Vietnam December 2021 by HistoryNet

Special Ops Air Force Crews Tackle High-Risk Missions

HOMEFRONT Hijacker D.B. Cooper jumps to infamy

Rushing the Hedgerows 1st Cav faces enemy death trap

Riverboats Run and Gun

Brown water Navy blasts VC in the Mekong Delta

To Kill or Not to Kill One soldier’s agonizing decision

DECEMBER 2021 HISTORYNET.com

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DECEMBER 2021

ON THE COVER

A soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) fires an M60 machine gun at the enemy during a battle near Bong Son in the fall of 1966. ROBERT HODIERNE; INSET: FBI

BRUTAL STRUGGLE IN THE HEDGEROWS OF 506 VALLEY

In December 1966, a company in the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) charged through a hedgerow and found itself facing an unrelenting barrage of bullets. By Bob March

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6 Feedback Letters 8 Intel December Briefing 14 Reflections 1 on 1 with a Viet Cong 18 Arsenal Mark 18 Grenade Launcher

20 Homefront November-December 1971 21 Battlefront 50 Years Ago in the War 60 Media Digest Reviews 64 Hall of Valor Ace Alan Cozzalio

VIETNAM’S RIVER PATROL BOATS

Patrol Boat River crews moved in and out of enemy fire with ease as they fought for control of the inland waterways. By Todd Warger

38 FRANCE’S FIRST DISASTER IN VIETNAM

During France’s war with the communist Viet Minh, an effort to evacuate threatened forts went very wrong. By John Walker

FIGHTERS OF THE MOUNTAINS

The CIA and FBI hooked up with mountain tribes to keep the Viet Cong out of villages in the Central Highlands. By J. Keith Saliba

46 AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPS SQUADRONS

Scenes from the Air Force archives show the variety and danger of U.S. airmen’s special operations units. By Jon Guttman D E C M B E R 2 0 21

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MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER DAVID STEINHAFEL PUBLISHER ALEX NEILL EDITOR IN CHIEF

DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 34, NO. 4

CHUCK SPRINGSTON EDITOR ZITA BALLINGER FLETCHER SENIOR EDITOR JERRY MORELOCK SENIOR EDITOR JON GUTTMAN RESEARCH DIRECTOR DAVID T. ZABECKI EDITOR EMERITUS HARRY SUMMERS JR. FOUNDING EDITOR STEPHEN KAMIFUJI CREATIVE DIRECTOR BRIAN WALKER GROUP ART DIRECTOR MELISSA A. WINN DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY JON C. BOCK ART DIRECTOR GUY ACETO PHOTO EDITOR

WATER FIGHTS

The Patrol Boat River, featured in this issue, was a powerful yet nimble weapon in the war fought on inland waterways by the “brown water” Navy. To read more about the patrol boat crews and other river warriors, visit Historynet.com. Search: “brown water.” Through firsthand accounts and stunning photos, our website puts you in the field with the troops who fought in one of America’s most controversial wars.

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Vietnam (ISSN 1046-2902) is published bimonthly by HISTORYNET, LLC, 901 North Glebe Road, Fifth Floor, Arlington, VA 22203 Periodical postage paid at Vienna, VA, and additional mailing ofﬁces. Postmaster, send address changes to Vietnam, P.O. Box 31058, Boone, IA 50037-0058 List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc. 914-925-2406; belkys.reyes@lakegroupmedia.com Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 41342519 Canadian GST No. 821371408RT0001 © 2021 HISTORYNET, LLC The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of HISTORYNET, LLC. PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA

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In this famous photo taken during the 1968 Tet Offensive, National Police Maj. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan shoots Viet Cong Nguyen Van Lem. The circumstances that led to the shooting weren’t explained when the photo was initially published.

I read Virginia Morris’ excellent article, Ho Chi Minh’s Shadow Government, in the June 2020 issue [about Viet Cong operatives who set up underground governments, known as the Viet Cong Infrastructure, which subverted the legitimate governments in villages] with much interest. I was in a unit which had very large and detailed records on the Enemy Political Infrastructure. FEEDBACK One of the enemy in the article was Nguyen Van Lem, shot by National Police Maj. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan. The killing was photographed and raised all kinds of trouble for him and us. We had Lem in our files with his aliases, but not his real name. During the Tet Offensive, he surfaced like many other enemy in the “shadow government.” We and the South Vietnamese found out his real name and started looking for him. Before he was captured, he murdered the entire family of a high-ranking National Police officer, including the officer, his wife, his children and other relatives. Being a military officer in civilian clothes and murdering noncombatant civilians is against the international laws of warfare, and that person can be executed when captured. Lem was brought to Loan, who was told about him and his activities. The high-ranking National Police officer and his family Lem murdered were close friends of the general. After hearing what Lem did, Loan executed him. It was completely legal, and I would have done it myself. Loan ended up in Burke, Virginia, [after escaping Vietnam as Saigon fell in April 1975] and owned a restaurant. We knew each other because I supplied him with intelligence when he requested it. He died of cancer [in 1998], but I did get to say goodbye to him before he passed. Howard A. Daniel III Port St. Lucie, Florida

Out to Sea Regarding “Hope for the Holidays,” a photo feature of Bob Hope’s Christmas shows in Vietnam (December 2020), which included an Associated Press photo of Hope and Miss World Madeleine Hartog-Bel on the deck of an 6

Correction The article “The 4th Infantry Division at

Dak To” in the October 2021 issue included an incorrect photo of James H. Johnson, a lieutenant colonel who commanded the 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, during the 1967 battle. The photo in the magazine was a picture of his son, James H. Johnson Jr., an officer who was an adviser with Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, in 1967. The elder Johnson retired as a major general, the son as a lieutenant general.

Email your feedback on Vietnam magazine articles to Vietnam@historynet.com, subject line: Feedback. Please include city and state of residence.

TOP: AP PHOTO/EDDIE ADAMS; LOWEER: AP PHOTO/DANG VAN PHUOC

The Story Behind the Photo

aircraft carrier in December 1967: Your picture is identified as being at Da Nang. It is actually on the USS Ranger while on Yankee Station [an area used to launch carrier-based airstrikes on North Vietnam] in the Tonkin Gulf. The background is the island structure [the tall command center]. The show was on the flight deck. I was at the time a proud petty officer third class (radar tech) in the Operations Department, OE Division. I was somewhere up on that island taking Super 8 and 35mm pictures. USS Ranger’s cruise book of that deployment titled Cruise Seven has pictures of the Bob Hope show and two pictures with Miss Hartog-Bell in them. I love your magazine. Patrick J. Campbell West Plattsburgh/Morrisonville, New York

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A museum being built in Mineral Wells, Texas, will include galleries that explain the war years, an assortment of equipment and memorial gardens.

erected in Pleiku, Vietnam, by the 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion to honor soldiers assigned to the camp who were killed or listed as missing in action. Like the original wall, the replica contains 257 brass plaques with the names of the fallen. During Memorial Day weekend in 2009, the museum unveiled a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington. The names are engraved on black anodized aluminum panels in the Vietnam Memorial Garden, which has a computer kiosk where visitors can search for a name and its location. A recorder allows visitors to leave comments about friends or relatives whose names are etched into the panels. Over the years, the museum has acquired artifacts that include additional helicopters, a Marine amphibious tracked vehicle and a Navy captain’s “gig”—a water taxi. Construction on the 50,000-square-foot building began in 2017. In addition to 11 galleries related to events of the war, other elements in the master plan include an art gallery, gift shop, library and theater. The building exterior was completed in 2019. Work on the interior came to a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum is being constructed in four phases. The first phase, to be completed this year, includes three galleries: one providing an introduction and overview of the war, another focused on the homefront and a third dedicated to Fort Wolters/Camp Wolters and its role in training soldiers for World War II and Vietnam. Work on the art gallery, offices and library is underway. To learn more about the museum and donation opportunities, write to P.O. Box 1779, Mineral Wells, Texas 76086 or go to www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org. —James H. Willbanks

VIETNAM

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CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

n September 1994, a group of former Vietnam helicopter pilots met at the American Legion Hall in Mineral Wells, Texas, to form a local chapter of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. Soon the talk turned to the legacy of the pilots and how to preserve it. The veterans formed a historical committee to consider options. The group decided to build a museum in Mineral Wells to commemorate the vast majority of Vietnam helicopter pilots who received initial flight training at nearby Fort Wolters. After more discussion, the committee broadened the commemoration to include the entire Vietnam War. Eventually the historical committee formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to build a 50,000-square-foot facility with 11 galleries. In 1999, the organization’s board of directors, aided by private donations, purchased 12 acres in Parker County, Texas, about a mile east of the former Fort Wolters main gate. After several years of planning and fundraising, in 2007 the museum opened the first of several proposed gardens, the Meditation Garden, which includes a large gazebo, unit memorial stones and plaques, and memorial bricks. The museum began an annual program of new attractions to highlight the project’s progress and increase awareness in the surrounding area and nationally. The museum acquired a UH-1D “Huey” helicopter in 2008. The chopper, aircraft 65-10068, had been assigned to the 71st Assault Helicopter Company, the “Firebirds.” It was mounted on a 20-foot pole near the entrance of the museum on Aug. 16, 2008, in a ceremony attended by former members of the 71st AHC. The Huey is the centerpiece of the Contemplation Garden, which includes a replica of the Camp Holloway wall

COURTESY NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM

Vietnam War Museum Underway in Texas

A CON T R OV ER SI A L QU EST ION

A SERIES EXAMINING CONTENTIOUS ISSUES OF THE VIETNAM WAR BY ERIK VILLARD One of the most enduring yet baseless myths of the Vietnam War alleges that communist prisoners were thrown out of high-flying helicopters to induce others to talk. In my 21 years as a U.S. Army historian, I have never seen credible evidence that such an event occurred or that American military or civilian personnel participated in such practices. I have examined all relevant material at the National Archives, including the files of the War Crimes Working Group, a Pentagon task force established after the 1968 My Lai massacre of innocent civilians to investigate potential war crimes committed by American personnel. I have also consulted CIA intelligence analysts who served in Southeast Asia and military personnel who conducted top-secret operations in Laos and Cambodia as members of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam’s Studies and Observations Group. Stories about prisoners being dropped from helicopters have long circulated in the Vietnam veterans community, yet almost without exception the storyteller says, “I heard that it happened,” rather than, “I witnessed it happen.” There is little reason to believe the handful of people who claim to have seen it happen. Killing a prisoner of war in any way is a war crime punishable under the rules of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that applies to all U.S. military personnel. Anyone onboard a helicopter who participated in the act or failed to report it would be complicit in the crime. That liability extends to the ground crew, the air traffic controller and members of the intelligence team who interrogated those prisoners of war. Trained intelligence agents in Vietnam would not resort to such crude interrogation methods. They relied on extended debriefing sessions in controlled environments where information could be cross-checked. No intelligence analyst I know would

have supported the “helicopter” technique described in this myth. No member of the MACV intelligence teams that conducted interrogations has ever presented evidence that such a practice occurred. Even so, it is impossible to prove that no communist prisoner died after an involuntary exit from a helicopter. In a fit of rage, American military personnel may have pushed one or more enemy soldiers to their deaths on helicopter flights back to base, though I have never seen evidence of that. There is more uncertainty concerning the possible actions of South Vietnamese personnel, who sometimes used interrogation methods that were more extreme and whose military records still reside in locked archives in Vietnam. In one credible story, a Viet Cong female fighter, the daughter of a high-ranking VC official, jumped from a flying helicopter to commit suicide and thus escape the torture she imagined was waiting for her. In short, the myth of the “helicopter interrogation” technique simply has no basis in fact.

CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

COURTESY NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM

Were VC Prisoners Tossed From Helos?

Dr. Erik Villard is a Vietnam War specialist at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington D.C.

Viet Cong prisoners, captured during a Marine Corps search-anddestroy operation in northern South Vietnam during August 1965, will soon be loaded onto a helicopter. There have been claims that some VC were thrown out of helicopters to frighten others into giving up valuable information.

D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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Former U.S. naval aviator Don Purdy flew the A-4 Skyhawk attack jet on 218 combat missions over North Vietnam from July 1967 to February 1969. He was a member of Attack Squadron VA-164, the “Ghostriders.” Purdy’s book, Where the High Winds Sing: A Naval Aviator’s Poetry of War and Reflection, won a gold medal for poetry presented by the Military Writers Society of America in 2021. In the book Purdy recalls his difficult Vietnam experiences, including combat and its aftermath, through poetry and artwork. His squadron was part of Carrier Air Wing 16 aboard the USS Oriskany and Carrier Air Wing 21 on the USS Hancock. Air Wing 16 suffered the highest loss rate of any Navy air wing during the Vietnam War, Purdy says. Purdy’s poetry is resonating with other Vietnam veterans and inspiring them to write about their own battle experiences. Purdy talked with Senior Editor Zita Ballinger Fletcher about his writing and artwork and how they give form to the echoes of warfare that might seem impossible to express.

What introduced you to writing poetry? I read some World War I poetry, and I was impressed that these young guys in the most god-awful circumstances you could imagine were writing poetry about it that was more evocative of the horror than some longtime pros than I had read—guys like Wilfred Owen, [Rudyard] Kipling. That kind of gave me the start. The other thing is that I wouldn’t have the focus to sit down and write either a novel or a memoir. Poetry is more suited to my limited focus. To tell you the truth it kind of surprised me when I first sat down and tried to write some poetry. As I was writing this stuff down, it was like, “Geez, where did that come from?” Sometimes when you’re writing the line just comes to you. What inspired you to write the book? I guess things had been rolling around in my head for a long time—because it’s been a long time since Vietnam. I really hadn’t gotten into poetry until the last 10 years. I just started writing things down. It was to my own amazement that some of this stuff came out. I think poetry comes from someplace down deep where there aren’t any words for it—it’s more like feelings and the process of putting words to that. That’s what I tried to do. I would say that I am not a good painter nor a good poet, but I know what good paintings look like and I know what good writing sounds like, so I just put down stuff and start getting rid of what doesn’t sound good. I do a lot of revising. Another factor in my writing was that I did not keep any sort of a journal or diary during Vietnam. I therefore lost a lot of details over the years, but I did not 10

Did you create all the illustrations for your book? Yes. I did all of them, including the one for the cover. How long was the book in the making? I’d say it was about a year. I already had a few poems, like maybe five or six. Then things started to coalesce into the fact that maybe I could put enough of them together and get something into a book. I think the real impetus was when I went to a poetry workshop. You can’t put things off when you need to have something done the next week and everybody critiques it. That really helped. Are there any particular military writers you admire? Primarily writers from World War I. I got an anthology book from the library, and it really impressed me how these guys could write about that so graphically. I think some of that came through in a long poem in my book, “Songs of War,” about a guy getting shot down. There’s a naval aviation magazine called The Hook, and a guy there reviewed it for me. He said he had to put the book down when he was reading that poem because he couldn’t get through it in one sitting—he had to go back to it. I guess it was that powerful for him. It’s amazing to hear somebody say something like that. Can you share some background on some of the poems? The poem called “The Debt” was the first one I wrote. I was told by a writing professor at Berkeley [University of California] that she thought it was the heart of the book, and that is what it’s all about—the loss of other guys and what that means. There’s another one called “Matryoshka Doll.” That was based on a Marine I met who was in the barracks in Lebanon that got blown up. Hundreds of guys got killed in that thing—and he was actually buried

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COURTESY DON PURDY

Author Don Purdy details the challenges and rewards of describing his war in poetry

How long have you been painting, and how did you start? A long time. Probably 20 to 30 years off and on. It was mostly just a hobby. I like to paint everything. I went to the Coast Guard Academy before I went over to the Navy when Vietnam started. I started out with maritime themes and branched out. Of course, I painted aviation, but I did a whole series on rodeo stuff. It evolved over the years. I have work in the Navy test pilot center in Maryland and one at the naval air station in Fallon [Nevada]. They [the paintings] are scattered here and there.

COURTESY DON PURDY

‘Songs of War’

lose the feelings and deep impressions that can still lend themselves to being expressed in poetry.

COURTESY DON PURDY

under a whole bunch of other guys. He was one of the only ones alive. That was rolling around in my head for years. I thought, “I really would like to write something about that.” I got the idea of a Matryoshka doll with personalities one inside the other. He’s a multilayered kind of guy. About the poem “Duel with a Flak Site”—that was the first time in Vietnam I knew I had probably killed somebody. There was like a 90 percent chance. That was another thing that was good for me to get out. Another poem is called “Knockin’ on Hell’s Door.” If you read anything about Vietnam, you’ll know the futility of the way targeting was done during the Rolling Thunder operation. It was just going back to the same targets day after day. The whole concept of micromanaging it from the White House was absurd. There was no targeting discretion left to the people on scene. It was all directed from Washington. It was stupid. We lost a lot of guys out of the sheer stupidity of the way it was run. The last poem in the book was written for Lady Jessie. She [Jessie Beck] owned a casino in Reno. One of the pilots in the squadron worked for her when he was going through college. She started sending care packages and stuff to all the guys. She sent so much that we started giving it to our sister squadrons and all the other squadrons on the ship, and then even giving it to other ships! She branched out and gave stuff to the Army and Air Force. At that time it was getting to be a rather unpopular war. We were kind of out there on our own—it wasn’t like World War II when the whole nation mobilized. She was an amazing lady. We had one airplane that had “Lady Jessie” written on the side. That was at a time when there wasn’t supposed to be any nose art on Navy airplanes. The CO [commanding officer] of the squadron said, “Well, we’ll just do it, and not ask for permission.” Then Dick Perry, the guy who worked for her, got shot down and killed in Haiphong. She continued. PBS did a documentary on Lady Jessie and Dick Perry—it’s called, Lady Jessie: A Vietnam Story. They [the filmmakers] did a really good job. Did you get a lot of support from family while writing the book, or was it a private project for you? My wife’s very supportive. But the process for me—the first part of it, getting going—is really tough. I’ll keep at it, and finally some stuff will start to gel. Then I get to the stage of obsessing, and that’s not too good because I can’t stand to be interrupted when I’m in that stage! She [my wife] knows now to leave me alone once I’m in “obsession mode”!

