Also by Keith Nolan BATTLE FOR HUE INTO LAOS THE BATTLE FOR SAIGON DEATH VALLEY INTO CAMBODIA OPERATION BUFFALO SAPPER IN THE WIRE RIPCORD HOUSE TO HOUSE Books published by The Random House Publishing Group are available at quantity discounts on bulk purchases for premium, educational, fund-raising, and special sales use For details, please call 1-800-7333000 For Kelly and Erik Contents Preface Prologue PART ONE: SCRUB BRUSH AND SAND DUNES Chapter 1: Night Owls Chapter 2: Forged in Fire Chapter 3: Round One PART TWO: PIECEMEALED Chapter 4: A Toehold in Dai Do Chapter 5: No Free Rides Chapter 6: High Diddle Diddle, Right Up the Middle Chapter 7: Surrounded PART THREE: FIXED BAYONETS Chapter 8: The Palace Guard Chapter 9: A Village Too Far Chapter 10: Bring the Wounded, Leave the Dead PART FOUR: THE SECOND WAVE Chapter 11: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire Chapter 12: Search and Destroy Chapter 13: The End of the Line PART FIVE: MAGNIFICENT BASTARDS Chapter 14: Disaster Chapter 15: God, Get Us Out of Here Chapter 16: We Took a Lot of ’Em With Us PART SIX: Chapter Chapter Chapter NHI HA 17: Black Death and Charlie Tiger 18: Alpha Annihilated 19: Turning the Tables Epilogue Appendix A Appendix B Glossary Selected Bibliography Preface It was one of the most prolonged and costly campaigns of the war, but, inexplicably, it never gained the immortality of Hue or Khe Sanh or Con Thien It should have It began on the last day of April 1968 when a Marine battalion landing team, reinforced with a company from a regular ri e battalion, locked horns with major elements of a North Vietnamese Army division in the village complex of Dai Do The enemy infantrymen, entrenched among the hootches and hedgerows, were fully equipped with light and heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, and were backed up by rocket and artillery batteries across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) The Marines, outnumbered but superbly led and already battle hardened, dug them out spiderhole by spiderhole The battle lasted three days, and was Tarawa-like in its intensity Although the Marine battalion was gutted by casualties, the enemy units were practically obliterated, and their smashed entrenchments were lled with their dead as the survivors retreated back to the DMZ Presumably, the enemy regiments blocked at Dai Do had been marching toward the 3d Marine Division headquarters at Dong Ha To secure the various approaches to Dong Ha, a grunt battalion from the U.S Army’s Americal Division was attached to the 3d Marine Division and positioned on the right ank of the Marine battalion landing team engaged in Dai Do The North Vietnamese had indeed moved fresh units into the area, and on the last day of the Dai Do action, the Army battalion ran into a hornet’s nest in the village of Nhi Ha It took four days to clear Nhi Ha, after which the Army battalion, in its rst conventional battle, dug in amid the rubble and repelled several nights’ worth of counterattacks from across the DMZ The enemy also shelled Nhi Ha, but they never took it, and in the end they left heaps of their own dead around that perimeter, too By then, Nhi Ha looked like Verdun In Vietnam, that was victory The reconstruction of this campaign began with archival research, but the reality between the dry lines of o cial prose was eshed out by those who survived and were willing to tell their tale I’m indebted to all of them Those who were interviewed (or who reviewed the rough draft) from the 3d Marine Division, 3d Marine Regiment, and various supporting units include Maj Gen Dennis J Murphy (Ret.); Cols William H Dabney and Bruce M McLaren (Ret.); Lt Col Walter H Shauer (Ret.); and ex-BM2 Jerry Anderson, USN From Battalion Landing Team 2/4 (3d