Most of the attendees arrived the weekend of Fathers Day, and they gathered at the Irma Hotel Sunday night in Cody for a reunion dinner. In fact, if anything, the operation got off to an inauspicious start. Farther to the north (about 30 meters) was another dike, parallel to the one behind which the dead lay. They developed a deep caring for each other and their mission.. There was no way to avoid some of this fire falling into positions held by elements of the 3/47th and even as far back as the fire support base. 0000008029 00000 n
States helicopters carrying Vietnamese troops into battle. After discussing the pros and cons with the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, the brigade commander decided to continue the operation, even though the loss of the blocking force did not augur well for success. Thus the units in contact would have to finish the job. Information obtained from a captured Viet Cong assessment of the battle 0000002958 00000 n
At the same time, he recalled the personnel carrier company (Company C, 5/60th) from its barren search farther to the west and began moving it toward the point of contact. An Air Force flareship kept the battle area continually lighted. In front of the platoon was the small pasture where the lead squad of Company A, 3/47th, had been destroyed earlier. The Americans relayed the location of the Viet Cong radio transmitter to the South Vietnamese high command, which then ordered the 7th Division to take Tan Thoi a. MACV MDMAF concept postulated a maximum radius of 50 KM from MRB. No doubt, some escaped in the fading light. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In half an hour they had advanced to within 100 meters of the main enemy line, but were held up by intense fire from small arms and mortars. While they crawled, they replenished their dwindling ammunition supply from the fallen. 59, Files of the Office of Public Opinion Studies, U.S. Policy on S.
Seeing this, the two men following, a machine gun team, quickly jumped up and rushed the position, dispatching the Viet Cong with a burst. other military operations being undertaken successfully by South As the shadows lengthened over the dry rice fields and dense foliage, the roar of machine-gun fire and exploding grenades slowly died away. 16 February 1967: 2nd Bde puts one battalion into RSSZ, working with advance party of TF-117. Were all so close; these are brothers. [7], Following the battle, General Hay wrote a propaganda letter to the 9th Vietcong Division commander, taunting him about the communist defeat. When it arrived the 11 carriers quickly deployed in line to the north of Company a so that the battalion was deployed on an assault line 1,000 meters long and facing the east. This answer is: Against overwhelming odds, the Viet Cong achieved their first major victory. Jump-off was scheduled for 0800. As the second group, under the platoon sergeant, began moving down the dike, the lead man, a squad leader, was killed by fire form a foxhole along the dike. It took place in an area of the Mekong Delta that had been dominated by VC guerrillas. These guys? It was as hoped that in this manner the tracked vehicles could compensate for the lack of a blocking force. The rest of the company dug in on the south side of the stream and continued to blast the area with fire from artillery and small arms. [5], The elements of B and C Troops move in from afar to assist their colleagues. THE BATTLE : At 07:00 on the 2nd January, 10 Shawnee Helicopters landed West of Ap Bac, dropping the first wave of the 3 Rifle Companies. States adviser to the Seventh Division of the Army of the Republic of The MRFA is launching our Historical Data Project (HDP), featuring as much MRF TF-117 data as possible. For the Viet Cong, the Battle of Ap Bac marked the first time they decided to stand and fight a large South Vietnamese formation, although outnumbered by more than five to one. Operation in Dinh Tuoung including CAM SON and CHO CAO. Such is the aftermath of violent combat. Occasionally the throaty whine of an armored personnel carrier would rend the eerie darkness momentarily as the carrier jockeyed on the battlefield. This time, darkness would provide no convenient cover for their escape. e. GVN Committed a 2nd Battalion Brigade of VN Marines in US Zone. It soon became apparent that the craft would be delayed, and after a wait of more than an hour, the battalion was notified that the helicopters would not arrive because of a tactical emergency elsewhere. [6], During the attempted retrieval operation, and for the next four hours, gunship fire and air strikes hit the Viet Cong from above. 0000004946 00000 n