ABOVE: A P-3 Orion “sub chaser” aircraft flies above a submarine in a painting titled “Gotcha!” BELOW: Purdy created this sketch for his poem “The New Guy,” featured in his book Where the High Winds Sing.

Can you tell us about some of the feedback you’ve received? I did get some good feedback. I’m in a Vietnam veterans group in Oakland and was able to share it with them. It prompted some of the guys to start writing. I was really happy with that aspect of it. I think the overarching thing was guys saying they thought it probably took a lot of guts for me to lay it out like that. Especially in naval aviation—you don’t admit to any frailties, it’s all bravado. But to admit you were affected by loss, by survivor guilt—I had several people say it was good to hear somebody say it. For me personally one of the amazing things was a letter I got from my sister. She’s 18 years younger than I am. She knew I was over there but had absolutely no concept of what it entailed. I got this really nice letter from her. Would you recommend writing poetry to Vietnam veterans? Any kind of writing is cathartic. I’ve been amazed at the feedback that I have gotten from guys. I think it’s because our biggest fear is fear of the unknown. If you can pull things up, name them, identify them, write about them, then you’ve taken a pretty big step of overcoming that and moving on. I think that’s what writing does. It helps you to start facing things—at least identifying them. I really believe that everyone, particularly vets in this instance, has a story to tell. And if I can put my thoughts into an article or book, anyone can. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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Fan Favorites 1971

1. All in the Family (season 2) CBS 2. The Flip Wilson Show (season 2) NBC 3. Marcus Welby, M.D. (season 3) ABC 4. Gunsmoke (season 17) CBS 5. The ABC Movie of the Week (season 3) ABC 6. Sanford and Son (season 1) NBC 7. Mannix (season 5) CBS 8. Funny Face (season 1) CBS 9. Adam 12 (season 4) NBC 10. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (season 2) CBS

Top Grossing Films (Domestic box office, in 1971 dollars) 1. Billy Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . $98,000,000 2. Fiddler on the Roof . . . . . . . $78,722,370 3. Diamonds Are Forever . . . . . $43,800,000 4. The French Connection . . . . . $41,158,757 5. Summer of ’42 . . . . . . . . . . $32,063,634 6. Carnal Knowledge . . . . . . . . $28,623,000 7. Dirty Harry . . . . . . . . . . . . .$28,153,434 8. A Clockwork Orange . . . . . . . $26,589,355 9. The Last Picture Show . . . . . $20,505,085 10. Bednobs and Broomsticks . . . . $17,871,174

Top Singles

1. Joy to the World Three Dog Night 2. Maggie May/Reason to Believe Rod Stewart 3. It’s Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move Carole King 4. One Bad Apple The Osmonds 5. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart Bee Gees 6. Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) Paul Revere & the Raiders 7. Go Away Little Girl Donny Osmond 8. Take Me Home, Country Roads John Denver 9. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) The Temptations 10. Knock Three Times Tony Orlando and Dawn

Top Albums

1. Jesus Christ Superstar various artists 2. Tapestry Carole King 3. Close to You Carpenters 4. Pearl Janis Joplin 5. Abraxas Santana 6. The Partridge Family Album The Partridge Family 7. Sweet Baby James James Taylor 8. Tea for the Tillerman Cat Stevens 9. Greatest Hits Sly & The Family Stone 10. Chicago III Chicago

Bestselling Fiction

1. Wheels Arthur Hailey 2. The Exorcist William P. Blatty 3. The Passions of the Mind Irving Stone 4. The Day of the Jackal Frederick Forsyth 5. The Betsy Harold Robbins 6. Message from Malaga Helen MacInnes 7. The Winds of War Herman Wouk 8. The Drifters James A. Michener 9. The Other Thomas Tryon 10. Rabbit Redux John Updike

Bestselling Nonfiction

1. The Sensuous Man “M” (pseudonym of Joan Garrity, John Garrity and Len Forman) 2. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Brown 3. Better Homes and Gardens Blender Cook Book 4. I’m OK—You’re OK Thomas Harris 5. Any Woman Can! David Reuben 6. Inside the Third Reich Albert Speer 7. Eleanor and Franklin Joseph P. Lash 8. Wunnerful, Wunnerful! Lawrence Welk 9. Honor Thy Father Gay Talese 10. Fields of Wonder Rod McKuen

VIETNAM

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BOWMAN: STACY PERSALL/VETERANS PORTRAIT PROJECT; GALLOWAY: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES; BOB HOPE: AP PHOTO

Highest Rated TV Shows (1971-72 season)

CHART SOURCES: TV SHOWS: CTVA-THE CLASSIC TV ARCHIVE/NIELSEN RATINGS; FILMS: THE NUMBERS (MOVIE BUSINESS WEBSITE); SINGLES: BILLBOARD, YEAR-END CHARTS, HOT 100 SONGS; ALBUMS: BILLBOARD, YEAR-END CHARTS, BILLBOARD 200 ALBUMS; FICTION: LITERARY HUB/PUBLISHERS WEEKLY; NON-FICTION: LITERARY HUB/PUBLISHERS WEEKLY; ALL IN THE FAMILY: RON EISENBERG/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; BILLY JACK: LMPC VIA GETTY IMAGES; HISTORYNET ARCHIVES

What the Vietnam War generation was watching, reading and listening to 50 years ago

Donald C. Bowman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was awarded the Silver Star in Vietnam, died Sept. 4, 2021, in Savannah, Georgia, at age 86. Bowman, born in Tampa, Florida, on April 1, 1935, drew inspiration from his great-grandfather who fought with Confederate Gen. John Morgan’s cavalry during the Civil War. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1957 and joined the 82nd Airborne Division. Bowman served with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in Vietnam. In addition to the Silver Star, other combat awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor and the Purple Heart. During the Vietnam War Bowman wrote the training manual for Army Pathfinders, who help set up landing zones and provided air traffic control. An Army Ranger, Bowman taught at the U.S. Army Airborne School and the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as deputy director. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2011. His military career also included an appointment as West Point’s first protocol officer. Remembering his roots, Bowman authored a historical fiction book based on his family’s Civil War cavalry stories. —Zita Ballinger Fletcher

BOWMAN: STACY PERSALL/VETERANS PORTRAIT PROJECT; GALLOWAY: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES; BOB HOPE: AP PHOTO

Joe Galloway, war correspondent and co-author of the celebrated Vietnam War book, We Were Soldiers Once…And Young, died Aug. 18, 2021, in Concord, North Carolina, at age 79. Galloway, a native of Refugio, Texas, was born on Nov. 13, 1941, just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As a young man, he wanted to join the Army, but his mother persuaded him to pursue his budding interest in journalism instead. Drawing inspiration from the example of World War II’s Ernie Pyle, whose stories he read growing up, Galloway started his journalism career at age 17 with the Victoria Advocate in Texas. He joined United Press International in 1961. Galloway urged UPI to send him to Vietnam. “I didn’t go over there to cover Saigon politics, I was there to cover soldiers in the field, which was what I saw as my job,” he said in an interview with Vietnam magazine. At age 24, Galloway was famously embedded with Lt. Col. Harold Moore’s 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), during the battle of Ia Drang in November 1965. We Were Soldiers, written with Moore and published in 1992, is an account of that battle. During the fight, Galloway, known to carry a weapon while reporting from the front lines, rescued a soldier burning from napalm and was later awarded the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor. “The soldiers accepted me as one of them, and I can think of no higher honor,” he said in a 2001 interview. Galloway worked for UPI for 22 years as a war reporter and bureau chief. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, a Vietnam veteran, described Galloway as “a soldier’s reporter and a soldier’s friend.”

WORDS FROM THE WAR

“I don’t have much news from the States. You all remember the States. You’ve all seen it in those training films. Now, I have real good news for you. I want to tell you guys, the country is behind you 50 percent.” —Bob Hope, Christmas Day show in 1966 at Cu Chi, home for 25th Infantry Division, about 25 miles northwest of Saigon D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL A YOUNG U.S. INFANTRYMAN FACED A DECISION WHEN HE SAW A YOUNG VIET CONG WALKING ALONE By Duane Russell To kill or not to kill is a question most people never have to face. Even in an infantry unit during combat, soldiers firing at the enemy are often aiming at a general position off in the distance, not at a specific person whose face they can clearly see. Those close encounters do happen, however. This is my story about the time I was presented with a dilemREFLECTIONS ma: to kill or not to kill? I was born in Houston in 1947 and raised in Baltimore. My mother died when I was 17. The first year after her death was a struggle for my father, who could not understand why his wife was gone at the young age of 40. Unsupervised, my brother and I started to run wild. I knew I had to do something before I got into real trouble and decided to join the Army at age 18 in May 1966. I was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for basic training and then to Fort Polk in Louisiana, where the sergeants told us constantly that we were 14

going to Vietnam. They tried to put the fear of God into us. If we did something wrong during a training exercise, we were told: “In Vietnam you would have been dead.” If we performed some function in a certain amount of time, we were told: “The Viet Cong did it in 20 seconds less, so you are dead.” If we slowed up on a march, we heard: “What are you doing? Waiting for Charlie to catch up?” Some of that sunk in, but most of us were young, and everything seemed a lark. After Fort Polk we received orders for Vietnam. We all got a 30-day leave before we had to ship overseas. I visited with my friends and relatives and tried to act like a man. Relatives who had been in World War II or Korea told me war stories from their experiences. I don’t remember getting any advice. When my leave ended, I had to report to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey for my flight to Vietnam. On Nov. 27, 1966, my father drove me to the air base, and we said our tearful goodbyes. That was the last time I would see my father—he died while I was overseas. I flew out of McGuire on Dec. 2. After stops in San Francisco, Hawaii, Wake Island and Okinawa, we got to Saigon sometime during the day of Dec. 4, 1966. I was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division, headquartered at Pleiku in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands. At Pleiku, I was placed in the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, stationed on the coast at Tuy Hoa, where we were issued our rifles and combat gear. There was more in-country orientation and a trip to the rifle range. The war was starting to get real. We were put on duty at the base’s perimeter wire and taught about fields of fire (the area that could be covered by our weapons). We also learned how to set up trip flares and mines. One of the sergeants would check on us every night, mainly to see if we were awake. Some men dozed off. I never did. If you got sleepy you would stand up or wake someone. We also patrolled outside the wire. We were told to look for anyone coming up to the wire at night and other suspicious activity. Before the end of December, I was a private first class in the boonies with a line company from the 3rd Battalion. In a line company, you don’t face the question “to kill of not to kill?” Once the shooting starts you tend to just join in, sometimes firing at a tree line. You shoot at a color or something that’s moving, anything that looks different from the surroundings. If fired upon, you aim where you think the firing is coming from. One day while we were in camp, a major asked

COURTESY DUANE RUSSELL

Duane Russell of the 4th Infantry Division was in a spot rare even for combat infantrymen: face to face, one-on-one with the enemy.

VIETNAM

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After his discharge from the Army in 1969 with the rank of staff sergeant, Russell had a long civilian career with the U.S. Postal Service.

Duane Russell was wounded in May 1967, then spent five months in Hawaii and in October 1967 was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland, where he served until his discharge as a staff sergeant in May 1969. He worked with the U.S. Postal Service for 34 years. Russell lives in Durant, Oklahoma. Do you have reflections on the war you would like to share?

Email your idea or article to Vietnam@historynet.com, subject line: Reflections

COURTESY DUANE RUSSELL

for volunteers to serve in a reconnaissance platoon. I didn’t like being in a line company, so I volunteered. I went to a recon platoon in Headquarters and Headquarters Company. By the end of January, I was in the field on six-man recon missions. Running four- or five-day recon missions was very different from being in a line company. We avoided fights and looked for information on enemy activity that we could report to intelligence officers. We would hide, and when we spotted enemy soldiers, we reported how many and which way they were heading. If we found a trail or old camp, we reported that. One morning, while we were running missions in the hills west of our Tuy Hoa base, the sergeant said we were going to a landing zone so helicopters could give us a ride back to base camp. We had been in the bush for four days. We were operating in an area not as densely vegetated or rugged as some of the places we had been in. We had seen Viet Cong on a trail on the second day and reported that. There had been no other signs of the enemy. We reached the landing zone a little before midday. The sergeant radioed for a helicopter to pick us up. He was told to sit tight because the line companies were in a big firefight and all the choppers were in use. The landing zone was shaped like a boot, maybe 80 yards long and 50 yards the other way. We

were walking on a trail that entered the landing zone at the top of a clearing in the toe area and ran through a line of trees, exiting at the far end. We didn’t know how long we were going to be waiting, so the sergeant put me at the lower side of the clearing. I was supposed to sit about 35 yards from where the trail entered at the top of the clearing. The other five members of my team were on the other side of the tree line. It was a beautiful day, and as I sat looking at the different shades of green, my mind wandered. We had been there maybe one hour when suddenly a movement caught my eye. Looking at where the trail entered the clearing, I saw a Viet Cong walk into my view. He appeared to be about my age and build, only shorter. He carried a U.S. M1 carbine and a pack. He was not looking around and seemed to be enjoying the beautiful day, just like I was. He had no idea that an American soldier was hiding 35 yards in front of him. My heart started to race. He was in full view walking straight toward me. My M16 rifle was ready with the safety off. I was full of indecision. It was just him and me. Should I shoot him? He was now 30 yards away. Should I show myself and let him flee to safety? He reached 25 yards away. Should I call I saw a Viet out to the other members of my team? Cong walk into This was not like before when everyone my view. He was shooting. I could see the Viet Cong’s had no idea that face when he was about 20 yards away. I had all the information I needed right in an American front of me—and still could not make a soldier was decision. Soon he was less than 15 yards hiding 35 from me. I gripped my M16 and steeled yards in front myself for what was about to happen. As I stared into the face of the enemy, he was of him. less than 10 yards from my hiding spot. The question loomed: to kill or not to kill? At 7 yards distance, the Viet Cong saw me in my hiding spot and made my decision for me. He started to raise his M1 carbine. In a battlefield second, I felt the M16 recoil in my hands. I saw the rounds impact his chest. He stumbled and tried to turn away. After a few yards he fell. Two members of my team came to investigate. They went to the young enemy I had just shot and told me—I had not moved from my spot—that he was dead. They took his rifle and pack and left the body where it fell. So when I was faced with the kill-or-not-to-kill question, I was unable to make a decision until the question changed: Who will be killed? Him or me? Then I made my decision. I killed. V

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Compact

Easy aim

The Mark 18 had a barrel length of just 4 inches.

An iron sight with range circles simplified adjustments in range to get rounds closer to the target.

Spin to fire

A hand crank fired the weapon.

Compatible ammo

The weapon used the same 40-by-46 mm round as the hand-held M79 grenade launcher.

THE MARK18 40 MM GRENADE LAUNCHER On Aug. 18, 1968, a U.S. Navy armored troop carrier came under fire as it prepared to land Army troops on the bank of the Hai Moi Tan Canal. The mechanized landing craft took several hits from rocket-propelled grenades as it reached the bank. Enemy fire destroyed one of the .50-caliber machine guns. An Army sergeant then rushed to the mount and fired a Mark 18 40 mm grenade launcher. Working the firing crank as rapidly as he could, the sergeant swept the enemy’s defenses as the boat desperately struggled to back off the bank. The craft cleared in time to avoid the supporting fire of U.S. river monitors, but a jammed ramp prevented the troop unloading, The Mark 18 grenade launcher has the distinction of being America’s last handARSENAL cranked fast-firing weapon. Designed by Honeywell as an inexpensive, lightweight rapid-firing weapon to increase infantry firepower, the single-barrel manually operated Mark 18 used a split breech fed by two synchronized rotors. The operator fired the weapon by turning a crank that fed the rounds into the firing chamber. Each complete revolution fired two rounds. Belt-fed from 48- or 24-round ammunition boxes, the Mark 18 fired the same 40-by-46 mm cartridge as the M72 single-shot grenade launcher. The belts were hand loaded. The Mark 18 could be mounted on a pintle or the standard tripod for M60, M2HB or M1919 machine guns. The Navy ordered 1,200 Mark 18s between 1965 and 1968. Too heavy to be carried in the field, the grenade launchers were commonly mounted on river patrol boats, armored river troop carriers and monitors. They also were positioned in bunkers at riverine bases, usually near machine gun posts. Viewed as an interim stop-gap weapon, the Mark 18 gave way to the lighter and more powerful fully automatic Mark 19, starting in 1970. The last Mark 18s left naval service in the late 1970s. V 18

Crew: one to two Rounds: 40-by-46 mm grenades Weight empty/ loaded: 27 lbs./62 lbs. Overall length: 2 ft. Barrel length: 4 in. Ammunition: high-explosive, illumination, smoke Rate of fire (max): 250 rounds per minute Rate of fire (sustained): 40-60 rounds per minute Muzzle velocity: 76 meters (250 feet) per second Maximum range: 375 meters (410 yards)

GREG PRCHC

By Carl O. Schuster

VIETNAM

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Nov. 14 NASA’s Mariner 9, launched May 30, 1971, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is the first spacecraft to enter Mars’ orbit. It took photos of 85 percent of the surface. Mariner 9 was shut off on Oct. 27, 1972, after running out of the gas used to control it, but the craft remains in orbit.

