On January 29, 1968, the night sky above the sprawling Bien Hoa Air Base, where I was on sentry patrol, appeared to be on fire. The skirmishing south of the headquarters near Ha Vang, however, continued. 29/30 January 1968 We had played cards the night before and he was so happy he had survived his year in . At Duy Xuyn, however, the PAVN/VC overran the town, forcing the district chief to flee and take refuge with the Koreans. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] One of the first caches of bombs to explode. They later found three enemy bodies at the site wearing black pajamas under their green utilities. This fighting would continue in a desultory fashion throughout the night. The crowd scattered only to gather on the fringes of Red Beach Base Area. Open to all Vietnam Veterans that served at DA NANG Air Base of ROCKET CITY from 1971-1972. Da Nang Air Base had intelligence predicting a rocket attack any day. He arrived with 19 other soldiers, eight of whom were embalmers. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. He moved Company M, 3/7 Marines from its fairly remote position on Hill 52 in the far western reaches of the Vu Gia River Valley above the An Hoa Basin to the more centrally located Hill 65. The artillery fired another salvo, which caused a large secondary explosion. They counted 34 PAVN dead. . The 391 rockets that hit the base itself the figure was 69 in 1971killed four United States. Milantoni. This should include information pertaining to the rocket and mortar attacks at the Da Nang Air base from April 1967 to May 1968, to include any attacks occurring on or about July 14, 1967. 14 New Guns For 2022 by B. GIL HORMAN; A First-Year Magnum: Shooting The S&W "Pre-29" by JUSTIN DYAL; Contact; Donate; Eye Candy for the Gentlemen out there According to a South Vietnamese account, the ARVN Rangers killed 150 of the enemy and captured another 18 in the battle for Nam O and in other fighting below the pass through 31 January. The attack force would consist of two groups, one to move by land and the other by water to knock out the bridge separating the city from Tiensha Peninsula and to capture the I Corps headquarters. Only the 7th Marines to the west experienced an increase in incidents as PAVN/VC troops moved through the western TAOR to return to their mountain strongholds in Base Area 114 and through Charlie Ridge into Happy Valley. From 18:00 to 24:00 on the 30th, the 1st Marine Division reported to III MAF over 30 incidents ranging from sightings of large enemy forces, to mortar attacks and a few infantry assaults. In both these sectors support troops doubled as infantry, manning fixed defensive positions and conducting patrols. The aircraft may have been one of those used by Air America. CriticalPast is an archive of historic footage. Behind the Marine and Korean lines, the ARVN 51st Regiment deployed in support of the South Vietnamese Revolutionary Development program. Mortar and rocket attacks followed by ground assaults were made all along the perimeter of the base. Robertson later compared the enemy activity that night to a "10-ring circus." It was decided that two battalions from the Americal Division code-named Task Force Miracle would be moved into the northern sector of the 3/5 Marines near Route 1 south of the Cau Do. "[1]:163 At that point, three fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopter gunships then bombed and strafed the enemy column. Nha Trang Air Base is a military airfield in Vietnam, located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northwest of Nha Trang in Khnh Ha Province. Cam Ranh Bay AB: US Army 6th Convalescent Hospital damaged by Rocket Attack! [1]:157, In other sectors of the Da Nang TAOR, the PAVN/VC also maintained the pressure on the Allied forces. Newsreel reporting on a rocket attack on the Da Nang military base being used for US Marine Corps operations. At first, the general and his steward confused the rockets with the traditional fireworks shot off in honor of Tt. At the same time, the 1st Division had sent out several reconnaissance elements. According to this former member of the VC 401st Regimental Security Guard, local VC cadre stated that "the war had lasted too long and the Front had to seek a good opportunity to stage a great offensive that would bring the war to an early end." The . *** The first time that rockets were used in RVN by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. 366th AMS, Rocket attack BX, Gunfighter Pilots. The Marines and PF troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. Lost him to a rocket attack. Air Force rocket attacks in Vietnam Share 9 posts gleyhjr 44 Aug 30, 2010 #1 The following link is a list of all rocket attacks on Air Bases by date: Hope this helps someone needing a stressor of a rocket attack on a Air Base http://www.afhra.af.mil/timelines/index.asp George Binh Thuy AB RVN Sept 1968-Sept 1969 JimM44 683 At 16:00, one of the Stingray units, using the codename Saddle Bag, situated in the mountains just south of a bend in the Thu Bn River below An Ha Combat Base, about 20 miles (32km) southwest of the Da Nang, reported observing about 75 enemy soldiers wearing helmets and some carrying mortars. In the attack, the PAVN/VC fired 122mm rockets at Marine artillery positions at An Hoa, Hill 55 and Hill 10. [Peter Halferty photo]. While Marine fixed-wing