long binh ammo dump explosion 1968

1. 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. VC informants inside the base had provided detailed information as to the base layout and defenses. Our arrival had canceled fears that III Corps headquarters might be overrun. in bunker) at first light to the sound of a M-60 chattering away. front making it dangerous to return fire. His battalion was in heavy contact and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. 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. - APCs advance, firing 50 caliber machine guns. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. 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.. 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. 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. To get to the church, we had to run a gantlet of fire, through the VC 238th Regiment and into the flank of the 275th, which was fighting the 2-47s scout platoon in Widows Village. At the meeting I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. A spokesman for the South Vietnamese command said that, according to unconfirmed re ports, satchel charges, of the type used by Vietcong sabotage squads were found near the dump. LV WATER TRUCKS ALONG ROAD, EXPLOSION IN B/G. Views of a number of huts, in the hamlet, that have not been destroyed. As dawn broke on February 1, it was deathly quiet. As I remember this night, around 12 or 12:30 a.m. the sirens Ive just been told you work for me again. 13. Under fire, Staff Sgt. Dismounted troops of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, stay close to their M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) as they clear Widows Village, near Long Binh Army Post, of Viet Cong who had overrun it during the Communist 1968 Tet Offensive (National Archives). We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned left onto Highway 316. This is the story of one rifle company, and what it faced on that decisive day. M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. We all knew that these moves were more than just precautionary. 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. Chu Lai and LZ Baldy Photos. wire on the top of LBJ (Long Binh Jail). Satchel charges blew pallets of artillery ammunition, creating a mushroom cloud that made us think the VC had set off a tactical nuclear weapon. His action probably saved the lives of everyone on my track. Binh was a logistical mistake because the perimeter was so heavily armed SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. Initials PW/VS/JH/BB/ES PW/VS/JH/ES night on alert at the Birdcage, I was awakened (trying to sleep Long Binh Ammo Dump October 29, 1966 . Charlie Company quickly reinforced Alpha, and a daylong fight ensued. We packed up all of our gear, rolled up our concertina wire and waited. 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. 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. [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. We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. Rambo claims that the bunker guards were MPs with the call sign of Filmy Milker. According to him, I told their commander 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. 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. On the morning of 31 January 1968, the Bien Hoa Air Base, III Corps HQ, the Prisoner of War Compound, and other key installations around Bien Hoa--Long Binh area received enemy mortar and rocket fire. 1.13 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. 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. They bowed and looked confused. With the explosion of the entire ammunition dump imminent, and in the midst of exploding shells, fire and debris, the men of COMPANY B, . For additional reading, see: The Battle for Saigon, Tet 1968, by Keith Nolan; and History of the 5th Division, by Ho Son Dai and Nguyen Van Hung. I sounded off, "who is there"? Battalion policy was that we had to fill in all holes and empty our sandbags each time we left a position. The churches were cleared in short order. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. (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. 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. Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. As we rolled by, we looked down into the compound and saw soldiers in khakis, boarding passes in hand, milling about. 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. In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion headquarters to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Company C. In October, the 2-47 was tasked to secure engineers as they cleared Highway 1 from Xuan Loc to the II Corps boundary near Phan Thiet. General Patton's son, then Lt. Col. George Patton III, commander of the U.S. Army's 11th Armored Cavalry (Black Horse), positioned his tanks in between our big bunker hills . License Agreement | I realize now that the track was high enough that the rounds would have passed over the troops in front of the vehicle, Love recalls. Relevant to these events; post recollections and descriptions, questions,. the wrecker operator had to know how to weld. trooper was injured by a piece of shrapnel that had come down The battle was significant, since Alphas leadership was seriously depleted during the days immediately prior to Tet. AIR V..AMMUNITION DUMPS AND FIRES He started After the cemetery had been cleared Company B, 2/3rd Infantry joined Company C, 4/12th Infantry and they made a night defensive perimeter north of Ho Nai, while the 2/47th Infantry was withdrawn to Bin Ha. 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. 8. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. As you know there were no officers probably one of the best deals I had been Used for because the This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. (Vietnam War period). 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. for days and days. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. No tactic I had learned at infantry school fit that situation, so we improvised. [4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. Four men were killed and more than 20 wounded, including most of the officers. This site requires JavaScript. [2]:3523, General Weyand later noted that in their attacks on the Saigon area "Despite the large number of Communist troops committed, insufficient force was applied in any one area to take and hold the objectiveThe assault had been launched piecemeal and it was repulsed piecemeal in a series of relatively small battles. 12. 0.54 [2]:3512 US losses in the fighting in the Widow's Village were three dead. 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. Our outfit was a At 08:00 the VC south of the Plantation withdrew into the Widows Village. 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. Ammo Dump Explosion 18 Feb 1968 where 8 pads detonated with a total ammo value of $2,774,348: f. On 18 February 1968 at approximately 0300 an attempted penetration of the depot was. went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of [2]:347, The ARVN 53rd Regional Force Battalion was responsible for security in the countryside around Bin Ha. Even though it was about 6-8 miles away to the NE of Bien Hoa, it was plainly visible . To ensure you can use all the features please enable it. 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. The S3 also told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. [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. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. [5], USAF losses were 4 killed in action with another dying of a heart attack, while 26 were wounded. 0.17 Page contents not supported in other languages. We use cookies on this website. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. the barracks hall just as he stepped out of his room going to The ammunition dump contained high explosives like: C-4, artillery rounds, mortar rounds, aerial flares, 50 caliber rounds, M-60 machine gun rounds, and aerial rockets for the Huey Cobra and gunships. But their 81mm mortars were useless, since we were told we could not put any indirect fire into the town. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. forever the big pieces stopped. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) to check-in and see what was going on, and found myself the only OK. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. By Vietnam terms 3. checkered) water tower by the main gate. I sat behind the .50-caliber, munching and giving thanks for the fact that, incredibly, nobody in Charlie Company had been killed. 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. [2]:350, With the base returned to full operation, that afternoon C130s landed the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment to help ARVN forces fighting the VC in Bin Ha city. We all knew these moves were more than precautionary. I called III Corps to report that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait for the Vietnamese National Police to take charge. -- color photo Near Moc Hoa. 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. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. We had returned from a the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. (Note: According to Colonel Sonny Craven, then leader of a combat photo team on the scene, these combat sequences was filmed by soldiers of the 221st Signal Company [Pictorial]). The village of Ho Nai, now a ghost town, still smoldered. U.S. air strikes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. 6 External links modified. (Vietnam War period). resulting in the explosion of the ammo dump at Bin Ha Air Base. Bravo Company (one member of which was Spc. Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. I was not sure what to do about the bunkers. I called battalion headquarters and was told to forget about them, which reinforced our sense that combat was imminent. The 2-47 was one of several units General Weyand pulled in from the jungles to guard the Long Binh headquarters and logistical complex 15 miles northeast of Saigon.

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