Dec. 19 CBS shows a TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, in which a Depression-era family in rural Virginia worries about a father caught in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve. The movie was a hit. In September 1972, CBS turned it into a series, The Waltons.

HOMEFRONT

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

1971

Nov. 15 Intel Corp., of Santa Clara, California, markets the first microprocessor, squeezing the electronic circuitry for core processing functions, the computer’s “brains,” onto a single chip. The Intel 4004 chip booted up the revolution in small, personal computers.

Dec. 21 Clint Eastwood appears as San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry. When Callahan nabs the evil villain, he doesn’t wait for a trial. He dispenses justice on the street with his .44 Magnum revolver, a morally dubious act that made the movie controversial.

Nov. 24 On a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, passenger “Dan Cooper” (misreported as D.B. Cooper in an early news story) presented a note saying he had a bomb and demanded $200,000. After a stop for the money and a return to the air, he jumped out of the plane and disappeared. 20

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Dec. 25 Melanie Safka races to the top of the singles chart with “Brand New Key.” Melanie’s refrain is: “Well, I got a brand new pair of roller skates; You got a brand new key” (to adjust and tighten the fit of strapon skates).

Nov. 12 As a continuation of his “Vietnamization” policy transferring responsibility for combat operations to the South Vietnamese, President Richard Nixon BATTLEFRONT announces a withdrawal of 45,000 American troops by Feb. 1, 1972, leaving 139,000 U.S. troops in-country. The withrawing units included the 101st Airborne Division.

Dec. 25 The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, in an American Football Conference playoff, play the longest game in NFL history. The double overtime brawl lasted 82 minutes, 40 seconds. Miami’s Garo Yepremian ended it with a 37-yard field goal for a 27-24 Dolphins win.

Nov. 28 A CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashes in Phu Loc (between Hue and Da Nang) during a monsoon, killing 34 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division. Dec. 3 Operation Chenla II, launched Aug. 20 by the pro-U.S. Cambodian government against communist forces, ends in defeat. The 25,000 troops of the Khmer National Armed Forces had attacked 20,000 fighters from the North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge in northeast Cambodia. The death totals: National forces: 5,400; NVA/VC/Khmer Rouge: 3,500. Dec. 8 The last Australian troops to fight in the Vietnam War, the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, depart aboard the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney.

Dec. 29 America, a rock band formed in London by three sons of U.S. Air Force officers stationed there, releases a debut album of the same name. On March 25, a single, “A Horse with No Name,” not on the album, became a No. 1 hit. The album was reissued with the song added.

Dec. 21 Bob Hope, arriving via Huey helicopter at Da Nang to perform a USO Christmas show for 196th Light Infantry Brigade troops, narrowly avoids getting killed when, walking under the spinning helicopter blades, he begins to raise his trademark golf driver to acknowledge the crowd’s cheers. Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Joseph McDonough prevents a fatal tragedy when he grabs Hope’s arm. Dec. 26-30 American Air Force and Navy warplanes conduct Operation Proud Deep Alpha, bombing military targets in North Vietnam below the 20th parallel, in essence sparing Hanoi and other major cities in the North. NOV. 14: NASA; NOV. 15: INTEL; NOV.14: FBI; DEC. 19: CBS PHOTO ARCHIVE/ GETTY IMAGES; DEC. 21: SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION/HULTON ARCHIVE/ GETTY IMAGES; DEC. 25 MELANIE: GAB ARCHIVE/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES; DEC. 25 FOOTBALL: FOCUS ON SPORT/GETTY IMAGES; DEC. 29 GUY ACETO COLLECTION

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BRUTAL STRUGGLE IN THE HEDGEROWS OF 506 VALLEY 22

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PHOTO CREDITS

By Bob March

PHOTO CREDITS

HEAVY CASUALTIES, STUNNING COURAGE— INISDE A CAV COMPANY’S FEROCIOUS BATTLE TO CLEAR NVA BUNKERS

PHOTO CREDITS

Staff Sgt. Joe Musial, on the radio, in Company D, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), learns that the rest of his company is pinned down on the Bong Son plain of the central coastlands in February 1967. Just a couple of months earlier, in December 1966, Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, found itself in a similar predicament in the same region.

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even hours earlier, at 1:38 p.m. Noone’s Company D, along with companies A and B of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Airborne), 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), were told to prepare for helicopter pickups. The troopers were going into a valley north and west of Landing Zone Uplift, 8 miles south of Bong Son in Binh Dinh province in South Vietnam’s central coastlands. The area was called 506 Valley, named for the “highway” that ran through it.

The Dec. 17 battle in the valley involved all of 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment; two companies of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment; a platoon of 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment; and elements of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, for a total of more than 20 1st Cav infantry platoons. In number of U.S. casualties, the Battle of 506 Valley ranks among the top battles of the Vietnam War, yet rarely appears in histories of the war and is not well known except by those who survived. During the fight, 34 soldiers in the 1st Cavalry Division were killed and 81 wounded, according to the division historian’s report after the battle. More than half of those killed were assigned to Delta Company, which suffered 18 deaths, all but one in 2nd and 3rd platoons, the company’s highest one-day death toll of the entire war. Delta had 12 men wounded. Company D, initially the battalion’s combat support company (reconnaissance, mortars and weapons), had recently been reorganized into a line infantry company, although 1st Platoon continued to be used as the battalion’s recon unit. A six-man long-range reconnaissance patrol team from 1st Platoon was sent out two days before Dec. 17 to identify NVA activity in the valley.

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U.S,ARMY; MAP: JON C. BOCK

fter darkness fell on Dec. 17, 1966, the dead and wounded of Delta Company lay in an open area between North Vietnamese Army bunkers and hedgerows. In daylight it had been a no man’s land where anyone who moved was shot. Pfc. Michael Noone was shot three times—once in the leg and twice in the torso. The bullets broke his ribs and knocked his stomach out of the body cavity. Giant red-and-black biting ants, dubbed “blood ants” by American soldiers, crawled over him, feasting. He used his one good arm to slowly pick them off and bite them in self-defense. Under the light of flares, NVA soldiers crept out to execute the wounded and scavenge the dead. One approached Noone and peered over him. A flare went off and the enemy soldier ducked until the light receded, then got up and looked Noone directly in the eyes. The American feigned death. The NVA scavenger put his rifle down and picked Noone up by the pistol belt. Unfamiliar with the hook attachment, the North Vietnamese soldier struggled to remove it. As he fiddled with the belt, the ants bit him and he immediately dropped Noone to the ground. After searching the American, he left him for dead. Noone was one of the lucky ones.

PREVIOUS: ROBERT HODIERNE; BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES;

U.S. troops head for their helicopters, as did companies A,B,C and D of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, when ordered to helicopter pickup zones the afternoon of Dec. 17, 1966, after another unit of the 1st Cavalry Division ran into a large force of the North Vietnamese Army.

The Battle of 506 Valley Dec. 17, 1966

LZ Bird

LZ Pony

BI N H DI N H PR OV I NCE

LZ COMPANY A

U.S,ARMY; MAP: JON C. BOCK

PREVIOUS: ROBERT HODIERNE; BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES;

The NVA presence on Dec. 17 was first observed with an XM-2 “people sniffer,” which used a riflemounted air-intake tube and backpack sensor to detect ammonia concentrations found in sweat.

Recon team member Spc.4 Larry Nolen was concealed in an observation position behind thick bamboo and elephant grass. Sweat dripped down his nose as he sat motionless and waited. Eighteen NVA soldiers, carrying mortar tubes and base plates, approached the recon team, which watched the NVA moving cautiously across the American front. An NVA scout, walking parallel to the line of march, approached the team’s positions, checking for the possibility of ambush. He pushed the bamboo concealment back with the barrel of his AK-47 assault rifle and looked Nolen right in the eye from 3 feet away. Pretending not to see Nolen, the scout let the grass spring back into place. Nolen shot him dead. The team’s position was “blown.” A running firefight ensued. “The NVA headed for the cover of a nearby tree line and the LRRP team ran down-slope towards a possible pickup zone near a small village,” recalled Spc. 4 Steven Chestnut, a member of Delta’s recon platoon, in an interview with this article’s author. Before the team could reach the pickup zone, it was surrounded by the larger enemy force. One recon trooper was shot in the elbow. His bone fragments wounded team leader Sgt. Curtis Smith in the lower leg. The team was in trouble and needed help. Two heavily armed black CH-47 Chinook helicopters arrived at 1:15 p.m. and hosed down the NVA, driving the enemy out.

COMPANY D 2nd PLATOON

COMPANY D 3rd PLATOON COMPANY C

HEDGEROWS

COMPANY B

NVA Thach Long(2)

To Bong Son

Enlarged Area Thach Long(2) After a unit in DMZ the 1st Cavalry Bong Son Division got into a firefight with the SOUTH North VietnamVIETNAM ese Army near Highway 506 in SAIGON the central coastlands of South Vietnam, commanders realized the NVA force was much larger than originally thought and sent in reinforcements, including companies A, B, C and D in 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment. The 2nd and 3rd platoons of Company D bore the brunt of the casualties as they attacked NVA soldiers hidden behind hedgerows.

few miles away, the opening act of the 506 Valley engagement was well underway. The first round of fighting began when Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, was on a morning patrol using an XM-2/E63 personnel detector, a backpack-size sensor and tube that samples the air to detect concentrations of ammonia, a characteristic of sweat and urine. The “people sniffer” led Company C to an estimated platoon-size NVA force in the hills above the 506 Valley, and a fight between the two forces began about 10:03 a.m. The NVA fled down the hill toward a village, leaving behind equipment, including a radio switchboard, implying the presence of a much larger force. The 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry’s aerial scouts in H-13 Sioux scout helicopters were deployed to find the enemy. At 1: 34 p.m., they reported the NVA forces were dug in around the village. The squadron’s ground platoon was then flown in on Hueys. The platoon immediately ran into a buzz saw of fire from AK-47 assault rifles and machine guns in NVA bunkers. Significant casualties forced the cavalrymen to pull back. Lt. Col. George D. Eggers Jr., commanding 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, and responsible for operations in the area, realized the enemy force was much larger than estimated. At 1:38 p.m., he told the battalion operations D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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The soldiers in Company D, like these troopers from another unit in the 1st Cavalry Division, were hit with a hailstorm of bullets and mounting casualties.

cerned about him. Caustic letters were common, but for someone to wish death to a combat infantryman was extreme. Deaton’s buddies wondered: “Had someone in Deaton’s life become a hard-core anti-war activist, or worse a North Vietnamese sympathizer? Had he said something unwise that fueled such sentiment?” Deaton would not say. With that letter in his pocket, a pall hung over him on Dec. 17.

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ROBERT HODIERNE

n a comprehensive account of the 506 Valley battle, 1st Lt. Steven Schopp of the 1st Cavalry Division History Detachment, described how events unfolded: Delta Company had formed an assault line facing a hedgerow. Feiner’s 3rd Platoon was on the right, or south end. Prindle’s 2nd Platoon was on the left, north end. The NVA was positioned just beyond a second hedgerow. “But no one was aware of that,” Schopp noted. “The enemy positions were of the cleverest camouflage, impossible to detect.” Delta passed the first hedgerow and was out in the open again, not 10 feet from the second hedge, when “the enemy at last revealed their presence with a fusillade of bullets,” Schopp wrote. “The surprise was effective. Delta was now in the open with no place to turn except over

ROBERT HODIERNE; PIN: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES

officer, Maj. Leon D. Bieri, to order all 1st Battalion companies to the nearest helicopter pickup zone and prepare to join the fight. Companies A, C and D were to attack from the north and Company B would be inserted to the east to cut off an enemy escape. Elements of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, and 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, were already deployed from west to south. Delta Company hurried to its pickup zone. On Dec 17 the company was commanded by its executive officer, 1st Lt. Chester Cox, an airborne Ranger acting for the commanding officer, Capt. Barnett, who was on leave. At 3:40 p.m., 2nd Platoon led by 1st Lt. Paul Prindle and 3rd Platoon led by 2nd Lt. Timothy Feiner helicoptered to a landing zone near Thach Long (2), the numeral indicated the village was the second one in the valley with the same name. Delta secured the landing zone for the battalion’s Company C, then moved southeast. Within 15 min12th Cavalry utes Delta made contact. Regiment One of the Delta Company men in the fight The 12th Cavalry Regiment was Spc. 4 Jack Deaton, a married, 22-year-old was organized in February airborne volunteer, who arrived in Vietnam on 1901 at Fort Sam Houston in Sept. 1, 1966. Shortly before the 506 battle, DeaTexas. It was assigned to ton confided to Spc. 4 Michael Anderson, the the 1st Cavalry Division in platoon medic, and other platoon members that January 1933 and fought in the Pacific during World War he had received a letter from a close relative ex- II. The 12th Cavalry landed pressing the wish that he would be killed in Vietin Vietnam in September 1965. It returned to the nam. He did not elaborate. U.S. in June 1972. Deaton was upset, and his buddies were con-

ROBERT HODIERNE

ROBERT HODIERNE; PIN: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES

more open ground.” The first enemy burst downed Pfc. Timothy Ewing and Deaton. The NVA found Deaton still alive and “put another burst in him,” Schopp recorded, adding that squad leader Sgt. William Cook was fatally wounded. Spc. 4 Michael Anderson, the medic, moved to Ewing, who was still alive, but his lung had been punctured and he was having trouble breathing. Anderson tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. “Just then an enemy bullet hit across his hand,” Schopp stated. “Anderson continued his job all afternoon and into the night. It was nearly one o’clock the next morning when he stopped to patch his own wounded hand.” He was unable to save Ewing. Meanwhile, Pfc. Roger Hattersley was pinned down as “enemy bullets kept churning the dirt on both sides of him,” Schopp wrote. “He fired all his ammo from there and then ran in the open to where Deaton was lying, picked up 200 rounds and ran back.” Hattersley shot up three-fourths of that ammo and then charged the bunker, killing at least one NVA soldier. The American was hit in the right shoulder but made it back to safety and was later medevaced. The killing continued unabated. The chaos of battle reigned. Explosions rent the battlefield, bullets cracked, men yelled and moaned. Feiner’s 3rd Platoon was bogged down as close as 20 feet from the NVA bunkers and “spider holes,” rounded one-man foxholes. The interlocking fire from NVA positions, almost impossible to see, picked off platoon members one by one. Almost at the same time, Prindle’s 2nd Platoon approached the bunker line. As Pfc. Eleazar Trevino started through a small hole in the hedgerow, he was struck by a sniper bullet, according to Schopp’s account. Spc. 4 James Jeffers, close behind, moved toward his wounded comrade, but Trevino motioned him back. Someone shouted, “Stay back, there are snipers all over.” Platoon Sgt. Rogue Perpetua Jr. and Pfc. Angel Luna went through another opening in the hedgerow. “Perpetua spotted a machine gun bunker and charged for it,” Schopp relates. “He was right on top of it when he was hit.” The sergeant’s helmet had 11 bullet holes in it. Luna was killed by a sniper as Perpetua fell. Cox, the lieutenant serving as Delta’s commanding officer, also was shot. Platoon Sgt. Donald Leemhis, attempting to reach him, was shot through the neck. He fell dead next to Cox, already dead. Close by medic Pfc. Alton Kennedy, a private first class, was treating the wounded and dragging them “out of the fire-swept field,” Schopp wrote. “Kennedy made two trips, braving

the bullets in spite of pleas for him to stay back. He couldn’t bring himself to ignore the pitiful plaintive cries of, ‘Medic, help, Oh God, help!’ Moving out again, Kennedy was wounded on his third trip. His fourth was his last. Kennedy gave his life to save others.”

A staff sergeant in the 1st Cavalry Division takes stock of his situation. After the Dec. 17 fight, survivors returned to the battlefield to assess the losses and see if there were men who could be saved.

fc. Richard Rock, a radio telephone operator in 2nd Platoon, emerged from the hedgerow. Rock was the second non-airborne trooper to show up in his platoon when the 1st Brigade (Airborne) was just beginning to fill its ranks with non-airborne infantry units in late 1966, He became known as “NAP2,” for “non-airborne person No. 2.” Staff Sgt. Harry Forsythe, considered to be a “tough” noncommissioned officer, often teased Rock about cowardice: “NAP2, if I see you run away in a firefight, I’m going to fill your back with holes.” Coming out of the hedgerow, Rock witnessed Perpetua getting shot in the head. Soldiers on all sides of him were being hit and falling. Running to a clump of bushes in front of him, Rock observed bullets hitting the ground. They could only have been coming from the trees. Rock shrugged off his radio, rolled over and fired three-round bursts into the trees, emptying 12 magazines. He then ran to the nearest dead trooper to get more ammo. “I D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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saw so many wounded and thought ‘somebody has to do something to help these poor guys,’” Rock said in an interview with this article’s author. “Realizing that all the NCOs were dead or wounded, I concluded that somebody was me.” DEC. 17, 1966 Bullets were snapping around Rock. He patched up two 1ST CAVALRY troopers who were badly wounded, then fired his M16 rifle DIVISION at a bunker to no effect. Seeing an M79 grenade launcher and ammo on the ground, he ran and grabbed the weapon, then stood up to shoot over the bush in front of him. His KILLED 81 WOUNDED hurried first “blooper” sailed about 4 feet over the bunker. COMPANY D The enemy machine gun chattered. His next shot hit the cor1ST BATTALION ner of the bunker opening. On the third shot he stood up, 18 KILLED 12 WOUNDED again exposing himself. Yet he took his time, aimed carefully, controlled his breathing and trigger pull, and sent a round through the bunker opening, silencing the machine gun. NVA KILLED Feiner and Forsythe attempted to bring in artillery, but CONFIRMED neither was able to pinpoint his location on a map because they were enveloped in a thick jungle and couldn’t see the hills that would have established their position. They did a position estimate and called in smoke to confirm, but the smoke rounds were too far away and could not be seen because of the dense jungle. Their position estimate was incorrect by 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) to the east. It almost didn’t matter because Delta Company’s closeness to the NVA positions and the large number of helicopters in the air ruled out artillery fire for fear of hitting U.S. troops.