aircraft flew strike missions against the gun emplacements, another helicopter evacuated the survivors. [1]:163, The PAVN/VC offensive in the Da Nang sector had spent itself. The Marine companies then pulled back and called in artillery and air. Proud to have had . In the initial fighting for Ha Vang, the South Vietnamese and Americans accounted for 25 VC dead. "The soldiers and cadre of the "South Vietnam Liberation Army" were to move forward in the attack: According to Marine pilot reports, the PAVN/VC had approximately 250 men in the area equipped with automatic weapons, including at least one .51-caliber machine gun. The Truong Son and the Mekong River are moving. This demonstration may have been planned to coincide with an attack on the city which never developed. The area around Nng, especially military installations, was subject to rocket attacks since that February. Further, the National Police reported that VC local leaders from Qung Tn, Qung Nam and Qung Ngi Provinces met in a base area in the hills of northern Qung Ngi to plan attacks on Chu Lai and on Qung Ngi City. Two members of a VC engineering company, also in the Da Nang area, later recounted that nearly 80 percent of their unit was from North Vietnam. bagram air base distance to chinairidescent telecaster pickguard. In a sweep of the area, the defenders found ammunition clips and bloodstains. [1]:1612, In the ensuing battle of Lo Giang the Marine and Army forces successfully repulsed the PAVN 2nd Division attack. [1]:1601, On the morning of 7 February, Westmoreland called for a special meeting of the senior U.S. commanders in I Corps. ARVN intelligence officers speculated that the battalion from the PAVN 4th Regiment was supposed to have spearheaded the attack on the city of Da Nang the previous day, but arrived too late to influence the battle. Company G repulsed a number of probes throughout the night until the PAVN broke contact at dawn. According to an NCO from the PAVN 31st Regiment captured in the fighting, the mission of his unit was to "attack Hi An, five times if necessary, and set up a liberation government. By the afternoon of the 31st, the Marines and Rangers had completed their sweep. [1]:1445, In scattered and intermittent attacks beginning before 02:00 and lasting about one-half hour, PAVN/VC gunners fired both mortars and rockets that landed near positions of Marine artillery, antiair missiles, and the Force Logistic Command at Red Beach Base Area. Lieutenant Colonel William J . At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. The only Marine casualties were two men who failed to vacate their "hootches" in time. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] Mar 3, 2021. [1]:146, Lieutenant Colonel Twyman R. Hill's 1st MP Battalion operated directly under III MAF and was responsible for the "close-in defense" of the Da Nang Air Base, the two bridges between Tiensha Peninsula, Marble Mountain Air Facility and the Naval Hospital on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) Peninsula. English: A damaged U.S. Marine Corps Grumman A-6A Intruderof Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 242 (VMA(AW)-242) "Bats" at Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, 30 January 1968. One rocket struck this barracks, but the man in this room survived by . Before his death, however, the Vietnamese identified himself as Major Nguyen Van Lam, the commanding officer of the R-20th c Lp Battalion. I called all the regiments and battalions and the same was happening to them. **** TET 1968 Supported by U .S . With the departure of the 5th Marine Regiment to support operations further north in I Corps, there was only one Marine infantry regimental headquarters in the extensive Da Nang Tactical area of responsibility (TAOR). A warning order and plan prepared by the VC Da Nang City Committee called for a preliminary attack on the city by sappers and VC troops. Under cover of darkness, elements of the VC R-20th and V-25th Battalions had crossed the Cu River and penetrated the Ha Vang village complex. At least some members of his group also reportedly provided security for Richard Spencer's often violent campus appearances. Da Nang was a major base area for United States and South Vietnamese military forces supporting operations throughout I Corps. No rockets fell on the main airbase but Marble Mountain sustained some damage. Tony Dostal arrived in Vietnam at the Air Force Base in Da Nang aboard a C-141 transport plane on Friday, Aug. 30, 1968. Calling artillery upon the PAVN, the Marines then swept through the area and recovered about 17 60mm mortar rounds. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. Da Nang air base in the mid- to late-60s was the busiest (and possibly the largest) airport in the world. Pictures of Danang 9. Scheduled to last eight weeks, Rolling Thunder will instead go on for three years. Captured 122mm Tripod Launcher. Caught east of the Cm L Bridge and Highway 1, on a small island formed by the convergence of the Cu , a small tributary of the river and the Vien Dien River, the VC turned to fight. In the attack on the I Corps headquarters and in the defense of Ha Vang village the Allies sustained losses of nine dead and several wounded. At 09:15, a squad from Company G, 2/7 Marines providing road security for a Marine engineer mine-sweeping team on Route 1 just below the pass, encountered a small PAVN sapper detachment. During the day's fighting, the Marines killed 107 PAVN and took two prisoners for losses of 11 killed and 53 wounded. The attacks on Da Nang (29 January 11 February 1968), were a series of attacks in the Tet Offensive launched by the North Vietnamese Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC) during the Vietnam War. Doc, as his friends called him, was one of 58,200 Americans that died during the Vietnam War. U.S. air policemen take cover and leave their jeep as they come under sniper fire near Da Nang Airbase in Vietnam on January 30, 1968, after it was hit by a rocket barrage. Company L, 3/5 Marines set up blocking positions on the east bank of the Yen. According to the Marine after-action report, 3/5 Marines and the attached two companies from the 2/3rd Marines accounted for more than 320 PAVN/VC dead in less than 36 hours. 17 apr 1966: arab 511, an a-1h (buno 135398), lt (jg) william l. tromp, va-115, went down following a night attack on coastal targets, near approximately 1818 . mms, from May of 69 to May of 70. The United States Air Force took control of the base in the late 1960s. Photographer: Unknown Nng Air Base, AKA: Rocket City, often had more than six Silk-Moons of false dawn orbiting the base. A conglomeration of internal security forces threw back the VC force from the east that tried to use similar tactics to get inside the compound from that direction. Twenty rockets fell on Hill 10, manned by Battery G , 3/11 Marines which resulted in 23 casualties, including two dead. At the meeting Westmoreland ordered Americal Division commander General Samuel W. Koster to reinforce Danang. The Front announced that the 1968 Tt greeting of "Chairman Ho [Chi Minh] is actually a combat order for our entire Army and population. The 3/5 Marines were landed and immediately came under heavy automatic and small arms fire from the island. After the fixed-wing aircraft and evacuation helicopter cleared the area, the 11th Marines saturated the area with artillery fire. On 27 January, COMUSMACV General William Westmoreland announced a ceasefire to be observed by Allied forces for 36 hours beginning at 18:00 on 29 January in honor of the Tt holidays. Later that afternoon, the 1st Marine Division helilifted a "Bald Eagle" reaction force from Company E, 2/3 Marines east of the river in an attempt to encircle the PAVN. Liked the Oriental rock bands came to the Club: The first half of my year in Vietnam (1967) I was stationed at the large U. S. base in Danang. After calling in helicopter gunships, the ROKMC, at 13:20, reached the MACV compound and linked up with U.S. advisors there. The RPGs missed the apertures in the tower and fell to the ground. Went to Danang to help EOD with the munitions storage facility mishap just outside Danang Air Base. Stationed with 1882n Comm Gp., 1969-1970, worked in the Base Comm Center. Vietnam Rocket City 1971-1972, Palm Bay, FL. In the Da Nang Vital Area, the artillery regiment, the 11th Marine Regiment, continued to oversee the Northern Sector Defense Command and the 1st Tank Battalion, the Southern Sector Defense Command. [1]:163, The official PAVN history records the attack as follows:[3]. The Marines called in artillery and mortar missions . One of the rockets damaged one of the missile launchers and wounded three of the Marines. Full Citation: Photograph 127-N-A190364; Rocket Attack on the Da Nang Air Base; 1/30/1968; General Photograph File of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1927 - 1981; Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. After calling in artillery which resulted in three secondary explosions, the reconnaissance Marines reported seven enemy killed. In the pursuit, which amounted to a rout, the VC lost nearly 100 dead. Among the casualties were two Marines killed, including Lieutenant Manning and six wounded from the 1st MP Battalion. Total Marine casualties of this incident on the 30th were 10 Marines killed and 15 wounded, most from the platoon of Company G that was initially ambushed. [1]:143, While the PAVN/VC concentrated their forces for the large offensive, many of these units suffered from too many rapid replacements and in some cases from poor morale. Posted: 02/01/2018. Firing 290 105mm shells, the tractor artillery reportedly killed about 80 of the PAVN attackers caught in the open. CriticalPast offers immediate downloads of full-resolution HD and SD masters and full-resolution time-coded screeners, 24 hours a day, to serve the needs of broadcast news, TV, film, and publishing professionals worldwide. Military Photo: Rocket Attack On The Eve Of The Tet Offensive. A reluctance to cause undue damage to the historic town and avoid civilian casualties was suggested as a reason for the slow ROKMC advance. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. DaNang earned the nickname Rocket City during the Vietnam war, having been attacked over 900 times in 10 years. The following day, the same sources indicated that both the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd Regiments had also withdrawn to the Go Noi. To the south, in the Korean sector, the ROKMC with the assistance of the ARVN again drove PAVN/VC forces out of the Hi An environs. Communist attack of the war on an American stockade or brig. 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