Marine Division): Maj Gen James E Livingston; Brig Gen William Weise (Ret.); Cols James T Ferland (USMCR), Robert J Mastrion, J R Vargas, and James L Williams (Ret.); Lt Cols Judson D Hilton (Ret.), Bayard V Taylor (Ret.), and George F Warren (Ret.); Maj James L O’neill (Ret.); Capt Edward S Dawson (Ret.); ex-Capts Peter A Acly, James H Butler, and Lorraine L Forehand; ex-1st Lts David R Jones, David K McAdams, Frederick H Morgan, C William Muter, and Alexander F Prescott; ex-Lt Frederick P Lillis, MC, USN; CWO2 Donald J Gregg (USMCR); WO1 John J Kachmar (USANG); 1st Sgts Reymundo Del Rio (Ret.) and Ronald W Taylor (Ret.); MGySgt James W Rogers (Ret.); GySgts Pedro P Balignasay (Ret.), Percy E Brandon (Ret.), James Eggleston (Ret.), and Ernest L Pace (Ret.); SSgts Tom Alvarado (Ret.) and Robert J Ward (Ret.); ex-SSgts Dennis F Harter and Richard J Tyrell; ex-Sgts Dan Bokemeyer, Charles M Bollinger, Nicolas R Cardona, Phil Donaghy, Van A Hahner, Doug Light, and Peter W Schlesiona; ex- Cpls Dale R Barnes, Ronald J Dean, John Hanna, E Michael Helms, Kenneth G Johnson, James R Lashley, and Jim Parkins; ex-LCpl Philip L Cornwell; ex-Pfc Marshall J Serna; and ex-HM2 Roger D Pittman, USN From the 1st Battalion, 3d Marines (3d Marine Division): Majs Kim E Fox (Ret.) and Ralph C McCormick (Ret.); MSgt Robert G Robinson (Ret.); GySgt Norman J Doucette (Ret.); ex-Sgts Ronald E Lawrence and Robert Rohner; ex-Cpls Michael R Conroy, Ross E Osborn, Doug Urban, and Craig Walden; ex-LCpls James Dudula and Paul F Roughan; and ex-HM2 Carmen J Maiocco, USN From the 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry (Americal Division), and supporting units: Brig Gen Dennis H Leach (Ret.); Cols Robert E Corrigan (Ret.) and William P Snyder (Ret.); Lt Cols Roger D Hieb (Ret.), Travis P Kirkland (Ret.), Richard J Skrzysowski (USAR, Ret.), and Paul N Yurchak (Ret.); Majs John M Householder (Ret.), Kenneth W Johnson (Ret.), and William A Stull (USANG); ex-Capts Hal Bell, Jan S Hildebrand, and Laurence V McNamara; ex-1st Lts Robert V Gibbs, John R Jaquez, Terry D Smith, and John D Spencer; ex-Sfc William F Ochs; ex-SSgts Bill A Baird, Bernard J Bulte, Don DeLano, James M Goad, and James L Stone; ex- Sgts Jimmie Lee Coulthard, Terrance Farrand, Larry Haddock, Gregory B Harp, Thomas E Hemphill, Michael L Matalik, Laurance H See, and Roger W Starr; ex-Sp5s Neil E Hannan, William W Karp, and Wallace H Nunn; and ex-Sp4s Charles C Cox, Dan Dinklage, Bill Eakins, John C Fulcher, Ronald F Imoe, Bill Kuziara, Tony May, Eugene J McDonald, Don Miller, and Terry Moore Many thanks also to ex-1st Lt Barry Romo, who lost his nephew, Robert, in Nhi Ha, and Dennis L Barker, who lost his brother, Paul Great assistance was also provided by Benis M Frank, Joyce Bonnett, and Joyce Conyers of the Marine Corps Historical Center (Washington, D.C.); Decorations & Medals Branch, Headquarters, U.S Marine Corps (Washington, D.C.); James E Crum and Tony May of the 196th Locate-A-Brother (P.O Box 531, Phoenix, Oregon 97535); William H Knight, President, 196th LIB Association; Ron Ward, Vietnam editor of the Americal Division Veterans Association newsletter; John H Claggett, Military Reference, National Archives (Suitland, Maryland); CWO3 James Garrett, Military Awards Branch, Department of the Army (Alexandria, Virginia); Col Morris J Herbert (Ret.), Association of Graduates, U.S Military Academy (West Point, New York); John J Slonaker, Chief, Historical Reference Branch, U.S Army Military History Institute (Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania); and Lt Col Tip A Horsley and Dorothy M Flowers, Information Support Division, U.S Army Reserve Personnel Center (St Louis, Missouri) Keith William Nolan Maplewood, Missouri Prologue: Wild Bill Weise “Look, I’m