34 95

fter sunset, Delta Company and other elements of 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, were consolidated at a landing zone about a half mile northwest of the battle area. Wounded men needed to be medevaced. Flying conditions were terrible with poor visibility, a low ceiling and hostile groundfire. While green tracers converged on him, Feiner bravely pointed two flashlights in the air to guide the medevac choppers. Later, a wounded man arrived from the jungle. Struggling to speak, he said there were still men alive in the killing zone. First Sgt. Gene Helgeson assembled a medical team to look for anyone who

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MICHAEL NOONE COLLECTION

Battle of 506 Valley

U.S. ARMY

On the day of the 506 Valley battle, armed CH-47 Chinook helicopters, called “Guns A Go-Go,” drove off an NVA force that had surrounded the Company D reconnaissance platoon.

Rock continued to patch up the wounded. He retrieved weapons for those who could hold one, gave each man a sector to watch and said, “Kill anything that moves.” Picking up the wounded by the collar, he dragged them to a safe area, making multiple trips back and forth while under fire. Helicopter rocket artillery roared in but had only a momentary effect on the bunkers and wounded some of the Delta GIs. It was called off. During the battle two helicopters were shot down and seven were damaged so severely that they could no longer fly. Prindle, near the left side of the Delta line, was blocked by a barbed wire fence. As Prindle reached out to cut the barbed wire, Rock saw the lieutenant’s watch casing disappear from his left wrist. The bullet left the base of the watch and the band intact. Undeterred, Prindle reached out again to cut the wire. This time a bullet hit in the front of his helmet, passed around the inside and blew an exit hole out the back, briefly knocking him unconscious. Like a fighter recovering from a knockdown, Prindle jumped up, grabbed a machine gun and yelled, “Let’s go!” He, Rock and Spc. 4 Calvin Brown headed toward a bunker to rescue soldiers lying out in no man’s land. Prindle fired the machine gun directly into the bunker while Rock and Brown went to get Trevino and a wounded medic. After that successful attempt, Prindle continued to use the machine gun to attack bunkers and suppress enemy fire long enough to allow for the rescue of other wounded. When his gun slowed from overheating, he found another barrel to replace the original and returned to the fight. About three hours into the battle, Rock heard Forsythe’s voice rise in the distance: “Hey Rock, are you still alive?” Rock yelled back, “Yeah, why?” The sergeant asked, “Are you gonna run away?” Rock answered, “Why?” Forsythe’s response: “If you do, I wanna go with you.” Despite the circumstances, Rock had to laugh.

MICHAEL NOONE COLLECTION

U.S. ARMY

might still be alive. The volunteers included Capt. Edward Wagner, the battalion surgeon, Spc. 5 Donattis de Baitis and Spc. 4 James Ennis, both combat medics. NVA soldiers were still plentiful in the area. The Schopp report describes what happened next: “Helgeson’s team crept around, looking for American wounded, treating them and pulling them back for evacuation. There can be no doubt that Helgeson and crew put life back into men who otherwise would have surely died from their wounds.” Having spent hours lying wounded and alone, faced with marauding North Vietnamese and fending off insects, Noone was near despair. He remembers seeing someone quietly approaching him in the dark and fearing that it was yet another NVA soldier. But a shadowy figure grabbed his wrist and whispered, “This one’s still alive.” The shadowy figure turned out to be Wagner, who was in a precarious situation for a battalion surgeon just out of medical school. Helgeson’s team carried Noone back to the landing zone, where he was treated and kept alive. It was not possible to bring in medevac choppers because of fog, so he was evacuated at the first opportunity the next morning. The medevac helicopter sped at maximum power to the hospital, where the staff immediately took Noone into surgery. Giant ants still infested his body and clothing. The surgeons sprayed anesthetic gas to knock out and disperse the ants before they could work on Noone. He was given last rites twice before his eventual recovery at a hospital in Japan. By the end of the day on Dec. 17, Delta Company’s fighting force had been reduced to half its size. Only 35 of 62 men in the 2nd and 3rd platoons were alive and functioning. The acting commanding officer, Cox, was killed, as were all of the platoon sergeants and most of the other noncommissioned officers. Deaton, the soldier with the wish-you-would-be-killed letter in his pocket, was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor. The accompanying citation stated: “Several men in the platoon were felled during the opening volley of fire... Standing up in the fire-swept field, Specialist Deaton led his men straight at the startled enemy force...In the exchange of intense close-in fire, Specialist Deaton was mortally wounded.” The remnants of Delta were attached to Charlie Company where they spent the night being tormented by snipers. Spc. 4 Carlisle Mahto from Bravo

Valor Awards

Company shot 10 snipers out of the trees using a starlight night scope, which magnified light from stars and the moon to illuminate the area viewed. That night most of the NVA dispersed in small DISTINGUISHED groups heading into the mountains. The battalSERVICE CROSS ion searched the village and surrounding area. By Pfc. Roger Hattersley Pfc. Alton Kennedy Dec. 19, a total of 95 NVA bodies had been found. The next morning Prindle was told to report to combat medic (posthumous) SILVER STAR a helicopter that had just landed. There the lieuPfc. Richard Rock tenant in battle-worn clothes found a major Platoon Sgt. wearing clean, starched fatigues directing him to Roque Perpetua get in the chopper. A high-ranking officer wanted (posthumous) to see Prindle, perhaps for an award. Prindle First Sgt. Gene Helgeson Lt. Chester Cox cursed and told the major: “I’m not leaving my (posthumous) men. They’ve just been through hell.” He turned Lt. Timothy Feener and walked away. Lt. Paul Prindle In the following days the 1st Battalion, 12th Capt. Edward Wagner battalion surgeon Cavalry, pursued the NVA into the mountains. Spc. 4 James Ennis Intelligence gathered from prisoners indicated combat medic they were with the 7th and 9th battalions of the BRONZE STAR NVA 18th Regiment. The 506 Valley battle and Ten others subsequent pursuit left the regiment in disarray. (five posthumous) It was unable to carry out existing orders to par- were awarded Bronze Stars with a “V” ticipate in coordinated attacks on nearby LZ Bird device for valor and LZ Pony on Dec. 23. Instead, the NVA ordered the 22nd Regiment to attack LZ Bird on Dec. 27. Much of LZ Bird was overrun by the North Vietnamese, but ultimately the attack was repelled. The NVA also was unable to launch effective attacks against LZ Pony. V

Bob March served in Vietnam with Recon Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment (Airborne), 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), November 1965-November 1966. He returned to Vietnam in 1968 with the 82nd Airborne Division. After three years in the Army, he left as a staff sergeant, went to college, became an electrical engineer and worked on weapons systems for the Navy until he retired.

Pfc. Michael Noone, shot three times in the battle and almost left for dead, recovers at the 106th General Hospital, Kishine Barracks, Yokohama, Japan.

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PHOTO CREDITS

A Patrol Boat River, or PBR, docks at the Nha Be patrol boat base, about 7 miles south of Saigon, on Oct. 10, 1966. The first PBRs, built for mobility and firepower on the rivers and canals of South Vietnam, arrived in March 1966. Mounted on the bow are twin .50-caliber air-cooled machine guns.

PHOTO CREDITS

VIETNAM’S RIVER PATROL BOATS NAVY’S SMALL BOATS PACKED A LOT OF SPEED AND FIREPOWER By Todd Warger D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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n ocean away, another man shared in the success that Williams and his men achieved in those fast, highly maneuverable, well-armed PBRs. His company’s name was engraved on each boat’s brass builders plate: “United Boat Builders Inc., Bellingham, Washington.” When 35-year-old Arthur “Art” Nordtvedt founded United Boat Build-

ers in 1957, he created a diversified product line of pleasure craft, commercial vessels and military designs to ensure year-round production of his fiberglass boats. United rose to national prominence when it was chosen to produce the Patrol Boat River, manufactured in two versions, the Mark I and Mark II, for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. By war’s end, about 300 of the highly regarded riverine patrol boats had seen action in the Mekong River Delta. In an interview as United was beginning operations, Nordtvedt said: “We’re just a young bunch of guys banded together, doing the thing we love and enjoy—boatbuilding. I can assure you of this: we have the ability, desire and know-how to succeed.” And succeed they did. By 1960, United had outgrown its startup location in a small leased building and moved to a 100,000-square-foot factory on Bellingham’s waterfront. Once his commercial and pleasure boat lines were in production, Nordtvedt concentrated on military contracts, turning United into a major supplier of fiberglass boats for the Navy. Ultimately, the company produced more than 2,729 vessels of various types for the government. The first contracts were awarded in December 1961 for 10 Landing Craft Swimmer Reconnaissance support boats. The 52-foot LCSRs were used by the Navy to deploy and retrieve frogmen on missions. Studies and reports in the early 1960s highlighted the growing use of South Vietnam’s wa-

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TOP AND CENTER LEFT: COURTESY TODD WARGER / CENTER RIGHT AND BOTTOM: COURTESY OF CHUCK FOWLER

n Halloween night in 1966, Petty Officer 1st Class James Elliott “Willy” Williams, commanding a two-boat patrol using craft specially designed for combat on Vietnam’s inland waterways, was gunning for enemy vessels infesting the Mekong Delta. Williams in Patrol Boat River 105 destroyed one of two Viet Cong sampans spotted on the My Tho River. Pursuing the second down a narrow canal, PBR 105 and PBR 99 surprised two VC regiments just beginning to move downriver in sampans and junks. Williams ordered his small fiberglass boats, introduced in Vietnam just eight months earlier, forward in attack formation. With guns blazing from both sides, the PBRs struck with bows high above the water, slicing through the enemy flotilla at full-throttle, twisting and turning to present a poor target—their wakes washing over and capsizing the sampans. VC in fortified riverbank positions countered with mortar shells, rockets and smallarms fire but were unable to accurately aim their weapons at Williams’ fast-moving boats. The U.S. patrol encountered additional junks and larger VC formations farther down the canal. Crews on the two speedy PBRs released thunderous fire on a stunned enemy flotilla. Soon the Navy’s Huey helicopter gunships arrived. Williams’ boats made another run down the canal. Ordering searchlights turned on as dusk approached, Williams pressed the attack into the night. The crews of PBRs 105 and 99 destroyed 65 VC vessels and inflicted an estimated 1,000 casualties, while suffering little if any damage to their own craft. For his actions that Halloween night, Williams received the Medal of Honor.

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A Mark II PBR, a second version of the boat based on the Mark I’s experience in Vietnam, is being fabricated at United Boat Builders Inc., founded by Art Nordtvedt in Bellingham, Washington.

terways by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army for ambushes, supply shipments and other activities. Of most concern were the tributaries and canal systems of the vast Mekong River Delta, an area of 16,000 square miles, comprising nearly 5,000 miles of waterway. Control of the Delta was crucial to South Vietnam’s commerce. VC forces had nearly overrun the Mekong, which was becoming a potential NVA incursion route. Countering that threat was an inferior South Vietnamese riverine force that was a mix of vessels abandoned by the country’s former French rulers, possibly a few vessels from the World War II Japanese occupation and junks. The remnants of the 1946-54 French-Indochina War were heavy (thus requiring several feet of water), slow-moving, easily snagged in underwater debris and more lightly armed than their VC opponents. In January 1965, the Weapons Planning Group of the Naval Ordnance Station at China Lake, California, released a report that called for the development of a more effective riverine warfare force. The report emphasized the need for a boat that could operate in a hostile jungle environment with narrow and shallow estuaries full of obstacles, while fighting enemy hidden within fortified bunkers along the Mekong’s waterways. After reviewing the report, the Navy’s Ordnance Department of the Unconventional Warfare Office issued a set of requirements for a shallow-water hull made of aluminum or fiberglass with a propulsion system that wouldn’t be hindered be the weeds common in the Delta. Speed and maneuverability were also essential. The urgent need meant there was no time to design a craft from the keel up, suggesting an existing hull design would have to be adapted for military use.

TOP AND CENTER LEFT: COURTESY TODD WARGER / CENTER RIGHT AND BOTTOM: COURTESY OF CHUCK FOWLER

PREVIOUS SPREAD: NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND; THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF CHUCK FOWLER

ordtvedt’s United Boat Builders was hardly the only company interested in the lucrative Navy contract. Major competitor Hatteras Yacht Co. of North Carolina also was eyeing the prize. In 1965 Hatteras founder Willis Slane and his naval Art Nordtvedt architect, Jack Hargrave, were invited to Washington, D.C., with other vessel manufacturers. A captain in the Ordnance Department was said to be making a desperate plea for a shallow-water craft in the 30-foot range, based on an existing hull, that could run up to 30 knots (35 mph) and be adapted for operations in Southeast Asia. Architect Hargrave reportedly turned to Slane during the meeting and said his design team could meet those specifications with Hatteras’ existing 28-foot sporting hull. According to Hargrave years later, Slane stood and said, “Excuse me captain, I have just put into production a very fast, broad-beamed hull, 28 feet long, that might do the job.” Getting everyone’s attention, Slane continued: “If we could drive her with water-jet pumps, we wouldn’t have to contend with shafts, propellers and rudders. That would allow high-speed operation in very shallow water.” The captain asked how long it would take to get a formal proposal from Hatteras. Slane responded: “Proposal, hell! I haven’t time for that paperwork stuff. I’ll build the damn boat.” The United Boat Builders complex around 1966, Returning to North Carolina, Slane took two 28-foot hulls and equipped TOP: with PBR hulls visible between the buildings. them with a water-jet drive from Indiana Gear Works and a set of super- CENTER: Art Nordtvedt, at left in black sweater, charged Daytona diesel engines. A week later, a prototype was in the water, oversees the installation of a Mark I’s engines. BOTTOM: Styrofoam is inserted into the hull of a running at 30.5 knots. Slane was ready to demonstrate his creation to the Mark I. Nordtvedt’s company produced more than Navy. Tommy Henshaw, a longtime Hatteras employee, recalled: “I had a 2,700 boats of various types for the U.S. government. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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told Nordtvedt, “This contract has to go out to bid,” and promised to get a project-bid circular to bidders as soon as possible. “There was a great need for a large quantity of river boats,” Joest recalled. “They were asking for 120 boats with a three-month turnaround once awarded. I was given a photograph of Slane’s boat and a single sheet of specifications that the Ordnance Department had written. I needed those specs, which bonded bidders to a mandated speed with full armament load.” Joest didn’t expect many bidders because companies weren’t allowed time to build a mold and would have to meet the requirements with an exiting hull. “We gave them only a week to respond,” he said. Meanwhile, Nordtvedt had a 30-day lead over his competitors and made the best of his time. “I knew Hatteras was attempting to use their 28-foot hull,” he said. “So, I started with the requirements that the Ordnance Department had given him. I drew my outline on a drawing board in two days and did a lot of experiments on our 31-foot fiberglass sports-cruiser hull.” Nordtvedt made some changes to accommodate the Navy’s requirements, including the ability to haul extra weight. “The new hull was an improvement over the original, and the design was passed on to the pleasure boat,” he said. “The prototype was soon in the water as we began speed and handling characteristics.” Although Hatteras was using jet pumps from Indiana Gear Works, Nordtvedt didn’t think those jet pumps were powerful enough. “I started tests on the water-jet propulsion units by Jacuzzi Brothers,” he said. The boat builder also said he could “guarantee 14,000 pounds” for weight.

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AP / GREG PROCH

chance to ride on it. Slane tested that boat to the limit. It was fast. It would turn and stop on a dime.” As Slane developed his prototype, word of his negotiations with the Navy reached Nordtvedt some 3,000 miles away. “I had heard through [informal] channels in the industry that Willis Slane was dealing with the Ordnance Department to develop a river patrol boat for use in Vietnam,” Nordtvedt recalled in an interview with this article’s author. “I wondered why the Bureau of Ships’ small boat division wasn’t involved at the procurement level, where a circular of requirements and contracts should originate. I knew Fred Joest at the bureau, so I called to inquire what he knew about this.” Joest, who would later head the small boat division, oversaw the procurement of more than 5,000 vessels up to 85 feet in length and was responsible for purchasing, bids, designing, construction and maintenance. When Nordtvedt called, a mystified Joest said he would look into the matter. “Someone at the Unconventional Warfare Office talked with the people at Hatteras about a quick prototype to sell to the Navy,” Joest, also interviewed by this article’s author, reported back to Nordtvedt. “Why they went to Willis Slane, I have no idea. This was not proper procedure.” He

esides United and Hatteras, other bidders were Bertram Yacht Co., Boston Whaler, Chris-Craft and Bay Shipbuilding. “We evaluated those bids as the proposals came in,” Joest remembers. “We looked to see who could provide the best performance and where others would fall short. Then we looked at the price. When we saw the United package, we said, this is where we want to go.” Steve Nordtvedt, Art’s son, was United’s naval contract manager and remembers a proposal error by the company that underpriced the maintenance spare parts kits, which included an engine, water jet and miscellaneous equipment. The cost of each kit was about $11,000. There was one set for every 10 boats, which meant 12 sets for 120 boats. In the proposal, “I mistakenly included only one set, instead of 12,” the younger Nordtvedt said. “The error was discovered after the proposal was delivered. It was a $120,000 problem. Art phoned Fred Joest.” The Navy contracts official wanted to know if United could swallow the $120,000 rather than add that amount to its bid. “Can you live with that? Joest asked, according to Steve Nordtvedt, and followed with “Don’t raise the issue.” Translation: Don’t make a fuss over $120,000. Art replied, “We’ll live with it,” as his son recalled. “Fred’s advice was interpreted as a good “I had a sign that United was in the running for the chance to ride contract.” on it. Slane Hatteras also presented a working prototype, Joest said, but Slane had demonstrated tested that only an empty hull. Navy officials were imboat to the pressed with its speed and ability to operate limit. It was in shallow water; however, they were observfast. It would ing a boat with no weight on it, let alone a turn and stop combat load. Another strike against Slane was his objection to government oversight. on a dime.” The Navy wanted government inspectors in

NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND

A PBR crewman operates his twin .50-caliber machine gun mount on patrol in the Mekong River on April 14, 1966. Some PBR crews added extra weapons to their PBR. But there was a trade-off: reduced speed.

