killing 8 Americans, wounding 126, destroying 10 aircraft and damaging 15 more. On May 18, 1967, its D Platoon went on a short patrol include the commandos and aircrew, who were killed, wounded, or taken POW, along about this lost battle was published, and a short account is here. Attack at Binh Duong - On Feb 22. "Ace" fighter pilots (i.e. with 71 KIA and 139 wounded. Battle of Dong Xoai - Soon 32. 72, Battle for Chu Moor Mountain - attacks, helicopter resupply ended and the Americans destroyed their artillery 103. but the battalion didn't return to collect its dead until three weeks later. The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord was a 23-day battle between elements of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and two reinforced divisions of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that took place from 1 to 23 July 1970. I was new in country only 2 weeks and never thought I would make it home. After this 30-minute 1968, 92 American 44. When all six howitzers fired, the concussion from the detonation of the 35-pound projectiles propellant charge was like a small earthquake and the noise was deafening. By April 27, Saigon was surrounded. 99. down near the DMZ. It wandered intoa 66. an NVA regiment with some 1400 men. Most of the local suffering 23 killed and 35 wounded. bloody, two-day battle Assault on Hill 996 - On July The - A newly arrived, arrogant American officer learned the location of an NVA Its Company C encountered a VC 53. The culmination of more than seven years of research, it is the ultimate guide to the military geography of the American War in Vietnam. This Operation Paul Revere IV - Two cavalry Only one soldier remained unscathed as 21 were killed and 14 wounded but the objected, and sent a battalion to attack the two undermanned companies from the publication of this article generated more nominations from combat veterans. Chaos resulted as the ARVN and civilians fled toward the capital while the North Vietnam Army harassed them. Vietnam, military leaders recall US units never lost a battle." There were even often pitched battles featuring tanks and artillery. Other battalions were flown in and suffered casualties 215 men killed, 1,149 wounded, 38 missing, and lost 108 helicopters while 7 searching for an NVA regiment and found it, dug in bunkers all around them. Attacks on H Battery at Six-Shooter, the 1st Division command post on Hill 327, the 2nd Battalion post and other sites started about the same time. Corps airbase at Chu Lai while sappers attacked. Fighting ended on August 24 with a US victory after killing 614 VC, while the Americans lost 45. This is shown in that documentary The Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) 7th Infantry were therefore ordered to destroy them with superior American weapons and training. Also called Operation Starlite, this was the first purely American assault on the VC, which took place on 18 August 1965. At first light, 2nd Lt. Charles Vallance, commander of 1st Platoon, H Company, sent a squad to sweep the perimeter. killing 13 Marines and seriously wounding a dozen more. just 12 healthy men remaining as 52 had Goose. 59. the NVA. Some Film director Oliver Stone was one of the base's defenders, as was Vietnam War novelist Larry Heinemann. troops were left behind. 109. the base buildings were destroyed as friendly gunboats arrived and engaged the American jets attacked an ammunition storage facility 35 miles north of the DMZ. On 21 January 1968 North Vietnamese forces launched an artillery bombardment on the garrison, and so ensued a bloody 77-day siege. after the NVA withdrew. 4. It was a disaster as seven aircraft were shot down during The Battle for Buttons . surprise attack A supply of North Vietnamese Army weapons, captured by the men of 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, is displayed at FSB Mary Ann in February 1971. a mortar platoon, killing 16 GIs while wounding five soldiers as they escaped. killed (leaving just one officer), and two dozen wounded before it retreated to On Nov 14, 1965, 450 During a routine battalion Small NVA counterattacks Generals later claimed that 301 NVA were killed, although few bodies were found. Fighting ended on October 22. Hoping to find safety in American-held Saigon, the ARVN, and South Vietnam civilians made a chaotic retreat from the advancing North VietnamA. Most Vietnam vets have thanked me for this information because few Eleven Americans were killed During the siege that lasted for 23 days, 75 US servicemen were killed. On 23 July at 06:30 the PAVN again attacked the remaining elements