December 1966: 2nd Coronado Conference Vietnamese forces at Ap Bac had made a number of errors, but he 4 August 1967: MRB relocated to Vung Tau. On 28 December 1962, US intelligence detected the presence of a radio transmitter along with a sizable force of Viet Cong (VC) soldiers, reported to number around 120, in the hamlet of Ap Tan Thoi in Dinh Tuong Province, ho captain on the battlefield, a reluctance to incur casualties, an We continued to pour fire into his position and to inch forward, taking best advantage of the cover. Employing 0 battalions in the field for 8 days. Most were shot down as the troops of Company A, seizing the break they had been waiting for, quickly overran the position. Battalion severely damaged. - William Shakespeare, Henry V, Navy Cross recipients, Distinguished Service Cross recipients, and Medal of Honor recipients from the Navy Mobile Riverine Force and Army 9th Infantry Division. to the Joint Chiefs at the end of January, see Document 26. Nicknamed the Tornados in honor of platoon Sergeant Johnny Tornado Jones the men knew every minute counted. there are days. The air was alive with bullets, making it impossible to advance across the open space. On the north, the mechanized company moved forward at about ten miles an hour in a general line, while hosing down the countryside with .50 caliber-fire. 0000000668 00000 n
10 January 1967: 2nd Bde departed Oakland, CA. After knocking past a hastily built communist ambush just north of the perimeter, they moved around to the south. Ap Bac 01 Bill Reynolds, What a pleasant surprise to sit down for breakfast on this Veterans Day, 2007, and see the front page story in The Signal about your trip By 1600, everything was ready for the coordinated attack. Learn about the battle, including the cause, the tactics and its impact on the Vietnam War in this lesson. Series, Other [5], In the 3rd Platoon sector on the eastern side of the perimeter, Wolfe detected communist movement and requested night illumination from a 4.2-inch mortar, which revealed Viet Cong troops crossing the highway from east to west. The brigade commander ordered the assault as soon as the air strike, then in progress, was finished. We looked across the field and saw a lot of 28-31 January 1967: 2nd Bde arrives at Vung Tau, Close Bearcat. Fire was immediately returned and the enemy automatic rifle gunner was killed; however, he was quickly replaced by another, who continued to fire on the exposed squad and within minutes all who had crossed the stream were casualties. Sheehan, Current Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, was forwarded to President Trong tng s 15 trc thng ym tr trong trn p Bc, c n 5 chic b bn ri. [3], Fire Support Base 20 was located in relatively flat terrain 1.5km north of the village of Ap Bau Bang and immediately west of Route 13. Many of their large haystacks concealed bunkers. However, for the Tigers of the 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry, and especially for Company A of that unit, what had started out as a routine walk in the sun was rapidly becoming a grim one. Wheeler Mission, Mansfield Report, Comprehensive Plan, Thompson document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); Ive never had a bond like I have with these people.. This attack broke the back of the enemys defense. Vietnam, April-Dec. 1963), The Department of State and the White House expressed concern over the Three VC were killed and the others fled to the south. Guerra de Vietnam; Guerras de descolonizacin en Asia Parte de Guerra Fra: De izquierda a derecha y de arriba abajo: operaciones de combate de Estados Unidos En Ia rng, ARVN Rangers que defienden a Saign durante la Ofensiva del Tet de 1968, dos Douglas A-4 Skyhawk despus del incidente del golfo de Tonkn, ARVN recuperan Qung Tr durante la Ofensiva de A full archive of past and present "River Currents" newsletters from your friends at MRFA. [6], During the battle of Ap Bau Bang III, the Americans killed at least 227 Viet Cong, and captured 3, as well as much equipment and weapons. Howitzers to screen the battalions approach. From Albert's Peach Cobbler to an Irish Chicken Dinner, we have them all! Mobile Riverine Force in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) from 1921 June 1967 against the Viet Cong (VC). command which never placed a Vietnamese officer above the rank of The main attack came from the south and southwest, accompanied by a secondary attack from the north. We have buried your dead and taken care of your wounded from this battle.[7]. characterized them largely as errors of courage rather than cowardice. If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here. On 20 June 4/47th Infantry searched south of the ambush area locating a VC force north of the Rach Gion Ong stream at Ap Nam and assisted by a Company from the 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry, wiped out a VC Platoon. State, Vietnam Working Group Files: Lot 67 D 54, ORG-3 WG/VN Mtgs with Other Agencies), The battle of Ap Bac was reported in the press in the United States as a zoneId = 'Array'; document.write ("