AP / GREG PROCH

NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND

A patrol boat sailor fires twin machine guns into the shoreline along the Mekong Delta southwest of Saigon in February 1969. Viet Cong fighters often lurked concealed in the Delta’s canals. The PBR’s speed and maneuverability enabled its crews to strike quickly and zip in and out of harm’s way.

the plant to monitor construction of the boats, said Henshaw, the former Hatteras employee. “Willis told them he’d be glad to build them, but he wouldn’t have the government tell him how to do it. So, we lost the whole contract.” United Boat Builders submitted the low bid at $75,000 per boat and was officially awarded the PBR contract on Nov. 29,1965. We’ll never know if Slane intended to protest the contract decision. A few weeks earlier, on Nov. 7, 1965, he died of a heart attack. The PBR contract was the most important project that United ever bid on. The Defense Department made acquisition of the boats a priority. United created four additional one-piece hull and deck molds to meet production demands. By Dec. 21, the company had built 10 boats, and others were under construction. The tightly drawn contract gave United until April 1 to deliver 120 PBRs. A completed boat was expected to be ready for acceptance trials every eight days. The original PBR Mark I was an olive drab 31foot craft based on United’s Uniflite sport-cruiser design. There were twin .50-caliber machine guns in a forward M36 turret rotating tub and a

fixed .30-caliber M1919AH Browning machine gun on the stern. The boat’s helm featured a windscreen with a soft top canvas. The station for the coxswain (the sailor at the wheel) on the portside had two AN/VRC-46 mobile communications radios and a control panel. A Raytheon 1900N radar set was mounted topside. The coxswain’s station, engines and gun mounts had ceramic armor that could stop small-arms fire. Installed tightly beneath the deck were two General Motors Detroit Diesel 220 horsepower 6V53N engines with no gearbox, as there was no reverse nor propeller. Instead, the engines drove Jacuzzi 14 WJ water-jet pumps. The pumps were mounted with their intake pipe running through the bottom of the boat and out an opening in the stern. Water would be sucked up the line and passed through an impeller (a small reverse propeller) that accelerated the flow and forced the water out creating a jet steam that moved the boat with a thrust 6,000 gallons a minute. Rerouting the water 180 degrees stopped the craft quickly, within two boat lengths, giving the PRB exceptional maneuverability. Additionally, with no propeller to foul and drafting about 9

PBR Mk II

Crew: Four Power/propulsion: General Motors Detroit Diesel 220 hp; Jacuzzi 14 water-jet pumps Displacement (weight): 8.9 tons. Length: 32 ft. Beam (width): 11 ft., 5 in. Draft (depth): 2 ft. Top speed: 28.5 knots (32 mph) Armament: Twin .50-caliber machine guns forward; 30-caliber M1919AH Browning machine gun

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T Most honored PBR sailor James Elliott “Willy” Williams, awarded the Medal of Honor for his exploits as a Patrol Boat River skipper on Oct. 31, 1966, received the second highest valor award, the Navy Cross, for heroics in January 1967. Ten other valor wards, including two Silver Stars, make him the most decorated enlisted sailor in U.S. Navy history.

he first boat off the line was delivered to Hunters Point, San Francisco Bay Naval Shipyard for underwater shock tests to evaluate the fiberglass hull’s integrity. The only changes required were minor modifications to the engine mounts. Nordtvedt, however, was concerned about the boats’ ability to meet United’s performance standard of 25 knots (29 mph) with a full load. Pre-award experiments performed by United were based on a maximum weight of 14,000 pounds. However, change orders had increased the weight by more than 1,000 pounds. There was also a 500-pound increase in engine weight and heavier new laminates used since the prototype was built. As a result, “we had a 16,000-pound vessel,” Nordtvedt said, “and it took some work to get this thing running properly.” Joest, assigned to United during the patrol boat program, worked alongside Nordtvedt to find a solution. The first attempt to increase speed involved experiments with the Jacuzzi pumps. That effort failed. “So, we went on a weight witch hunt,” Joest remembered. “We went through the boat piece by piece.” The original steel mounting ring for the

.50-caliber machine gun was remanufactured in aluminum. Diesel heat exchangers were replaced with lighter units. Resin content control was instituted, and boat armor was reduced. Any weight savings not affecting structural integrity were altered until Nordtvedt was satisfied. The result was a vessel displacing 14,600 pounds. On Dec. 18, 1965, the Navy established Operation Game Warden, which would pool groups of PRBs together as Task Force 116 to patrol the Mekong Delta and disrupt Viet Cong activities. American sailors would board and search vessels for hidden contraband and battle any VC or North Vietnamese forces they encountered. By mid-January 1966, the first 10 boats passed acceptance trials and were delivered to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, north of San Francisco, where the first crews would train to operate them. Subsequent boats were sent direct to Vietnam. Not all of the boats were delivered on time, Steve Nordtvedt said. There was a penalty of $500 per boat per day for every PBR not delivered by April 1. “The Navy received the 120th boat in mid-April,” Nordtvedt said. “United paid a penalty of $35,000.” Even though United had not met all the delivery dates, the Navy was nonetheless impressed. An amendment to the original contract called for an additional 40 boats.

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AP PHOTO: DANG VAN PHUOC / TK

inches (sitting with only 9 inches of the hull under water), the boat could run in very shallow water—virtually anywhere—at high speed.

NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND (2)

The crewmen of a PBR appear relaxed during a patrol run along the My Tho River in June 1969.

The first 11 boats arrived at the Navy’s Nha Be base in Saigon on March 21, 1966. New crews learned to operate the boats in the Vung Tau area, a port location at the tip of South Vietnam. Boat crews were noted for the modifications they made to increase performance. They added armaments and protective shielding. They also tweaked the engines to get more power. Additionally, “crews would modify their gun tubs to hold more rounds,” recalled Petty Officer 3rd Class machinist mate Ralph Christopher, author of Duty Honor Sacrifice. For example, one of his friends, Warrant Officer Ralph Fries, changed the amount for the forward twin .50-caliber machine guns from 250 to 500 rounds per tray. Additionally, “they belted 1,500 rounds per .50 gun and flanked them on each side of the bow and over the pump covers,” Christopher said. The extra firepower and shielding, however, slowed the boats, which made them vulnerable to ambush. Most crews discovered their greatest weapons were speed and maneuverability in exiting a kill zone, “hot-dogging” from harm’s way, then hitting back. Several months before Williams’ Halloween battle, he ordered all of PBR 105’s armor removed, aside from that protecting his engines. He claimed an increase in speed up to 35 knots (40 mph). The fiberglass hull varied in thickness up to a half-inch. Unless a rocket-propelled grenade or small-arms fire hit the engines or something equally solid, most projectiles would pass through the hull.

AP PHOTO: DANG VAN PHUOC / TK

NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND (2)

lthough the Mark I operated with much success, a modified version was soon requested. The Mark II evolved from suggestions by boat crews and observations of the Mark I’s performance after months of intensive use in a harsh, hot and humid environment. The Jacuzzis needed adjustments due to extreme wear. The concerns were such that in September 1966, the Navy flew Nordtvedt, Joest and Jacuzzi Brothers’ Vice President Ray Horan to South Vietnam to observe and evaluate the PBR’s progress. The new boats had a flatter hull, greater width and increased length. “Art’s Mark I had a ‘deepVee’ [hull] design, which was commonly used in rougher coastal waters,” Joest said. “We’re talking riverine waters now.” Steve Nordtvedt believed the new boats were more suited for their intended purpose. The Mark II’s main advantage was “its ability to carry a heavier load with no loss in performance,” he said. “The weight required in combat quickly

TOP: A PBR unit pulls alongside a Mekong River water taxi during a patrol on March 6, 1968, to check for registration and Viet Cong infiltrators. BELOW: A restored PBR cruises on a river in eastern Virginia.

outgrew the Mark I’s ability.” The Mark II enabled crews to add more armament, most commonly two 7.62 mm M60 machine guns and a 40 mm grenade launcher. Some crews maximized their firepower by adding a 20 mm cannon forward or placing an 81 mm mortar toward the stern. The new PBR was a formable war machine. Art Nordtvedt wasn’t impressed by the redesign, claiming his original boat was a better concept. Changes “made the hull stiffer and less flexible,” he said. United Boat Builders’ PBR wartime program ran from December 1965 through September 1975, with 161 Mark I and 355 Mark II boats completed. At the end of production in 1977 a total of 535 PBRs had been manufactured. Many went to foreign navies. Nordtvedt refused to take sole credit for designing and building the boats that had so nimbly borne their crews in and out of harm’s way. Each time he was thanked, he would respond, “It’s my crew you want to thank, not me.” Nordtvedt died on Oct. 1, 2013, at age 91. V

Todd Warger is a recipient of the Washington State Historical Society’s 2008 David Douglas award for the documentary film Shipyard. He conducted about 20 recorded interviews with Art Nordtvedt in 2006. Warger resides in Bellingham, Washington. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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FRANCE’S FIRST DISASTER IN VIETNAM IN 1950, THE VIETNAMESE ROUTED THE FRENCH IN CHINESE BORDER BATTLES

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PHOTO CREDITS

By John Walker

PHOTO CREDITS

A French soldier in Indochina takes aim at an enemy position in 1950, the year that a communist Viet Minh offensive forced the French to abandon a series of forts along Colonial Route 4 near the Chinese border.

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Foreign Legionnaires, allied Tai tribesmen and camp followers. He had enough time to evacuate them. However, he failed to do so. Carpentier may have contracted hubris, a disdain for the enemy that infected many French— and later American—officers. They vastly underestimated the fighting capabilities of the enemy while greatly overestimating their own. In late 1949, Giap ratcheted up pressure on the large French supply convoys trying to navigate Route 4 to reach the forts. The convoys drove into deadly ambushes, roadblocks and blown bridges. The growing presence in southern China of Mao Zedong’s communist forces—recently victorious in the Chinese Civil War against Chiang Kaishek’s Nationalists—encouraged Giap to attack the Route 4 posts in late 1950. Giap had spent grueling months in the Viet Bac region, a remote territory in north and northeastern Tonkin where the Viet Minh insurgency was headquartered. He organized his 100,000 main force regulars into six mobile divisions (70 battalions) backed by artillery, much of which consisted of U.S.-made weapons captured from the defeated Chinese Nationalists.

iap was now ready to give his troops their baptism of fire in conventional warfare. The Viet Minh’s target was the string of isolated Route 4 French forts: Dong Khe, Cao Bang, That Khe, Nam Nung, Tien Yen and Lang Son. Another fortress, Lao Cai, sup-

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GIAP: PICTURES FROM HISTORY/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; CARPENTIER: ROGER-VIOLLET / GRANGER; REVERS: © ROGER-VIOLLET / ROGER-VIOLLET; MAP; JON C.BOCK

he young soldiers of Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap’s newly formed 308th Division, freshly trained and equipped by the communist Chinese, showed off their skills in stealth operations against the French in May 1950. Four of Giap’s infantry battalions scaled steep limestone heights surrounding the town of Dong Khe in northeast Tonkin, the northernmost region of Vietnam, without being detected even though they were hauling five American-made 75 mm pack howitzers. At dawn on May 25, they opened fire with a devastating sustained barrage on the French defenses and the 800-man garrison, consisting mostly of Moroccan riflemen under French officers. Giap, commander in chief of communist-led Viet Minh independence fighters at war with colonial ruler France since December1946, lifted the barrage after two days of shelling. His troops then attacked in human waves, overrunning the base and almost wiping out the remaining defenders, a few of whom escaped into the jungle. At midmorning on May 27, 48 hours after the barrage began, the Viet Minh had seized control of Dong Khe. The French responded quickly to the May 27 attack, dropping the 3rd Colonial Parachute Battalion onto the overrun base late the same morning and surprising Viet Minh troops engaged in looting. After several hours of heavy fighting, often hand-to-hand, the Viet Minh abandoned the post and melted back into the jungle. Giap never intended to hold the base. The general had accomplished his objective for now. The May attack was Giap’s last opportunity to season the men of the 308th Division for formidable tasks ahead. He was preparing to unleash a large-scale offensive against six French frontier posts—including Dong Khe—along Colonial Route 4 near the border with China when the monsoon rains ended in late September or early October. Months of arduous preparation lay ahead of Giap. After the Viet Minh withdrew from Dong Khe, the French commander in chief, Gen. Marcel Carpentier, a total stranger to Indochina, could have avoided another Viet Minh onslaught by evacuating the frontier forts, which contained almost 12,000 French and North African troops, French

PREVIOUS PAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE\GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGES; PICTURES FROM HISTORY/TOPFOTO

Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap speaks to Viet Minh followers around 1942 in Viet Bac, a region of northeastern Tonkin where the communist-led insurgency established a headquarters and training ground. Giap prepared his troops there for the attack on the French forts in 1950.

Route 4 Fort Evacuations Sept. 16–Oct. 18, 1950

Revers

GIAP: PICTURES FROM HISTORY/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; CARPENTIER: ROGER-VIOLLET / GRANGER; REVERS: © ROGER-VIOLLET / ROGER-VIOLLET; MAP; JON C.BOCK

PREVIOUS PAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE\GAMMA-RAPHO VIA GETTY IMAGES; PICTURES FROM HISTORY/TOPFOTO

Giap

Carpentier

ported by four surrounding forts, was in the Tai Highlands, west of the Red River where it crosses the Chinese border. A decisive Viet Minh victory would clear French forces from all of northern Tonkin east of the Red River, allowing unfettered movement of men and supplies from communist China into the Viet Bac. As a bonus, it would give Giap’s troops a morale-boosting triumph in their first major test on the battlefield. In May 1949 the French government sent army Chief of Staff Gen. Georges Revers to Tonkin on a fact-finding mission. He recommended that border posts be heavily reinforced or abandoned as soon as safely possible. The French did neither. After recapturing Route 4 in 1947 during Operation Lea, the French installed permanent garrisons at intervals along the “road”—actually, nothing more than a well-worn, one-lane dirt path, 12-feet wide at its widest and flanked on both sides by heavily forested hills, jungle and jagged limestone peaks. In 1950, Route 4 was controlled by the Viet Minh. The forts were not mutually supportable and could be attacked individually at Giap’s discretion. They were not only vulnerable but also tying down thousands of troops needed in the Red River Delta, where the Viet Minh were adding to the number of villages they controlled. Giap was never idle during the wet months between campaigning seasons. From 1948 to 1950 he established a logistical system fully capable of supporting his large combined-arms divisions over long distances and periods of time. He was fortunate to have gained a powerful ally in Mao. The fellow communist helped Giap solve his heavy armament and complex supply problems, sent experienced officers to the Viet Bac to act as trainers and mentors, and established a military advisory group at the battalion level and higher to help Giap and his officers plot strategy. The general and his staff spent endless hours preparing for attacks. The infantry used scale models of the targeted forts to practice assaults, day after day. During the coming offensive, Giap never attacked without at least a 3-1 advantage in numbers; at times it was 8-1. By late 1950 Viet Minh roadblocks, mines and ambushes along Route 4 had inflicted heavy losses in French soldiers and equipment on their way to the big base at Cao Bang, commanded by the “Fighting Legionnaire,” Lt. Col. Marcel Charton. Stymied on the ground, the French began supplying Cao Bang only by air. They evacuated their smaller Route 4 posts, leaving Cao Bang, Lao Cai, That Khe and Dong Khe the only forts still garrisoned upcountry from the regional headquarters at Lang Son. Route 4 had become the deadliest road in Indochina. As the Legionnaires put it, “The Route Coloniale No. 4 is a road than a man travels only one time alive.” In early September Carpentier announced that the French would attack and capture the town of Thai Nguyen on Colonial Route 3. Afterward, the garrison at Cao Bang would evacuate and walk south on Route 4, leaving artillery and heavy transport behind. Carpentier instructed Charton to conduct his withdrawal with “speed and surprise,” neither of which was

During the 1946-54 war between colonial power France and the communist-led Viet Minh, a massive army commanded by Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap threatened to overwhelm French forts along Route 4 near the border with China in the Tonkin region, one of three regions in French Indochina that would eventually form North and South Vietnam. The French developed plans for evacuations, but before they could be implemented, Giap attacked the fort at Dong Khe on Sept. 16 and captured it. Efforts to evacuate other forts were hampered by roadblocks, mines and ambushes. The saga ended with the abandonment of Lang Son on Oct. 18.

