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I actually turned it down to stay with the company. When I pointed out that the 101st Battalion had more than 500 troops and I had only two line platoons and less than 90 troops, he said, Youre mechanized, youre very strong.. 1. 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. I assigned areas of operation to my two rifle platoons, and positioned the weapons platoon inside the compound as a reserve and security force. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. We use cookies on this website. The 2nd Platoon took the one north of the road, the 1st Platoon attacked the other. Toward dark, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill.

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