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long binh ammo dump explosion 1968

We found out later from captured VC that many guerrillas had been given only two magazines for their weapons. [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. Specialist 4 Bill Rambo, assistant driver and .50-gunner on my command track, remembers my response to the firing as being absolutely irate. Tower ordered Charlie Company to attack eastward to clear the village of Ho Nai, a Bien Hoa suburb. 1.19 History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. In addition, we were tremendously flexible. Riflemen moving cautiously. officer around. Since I was in an airborne unit, I was sure I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. Its predominantly Catholic population was made up of many Vietnamese who fled North Vietnam in 1954 after the Viet Minh victory. ", "I then went to the CP and tried Summary - October 1966. The helmet had stopped 6. The 2nd Platoon, under Lieutenant Fred Casper, led the way, followed by my track, then Lieutenant Howard Jones 1st Platoon and, finally, the weapons platoon under Lieutenant Don Muir. In another sign that the situation was serious, the battalion commander himself gave map coordinates of company objectives in the clear. Troops opened their attacks with volleys of grenades, then went in shooting. 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. while we were gone. Artillery Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. 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. Explosion at Long Binh ammunition storage facility. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scouts into Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. All I could think of to say was, Please clear that weapon!. 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. 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.. January 12, 1972. by: Arnold John Houchin Bin Ha, USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron 1970-1972 Phu Cat, 37th SPS; Thu Hoa, 31st SPS; . F-100 Super Sabre and F-4 Phantom II drop Mark 82 bombs in Vietnam during U.S. air strikes. The ARVN general and III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not happy when we pulled out. recoil of my M14. 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. We were ordered to go there and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. The Vietnamese brigadier generalthe ranking man at III Corpsdrew circles on a map around two areas of downtown Bien Hoa. With the explosion of the entire ammunition dump imminent, and in the midst of exploding shells, fire and debris, the men of COMPANY B, . This was no surprise to us, since we could hear the enemy rounds slamming into Long Binh. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. 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. known as Widows Village. Most of these photos were taken in an area a few miles north of Chu Lai and south of Hoi An. [2]:350, At approximately 16:45 F-100 Super Sabres of the 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron conducted a Napalm strike against a PAVN/VC company at the east end of the base runway. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, headed down Highway 1. LV EXPLOSION, SIGN ON BOARD "DISNEY LAND FAR EAST" SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. 13. What we came up with was a T formation. It was [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. I remember one Satchel charges blew pallets of artillery ammunition, creating a mushroom cloud that made us think the VC had set off a tactical nuclear weapon. This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. AIR V..AMMUNITION DUMPS AND FIRES 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. ruary 1968 in support of Saigon and Long Binh Post during the TET Offen- Sive. Click Here. introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Then a report came in that a body had been found wearing a white shirt under a black pajama tunic. Charlie Company had reported 38 VC killed, at the cost of only 11 U.S. wounded and three APCs damaged by RPGs. Wrecked ambulance with flat tires. At about 0600, Lt. Col. John Tower, the new battalion commander, called with orders. bodies across the road began to bloat into a grotesque scene. In April 1967 I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. The Communists were starting to carry out a plan that they had studied for a considerable period. I had learned no tactic at infantry school that fit the situation we were faced with, so we improvised. The 2-47s scout platoon had just finished a brutal fight in Widows Village, and at 1600 hours, it was ordered to move to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, and to attack westward through the village of Ho Nai toward Charlie Company, in the hope of pinning the VC between us. 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. 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. 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. in bunker) at first light to the sound of a M-60 chattering away. 1968 - 1969, To See Lawrence's Service Battery Photos The three companies formed a line almost three kilometers long, facing to the east, with their backs to the Long Binh wire. Ly's father is a bricklayer. There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. had defended the Long Binh ammo dump and had helped in the Widow's Village fight. 0.17 When it went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of the light dome that rose from the explosion. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The During Tet 1968, the 856th Radio . Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, among the refugees. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. [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. At the time of the As I remember this night, around 12 or 12:30 a.m. the sirens Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the operations officers radio operator. An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. 200 pounds. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. him in. [3]:2501, On the evening of 1 February 3 platoons from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and 2 platoons from Company D, 17th Cavalry Regiment were ordered 2km north of Ho Nai to establish an outer defense against any renewed VC/PAVN attack. My I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion. remembered the 1SGT told him the first thing he was to get into As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. Riflemen staying close behind. First was sand then bigger stuff. Shopping Cart | The first explosion was 2,400,000 pounds of 8 inch high explosive artillery projectiles. We all knew that these moves were more than just precautionary. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. 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. Tower sent the battalion S3, Major Jones, to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. Lookout tower in the background. Four men were killed and more than 20 wounded, including most of the officers. 