To Lao Cai

Cao Bang Dong Khe

Nam Nung

Na Pa

Coc Xa

CHINA

That Khe

Lang Son

Thai Nguyen

TONKIN

Hanoi

Haiphong

CHINA

TONKIN Hanoi

L AOS

GULF OF TONKIN

Vientiane 1954 Line

THAILAND

ANNAM

CAMBODIA Phnom Penh

GULF OF THAILAND

Saigon

COCHINCHINA

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ell before Carpentier could carry out his evacuation plan, five battalions of the Viet Minh 308th Division, backed by a heavy weapons battalion, attacked Dong Khe on Sept. 16, marking the opening round of Giap’s assault on the border posts. After a mortar and artillery barrage Viet Minh commandos, wearing only shorts and carrying Bangalore torpedoes (explosive-filled tubes) and satchels packed with explosives, approached the fort. They blasted holes in the perimeter wire and were followed by waves of attackers. The 300 de42

fenders of 5th and 6th companies, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment, had to fight without air support because of heavy cloud cover but still were able to beat back repeated assaults as casualties mounted on both sides. The attackers, however, resolutely pressed on for more than two days. At midmorning on Sept. 18, they finally overran Dong Khe. The 300-man garrison was decimated: 140 Legionnaires were captured, 12 escaped to That Khe, and the rest were dead or missing. Despite the loss at Dong Khe, Carpentier plowed ahead with his plan. He attacked Thai Nguyen in late September with two infantry divisions, backed by armor, artillery and air cover. His forces took the town in mid-October against limited resistance. Since Thai Nguyen contained little of value and the enemy made no effort to retake the town, the French stayed there for only 10 days before abandoning it. Giap’s thorough preparations had paid off. With his troops astride Route 4 and holding Dong Khe, he had clearly gained the initiative.

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TOP: AKG-IMAGES / PAUL ALMASY; BOTTOM: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

remotely possible along Route 4. Thai NguyMaj. Gen. en had no tactical connection to the Route 4 Marcel forts. Its capture was essentially a publicity Alessandri stunt to deflect attention from the Cao Bang evacuation. wired: “Cancel Meanwhile, a relief column would push everything. north from Lang Son. When it reached Cao If you carry Bang, the combined force would move on it will be south to the relatively safer Red River Delta. a crime.” Carpentier foolishly hoped both objectives could be completed by mid-October before the end of the monsoon rains and before Giap was ready for mobile operations—although, in fact, he already was. The general had moved at least 14 infantry battalions and three of artillery to the frontier ridge.

French soldiers keep watch on Colonial Route 4. In 1950, it was a dirt road about 12 feet at the widest and nearly overtaken by vegetation.

TOP: AKG-IMAGES / PAUL ALMASY; BOTTOM: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES

LEFT: French Foreign Legion soldiers stand in formation at Lang Son in 1950. The Legionnaires suffered heavy losses while assisting fort evacuation columns repeatedly attacked by the Viet Minh. BELOW: Moroccans, shown on a military transport, were a large part of the French evacuation force.

Worried that Cao Bang might be surrounded, Carpentier ordered Charton to destroy his artillery and heavy motor transport, then begin his withdrawal to the south on the evening of Oct. 2. The Legionnaire leader was instructed to take Route 4, not the safer Route 3 leading to Thai Nguyen. That proved to be a huge, costly blunder, given that the Viet Minh were blocking Route 4. Carpentier assembled a relief force at Lang Son. Commanded by Lt. Col. Marcel Le Page, it consisted of three North African battalions—the 1st and 11th Moroccan Tabors and a battalion from the 8th Moroccan Rifle Regiment. The Le Page column, known as Task Force Bayard, was ordered north to That Khe, where it arrived on Sept. 19 and joined forces with one of the most acclaimed, battle-hardened units in Indochina, the 1st Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion. The officers of the parachute battalion soon became alarmed at Le Page’s apparent indecision and inexperience. A “confidence gap” arose between the Legion paratroopers and the African riflemen. Le Page was clearly unsuited for the mission. An artilleryman, he was unfamiliar with jungle warfare. He also had health issues, was unsure of his Africans and seemingly unsure of himself. On Sept. 30, Le Page received what was an impossible order under the existing conditions: March Task Force Bayard north and retake Dong Khe, 11 miles away, by Oct. 2. With no intelligence on the situation at Dong Khe, Le Page was rightly hesitant. Heavy rains rendered air cover impossible and turned Route 4 into a muddy morass that allowed no artillery or trucks to accompany the task force. Additionally, Giap had massed at least 10 infantry battalions, backed by a full artillery regiment, around Dong Khe. Le Page’s hope that the order would be rescinded didn’t materialize. As the column moved out, he told a friend, “We will never come back.” At nightfall on Sept. 30, Le Page and his 3,500-man task force headed for Dong Khe with the 1st Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion leading the way. By 5 p.m. the next day, Oct. 1, Le Page and his column had, surprisingly,

managed to fight through numerous obstacles and reach the eastern outskirts of the town, where the colonel finally halted after coming under heavy machine gun and artillery fire from the fort ruins. Le Page boldly attempted a pincer movement on Oct. 2, sending the Legionnaires against one enemy flank and the Moroccans against the other. Both attacks failed amid the dense jungle, strong counterattacks and steep limestone peaks. Le Page’s column had to bypass the fort. Le Page was ordered to leave Route 4 and move west the next day, Oct. 3 When the Tonkin theater commander, Maj. Gen. Marcel Alessandri, was informed of the order, he wired Carpentier: “Cancel everything. If you carry on it will be a crime.” With the 1st Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion in front, Task Force Bayard fought its way west and then north from jagged peak to jagged peak along the Quang Liet Trail before it halted at Na Pa, just 3 miles from Dong Khe. That night the Le Page column, huddled in a “bowl” on the side of a hill, was hit by wave after wave of Viet Minh attacks, but held on.

rdered to leave Cao Bang at nightfall on Oct. 2, Charton failed to destroy his artillery and motor transport as instructed. Instead he loaded all his men onto trucks and did not get underway until noon on Oct. 3. Led by the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment, Charton’s miles-long column included 1,000 French troops, 600 Legionnaires, 1,000 mostly Tai fighters and their families, the wounded and 500 men, women and children who lived at Cao Bang.

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Route 4 Battles

His progress slowed by the usual ambushes and roadblocks, Charton had traveled only 9 miles by sunrise on Oct. 4, when the column halted near Nam Nung on Route 4. SEPT.-OCT. 1950 Around noon, Charton received disturbing news in two radio messages from Lang Song: First, the Le Page column, after leaving Route 4 the previous afternoon, was now surFRENCH FORCES rounded in the jungle west and south of Dong Khe and KILLED being mauled; second, Charton’s column was to move as quickly as possible to Le Page’s aid. With Route 4 blocked by the Viet Minh, Charton destroyed his now-useless VIET MINH trucks and artillery, left the refugees behind and pushed KILLED west off Route 4 into the brush with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment, in the lead as the men hacked through almost impenetrable vegetation. Charton, at least, had maps of the area and managed to find the Quang Liet Trail leading south to the Quang Liet Valley, where he hoped to rendezvous on Hill 477 with the Le Page column. Le Page’s Foreign Legion parachute battalion, meanwhile, was still trapped on a hill, surrounded by high limestone cliffs that overlooked the valley and the small hamlet of Coc Xa to the west. Their only exit was a narrow passage, the Coc Xa Gorge, at the end of the valley. With progress exceedingly slow due to the harsh terrain and heavy enemy presence, the Charton column doggedly thrust its way south along the faint trail for two days, nearing the Quang Liet Valley and making radio contact with Foreign Legion paratroopers on Oct. 6. New orders called for the Charton column to hold Hill 590 and cover the rest of the valley while the paratroopers in the vanguard of Task Force Bayard would force a passage of the gorge and push for Coc Xa. Meanwhile, Le Page’s troops continued a desperate fight against overwhelming numbers in the heavy vegetation and limestone peaks southwest of Dong Khe. After several French units were ambushed and broken up, the survivors were hunted like animals in a forest festering with Viet Minh soldiers screaming in French: “Give yourselves up, French soldiers. You are lost!” As dawn approached on Oct. 7, what remained of Task Force Bayard was still trapped on the hill. Surrounded by two enemy battalions, Le Page asked the Legionnaires of the parachute battalion to break through the “bottleneck” at Coc Xa Gorge. Before the sun came up they had done so but were almost wiped out in the process. Only 130 members of the battalion’s 500 men survived the morning. The remainder of the Le Page column was

4,800 9,000

heavily engaged, as well. When Oct. 7 ended, only 530 members of the original 3,500-man Task Force Bayard remained. The haggard remnants of the Le Page column finally linked up with the depleted vanguard of Charton’s column, the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Foreign Legion Infantry Regiment, east of Coc Xa, but the ordeal was far from over. The survivors divided into small groups, leaving the wounded with volunteer medics, and attempted to get through Viet Minh-filled jungles to That Khe, 10 miles to the east. That night, a rescue company of 270 men from the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion and 130 men from the 1st Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion Replacement Company were airlifted into That Khe. The Viet Minh chose that morning to launch their heaviest attack yet against Charton’s column and succeeded in wounding and capturing Charton himself. Things went from bad to worse when the panic spread from ranks of Le Page’s terrified North Africans—physically ravaged, delirious and almost out of control—to the Charton group, which itself fell into a state of chaos. Only the Legionnaires held together as effective fighting units, but their numbers soon dwindled. Thousands of Viet Minh soldiers moved in and soon it was over.

ome 300 men reached That Khe on Oct. 8 and 9, including 29 survivors of the 1st Foreign Legion Parachute battalion, the first French airborne battalion ever lost in combat. That Khe was abandoned late on Oct. 9 in haste. The garrison, townspeople and survivors of the Le Page and Charton columns streamed down Route 4. The thinned ranks of the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion/1st Foreign Legion Parachute Battalion force, reluctant to leave while their comrades were lost in the jungle not far away, acted as the rear guard. In an atmosphere of panic, the frontier commanding officer at Lang Son ordered a general withdrawal along Route 4 from That Khe, which added to the chaos and losses. The 3rd Colonial Commando/1st Foreign Legion parachute force, 400 strong when it evacuated That Khe on Oct. 10, hit heavy communist resistance halfway to

TOP LEFT: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: HOWARD SOCHUREK/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUTTERSTOCK; OPPOSITE: CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

LEFT: A wounded French soldier is placed on a stretcher after evacuation from Viet Minh-held That Khe in November 1950 during a truce. RIGHT: After the fort evacuation fiasco, the French got a new, highly regarded leader, Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.

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Lang Son and lost half its men. Again, the survivors broke up into small groups and attempted to push through the jungle to safety, but were killed almost to a man, making the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion the second airborne battalion to be lost in action. On Oct. 17-18, the French abandoned Lang Son even though there was no direct military threat, leaving huge stores of equipment and arms intact—enough food, clothing, medical supplies, weapons, ammunition and materiel to supply a Viet Minh division for at least a year. Tai partisans holding Lao Cai’s four small, satellite forts fought their way to Lao Cai. Then the entire force was evacuated and Lao Cai abandoned, making Giap’s victory complete. (A coalition of 12 tribes formed the Tai Federation, which was friendly to the French and had been given semi-autonomous status within the French Union in 1948 and a capital at Lai Chau, just west of the Red River on the Sino-Vietnamese border.) Giap’s victory came at a high cost, however. Of the 30,000 men committed, as many as 9,000 Viet Minh soldiers perished. Many were wounded men who died before they could be carried to the rear, where Giap’s inadequate medical services were unable to handle huge casualties. Neverthe-

Viet Minh soldiers screamed in French: “Give yourselves up, French soldiers. You are lost.”

less, Giap’s unprecedented gains left the French in a state of disarray. It was feared the Red River Delta would be attacked, and calls to evacuate colonists from Tonkin were heard. Fortunately for the French, the crisis passed. They soon welcomed a competent, almost legendary new commander in chief, Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, who completely reversed French fortunes within a year, reinstilling confidence and pride within his fighting forces. Still, the sting of defeat remained. “When the smoke cleared,” wrote French historian Bernard Fall, “the French had suffered their greatest colonial defeat since Montcalm had died at Quebec in 1749. They had lost 6,000 troops [4,800 killed], 13 artillery pieces, 125 mortars, 450 trucks, three armored platoons, 940 machine guns, 1,200 submachine guns and more than 8,000 rifles. Their abandoned stocks alone sufficed for the equipment of a whole additional Viet-Minh division.” Without anywhere near enough men nor the political will necessary to bring the First Indochina War (1946-54) to a successful military conclusion, France’s effort to hold its Indochinese colonies finally came to an ignominious end in mid-1954, in the muddy ruins of a flimsy fortress in a valley called Dien Bien Phu. V

John Walker served in Vietnam July 1970-June 1971 as a sergeant with the 173rd Airborne Brigade at Landing Zone English in Binh Dinh province in South Vietnam’s central coastlands. He lives in Oceanside, California.

TOP LEFT: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: HOWARD SOCHUREK/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/SHUTTERSTOCK; OPPOSITE: CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

French troops move toward a village near their base at Dien Bien Phu, where a defeat in May 1954 would end French rule in Indochina, despite some battlefield successes by new commanders after the humiliating fort evacuation in 1950.

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FIGHTERS OF THE MOUNTAINS IN 1961, CIA AND SPECIAL FORCES ACTIONS IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WERE A TESTING GROUND FOR U.S. COUNTERINSURGENCY STRATEGY

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PHOTO CREDITS

By J. Keith Saliba

PHOTO CREDITS

Countering Viet Cong actions to seize control of villages in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands, U.S. Special Forces provided weapons and military training to anti-communist Montagnards, an ethnic group of various tribes, including these recruits from the Rhade tribe learning how to handle rifles in a Highlands village in 1963.

s the war with Viet Cong insurgents was heating up in 1961, South Vietnam’s president, Ngo Dinh Diem, had a serious problem. His government’s influence rarely extended beyond the larger cities and towns, and Saigon’s Army of the Republic of Vietnam was simply not large enough to maintain an effective presence throughout the nation’s backcountry. This was especially true in the Central Highlands, a remote, mountainous 25,868-square-mile region dominating the country’s midsection. Historically, the Highlands, isolated from the lowland coastal population centers, had been a mostly unmanageable territory, with government influence confined to provincial and district capitals. Worse, the Western Highlands sat adjacent to the Ho Chi Minh Trail, an ancient labyrinthine system of footpaths snaking from North Vietnam through eastern Laos and Cambodia. The rugged, untamed border proved ideal for infiltrating men and materiel into South Vietnam. Both factors had for years enabled communist cadres to operate largely unimpeded in the Highlands. One by one, southern villages and hamlets fell under communist control, providing Hanoi supplies and fresh conscripts for its insurgency. By the end of 1961, the South Vietnamese government had effectively lost control over many rural provinces. Contemporary CIA estimates found that perhaps 50 percent of Western Highlands villages had gone over to the communists. It was clear to both Washington and Saigon that something had to be done. Enter the CIA’s Combined Studies Group. In 1961, the clandestine organization, along with U.S. Special Forces, had begun experimenting with a program to organize a group of Highland tribes known collectively as “Montagnards.” The moniker, roughly translating to “people of the mountains,” was a holdover from the French. The Montagnards were not ethnic Vietnamese but rather of Mon-Khmer or Malayo-Polynesian extraction. The Vietnamese despised the tribes, regarding them as uncivilized and disloyal. Historically, the more numerous lowland Vietnamese had steadily pushed the Montagnards inland to the less-desirable interior. Things only became worse under Diem. His regime encouraged citizens to migrate to the Highlands as a means of replacing the Montagnards with “loyal” Vietnamese. Further, Saigon often denied the Montagnards basic government services like food, medical care—even protection. Still, U.S. advisers argued that the rapidly deteriorating situation in the countryside demanded that Saigon leverage every bit of manpower, even the despised Highlanders, to thwart a complete communist takeover. There were 15 major Montagnard tribes, with the Jarai and Rhade the most numerous. Highlanders lived a rudimentary life of subsistence hunting and farming. Villagers dressed in simple loincloths and wore homemade bracelets of copper and brass, along with colored glass beads to indicate wealth and status. After centuries of discrimination D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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THE ORIGINS of the CIA’s effort to court the Montagnards can be traced to Buon Enao, a Western Highlands village of approximately 400 tribespeople about 4 miles outside Ban Me Thuot, the capital of Darlac province. While Kontum and Pleiku provinces to the north were most threatened by communist activity in 1961, Darlac was beginning to feel the pressure too. Saigon exercised very little control along Darlac’s rugged border with Cambodia, and CIA intelligence suggested that a major branch of the Ho Chi Minh Trail fed into the area. Travel outside of Ban Me Thuot was both difficult and dangerous. Government officials simply refused to go into some areas. The U.S. Embassy worried that such condi48

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and maltreatment, the Montagnards heartily returned the Vietnamese disdain. But they were fairly welcoming of Westerners. During France’s rule of Vietnam, the tribes had benefited from educational, medical and agricultural improvements. In the war between the French and communist-led Viet Minh independence fighters (1946-54), many Highlanders sided with the French and gained combat experience in guerrilla units called Montagnard “Maquis,” a nod to the French resistance fighters of World War II. They could conceivably become an anti-communist bulwark against the Viet Cong, but the CIA and Special Forces would need to overcome several obstacles first.

tions, along with an overall lack of government presence, would convince the province’s isolated villages that their only hope for survival was to accept Viet Cong dominance. It was within this cauldron of danger and uncertainty that the CIA in late 1961 attempted a bold plan to turn things around. Agency Director Allen Dulles, at the behest of President John F. Kennedy, had in October ordered the spy agency to refocus counterinsurgency efforts in the Central Highlands. Col. Gilbert B. Layton, head of the agency’s Military Operations Section in Vietnam, was one of many CIA officers in search of a new plan. He soon teamed with a young aid worker, David Nuttle, to lead one of the agency’s—and Special Forces’—most successful contributions to the Vietnam War effort: the Civilian Irregular Defense Group. Nuttle, an official with International Voluntary Services, a nongovernmental peace organization, had been working with Rhade Montagnards on an agricultural project near Ban Me Thuot. The tribesmen confided that they detested the Viet Cong but feared that Diem’s government was alienating their people and driving them into communist hands. Nuttle realized something had to be done to save not only the Rhade, the largest ethnicity in Darlac, but the rest of the province as well. The aid worker happened to be dating Layton’s daughter at the time, so the men came into frequent contact. Over some weeks, the two developed a plan to help the Rhade help themselves. The project involved training and arming villagers to defend themselves against the communists. The men believed the Rhade were ideal for several reasons. First, the tribe resented the Viet Cong’s demands for supplies, labor and taxes. Second, while the tribespeople were unlikely to fight for Diem, Nuttle believed they would fight for their own families and villages. Finally, the Rhade were seen as the most advanced of the Montagnard tribes, with several members having served effectively in government positions. Convincing Saigon was another matter. Diem and the ARVN leadership viewed training and arming Highlanders with deep suspicion. Aside from the long-festering racial enmity between Montagnards and Vietnamese, the former had for years agitated for semi-independence. After the Highlanders short-lived Bajaraka autonomy movement in 1958, Saigon arrested the ringleaders and confiscated the tribes’ crossbows and spears—deeply hu-

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U,S, troops patrol alongside a Montagnard tribesman and his elephant in December 1966. Although often at odds with the South Vietnamese, the Highland tribes were fairly welcoming toward Westerners.