telling you guys—they’re lined up twelve deep here waiting to get infantry battalions,” the 3d Marine Division personnel o cer (G1) told the three recently arrived light colonels who stood before the eld desk in his tent It was 12 October 1967, and they were in the division rear at Phu Bai, Republic of Vietnam “You’re just going to have to wait your turn.” Lieutenant Colonel William Weise, one of the three, was not hearing what he wanted to hear As he had just told the G1, he had come to Vietnam to nothing but command an infantry battalion in combat The silver oak leaf on Weise’s cover was seven days old His last assignment as a major had been a thirteen- month tour as an adviser to the Republic of Korea Marine Corps He had waived reassignment to the United States so he could get to Vietnam before the war ended When he got orders sending him to the 3d Marine Division, Weise wrote ahead to the commanding general, asking to serve as the operations o cer of either an infantry battalion or a regiment Arriving not as a major but as a freshly minted lieutenant colonel, Bill Weise, an intelligent, forceful man, sorely wanted an infantry command His career demanded it (Weise was very ambitious), as did his sense of duty He listened, heartsick, as the G1 continued, “… there’s only three slots open in this out t: the division special services o cer, the division embarkation o cer, and the assistant base defense coordinator at Dong Ha Combat Base.” Shit, here I go, Weise thought Risk my marriage with two overseas tours in a row, and I’m going to wind up as a division o ce pogue Weise knew the G1 and implored him, “You can’t this to me!” But the G1’s hands were tied; the division commander, Maj Gen Bruno A Hochmuth, personally assigned all eld-grade o cers The general would soon welcome these three aboard, but it would be another two days before he would meet with them again to discuss their assignments Weise and his two hard-charging, like-minded compatriots, Edward LaMontagne and George Meyers, thus had time to talk to o cers they knew on the division sta about getting battalions Their meeting with General Hochmuth was in his command bunker The 3d Marine Division was an overtaxed organization, and the general, sitting at his eld desk, was too busy to ask them to sit or to o er the customary cup of co ee There was no small talk: “Well, okay, Meyers, you’re going up to Dong Ha to help coordinate the defenses up there.” “Yes, sir.” “LaMontagne, you’re going to be my embarkation officer.” “Yes, sir.” God, thought Weise, he’s going to make me the special services officer But Hochmuth surprised him: “Weise, I see that you’ve had a lot of experience in reconnaissance I’m not happy with the way my recon battalion is being deployed, so I want you to take over We’ve got a good young major in there by the name of Bell He’s going to be transferred in three weeks Meanwhile, I want you to see as much of the AO as you can See how we’re deployed Go around the area You’ll take over when Bell leaves Now, does anybody have any questions?” “No, sir,” said LaMontagne “No, sir,” replied Meyers GIs’ recuperative powers are absolutely marvelous It just amazes me some of the things they did And they were not Regular Army—they were just draftees, and the lieutenants were just college kids But if you’ve got some captains, lieutenants, and sergeants that don’t screw up too bad and keep track of the fundamentals of the foot soldier, then those soldiers very, very well.” The Gimlets’ last recorded casualty on the DMZ occurred on 12 May 1968 when a soldier was hit in the back by fragments from the intermittent shelling on Force Tiger The Gimlets killed a few more NVA as the operation wound down Small groups of NVA were spotted after dark on 11, 12, 13, and 