long binh ammo dump explosion 1968

1 comment. I went through the quarters making sure everyone I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. During TET 1969 in front of Bunker Hill 17, VC sappers tried to penetrate our fence line. Some VC crossed Route 316 and took up firing positions in bush at the southern perimeter of the Plantation. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. was his helmet and flack jacket! Unfortunately for them, the hapless VC had no weapons other than the RPG launcher, and Dames dispatched them with a burst from his M-16. We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. Casper rose from a prone position and yelled for his troops to follow him. I the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. As I remember the Tet Offensive began in the early morning of find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The All I could think of to say was, Please clear that weapon!During the meeting, a master sergeant adviser to a Vietnamese ranger battalion ran into the compound. Meanwhile, Huey gunships reported VC running from the village. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. 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. The gun-jeeps were progressively replaced by M113s and XM-706 Commando armored cars. [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. SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. Then things started falling out of the sky. Come back up on the battalion freq. I had never been so happy in my life. I had assumed I would be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. I called battalion headquarters and asked what to do about the bunkers. Sappers had placed satchel charges on pallets of artillery ammunition, and the resulting mushroom cloud caused all its witnesses to think the VC had employed a tactical nuclear weapon. 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. Summary - October 1966 into the bunkers. We usually got mortared at night whenever Dong Tam was getting it from our district. At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. I yelled at Lieutenant Casper and everybody looked around as the VC tore out running the last few yards to safety. The idea was to leave nothing the VC might use against us. . Those orders were for us to clear the VC from the houses surrounding the corps headquarters. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. 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. I was well seasoned having been through all the scenarios that presented Love was so startled, he didnt fire. went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of happened to hit him just over the forehead. In fact, VC effectiveness was so degraded that, after 1968, they were mainly replaced on the battlefield by North Vietnamese regulars, and were never a viable force after that. 102 comments 105 shares. 26 VC/PAVN were killed in the attack and several captured. The chrome went off and all hell broke lose. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. [2]:352[3]:2067, At approximately 05:30, the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, mounted on M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles (ACAVs) coming from Bearcat approached the Plantation from the southwest and formed a skirmish line to engage the VC, while helicopter gunships from the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment swept in to rocket and machine gun the VC positions. Tom Allaback. This is the airstrike on snipers at the 195th AHC perimeter and the Long Binh ammo dump explosion set off by sappers the morning of the 1968 Tet offensive with sound effects added. Simultaneously, platoon leaders reported finding discarded AK-47s. Come back up on the battalion freq.. July 10, 1969 - Page 3 - Brownwater Vietnam Veterans Several soldiers gathered in front of the track to help the wounded, and Love climbed up to man the .50-caliber. As he fell, a burst of automatic weapons fire stitched the wall right where he would have been had he not fallen.. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. In January 1968, our battalion relocated to the area between Xuan Loc and Bien Hoa, where intelligence had located a VC battalion. M-113 APCs of the 9th Infantry Division storm VC positions 200 meters outside II Field Force headquarters at Long Binh on February 1, 1968. 856th RRD-Defending Long Binh - ASA LIVES As was our normal practice, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. charred. F-100 Super Sabre and F-4 Phantom II drop Mark 82 bombs in Vietnam during U.S. air strikes. He replied that I would have to wait. PDF Scanned Document - United States Army Then things started falling 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. As we rolled back through Bien Hoa, we were astounded to find the battalion S4, Captain Leroy Brown, in the middle of town with a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker and several ammunition trucks. 200 pounds. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. The II Field Force commander, Lt. Gen. Frederick C. Weyand, had correctly predicted a major attack during Tet, and his anticipation no doubt saved Long Binh and Saigon from being overrun. the light dome that rose from the explosion. Elements of B Company, 2/47th Infantry (Mechanized) and C Company, 4/39th Infantry, clearing North Vietnamese Army regulars from "Widows' Village" (a hamlet of housing provided by the government of the Republic of Vietnam for widows and children of fallen ARVN soldiers). We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. AIR V..AMMUNITION DUMPS AND FIRES 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. At 0300 hours I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as S3, stating that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. [7], The Tet offensive attacks and previous losses due to mortar and rocket attacks on air bases across South Vietnam led the Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze on 6 March 1968 to approve the construction of 165 "Wonderarch" roofed aircraft shelters at the major air bases. (Vietnam War period). 6 External links modified. 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. One reference claims that 4 February 1967 was the date, and another claims that 28 March was the date. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. Later, as the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then There we would be assigned a unit we would serve with in Vietnam. build bunkers, and help pick up the dead enemy across the fence. Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79. The 2-47s scout platoon had just finished a brutal fight in Widows Village, and at 4 p.m., 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. The 2-47s enemy body count came in at over 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. It was License Agreement | Refine Your Search Long Binh Vietnam 1968 stock footage and images - Showing 1 to 6 of 5537 results Sort by: All All Search Results Decade 1890 - 1899 (3) 1900 - 1909 (18) 1910 - 1919 (136) 1920 - 1929 (83) more Location Aalen Germany (1) Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland USA (1) Afghanistan (2) Africa (3) more Akron Ohio USA (3) I was having a few beers with several other sailors in the outside screened patio area of the Navy EM Club when we heard a noise to our left. 12. We had run through the rear of the 274th VC Regiment, which was attacking the airfield. What we came up with was a T formation. 