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MAP: JON C. BOCK

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miliating for a culture steeped in subsistence hunting. The regime was unlikely to look kindly on putting weapons back into their hands. Nevertheless, Layton pushed the idea up the chain on May 5 to William Colby, CIA chief of station in Saigon. Recognizing the plan’s potential, Colby followed up with Diem’s brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, who had taken a keen interest in the counterinsurgency effort. But like Diem, Nhu was wary of arming the Montagnards. Colby helped sell the idea by suggesting that the 1st Observation Group—forerunner to the Luc Luong Dac Biet, the Vietnamese Special Forces established on Jan. 15, 1963—act as the regime’s watchdog. Diem, through his Presidential Survey Office, closely controlled the nascent Vietnamese Special Forces, employing it as much to root out potential coup plotters as for counterinsurgency. Colby hoped the survey office’s watchful eye would assuage Diem’s doubts. Nhu was receptive, but Diem remained unconvinced. Over the ensuing months, the strange bedfellows of the CIA, Nhu and U.S. Ambassador Frederick E. Nolting worked to gain Diem’s assent. Finally, Colby enlisted Sir Robert Thompson, a widely respected British counterinsurgency expert instrumental in defeating the communist insurgency during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960). At Thompson’s urging, Diem at last relented— with caveats. The program was to be restricted to just one village. The Rhade initially would be issued only spears and crossbows. Firearms and training would be provided only after the tribesmen had erected a fence around the village and posted signs of allegiance to the government.

NUTTLE, WHO HAD SINCE SIGNED on with the CIA, spearheaded what was to become the Village Defense Program. For several reasons, Nuttle and Layton soon settled on Buon Enao as the program’s pilot village. First, Y-Ju, the village chief, was Nuttle’s close friend. Additionally, the village was not presently under Viet Cong pressure, providing the program with breathing room. Finally, Buon Enao’s proximity to the government resources and protection at Ban Me Thuot was crucial. But Y-Ju and other village elders had their own conditions. After all, erecting fences and displaying signs of allegiance to the government would surely mark Buon Enao for Viet Cong violence. Elders insisted that all government attacks on Rhade villages stop, that any Rhade who had been forced to cooperate with the VC be granted amnesty and that the government guarantee the tribe medical, educational and agricultural assistance. After a minor back-andforth, the deal was sealed in early November 1961. Recruits were drawn from the village and carefully screened for Viet Cong affiliation, with tribal leaders vouching for their loyalty. Shortly thereafter, a squad of Vietnamese Special Forces arrived to train the 30-man village defense force. In the meantime, work began on the fencing, bomb shelters for villagers and a medical dispensary. For their part, the villagers displayed pro-government placards and even flew the South Vietnamese flag. A few weeks later, Layton and Col. Le Quang Tung, head of Diem’s Presidential Survey Office, flew in to inspect the progress. They discovered that the villagers had fulfilled every aspect of the agreement. The men authorized the distribution of firearms. A shipment arrived just a few days later. Though antiquated, the 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifles and Madsen M50 submachine guns were welcome upgrades over the tribe’s crossbows and spears. In early December, soldiers with Special Forces Detachment A-35, commanded by Capt. Ronald A. Shackleton, arrived to train the village’s “Strike Force.” Unlike Village Defenders, Strikers were full-time, paid soldiers and generally better trained and armed. The Strike Force, accompanied by Special Forces troopers, conducted regular patrols that provided additional

Centerpieces of the Counterinsurgency KONTUM

Plei Me Camp

CAMBODIA

BINH DINH

PLEIKU

PHU BON

PHU YEN

DARLAC

Ban Me Thuot

QUANS DUC

KHANH HOA

SOUTH VIETNAM

SAIG ON

SOUTH CHINA SEA

Hoping to thwart Viet Cong efforts to draw rural provinces into their orbit, the CIA, U.S. Army Special Forces and the South Vietnamese government established the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program, essentially village defense units, in the Central Highlands, inhabited primarily by various ethnic tribes collectively known as Montagnards. The first villages to join the program were in the Ban Me Thuot area. security as well as intelligence on enemy activity. A third unit, the Information Team, was raised a short time later. Information Teams were also full-time, paid fighters, all of them Highlanders. The 30-man teams were primarily responsible for recruitment. Their members ranged far afield to entice other villages to join. Another government delegation, including Nhu, soon arrived to inspect progress. The president’s brother was reportedly so impressed he authorized the program’s expansion to other Rhade villages throughout Darlac. Colby renamed the project the Civilian Irregular Defense Group. Buon Enao was soon designated the first CIDG Area Development Center and would serve as a training base for Rhade defenders. It also would take the lead in expanding the program throughout the province and in coordinating village defense. The Area Development Center’s dispensary became a de facto hospital for local Montagnards. Soon after, interest in the CIDG program exD E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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THE PROGRAM BECAME A VICTIM of that success almost immediately. By summer 1962, Diem was already second-guessing an initiative he had authorized less than a year before. From his perspective, the Americans had placed an awful lot of weapons in the hands of people who harbored an animus toward the Vietnamese, had agitated for autonomy and displayed little allegiance to Saigon. Additionally, the Highlanders were reluctant to employ their newfound training and weapons to pursue the Viet Cong beyond the areas around their villages. An exasperated Diem decreed that all but a few weapons provided to the Buon Enao Complex be confiscated. Ultimately, he wanted the program brought under tight control—or better yet, eliminated, with the Rhade disarmed and inducted into the ARVN, while their villages were rolled into his Strategic Hamlet Program. The CIDG program was becoming too large, expensive and unwieldy for the CIA to handle. It had pushed beyond Darlac, bringing into the fold other Highland tribes. In May 1962, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, established that February to oversee all combat forces in South Vietnam, acquired joint jurisdiction over CIDG operations. Two months later, all Special Forces activity in Vietnam would be placed under MACV’s command. The transfer took place under the code name Operation Switchback. Within a year, the CIA would be squeezed out entirely, with MACV controlling both Special Forces and CIDG. Operation Switchback was officially completed on July 1, 1963. By December, U.S. Special Forces and their Vietnamese coun- This article is terparts had trained some 18,000 Strikers and just adapted from over 43,000 Village Defenders, the latter now simply Death in the Highlands: The referred to as village militia. Under the new regime, the CIDG program took a Siege of Special Forces Camp decidedly militaristic turn. Out was the culturally Plei Me, by J. organic program of Montagnard self-defense Keith Saliba, birthed by Nuttle, Layton and Colby. In was aggres- Stackpole sive border surveillance, interdiction and VC hunt- Books, 2020 50

ing. No longer were Special Forces camps chosen based on affinity with local villagers. Instead, new camps were built deep in “Indian Country”—remote areas awash in enemy activity near the Laotian and Cambodian borders. Indeed, with their palisades and battlements, the camps resembled Wild West frontier forts of old. This scattered archipelago of strongholds was designed to gradually spread governmental authority throughout surrounding areas. A typical camp garrison consisted of three to five companies of Montagnard Strikers totaling about 350 to 450 men, a 12-man U.S. Special Forces team and a roughly equal complement of Vietnamese Special Forces. While the Vietnamese were nominally in command, American Special Forces actually ran the show. Now, instead of defending their own villages, Strike Forces were led by Green Berets in offensive operations against the Viet Cong. Families of Strikers were usually quartered nearby in Montagnard longhouses. But it was common for Montagnard women and children to simply take up residence in gun trenches alongside their husbands and fathers, especially when the Viet Cong lurked. Because of their remoteness and isolation from supporting forces, the Special Forces-CIDG camps were especially vulnerable to being overrun, particularly in the dark of night when close air support was nullified. The soonest that camp commanders could count on help was the next morning—and sometimes not even then. Nevertheless, by mid1964, 24 Special Forces-CIDG camps had sprung up within the tri-border area alone. In addition to outright attacks, another danger to the camps was enemy infiltration. Strikers were recruited from the local population (although some Strike Forces had to be relocated from other areas). With the CIDG program’s fast growth, however, there rarely was time to thoroughly vet recruits. As the program expanded into areas under heavy Viet Cong influence, communist infiltrators often slipped through the cracks.

MIGHT THE MEN trained and armed under the program one day turn those weapons against their benefactors? That is precisely what happened at the CIDG camps at Plei Mrong on Jan. 3, 1963, Hiep Hoa on Nov. 23-24, 1963, Polei Krong on July 4, 1964, and Nam Dong two days later, to name just four. The Nam Dong attack was particularly brutal, with VC infiltrators reportedly slitting the throats of loyal defenders as they slept. Perhaps 100 of the supposedly loyal Montagnard Strikers were Viet Cong agents, according to later estimates.

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RICHARD “DICK” SHORTRIDGE (2)

ploded. Forty nearby villages opted in over the ensuing weeks. The program was popular, especially when compared with Diem’s Strategic Hamlet Program, partly because it was voluntary. Unlike the Diem program, which involved the forced relocation of villagers, often to fortified hamlets far from their native lands, the CIDG program left the decision up to the villagers. When given the choice—along with training, weapons and support—the Rhade overwhelmingly chose to stand and fight the Viet Cong. Each new village raised its own cadre of Village Defenders, with the area Strike Force providing security until recruits could be trained. By April 1962, nearly 1,000 Village Defenders had been armed and trained at the Area Development Center in Buon Enao and stood ready to protect some 14,000 villagers. A 300-man Strike Force based at Buon Enao added muscle to the program. Over the next six months, five more Area Development Centers were created in the villages of Buon Ho, Buon Krong, Ea Ana, Lac Thien and Buon Tah. By October, some 200 Rhade villages comprising about 60,000 tribespeople were protected by about 10,600 Village Defenders and 1,500 Strikers. This conglomeration became known as the Buon Enao Complex. Communist activity in the area soon fell to almost nothing. Indeed, by any objective measure, CIDG had so far proven an unqualified success.

RICHARD “DICK” SHORTRIDGE (2)

ABOVE: Pastoral Montagnard villages could become scenes of war when Viet Cong infiltrators slipped through security measures. LEFT: American servicemen in the Highlands imbibe Numpai, a potent Montagnard rice wine central to tribal life.

Even as the transmogrified CIDG continued to expand, the long-simmering resentment of the Rhade Montagnards finally boiled over in late summer 1964. Initially, the assassination of Diem and his brother Nhu in November 1963 offered the Rhade hope for better treatment from Saigon. Those hopes were soon dashed. Indeed, while Diem certainly perpetrated his share of mistreatment upon the Highlanders, the Montagnards discovered that not much changed once he was gone. In some ways, things had gotten worse. The Highlanders generally worked better with province chiefs familiar to them, but Diem’s overthrow had ushered in a volatile carousel of government officials throughout the Highlands, as provincial posts changed hands with every shift in the political wind. Racial discrimination at the hands of the Vietnamese continued unabated, with food for Highland war refugees slow in coming. And medical care, when it could be obtained at all, was only reluctantly extended by ARVN dispensaries. Eventually, remnants of the erstwhile Bajaraka movement decided the time had come for an up-

rising. The group now called itself the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, or FULRO. On Sept. 19, Highland Strikers from two CIDG camps in Quang Duc province and two from Darlac province arose. After restraining, but not harming, their U.S. Special Forces advisers, the Montagnards fell upon the ARVN and Vietnamese Special Forces, murdering some 55. The rebels, numbering between 2,000 and 3,000 fighters, soon converged on nearby Ban Me Thuot. The town, however, was defended by the ARVN 23rd Division, and the revolt’s momentum soon stalled. Other than a brief firefight at an ARVN roadblock resulting in 10 rebel casualties, more bloodshed was avoided. Still, ARVN and American forces prepared assaults in case the Strikers, who had taken some 60 Vietnamese captive, refused to surrender. After a week of tense negotiations, the mutineers released the hostages unharmed and laid down their arms. Remarkably, and in spite of the rebels’ initial killing spree, no Vietnamese reprisals were forthcoming. Both sides pledged renewed commitments to peaceful coexistence. But the age-old animosity between Vietnamese and Montagnard soon returned. For the Montagnards, there would be no autonomy. And for Saigon, the fear that further Montagnard revolts might be forthcoming continued to color the way it viewed the Highlanders. This uneasy state of affairs would persist for another decade as the life-and-death struggle for the Central Highlands ground on. V J. Keith Saliba is an associate professor of journalism and mass communication at Jacksonville University in Florida. Saliba’s work on the Vietnam War has appeared in various print and online publications, including On Point: The Journal of Army History, as well as the Indochina book series published by Radix Press. He lives in in St. Johns County, Florida. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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PHOTO CREDITS

The crew chief gives the pilot of a fully loaded B-26K Counter Invader of the 1st Air Commando Squadron the signal to start engines at Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand, in 1969.

PHOTO CREDITS

SPECIAL OPS

AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPS SQUADRONS AN ARRAY OF SPECIALIZED UNITS TOOK ON SOME OF THE WAR’S MOST DANGEROUS MISSIONS

PHOTO CREDITS

By Jon Guttman

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he United States counted heavily on technology to overcome the large numbers of communist soldiers and guerrilla fighters in its defense of the Republic of Vietnam. This applied particularly to the U.S. Air Force, whose unofficial presence presaged the United States’ formal introduction of ground combat troops on March 8,1965, and whose last combat missions were flown after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. The years in between saw a wide variety of special operations conducted by highly skilled units of the Air Force. The first such unit was the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron, formed on Oct.1, 1961, in response to the activation of the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, in 1960. Equipped with 16 B-26 Intruder bombers, armed T-28 Trojan trainers and SC-47 transports, the “Jungle Jim” squadron’s task, dubbed Operation Farm Gate, was ostensibly to train pilots for South Vietnam’s air force. In practice, anyone from the already-qualified Col. Nguyen Cao Ky, a future vice president, to an available South Vietnamese soldier sat behind the American pilot with standing orders of “don’t touch anything.” From its first “training” mission on Dec. 19, 1961, to July 28, 1963, when the pretense was dropped and the unit was redesignated the 1st Air Commando Squadron, the 4400th Squadron provided effective close support for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In spring 1964 the 1st Air Commando was reequipped with A-1E Skyraider attack aircraft packed with guns and bombs. By then the American commitment in Vietnam was steadily rising and with it came proliferation in Air Force special units adapting to the various challenges of a most unconventional war. V

The patch of the 1st Air Commando Squadron, which provided close air support for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In 1964 the unit was equipped with A-1E Skyraider attack aircraft and heavy firepower to wreak destruction on enemies in the jungle.

