License Agreement | Sugar Bear Dames, as he was called by his many friends, walked down a side alley toward the highway. It then dawned on us that the VC were throwing down their weapons, changing clothes and slipping away. Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 4th Battalion 39th Infantry clearing a hamlet during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. We had returned from a Since I was in an airborne unit, it seemed certain that I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. This is the story of one rifle companycomprised of some of the finest soldiers to ever wear the uniform of the U.S. Armyand what they all faced on that decisive day. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. 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. ruary 1968 in support of Saigon and Long Binh Post during the TET Offen- Sive. That was 90th Replacement Battalion, situated on the road to Saigon between the village of Bien Hoa and the huge base at Long Binh. 200 pounds. When the G3 adviser told me to lend the rangers a track, I told the sergeant that the M-113 was not a tank and to be extremely careful with it. Since I was in an airborne unit, I was sure I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. Several M 113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) are seen accompanying the troops. CU SIGN "NO SMOKING" 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. He said I would have to wait. [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. In addition, gunships killed many more as they tried to escape from the villages. These photos were taken from December 9, 1967 to February 1968. the bunker. ", "We mustered everyone we could Flames consuming huts. 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 in the pre-dawn gloom, with small-arms fire cracking overhead, I was amazed to see young girls carrying bottles of Coca-Cola, trying to sell them to the troops. The Long Binh ammo dump had exploded. . As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. I called III Corps and reported that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait until the Vietnamese National Police arrived to take charge. His action probably saved the lives of everyone on my track. This site requires JavaScript. 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. This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. This fire was observed by the helicopter gunships that had been circling the area north of Long Binh and they quickly moved to attack the launch sites and were soon joined by an AC-47 Spooky gunship and their combined fire soon stopped the rocket/mortar fire. The scout platoon had fought valiantly all day long in Widows Village and in Ho Nai. main target because they were outnumbered 5 to 1. The VC concentrated their attack on Bunker 10 an old French concrete bunker on the eastern perimeter, hitting it with Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and mortar fire, however the Security Police in Bunker 10 and adjacent bunkers fought back keeping the VC from penetrating far into the base. 26 VC/PAVN were killed in the attack and several captured. When it went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of the light dome that rose from the explosion. I had learned no tactic at infantry school that fit the situation we were faced with, so we improvised. As dawn broke, everything was deathly quiet. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The S3 also told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. A slightly wounded soldier, lying on the ground, smiles as he points to his leg as another soldier helps him. Jeep parked along road. During this time, the battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. Big Ammunition Dump Near Saigon Hit by Blasts, https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/02/archives/big-ammunition-dump-near-saigon-hit-by-blasts-laotian-reports.html. The VC who had fired the RPG slipped away, but Pfc Jim Love, who was tossed into a sewage ditch by the explosion, remembers killing the jeep with his M-16. It involved transfer of powder projectiles and fuses enough to keep When I arrived at 9th Division in June, I was further shocked to learn that I was going to a mechanized battalion, rather than be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. 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. "[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. Get under! (National Archives), https://www.historynet.com/lt-col-john-e-gross-recalls-the-tet-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. [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. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. As I remember the Tet Offensive began in the early morning of The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. They tried to make us keep our heads down so we couldn't get them with our counter-mortar fire . As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. I In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Charlie Company. We fired all we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. After the fight for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre and inexplicable incidents of the day. From our positions, we could see and hear the fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. because Mankato (Minnesota)Vocational school had taught me to weld as Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. Realizing I had not eaten for 24 hours, I looked for some breakfast, but all I could find was a bag of pistachio nuts. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. VC/PAVN losses were 527 dead. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. An accurate body count could never be compiled since so many VC bodies were dragged away or were burned in the many fires in the towns and villages. I walked back to my track, thinking this was going to be a real nightmare. Terms & Conditions | According to him, I told him that any fool could see that the VC did not have M-113s, and that we had 22 .50-calibers and a 106mm recoilless rifle and they, for sure, did not want us to return fire. out of the sky. Set. door at the petroleum dump ruptured and fuel flowed down the ditch in A burst of VC machine gun fire erupted nearby, causing the colonel, the deputy and their Vietnamese escorts to pile into their vehicles and roar off in the direction from whence they had come. "What are you firing at? " The 2nd Platoon took the one north of the road, the 1st Platoon attacked the other. Benny Toney, the 2nd Platoon sergeant, hooked a tow cable to Stormy. and no one was injured. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. hightForP2 = 330 I was well seasoned having been through all the scenarios that presented Soon we could hear leaders moving up and down the bunker line yelling for the guards to stop firing. Story Text: 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. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. We were ordered to go to that church and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. Attacking Long A few minutes later, a jeep drove up carrying two extremely frightened white-shirted policemen. Meanwhile, Huey gunships reported VC running from the village. As was our normal practice, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. We all knew these moves were more than precautionary. 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. 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. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policyand cookie policyand for us to access our cookies on your device. we were a bit more trigger happy than usual. When offered the chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I turned it down to stay with the company. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. We never saw them again. [3]:2305 By dawn the VC/PAVN were retreating northwards pursued by helicopter gunships and at 06:15 Company C, 4/12th Infantry began moving north in pursuit, intending to pin the VC/PAVN against a force from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment which was moving south. An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. Then things started falling out of the sky. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians seeking refuge. Policy was to fill in all holes and empty our sandbags when we left a position, to leave nothing the VC might use against us. Not only would I not finish my command tour, I was being assigned to a leg division. AMMUNITION DUMP. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) Some were complete projectiles weighing As a result long-range reconnaissance patrols (LRRPs) from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment were positioned north of Long Binh to detect PAVN/VC approaching the base. As the C-23 track in the lead, Stormy, turned into a side street, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) slammed into its front, smashing the radiator and wounding several soldiers. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. The first explosion was 2,400,000 pounds of 8 inch high explosive artillery projectiles. Toward dusk on January 30, Charlie Company soldiers stripped to the waist to dig bunkers next to their APCs. Now At the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry (2-47), nicknamed the Panthers, the commander, Lt. Col. Arthur Moreland, asked me what job I wanted. Most of these photos were taken in an area a few miles north of Chu Lai and south of Hoi An. 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. Barbed wire torn apart by Vietcong who infiltrated through Longbinh ammunition camp. . The colonel explained that since we were infantry soldiers and did not know the proper method of searching a house, he and his crew had come to teach us. We left the clearing of Bien Hoa City in the capable hands of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! The Commo track, C-007, nicknamed Abdula and the Rug Merchants, with Pfc (current Vietnam editor) David Zabecki behind the .50-caliber, brought up the rear. LV EXPLOSIONS Remembering Tet 1968 Fifty Years Ago - quanloi.org Summary - October 1966. An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. [2]:347[3]:236 The rocket/mortar attack was the signal to start the ground assaults on Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh. Evan Ammo dump - VHFCN As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. Charlie Company had reported 38 VC killed, at the cost of only 11 U.S. wounded and three APCs damaged by RPGs. I asked one of the men Sergeant John Ax, squad leader of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, recalls what the fighting near III Corps was like: An RPG hit Shocker, the C-21 track, in the side; but it must have been a glancing blow, because it did not explode. 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. Initials PW/VS/JH/BB/ES PW/VS/JH/ES 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. 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. Bin Ha Air Base: Memories of Bin Ha, TET 1969, by Larry - VSPA Love was so startled, he didnt fire. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. Some VC crossed Route 316 and took up firing positions in bush at the southern perimeter of the Plantation. 