14 May as they crawled through the grass around Force Tiger to harass the perimeter and listening posts with grenades The closest NVA were engaged with M79s, and the ones farthest away, visible under the near constant illumination, became targets for the artillery On 15 May, the 3-21st Infantry was relieved in place by elements of BLT 2/4, which marched up from Mai Xa Chanh West The Army grunts got down in their bunkers when the Marines started ling along the paths through their claymores, trip ares, and concertina, as they expected all the movement to draw enemy artillery re Alpha Company was scheduled to turn over its positions rst A Marine lieutenant walked up to Sergeant Stone of Alpha Three and said, “We’re here to relieve your position Have your men get out.” “We dug these goddamn holes—we ain’t gettin’ out till they give the order to move,” Sergeant Stone answered “They got this place zeroed with rockets You know, your men are welcome to get in with us, but I’m not telling my men to get out of here.” Staying under cover until it was nally time to leave, Alpha Company formed up into platoon columns and started south A trash re was burning inside a crater just outside the bunker line Enemy munitions had been piled nearby—they were to be destroyed in the crater—and, somehow, what was later thought to be a satchel charge ended up in the blaze The explosion set o the rest of the NVA ammunition in a huge reball, which tipped over the Marine Otter parked nearby and sent the GIs standing on it ying The explosion shook everyone up They thought at rst that the NVA were shelling them Sergeant Stone, heading back across the paddy in his le, noted that he “turned around and looked back, and here’s all this smoke and stu going up That was my last look at Nhi Ha We kept right on going.” Charlie and Delta Companies pulled out of Force Tiger by 1500 on 15 May, and all four of the 3-21st Infantry’s ri e companies spent the night dug in near the battalion CP with a areship overhead One NVA was spotted as he reconnoitered their perimeter At 0700 on the sixteenth, USMC Sea Knights and Sea Stallions began lifting the battalion from the vicinity of Mai Xa Chanh East to the air eld at Quang Tri City The move took eleven hours and forty lifts From Quang Tri, C-123s airlifted the Gimlets to FSB Baldy Chinooks then moved the platoons from Baldy to FSB Colt, and on the morning of 17 May 1968 the Gimlets were back in the bush under 196th LIB control “What struck me the strongest was going back out in the Que Son Valley and starting to hump all over again,” said Sergeant Coulthard “I think that’s when my discouragement with the war began Not that I turned against the war, but I thought, My God, we’re going to have to this for a long, long time It’s when I really realized the magnitude of what the hell we were trying to do—and the enemy’s willingness to pay the price.” Captain Leach was awarded the Silver Star and his second Purple Heart for Nhi Ha He also received two BSMv’s and an AM during his two combat tours Sergeant Goad received the Silver Star, BSMv, ARCOMv, and Purple Heart, but his wound canceled his plans for OCS and resulted in his involuntary separation from the service because of physical disability Epilogue O cially, the Battle of Dong Ha, as the 3d Marine Division labeled the series of actions above the Bo Dieu and Cua Viet rivers, lasted from 29 April until 15 May 1968 The brunt of the NVA o ensive was borne by BLT 2/4 and the 3-21st Infantry in the Operation Napoleon/Saline TAOR, under the op-con of the 3d Marines Considerable combat was also experienced by 1/3 in this sector, and by 3/3, 1/9, 3/9, and 1/ 26 near Cam Lo and Thon Cam Vu in the Operation Kentucky TAOR, as well as by the 1st ARVN Division above Dong Ha Another