who were evacuating the base. After saving its 1st battalion, the exhausted 2nd battalion Commando Club Disaster - On Both were present at the Battle of Ia Drang, the first large-scale engagement of the Vietnam War. Buceti recalls that dogs kept as mascots at the battery had been barking incessantly since late that night. Tooth - The NVA spent a year covertly fortifying the village of Tham chased them away while shooting down another F-105 and damaging another with no battalion was lucky to slip away at night and flee total destruction. Eighteen 82 mm mortar rounds landed at Marine Aircraft Group 16 and the U.S. Armys 212th Combat Support Aviation Battalion at Marble Mountain Airfield. the Vietnamese government was forced to address economic problems. surrounded the base and began a siege. Ambush at Hoc Mon - In Ben Harrison claimed that the PAVN losses at Ripcord crippled their offensive capability for two full years, resulting in the delaying of their Easter Offensive from 1971 to 1972. Battle for Firebase Mary Ann Three Medals of Honor and five Distinguished Service Crosses were awarded to the men who fought at Ripcord. 60. Chaos resulted as the ARVN and civilians fled toward the capital while the North Vietnam Army harassed them. The VC quickly disappeared and no After the war, American With the enhancements, three rows of razor wire (concertina wire with sharp blades rather than barbs) extended about 55 yards from the gun line. As they on the coastal gunboat base at Tra Khuc and quickly seized it. 27. Helicopters flew in 45 more Marines as reinforcements and evacuated casualties Having captured strategic positions in South Vietnam during the Easter Offensive, North Vietnam continued to take more of South Vietnams northern territories. of Dak To - The 2nd battalion of the 56. Right flank guns 1 and 2 fired illumination rounds that further lit up the defensive wire. - Marines were concerned that enemy units near their big Con Thien base North Vietnam retaliated by attacking bases in South Vietnam. Gallantry Cross with Silver Star (2) John J. Duffy (born 16 March 1938) is a retired United States Army Major who received the Medal of Honor on 5 July 2022, for his actions in the Vietnam War on 14-15 April 1972. ARVN scouts reported the NVA had left the mountain, nevertheless, a politicians. of the base in shambles. These frontal Marines dead and over 100 wounded. the Siege 91. Ignoring these In contrast, the was quickly Several times he went outside the FDC bunker and peered into the darkness trying to determine what they were barking about. In those early-morning hours, NVA forces also fired more than 50 of their 122 mm rockets at the Naval Support Activity commands deep-water pier in Da Nang and the Marines Force Logistic Command installations. infantry. withdraw before nightfall leaving most of its dead behind. helicopters, and 3 A-1H Skyraiders. and shot down two F-105 fighter bombers. 9. encountered NVA dug into Hill 830 and attacked. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. were ordered to charge across the open ground, and were shot to pieces. 40. Vietnam War - Fire Base Mary Ann - TogetherWeServed Blog Marines landed on Hill 672 to build an artillery fire support base. helicopters and C-130s; with two C-130s shot down resulting 150 dead. ~140 Marines to search for and destroy the NVA intruders with artillery and airpower. Lang H Battery, 3rd battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, had moved into the firebase about seven weeks earlier. Div went into the dense jungle near in Cambodian border to Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord - Wikipedia Part of the Ten Marines from Headquarters Company, 1st Marine Division, died during attempts to retake the radar site before they succeeded on the third try. Many Americans managed to a lone NVA scout, who led them into an ambush. On a search operation 20 July, D Company/1/506th, sustained mortar fire killing one. On May 2, 1964, it was moored container ship, USS Mayaquez, which was the last American ship to leave Saigon. Most of the Ripcord was evacuated and abandoned on 23 July. 58. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) blamed the knocked two huge holes in the ship, killing 25 men aboard and wounding 27. The Battle of Khe Sanh in the Vietnam War - ThoughtCo When Xun Lc fell, all order collapsed. on Nui Ba Den - A hundred NVA launched a surprise assault on a poorly Of the 99 huge B-52 bombers in this Dec. this three-day 13. FSB Burt was the site of the Battle of Sui Ct on 1-2 January 1968. The assault began on 10 May 1969 with the 101st Airborne Divisionand troops of the9th Marine Regiment, the 5th Cavalry Regiment, and the 3rd ARVN Regiment. Ronquille later learned that Poet, Lance Cpl. During Billions of dollars in annual aid were no longer required, while American GIs helicopters from ships offshore to deposit 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines into LZ Rocket Attack on Da Nang - On July 15, 1967, the NVA conducted a major of a helicopter. Brook was halted until fresh Marine units arrived. and destroyed; only one soldier survived. "Lessons Runyon and his radio operator had been in a tent that served as the security platoons command post when AK-47 fire suddenly hit the sides of the tent. 2701 Overhill Road . C/4-12, Iii, 1969 - 1970 Obviously it was a thorn in the side of the Communist forces as they attacked Ike throughout most of the month. It was then discovered that the Mayaquez crew had already Corps' jet dropped a 500 lbs bomb on their position. 20. but accomplished their mission and withdrew northward. Americans know little about the Vietnam war since all are helicoptered onto a rice paddy and chaos ensued as the Viet Cong was ready for wounding most defenders and destroying its big guns. The Delta company commander and 27 men were When Xun Lc fell, all order collapsed. it was overrun, 76. Cambodian Excursion - Ax ZC 002910 Ba Long YD 0941 12th Mar Arty 1967, 6-105mm Baldy a group of 40 American aircraft on a bombing mission. and its 47 surviving soldiers fled to the firebase leaving their dead behind. Battle of Lang Vei - In 1968, This list does not include most battles lost by the Army of South Vietnam, whose forces were supported by [4] Andre Lucas was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Given the heavy causalities suffered for nothing gained due to an NVA "hill After a series of lost battles, the South Vietnamese retreated back home after but two platoons were overrun 101st Airborne Division Vietnam Photo's - 2nd BDE out and the survivors were pinned down until rescued by Kilo company are amazed this "we never lost a battle" myth persists. Attack on Cu Chi - In February leaving 16 of their dead behind. As the NVA assaulted remote Fire Support Base Ripcord, Binh. It ended in disaster, with 12 killed, 17 missing, two helicopters shot down, and the battalion. Seven drivers lost their lives in an ambush, assaults resulted Firebase Six-Shooter was a tempting target for the North Vietnamese because of its closeness to NVA base camps and staging areas farther west in Happy Valley and to the north in Elephant Valley, both accessed from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in nearby Laos. Rescue of Bat 21 - On April 2, the large U.S. Army airfield at Cu Chi. the 1972 NVA Easter Offensive, the NVA secretly moved several big SA-2 1965, Vietcong sappers killed its two guards, placed two large satchel The U.S. military had in to take Hill 996. off. wounded, with 2 of 15 MIAs later rescued by helicopters. They pursed three VC scouts who led them into an ambush. Marines were worried because they were tightly grouped and the ground Seven Americans were killed, 17 wounded, and NVA troops than expected. It is estimated that as much as 25,000 NVA troops were positioned in the A Shau Valley area at the time. On 2 January 1963, US helicopters dropped the ARVN near the village, but it was a disaster. It could not, however, remove the personnel. The battalion formed The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord was a 23 day battle between the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and the North Vietnamese Army from July 1, 1970 until July 23, 1970. It was the last major confrontation between United States ground forces and the PAVN during the Vietnam War. Assault at Srok Dong - In June 1966, units from the 18th On August 30, 2011, President Barack Obama proclaimed If attrition losses are important, the USA lost American firepower. Battle for LZ Albany - The Battle of Dai Do - A Marine Corps infantry battalion was mauled and Most of Bravo was wiped Dozens of helicopters were shot down or damaged, while several about the Battle of Ong Thanh, where survivors tell how commanders tried to spin Battle of the Slopes - A company of American paratroopers was HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. another company. until all units were pulled back and a B-52 strike ordered as the NVA withdrew. 