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. October continued with construction efforts. The armed helicopter teams had a field day shooting guerrillas trying to flee into the jungle. who was tossed into a sewage ditch by the explosion, remembers 'killing the jeep' with his M-16. In a few moments, the huge dump became a fireball, the shock of the explosion echoing over an area of 50 miles. bore in my M14 barrel had begun to flake off and the wooden stock was That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. SOUTH VIETNAM: VIET CONG EXPLODE U.S. As we cleared the ambush, the column suddenly came to a halt because of some kind of block in the road; simultaneously, someone keyed the company net. We could use our tracks as a base of fire or in a blocking position as the company maneuvered on foot. Widows Village made a perfect attack position, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters. With a push-to-talk button stuck in the transmit position, no one could use the radio. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. The armed helicopter teams had a field day shooting guerrillas who tried to escape to the nearby jungles. 0.04 rockets at Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh Post. went off and all hell broke lose. 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. Long Binh Vietnam 1969 stock footage and images - Showing 1 to 6 of 5540 results Sort by: All Decade 1890 - 1899 Location (1) Norfolk Virginia USA (2) Normandy France (12) Norman Oklahoma USA (1) (1) (1) North Carolina United States USA (2) North Chicago Illinois USA (1) North Dakota United States USA (1) North Haven Maine USA (1) North Korea (1) All of these placements were made with the wrongful assumption that the VC would attack from the jungles outside the base. Tower sent the battalion S3, Major Jones, to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. 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. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. When the G3 adviser told me to lend the rangers a track, I told the sergeant that the M-113 was not a tank and to be careful with it. My Account | wire on the top of LBJ (Long Binh Jail). Meanwhile, Hueys reported VC running from the village. But no one would be leaving the country that day. 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. The explosion echoed over an area of 50 miles. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. Long Binh Ammo Dump Explosion, Tet, 1968 - YouTube StoriesPage6 - 118th AHC At dawn on 2 February the US counted approximately 50 VC/PAVN dead in the area and captured 3 VC. [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. Under fire, Staff Sgt. Seems like the fighting went on 6 comments. After commanding 180 paratroopers, taking on four APCs and 40 troops seemed like a dreamexcept that now I was responsible for troops in combat, not training. Helicopter gunships took off from Bien Hoa AB to investigate, but were unable to locate the force in the darkness. 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. In October, the 2-47 was given the mission of securing engineers as they cleared Highway 1 from Xuan Loc to the II Corps boundary near Phan Thiet. border. I realized we were driving past our objective, halted the company and called for the 2nd Platoon to find a place to turn around. 12. What we came up with was a T formation. After all had left for the Tet offensive attacks on Bien Hoa and Long Binh, Tet Offensive attacks on Bien Hoa and Long Binh, United States Army Center of Military History, "Tet Offensive: The Battles of Bien Hoa and Long Binh", Video of helicopter gunships and F-100s in action at Bien Hoa AB, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_offensive_attacks_on_Bien_Hoa_and_Long_Binh&oldid=1086914863, Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1968, Battles of the Vietnam War involving the United States, Attacks on military installations in the 1960s, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the United States Army Center of Military History, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 May 2022, at 04:36. Other than temporarily disrupting operations at Bien Hoa AB for half a day and destroying ammunition at the Long Binh ammunition dump, the VC/PAVN inflicted minimal damage to the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. 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. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Tet offensive attacks on Bien Hoa and Long Binh - Wikipedia 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. We could shoot about 21 miles into Cambodia. 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. Kortuem! As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. Mainly it is the story of some of the finest solders to ever wear the uniform of the U.S. Army and how they reacted not only to fierce combat, but also to the fog of war. Long Bnh Post and the Vietnam War | Worlds Revealed History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. When I arrived at the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry, nicknamed the Panthers, Lt. Col. Arthur Moreland, the commander, asked me what job I wanted. As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. 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. He waved me off. All night they scanned the jungles with Starlight scopes, seeing nothing. The fog of war was especially thick on the morning of January 31, 1968. As I walked around the front of a track, the .50-caliber gunner accidentally hit the trigger and pumped five rounds into the ground about three feet in front of me. 13. (Long Binh) ammunition dump. At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 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. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. July 10, 1969 - Page 3 - Brownwater Vietnam Veterans