highlight was the deployment of the 1st and 2d Battalions, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), which operated under the 3d Marines from to 17 May The Cav called its participation Operation Concordia Square, and its units ranged from northeast of Nhi Ha to north of Dong Ha The campaign was marked by heavy shellings of allied positions More than a hundred tons of ammunition in the supply depot at the DHCB was blown up on 14 May Total casualties in units under the operational control of the 3d Marine Division during this period were 233 killed, 821 wounded, and missing in action The Navy’s TF Clearwater lost 15 killed and 22 wounded ARVN casualties, haphazardly reported, were 42 killed and 124 wounded The NVA reportedly lost 2,366 dead and 43 prisoners The carnage bought only a week of relative peace for 3d Marine Division units along the DMZ before the next NVA offensive began Appendix A Key Personnel of BLT 2/4, 9th MAB (opcon to the 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division), during Operation Night Owl and the Battle of Dai Do (27 April-3 May 1968): CO: Lt Col William Weise (until WIA on May); then Maj Charles W Knapp (acting until relieved by Lt Col Louis A Rann on May) XO: Maj Charles W Knapp Sgt Maj.: Sg Maj John M Malnar (until KIA on May) S1 (Personnel): IstLt R L Jones S2 (Intelligence): Capt Richard J Murphy S3 (Operations): Maj George F Warren S4 (Logistics): Capt L L Forehand Medical Officer: Lt Frederick P Lillis, USN; with Lt Runas Powers, USN, and HM1 Walter R Gorsage, USN CO, H&S Company: 1st Lt Edward S Dawson ECHO COMPANY CO: Capt James E Livingston (until WIA on May); then 2d Lt Michael L Cecil (acting) XO: st Lt David R Jones (until WIA on May) FO: GySgt James Eggleston (WIA on May) 1st Sgt.: not available GySgt: GySgt Roscoe Chandler 1st Pit Comdr.: 2d Lt Michael L Cecil 1st Pit Sgt.: not available 2d Pit Comdr.: 1st Lt James Sims (until WIA on May) 2d Pit Sgt.: not available 3d Pit Comdr.: st Lt David R Jones (acting until WIA on May); then Sgt James W Rogers (acting) 3d Pit Sgt.: not available FOXTROT COMPANY CO: Capt James H Butler XO: st Lt James Wainwright FO: 2d Lt J M Basel (WIA on 30 April) 1st Sgt.: 1st Sgt Theodore D Duchateau GySgt.: SSgt Pedro P Balignasay (acting until WIA on May); then the assigned company gunnery sergeant, GySgt P E Brandon, who had been in the battalion rear on an administrative run when the battle began 1st Pit Comdr.: 2d Lt David K McAdams (until WIA on May) 1st Pit Sgt.: LCpl Ronald J Dean (acting until WIA on May) 2d Pit Comdr.: SSgt Richard L Bartlow (until KIA on May) 2d Pit Sgt.: Sgt Albert Archaleta (until WIA on May) 3d Pit Comdr.: 2d Lt Robert Lanham (until WIA on May) 3d Pit Sgt.: SSgt Chateau GOLF COMPANY CO: Capt Robert J Mastrion (until medevacked on 28 April); then Capt “J R.” Vargas (acting until medevacked on May) XO: 1st Lt Jack E Deichman (WIA on May) FO: 2d Lt Peter A Acly (WIA on May) 1st Sgt.: not available GySgt.: GySgt Billy R Armer (until WIA on 27 and 28 April); then SSgt Reymundo Del Rio (until medevacked on May) 1st Pit Comdr.: SSgt Reymundo Del Rio (until he became company gunnery sergeant on 28 April); then SSgt Wade (acting) 1st Plt Sgt.: SSgt Wade 2d Pit Comdr.: 2d Lt Frederick H Morgan 2d Pit Sgt: Sgt Richard F Abshire (until KIA on May); then Cpl Pless (acting) 3d Pit Comdr.: 1st Lt James T Ferland (until WIA on May); then 1st Lt Jack E Deichman (acting) 3d Pit Sgt.: Sgt Robert J Colasanti (WIA on 30 April and IMay) HOTEL COMPANY CO: Capt James L Williams (until WIA on 30 April); then st Lt Alexander F Prescott IV (acting until WIA on May); then 2d Lt Bayard V Taylor (acting until WIA on May); then st Lt Alexander F Prescott IV (acting after returning to duty on May) XO: 1st Lt Alexander F Prescott