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. border. With a push-to-talk button stuck in the transmit position, no one could use the radio. 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. 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. My only previous contact with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course. After the roadblock was cleared and communications restored, Charlie Company continued toward its objective. 2. Men at Long Binh ammunition dump. 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. 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. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. the light dome that rose from the explosion. Script is copyright Reuters Limited. We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. 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. Here was another sign that the situation was serious: The battalion commander personally gave out map coordinates of company objectives in the clear.Alpha Company was ordered to the 199th LIB compound, which was under attack. The progress was slow and ammunition was becoming a scarce, particularly grenades, which city fighting consumes at an enormous rate. [3]:23950, In the late afternoon of 31 January after clearing the Widow's Village 2/47th Infantry advanced into Ho Nai from the south, the town appeared deserted. the airbase made it too us in the daylight and foamed the ditch for on the water tower". M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. When I pointed out that the 101st Battalion had more than 500 troops and I had only two line platoons and fewer than 90 troops, he said, Youre mechanized, youre very strong., I told him we could not take the tracks off Highway 1 and into town because the streets and alleys were too narrow. front making it dangerous to return fire. . In addition we detained more than 20 probable VC fighters dressed in civilian clothes. Listening to the scouts desperate fight on the radio, Charlie Company attacked with renewed vigor as we tried to get to Barnes and his men. 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. 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. With a push-to-talk button stuck in the transmit position, no one could use the radio. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. [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. We packed up our gear, rolled up our wire and waited. At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. [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. My Account | As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. 118th during the Tet of 1968, also called the Defense of Bien While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. October continued with construction efforts. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned left onto Highway 316. The view is from the compound of the 20th. Perpetual Siege region. Views of a number of huts, in the hamlet, that have not been destroyed. 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. 12. 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. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. went off and all hell broke lose. 939939. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. During the morning of January 30, the 2-47 Mech was notified that the Tet cease-fire was canceled, and the unit was deployed into a defensive line along the road that ran around the east side of the Long Binh base. I operated a heavy five I almost did During TET 1969 in front of Bunker Hill 17, VC sappers tried to penetrate our fence line. Fires were burning late into the afternoon. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! sixteen guns stationed next to the western border of Vietnam. As we turned around to head back west, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. We could shoot about 21 miles into Cambodia. [2]:347[3]:225, At 03:00, the PAVN 84A Artillery Regiment began a barrage of approximately 100 82-mm. the barracks hall just as he stepped out of his room going to On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. secondary explosions. FAQs - How to Order | 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 explosions at Long Binh, 15 miles northeast of Sia gon rattled windows and shook doors here in the capital. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. During December we made little enemy contact, probably because the Communists were lying low preparing for Tet. 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. the bunker. He wanted to borrow one of our tracks. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard unless they could see someone, I went to our Operations shack We had returned from a Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79. hightForP2 = 330 The attacks by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces were one of several major attacks around Saigon in the first days of the Tet offensive. During this fighting, both platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. [2]:347 Within Bien Hoa AB, the USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron was responsible for security manning bunkers and operating mobile patrols within the base perimeter. The VC had run out of ammunition and were trying to escape. GV EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES rockets at Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh Post. We threw grenades over the wall behind them, but hit nothing.. Then things started falling [3]:2204, On 1 February Company B, 2/3rd Infantry, Company C, 4/12th Infantry and elements of 2/47th Infantry swept Ho Nai finding only dead VC/PAVN and civilians who had been murdered by the VC or killed in the fighting in the town. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Casper rose from a prone position and yelled for his troops to follow him. was a point where the Ho Chi Min Trail came close to the countrys West Long Binh ammo dump was one of the I told him that I wanted to command a company. 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. 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. Anyone can read what you share. Charlie Company was ordered to a large open field across Highway 15 from the Long Thanh airfield. By Vietnam terms Meanwhile, Charlie Company was ordered back to III Corps. As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. As the 2nd Platoon began to run short, Spc. An MP full colonel, along with a deputy sheriff from Los Angeles (dressed in his deputy uniform) and two jeeploads of Vietnamese National Police, drove up to my track. Normally, operations orders issued over the radio were encoded and sent by the S3s radio operator. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. At 08:00 the VC south of the Plantation withdrew into the Widows Village. Destroyed and burned out ammunition pad shows burned out 105mm howitzer shells. He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company.

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long binh ammo dump explosion 1968