1968 - 1969, To See Lawrence's Service Battery Photos [5], USAF losses were 4 killed in action with another dying of a heart attack, while 26 were wounded. 3. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. 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. Most of these photos were taken in an area a few miles north of Chu Lai and south of Hoi An. ton wrecker weighing in at 22 thousand pounds. Ive just been told you work for me again. Tet Offensive I had returned to Long Binh Post. Bin Ha Air Base: Memories of Bin Ha, TET 1969, by Larry - VSPA 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. and the gunner replied "VC Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. [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. Riflemen moving cautiously. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. 4. Cambodian border to the South China sea was already considered a [2]:347 Weyand also requested the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) to defend the eastern approaches to Long Binh/Bien Hoa and 1 ATF had commenced Operation Coburg on 24 January. When we arrived, we filed off the busses . That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. As darkness settled in, Charlie Company was ordered back to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, where we would form a screen in front of the 199th LIB base camp. It also contained tons of captured NVA ammo and guns from the A Shau Valley. At the meeting, I was joined by the S3 of a battalion from the 101st Airborne Division. Men at Long Binh ammunition dump. I sat behind the .50-caliber, munching and giving thanks for the fact that, incredibly, nobody in Charlie Company had been killed. About 30 minutes later, the track came back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to evacuate the wounded. The progress was slow and ammunition was becoming a scarce, particularly grenades, which city fighting consumes at an enormous rate. All night they scanned the jungles with Starlight scopes, seeing nothing. . At 07:30 the VC/PAVN force stopped and made a stand in a cemetery where they continued to be hit by the gunships and the ACAVs of Company C. At 08:00 Company C was joined by a force from 2/47th Infantry and they proceeded to methodically kill all the VC/PAVN in the cemetery. As usual, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. 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. M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. Early on January 30, we were told the Tet cease-fire was canceled, and our unit was deployed into a defensive line along the road that ran around the east side of the Long Binh base. Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. We were ordered to go there and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. 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. We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. Relevant to these events; post recollections and descriptions, questions,. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. However the VC/PAVN never made another ground attack on an air base and moved to attacks by fire with rockets, mortar and artillery. In command for five months, I had been assured that I would be leading the company for one year, which suited me fine. During this time, the battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. By July 1969 we were finally off the boats and in Dong Tam processing to head home. Dames walked down a side alley toward the highway. for days and days. We left the clearing of Bien Hoa City in the capable hands of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry. [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. 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. 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. 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. In April 1967 I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. 13. August 1966 November 1966 December 1966. The mushroom cloud slowly dissipated after hours of 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. 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 view is from the compound of the 20th. USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II bomber aircraft drop two Mk.84 HD bombs. 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. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. The progress was slow and ammo was becoming scarce, particularly grenades, which get consumed at an enormous rate in city fighting. FAQs - How to Order | [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. I then jacked a round into my M-16 and who would you believe -- color photo Near Moc Hoa. The G3 adviser told me that they had received intelligence that Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese commanding general, had his command post in a Catholic church about 1 kilometer east of III Corps. 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. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. Talk:Long Bnh, Bin Ha - Wikipedia [3]:242, The VC/PAVN attacks were a failure. He wanted to borrow one of our tracks. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. I had been in Vietnam about nine months. We fired all we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. After telling them to stop shooting By late afternoon the 275th Regiment retreated north, leaving over 200 dead. My plan was to make captain and go to Vietnam as an experienced company commander. I M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier on guard. 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. EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. By Vietnam terms SV AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND EXPLOSION Flames consuming huts. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were the work of Vietcong sabotage teams. 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. [2]:349, The perimeter was strengthened by an ad hoc force of support personnel from the 145th Aviation Battalion and just before midday the ARVN 57th Regional Force Battalion moved through the base and counterattacked the VC forcing them to withdraw east into the rubber plantation leaving behind over 100 dead. 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. After the fight for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre and inexplicable incidents of the day. I told him that I wanted to command a company. rockets at Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh Post. Binh was a logistical mistake because the perimeter was so heavily armed 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. We could shoot about 21 miles into Cambodia. all personnel to the flight line. 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. [2]:347[3]:225, At 03:00, the PAVN 84A Artillery Regiment began a barrage of approximately 100 82-mm. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. 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. In fact, the Communists had already infiltrated the city of Bien Hoa, suburban Ho Nai village and Widows Village, where pensioned families of deceased ARVN soldiers lived. Toward dark, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. One A-37 and 1 F-100 were destroyed while a further 17 aircraft were damaged. He ignored me and proceeded to a nearby house where he and the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door. I remember one The 2nd Platoon took the one north of the road, the 1st Platoon attacked the other.

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