IV (in field); and 2d Lt Bayard V Taylor (in battalion rear until battle began) FO: 2d Lt Carl R Gibson (until KIA on 30 April); then the FO team radioman, LCpl Carl M Spaethe (acting) 1st Sgt.: 1st Sgt Clifford Martin GySgt.: GySgt Bobby B Wagner 1st Pit Comdr.: 2d Lt Boyle (WIA on 30 April) 1st Pit Sgt.: SSgt Richard A Kelleher (until WIA on 30 April) 2d Pit Comdr.: SSgt Robert J Ward (until medevacked on May); then Sgt Bruce Woodruff (acting) 2d Pit Sgt.: not available 3d Pit Comdr.: SSgt Ronald W Taylor (until WIA on 30 April); then Sgt Joe N Jones (acting); then st Lt William B Zimmerman (acting until returned to the battalion headquarters on May); then 2d Lt Bayard V Taylor (acting until he assumed command of the company on May); then Sgt Joe N Jones (acting) 3d Pit Sgt.: Sgt Joe N Jones Appendix B Key Personnel of the 3-21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division (opcon to the 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division), during the Battle of Nhi Ha (1-15 May 1968): CO: Lt Col Col William P Snyder XO: Maj Walter D Burchfield Sgt Maj.: 1st Sgt George M Titko (acting) S1 (Personnel): not available S2 (Intelligence): Capt John M Householder S3 (Operations): Maj Paul N Yurchak S4 (Logistics): not available Medical Officer: Capt Jan S Hildebrand CO, HHC: Capt Stephen F Russell CO, E Company: 1st Lt Jerry D Perkins ALPHA COMPANY (ALPHA ANNIHILATOR) CO: Capt Cecil H Osborn (pseudonym) XO: 1st Lt Robert V Gibbs FO: 2d Lt William A Stull (WIA on May) 1st Sgt.: not available 1st Pit Ldr.: 2d Lt James Simpson 1st Pit Sgt.: not available 2d Pit Ldr.: 2d Lt Terry D Smith (until WIA on May); then 1st Lt Robert V Gibbs (acting) 2d Pit Sgt.: Sfc Alan Dickerson 3d Pit Ldr.: 2d Lt William B Kimball (until KIA on May) 3d Pit Sgt.: SSgt George L Dale (until KIA on May) BRAVO COMPANY (BARRACUDA) CO: Capt Robert E Corrigan XO: not available FO: Pfc Rod Bublitz (until WIA on May) 1st Sgt.: Sfc Charles A Cunningham 1st Pit Ldr.: not available 1st Pit Sgt.: not available 2d Pit Ldr.: not available 2d Pit Sgt.: not available 3d Pit Ldr.: not available 3d Pit Sgt.: SSgt William F Ochs (until WIA on May) CHARLIE COMPANY (CHARLIE TIGER) CO: st Lt Gerald R Kohl (acting) until relieved on May by the assigned company commander, Capt Dennis A Leach, who had been in the battalion rear preparing for an R and R that was canceled by the battle XO: st Lt Gerald R Kohl (until relieved on May) FO: 2d Lt John R Jaquez 1st Sgt.: Sfc William R Brooks (until KIA on May) st Pit Ldr.: st Lt Roger D Hieb 1st Pit Sgt.: SSgt Isadore Davis 2d Pit Ldr.: st Lt Edward F Guthrie (until KIA on May); then Sgt Donald G Pozil (acting); then SSgt James M Goad (acting until WIA on 10 May); then Sgt Donald G Pozil (acting) 2d Pit Sgt.: Sfc Eugene Franklin (until KIA on May); then Sgt Donald G Pozil (acting) 3d Pit Ldr.: Sfc Henry A Lane (acting) until relieved on May by the assigned platoon leader, st Lt Dale W Musser, who had been in the battalion rear on an administrative run when the battle began 3d Pit Sgt.: SSgt James M Goad (acting) until relieved by the assigned platoon sergeant, Sfc Henry A Lane, who had been the acting platoon leader when the battle began DELTA COMPANY (BLACK DEATH) CO: Capt James F Humphries XO: not available FO: 2d Lt Robert Bybee 1st Sgt.: not available 1st Pit Ldr.: 2d Lt Richard J Skrzysowski (until WIA on May); then Sfc Buford Mathis (acting) 1st Pit Sgt.: Sfc Buford Mathis 2d Pit Ldr.: 2d Lt Erich J Weidner 2d Pit Sgt: Sfc Floyd W Buell 3d Pit Ldr.: SSgt Robert E Gruber (acting); then 2d Lt Richard A Holt 3d Pit Sgt.: SSgt Robert E Gruber Glossary AIT Advanced Individual Training AK-47 standard Communist 7.62mm automatic rifle Amtrac LVTP5 amphibious tractor AO Area of Operations Arty artillery ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam Birddog O-1E observation plane BLT Battalion Landing Team Blueline a stream or river C&C Command-and-control helicopter used by commanders to supervise field activities CAR15 shortened, all-metal version of the M16 5.56mm automatic rifle CAS Close Air Support C-4 plastic explosive Chicom Chinese Communist (usually refers to enemy hand grenade) Chinook CH-47 transport helicopter Claymore aboveground antipersonnel mine CO Commanding Officer CP Command Post Crusader Navy A-7 jet fighter-bomber DHCB Dong Ha Combat Base DMZ Demilitarized Zone, dividing line between North and South Vietnam on the 17th parallel E-tool Entrenching tool, military term for a collapsible shovel FAC Forward Air Controller FO Forward Observer FSB Fire Support Base H&S Headquarters & Service Company HE High Explosive HHC Headquarters and Headquarters Company HST Helicopter Support Team Huey nickname for the UH-1 series of helicopter Illum illumination round or rounds KIA Killed In Action Kit Carson scout Communist soldier who defected to the allies and volunteered to serve with U.S units as a scout interpreter Laager nickname for a unit’s night defensive position LAW 66mm Light Antitank Weapon LCU Landing Craft, Utility LD Line of Departure LIB Light Infantry Brigade LP Listening Post LZ Landing Zone M14 nonstandard U.S 7.62mm automatic rifle M16 standard U.S 5.56mm automatic rifle M60 standard U.S 7.62mm machine gun M79 standard U S 40mm grenade launcher MAB Marine Amphibious Brigade MAF Marine Amphibious Force MAW Marine Aircraft Wing MIA Missing In Action Monitor LCM-6 gunboat with revolving turret NCO Noncommissioned Officer NVA North Vietnamese Army OCS Officer Candidate School OP Observation Post Opcon Operational Control Otter M76 amphibious tracked vehicle Phantom F-4 jet fighter-bomber RPD standard Communist 7.62mm light machine gun RPG Rocket-Propelled Grenade RTO Radiotelephone Operator S1 personnel officer S2 intelligence officer S3 operations officer S4 logistics officer Sea Horse CH-34 helicopter (Korean War vintage) Sea Knight CH-46 transport helicopter Sea Stallion CH-53 transport helicopter Sitrep Situation report Skimmer nickname for the fourteen-foot assault boats used by the Marines (they were made of fiberglass and had 35-horsepower Mercury outboard motors) SKS Communist rifle Skyhawk A-4 jet attack-bomber SLF Special Landing Force Spooky AC-47 gunship TacAir Tactical Air Support TAOR Tactical Area of Responsibility TF Task Force TOT Time On Target (method of artillery re involving several batteries ring on the same target at the same time) VC Viet Cong Ville village WIA Wounded In Action WP White Phosphorus (“Willie Pete”) XO executive officer Selected Bibliography BOOKS Berry, Lt Col F Clifton Charge rs New York: Bantam, 1988 Crum, James E Pigman, Vie tnam 1968 -69 Canal Fulton, Ohio: J.E Crum, 1988 Cutler, Lt Comdr Thomas J Bro wn Wate r, Black Be re ts: Co astal and Rive rine Warfare in Vie tnam Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute, 1988 Grant, Zalin B Survivo rs New York: Norton, 1975 Helms, E Michael The Pro ud Bastards New York: Zebra, 1990 Krulak, Lt Gen Victor H First to Fight: An Inside Vie w o f the U.S Marine Co rps Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute, 1984 Lowry, Timothy S Valo r New York: Berkley, 1988 Telfer, Maj Gary; Lt Col Lane Rogers; and Keith Fleming U.S Marine s in Vie tnam: Fighting the No rth Vie tname se , 1967 Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S Marine Corps, 1984 PERIODICALS Braestrup, Peter “‘Magnificent’ Is the Word for Marine Fighters.” Pacific Stars & Stripe s, 29 May 1968,11 Hammond, Lt Col J W “Combat Journal, Part I.” Marine Co rps Gaze tte , July 1968, 20-29 Hammond, Lt Col J W “Combat