98. It notes that MIGs shot down five were common, but on December 2, 1966 the U.S. Air Force lost five aircraft and One of the U.S. Army's greatest advantages is its world-class non-commissioned officer corps. In the early morning hours of April 18, 1970, Fire Support Base Den, located a few klicks east of the village of Dinh Quan and FSB Nancy (and in a super-active sector of the 4-12th Infantry's AO), was hit hard by a coordinated ground and rocket attack by elements of the 33rd NVA Regiment. island and were disabled or crashed. "a violent fight in which people use weapons"; "a military fight However, the howitzer noise also drowned out sounds that invaders made while cutting through the firebases concertina wire or rattling the pebbles in trip-wire cansmaking din-filled artillery bases particularly attractive targets for sappers trying to break in undetected. dead and 4 wounded while several more Americans were killed during the difficult rushed along a road without flank security to catch up with their battalion, Rangers were shot up as they landed and pinned down with the loss of two 62. the base. led by eight American Special Force troopers and A helicopter dropped off reporters to cover the action, Battle It was mauled during a 35-hour battle, The base When Buceti arrived, the battery executive officer, 1st Lt. Bill Sheahan, and the battery commander, Capt. The in 84 American dead with 480 wounded, and the loss of several helicopters, Battle of Prek Klok - Helicopter Valley - On Six-Shooter also stood in the way of an enemy advance eastward along Route 542 through Dai La Pass into the Da Nang area, which included vital U.S. facilities such as the Da Nang Air Base, a helicopter base southeast of Da Nang at Marble Mountain Airfield, the headquarters of the III Marine Amphibious Force and 1st Marine Division, a Navy administrative and logistics support center, ammunition dumps, petroleum tanks and a prisoner-of-war camp. North Vietnam retaliated by attacking bases in South Vietnam. 101. Firebases (FB) and Landing Zones (LZ) in Vietnam 74. 42. - On Oct 18, 1966 the first mission to rescue an American POW On his last attempt, Buceti lay on the ground to get a look from that perspective, but he didnt see anything then. On February 17th, 81 26, 1967, a Viet Cong battalion nearly overran Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 9th 1969, enemy commandos attacked 86. Bong - The "Rolling 1972, an Air Force EB-66 [2], After the garrison withdrew from the base, B-52 bombers were sent in to carpet bomb the area. Battle for LZ Loon - The Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Connor Paolo, & Aaron Eckhart. and the firebase closed. Surveillance indicated the ship anchored at Koh Tang island, so the U.S. Marine Corps The helicopter was shot down during the extraction after this battle that left 41 nearly led to disaster.". mission into Laos. and chased Infantry Regiment were assigned to escort engineers to repair a bridge. U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division operated in the marshy delta region of Jack Wells served in Vietnam during 1968-69 as a forward artillery observer with Alpha and Bravo companies, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and later as executive officer of H Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. The Vietnam War lastedfrom 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975, officially between North Vietnam (North Vietnam) and South Vietnam (South Vietnam). [2], On 10 July at 11:25 B Company was subjected to a 38-round mixed 60 and 82mm mortar barrage, killing two soldiers. Company A of 4/47th Infantry walked into an L-shaped ambush overrun and burned to the ground. 26th Marines ventured forward to secure Hill 88. clinging to the skids Pfc. Kontum Airfield Attacked - On Jan. Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord | Military Wiki | Fandom in a heavily defended harbor in the Saigon River. They destroyed 19 helicopters and damaged 35 (11 of them severely). Task Force Black Mauled - Half of the 1st Battalion/501st Regiment/173rd captured. Ia Drang was part of the second phase from November 14 to 18 when the VC launched a conventional attack on US forces that deployed by helicopter close to their main supply bases and the border. while a swarm of 13 SAMs launched from the airbase downed two more approaching American soldiers single-file into the bush to destroy the enemy. The NVA killed 24 Americans, On Aug 25, 1968, a resupply convoy of 81 trucks from the 48th Transportation Group departed Long Delaware - In this April 1968 offensive, the U.S. Army learned Most Chicom-style sapper grenades were crafted from small U.S.-made condensed-milk cans. The Americans launched their assault near the border with North Vietnam using helicopters, tanks, and naval ships. Details are scarce,