Journal, Conclusion.” Marine Co rps Gaze tte , August 1968, 46-51 May, Tony “With the 196th Light Infantry Brigade: Letters from the DMZ.” Vie tnam Co mbat, 1989, 46-57 “Soldier Slips Past Enemy Night Perimeter.” So uthe rn Cro ss (Newspaper of the Americal Division), June 1968, Weise, Brig Gen William “Memories of Dai Do.” Marine Co rps Gaze tte , September 1987, 42-55 Weise, Brig Gen William “They Called Him Big John Malnar.” Le athe rne ck, July 1991, 47-49 DOCUMENTS All USMC documents cited are in the USMC Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard; all U.S Army documents cited can be found in the National Archives’s Suitland, Md., branch “The Battle of Dong Ha” (Capt W H Dabney, G3A, 3d Marine Division) “Combat After Action Report (Operations NAPOLEON-SALINE), Headquarters, 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Divison.” “Command Chronology, 3d Marines, April 1968.” “ _, May 1968.” “Command Chronology, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines, May 1968.” “Command Chronology, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, October 1967.” “ _, November 1967.” “Command Chronology, Battalion Landing Team 2/4, December 1967.” “ _, January 1968.” “ _, February 1968.” “ _, March 1968.” “ _, April 1968.” “ _, May 1968.” “ _, June 1968.” “Duty Officer’s Log, S2/S3 Section, 3d Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, 19 April-17 May 1968.” “Operations of U.S Marine Forces, Vietnam, May 1968.” 3d Marine Division Historical Section The tape-recorded interviews conducted at the BUT 2/4 CP at Mai Xa Chanh West on 21 and 22 May 1968 The reel-to-reel tapes are stored at the National Archives in Suitland, Md Acly, 2d Lt Peter A (G BLT 2/4) Allen, Cpl Terry L (H BLT 2/4) Barela, LCpl James L (H BLT 2/4) Bennett, Pfc Thomas J (H BLT 2/4) Burgos, LCpl Joel S (H BLT 2/4) Devoe, Sgt Donald F (H BLT 2/4) Emery, Cpl Kenneth L (G BLT 2/4) Ferland, 1st Lt James T (G BLT 2/4) Jones, Sgt Joe N (H BLT 2/4) Knapp, Maj Charles W (XO, BLT 2/4) Kraus, LCpl Greg R (CP, BLT 2/4) Lawson, 1st Lt Luther L (CP, BLT 2/4) Lawyer, Pfc Gary W (H BLT 2/4) Martin, HM3 Larry G (G BLT 2/4) McCarter, HM2 Terrell E (G BLT 2/4) Morgan, 2d Lt Frederick H (G BLT 2/4) Murphy, Capt Richard J (S2, BLT 2/4) Osborn, LCpl (H BLT 2/4) Patton, Cpl William A (H BLT 2/4) Pierce, Cpl Wendell M (H BLT 2/4) Richardson, Pfc Gary R (H BLT 2/4) Stallworth, Pfc Sylvester (H BLT 2/4) Summey, Cpl James A (H BLT 2/4) Ward, SSgt Robert J (H BLT 2/4) Warren, Maj George F (S3, BLT 2/4) Whitefield, Pfc (H BLT 2/4) Woodruff, Sgt Bruce (H BLT 2/4) Zayemopoulas, Cpl Evangelos E (H BLT 2/4) Zimmerman, 1st Lt William B (CP, BLT 2/4) 2007 Presidio Press Mass Market Edition Copyright © 1994 by Keith William Nolan All rights reserved Published in the United States by Presidio Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York PRESIDIO PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc Originally published in the United States in hardcover by Presidio Press in 1994 Dai Do maps (figures 1-6) reprinted courtesy of Marine Corps Gazette Nhi Ha maps (figures 7-9) by Kelly Williams eISBN: 978-0-307-53813-0 www.presidiopress.com v3.0 ... at the 3d Marines’ CP at the mouth of the Cua Viet River There the wingman sat down to take aboard the wounded crewmen and infantrymen and y them to the medical facilities aboard the Iwo Jima The. .. crescendo of re from the NVA soldiers closest to the center of the X, and then it seemed that they had scattered under the heavy return re The NVA farthest away were still blazing away Their AK-47 automatic... Ferland, had the point and the mission of securing the burial mounds that dotted the approach to Lai An, from which the platoon could cover the movement of the rest of the company into their blocking