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OPENING SPREAD: U.S. AIR FORCE; OPPOSITE: U.S. AIR FORCE; GUY ACETO COLLECTON; U.S. AIR FORCE (3)

Air Force Squadrons

OPENING SPREAD: U.S. AIR FORCE; OPPOSITE: U.S. AIR FORCE; GUY ACETO COLLECTON; U.S. AIR FORCE (3)

A A UH-1 Huey of the 20th Special Operations Squadron, the “Green Hornets,” is being readied to take a reconnaissance team into enemy territory. B Active U.S. involvement in Indochina began with Operation Farm Gate. The U.S. Air Force instructed South Vietnamese Air Force personnel on “counterinsurgency training flights” using these Vietnamese-marked T-28D Nomads in 1962. C A B-26K Counter Invader has just dropped bombs during Operation Farm Gate. D The crewmen of a 20th Special Operations Squadron Huey, on alert at Thieu Atar, near the border of Laos, have to cook chow and stow their belongings into the baggage compartmeon short notice. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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OPPOSITE: U.S. AIR FORCE (2); U.S. AIR FORCE (4)

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Air Force Squadrons

G H

OPPOSITE: U.S. AIR FORCE (2); U.S. AIR FORCE (4)

E A recon photograph shows the devastation of bomb drops on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. F Fairchild C-123 transports in South Vietnamese air force markings fly a supply mission. C-123s also sprayed toxic chemicals to kill vegetation that fed and hid the enemy. G Two Douglas A-1H Skyraiders from the 6th Special Operations Squadron escort a Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter over the Gulf of Tonkin in 1969. H A crew member peers through the gun sight in a Douglas AC-47D “Spooky” gunship in 1969. I The AC-130H “Spectre,” here in the 6th SOS, had a battery of cannons that made it deadlier than the AC-47. J Airman 1st Class John Levitow, whose actions saved crewman aboard an AC-47, received the Medal of Honor. Only 14 Air Force Medals of Honor were awarded in Vietnam—more than half to Special Operations Command airmen. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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Air Force Squadrons

Leaflet drops were a key part of U.S. psychological operations encouraging Viet Cong to surrender.

K A Helio U-10 Courier of the 5th Special Operations Squadron drops leaflets over Viet Cong positions in 1966. L Seismic sensors that can detect ground motion were dropped on the Ho Chi Minh trail to transmit information on enemy activity. M The QU-22 aircraft picked up signals from ground sensors and relayed them to an air base surveillance center. N A pararescue man (in helmet and wetsuit) guides Marines to a 21st Special Operations Squadron CH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, during the rescue of the cargo ship Mayaguez on May 15, 1975. 58

TOP: UNDERWOOD ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; U.S. AIR FORCE: (3)

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TOP: UNDERWOOD ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; U.S. AIR FORCE: (3)

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U.S. Marines fight for Hill 881 North near the Demilitarized Zone on April 29, 1967. A month earlier, in another battle near the DMZ, Marine Pfc. Douglas Dickey was killed when he covered two live grenades with his body.

Doug Dickey, Medal of Honor, by retired Marine Lt. Col. John B. Lang. A Naval Academy graduate and decorated combat veteran of the Gulf War, Iraq War and operations in Somalia, Lang has crafted a compelling, detailed and comprehensive examination of Dickey’s life, woven into the lives and too-often tragic deaths of comrades in 2nd Platoon. Lang takes readers to the platoon’s annual postwar reunions, moving reminders of the courage and sacrifice exhibited by Dickey and his fellow fallen Marines. The author also provides an excellent “snapshot” of the Marine Corps in northernmost South Vietnam in 1967—then facetiously termed “Marineland” (think “Disneyland” with live ammo) by their Army counterparts. The Corps does everything in its own unique manner, Lang emphasizes. Importantly, this book provides readers the best insight into the life and experiences of a Medal of Honor recipient since the acclaimed au-

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U.S. MARINE CORPS

Why, one must ask, would a healthy young man in the prime of life throw his body onto a live grenade and simultaneously pull a second one underneath himself, knowing it meant his certain death? On Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967, while A Final Valiant desperately battling North Vietnamese Army Act: The Story regulars near Vietnam’s Demilitarized Zone of Doug Dickey, during Operation Beacon Hill, U.S. Marine Pfc. Medal of Honor Douglas Dickey, 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st By Lt. Col. John B. Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine DiLang, USMC, ret. vision, did exactly that. Knowing he would surely Casemate Publishers, die, 20-year-old Dickey leapt on the grenades, 2020 smothered the blasts with his body MEDIA and saved the lives of five Marines DIGEST in his platoon. For Dickey’s selfless “final valiant act” he posthumously received the Medal of Honor. The reason why Dickey consciously dove on those grenades cannot be known with absolute certainty yet can be surmised by reading an excellent new book, A Final Valiant Act: The Story of

U.S. MARINE CORPS

A MARINE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND WHY HE DID IT

tobiographies of World War II Army hero Audie Murphy, To Hell and Back, and U.S. Special Forces officer, Roger H. C. Donlon, the Vietnam War’s first recipient and author of Beyond Nam Dong. Reading Lang’s book, we get to really know Dickey. He wasn’t a natural athlete, as revealed at Marine boot camp, where his struggles with the physical training test led to a delayed graduation after a miserable, humiliating stint in the dreaded “Physical Conditioning Platoon.” What Dickey lacked in physical skill, he made up for in grit, guts and determination. He was a dependable, hard worker on his family farm in western Ohio and with his Marine squads in Vietnam. A genuinely nice guy, he was someone friends and colleagues knew always “had their back.” Dickey knew exactly what he was doing when he unhesitatingly leapt on those grenades and understood precisely what it would cost him, as Lang proves through eyewitness accounts revealed in his book. The testimony of 2nd Platoon’s Navy hospital corpsman, Greg “Doc” Long, echoes the recollections of several other eyewitnesses. Long “saw Doug look down at the first grenade. Then he saw Doug look up—and glance into the faces of the men around him who were trapped in the grenade’s blast area—they were his friends. ‘He kind of glanced around before he dove on the grenade,’ Long said… ‘he fell on top of [the first grenade]—and looked up—and here come another [grenade],’ Long said, ‘and he grabbed that one.…I remember him turning his head and looking me right in the face…And it seemed like forever and we were just looking at each other. I mean, he knew he was going to die…And he had this pacified look on his face…I was just starting to think, “Whew! They’re duds!”—when they exploded.’” Dickey’s body absorbed the full blast of the two Chinese stick grenades. He died instantly. Long lamented how close Dickey came to avoiding this

supreme sacrifice. He was killed just three days before he could have gone home. Dickey did, of course, go home to Greenville, Ohio—his broken body traveled there in a military casket. He was laid to rest with full military honors in the town’s Brock Cemetery on Friday, April 7. It seemed like all Darke County turned out to honor Dickey. By the end of the war, 24 more young Darke County men joined Dickey in Brock and surrounding village cemeteries. Dickey’s self-sacrifice was Doug Dickey not the first time a U.S. Marine had done the exact same thing in nearly exact circumstances. On Iwo Jima on Feb. 20, 1945, 17-year-old Marine Pvt. Jack Lucas threw his body on an enemy grenade, then, like Dickey, grabbed a second grenade and pulled it underneath his body. Incredibly, Lucas survived the explosions and lived an additional 60 years. The World War II Marine provided an answer to the question of “why” anyone would dive onto live grenades: “I saw two grenades over in front of my buddies…I hollered ‘Grenades!’ to alert my buddies,” then jumped onto them as they exploded. Dickey dived on those grenades to save his buddies. Everything about Dickey, as told in Lang’s outstanding book, leads to that conclusion: “Fiftyeight Marines eventually earned the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War,” he writes. “Forty-four of those were posthumous awards. They went to young men who, like Douglas Dickey, died saving their buddies.” Added confirmation comes from former Marine Colin “Mac” McClelland, who related a prophetic anecdote from the time he and Dickey were discussing an article “in Stars and Stripes about a Marine or soldier who had just been awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for diving on a grenade to save his comrades…And I remember [Dickey] straight out looked at me—right in the eye, and said, ‘You know, Mac, I’d do it.’ And I said, ‘Are you serious? ...You won’t know that!’ And [Dickey] goes, ‘Yes, I do. I would.’” On Easter Sunday, March 26, 1967. —Jerry Morelock

U.S. MARINE CORPS

CIA’s Secrets in Laos Brought Into Light After reaching its zenith in the 15th century as Lan Xang, “the Kingdom of a Million Elephants,” Laos underwent a decline that by the 19th century saw the country divided in three and, by the 20th century, part of the French colonial empire in Indochina. After the communist-led Viet Minh victory against the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, Laos became one of four nations whose futures as independent countries were still being disputed by outside powers, including the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic

of China and the United States. Politically divided between three contentious brothers—one rightist, one communist and one professing neutrality—Laos was a political backwater that should have been left to itself, but the country attracted a lot of attention because it had the three essentials of valuable real estate: “location, location, location.” Bordered by Burma (renamed Myanmar), Thailand, China, Cambodia and North and South Vietnam, Laos was, like it or not, a key chess piece in a bloody international struggle. D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

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By Ken Conboy Casemate Publishers, 2021

competed in an environment prone to sudden change and frequent hostility, some of the more knowledgeable CIA men found themselves on cordial terms with their most formidable adversaries in the Soviet KGB and military intelligence agency GRU. On April 17, 1975, for example, the communist Khmer Rouge in neighboring Cambodia took the capital city, Phnom Penh, and ordered out foreigners who included the seven-man Soviet embassy and supporting personnel. When communication with the convoy was lost, a nervous KGB officer in Vientiane, Laos, George Vorobiev, contacted the CIA to determine if the Soviet embassy staff had made it to Thailand. CIA Station Chief Dan Arnold invited Vorobiev to the U.S. Embassy twice for briefings on the Soviets’ fate. “I assured him that all personnel including the Soviets were alright,” Arnold said afterward. “He was most appreciative.” On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong. On May 9, Lao demonstrators were throwing rocks and tearing down the flag at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane. Such was the unique board on which the CIA played its longest undercover game. It truly was hard to tell who was who without a scorecard, but in Spies on the Mekong Conboy provides that scorecard with information on the major players, their allies and enemies and enough intrigue to more than satisfy a reader of a Graham Greene spy novel. Except, of course, these stories are real. —Jon Guttman

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ROBERT F. DORR COLLECTION

Spies on the Mekong: CIA Clandestine Operations in Laos

However, the powers surrounding Laos decided it was to everyone’s advantage to officially maintain the country’s nominal neutrality, allowing all to maintain embassies in the major cities—each well-stocked with intelligence agents. Meanwhile, Laos was confronting an internal struggle, a civil war between the royal government and the pro-communist Pathet Lao. From 1955 until the landing of Marines in South Vietnam in 1965, U.S. policy was focused on Laos more than on Vietnam. Rather than sending in the American military, the government sent in the CIA, which armed and trained local paramilitary forces and waged a shadowy battle of wits with its Soviet, Chinese, North Vietnamese and Laotian communist counterparts. Only recently have documents concerning the CIA’s behind-the-scenes espionage in Laos been declassified, and it is those operations that are revealed in unprecedented detail in Spies on the Mekong: CIA Clandestine Operations in Laos, by Asian history expert Ken Conboy. The parallel quagmire in Vietnam was a simple battlefield compared with Laos. The first CIA personnel included agents with no experience in Asia. They saw the situation strictly in American Cold War terms—only to discover that the nominally neutral Prince Souvanna Phouma was possibly a more stabilizing presence than the rightist generals who spent much of their time conspiring against each other for power. The CIA itself was sometimes handicapped by personality conflicts within its ranks. As the intelligence operations of rival nations

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADSON LIBRARIES

A C-123 Provider operated by Air America, a U.S. government-owned airline that worked with the CIA, drops off supplies and picks up Laotian troops in 1969 at Long Tieng in the country’s north central highlands. The soldiers were fighting the communist Pathet Lao in a civil war.

ROBERT F. DORR COLLECTION

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADSON LIBRARIES

Army Pilot Recalls Fights in Vietnam—and With Pentagon For 94 of his 100 days in Vietnam (May 10 to Aug. colonel. In 2008, Tallon was finally awarded a 11, 1972), Joe Tallon, who piloted a U.S. Army Purple Heart, which he hadn’t received because OV-1 Mohawk observation plane, spent much of his plane’s crash was officially characterized as his time trying to get a dysfunctional motor pool a “non-hostile” accident. Tallon won that battle in working order while also flying dangerous re- and then waged another years long one to get connaissance missions over North Vietnam. The Richards the medal, presented to the soldier’s American presence in South Vietnam was dwin- family in 2012. Tallon peppers the pre-shootdown sections of dling. Tallon’s unit, the 131st Military Intelligence Company at Marble Mountain in Da Nang, was the book with letters he wrote to his wife, Martha Anne, and those she wrote him, along with chronically short of materiel and personnel. Tallon’s life changed forever on his 95th day transcriptions of cassette tapes they exchanged. in-country, Aug. 12, 1972—the day the last U.S. The letters contain many mundane details—on ground combat unit in Vietnam was deactivated his part, mainly about the frustrations of his moat Da Nang. Minutes after Tallon took off on his tor pool work and dealing with low morale and, 66th mission, the Mohawk’s No. 2 engine was hit on hers, about the day-to-day aspects of life back by groundfire and burst into flames. Tallon tried home. The correspondence also includes many to control the plane, but couldn’t. As the aircraft words of love and devotion and discussions of rapidly descended, he ordered his technical ob- the couple’s religious faith. The memoir picks up steam with the vivid, server, Spec. 5 Daniel Richards (who had reported to the unit that very day), to eject. Ten seconds sometimes searing, depictions of Tallon’s final later Tallon pulled his ejection handle. The two flight, the immediate aftermath as he fought for men were just 100 feet off the ground. Tallon his life, and the extreme physical pain and psybarely survived, suffering extensive, severe burns chological despair he endured as Army doctors on his arms and legs and fractured vertebrae. and nurses treated him. The final section describes the hard work and perseverance that was Richards did not make it. Tallon tells his Vietnam War story in a straight- necessary for Tallon—and his son Matthew—to forward memoir, 100 Days in Vietnam, focusing convince the Pentagon bureaucracy that Richmainly on his frustrations with deteriorating ards should be awarded the Purple Heart, an upmorale and equipment shortages and the many beat ending to Tallon’s story. months he spent in Army hospitals recovering —Marc Leepson from his wounds after he was shot down. There also are lots of details about another unpleasant aspect of Joe Tallon was flying an Army OV-1 Mohawk his military career—fighting with when he was shot down on Aug. 12, 1972, the beginning of a long struggle to regain the Army for three years to stay on his health and get Purple Hearts for active duty after he recovered from himself and his crewmate, who was killed. his wounds. In 1975, Tallon reluctantly accepted a forced retirement, with “0 percent disability,” he says, and “no retirement stipend or compensation.” Ironically, a year later the Army Intelligence School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, asked Tallon to teach a course to new intel officers. Even though the Army, as Tallon puts it, “booted me out,” he agreed to teach temporarily. He wound up staying in the Army Reserves until 1996, retiring as a lieutenant

100 Days in Vietnam: A Memoir of Love, War, and Survival

By Joseph F. Tallon with Matthew A. Tallon Koehler Books, 2021

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COPTER TO THE RESCUE By Doug Sterner

Ace Alan Cozzalio envisioned himself a cowboy from the Wild West. Cozzalio, born Aug. 19, 1946, in Ashland, Oregon, grew up on his family’s ranch along the Klamath River on the Oregon-California border. He was a 19-year-old cook and assistant manager at an International House of Pancakes restaurant in Sacramento, California, when he received his draft notice. Cozzalio was trained in armor, went to Officer Candidate School and became an armor officer. He then trained as a helicopter pilot at the Army’s aviation school in 1967. On Dec. 11, 1967, Cozzalio arrived in Vietnam, assigned to Troop D, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). His unit adopted the Old West cavalry Stetson and yelHALL OF low neck scarf. Cozzalio sometimes dressed in the 1860s VALOR uniform and carried a traditional cavalry saber. His steed was a Cayuse—a Hughes OH-6 light observation helicopter, also known as the “Loach.” Cozzalio reportedly landed his Loach on a canal to pursue an enemy soldier into the water and capture him at the point of his saber. In 18 months of combat duty, he was shot down six times and earned every Army combat valor award except the Medal of Honor. Wounded in his first month in Vietnam, he was evacuated to Japan for treatment and a return home. Determined to rejoin his unit, Cozzalio went AWOL and boarded a C-130 transport back to Vietnam. On May 8, 1968, Cozzalio earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for valor, followed by a second on July 9 and a third on Aug. 2. While flying a mission 64

Doug Sterner, an Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, is curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor database of U.S. valor awards.

COURTESY OF THE COZZALIO FAMILY

ACE ALAN COZZALIO COWBOY RODE HIS CAVALRY

on Aug. 19, he saw another helicopter get hit and crash in flames. He landed and rushed to the flaming helicopter. Aware it might explode at any moment, Cozzalio smashed his way into the cockpit and dragged the wounded co-pilot to safety. He returned through the flames to cut the pilot’s safety belt and harness and drag him to safety. Cozzalio was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, one of the Army’s rarely given heroic lifesaving decorations. On Sept. 15 Cozzalio was supporting pinneddown ground forces. He repeatedly flew through enemy fire to provide covering fire, positioning his helicopter in face-to-face duels with the Viet Cong. When other helicopters made risky rescues, Cozzalio flew low over the hostile positions to drop smoke grenades, masking the other copters and evacuation efforts. He received the Silver Star. On Jan. 25, 1969, Cozzalio, on his second year of combat duty, was flying an AH-1 Huey Cobra gunship when he received word of a 90man infantry unit that was taking fire from a fortified bunker and had many casualties. After raining fire on the enemy and realizing he could not use his Huey to effectively attack the bunker, Cozzalio returned to base and jumped into a Loach. Firing his 7.62 mm minigun he attacked the bunker, moving low and directly over it. Although the official record says Cozzalio hovered 10 feet above the bunker to drop grenades, unconfirmed reports said he landed his Loach on top of the bunker to allow his gunner to jump out and drop a grenade into the opening. When the gunner was back in the helicopter, Cozzalio lifted off—just moments before the grenade killed everyone in the bunker. Cozzalio flew back to the base, retrieved his Cobra gunship and returned to render fire that kept the enemy pinned down until the infantrymen could overrun the position. Cozzalio was awarded the Army’s second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. By the time Cozzalio’s second tour ended on May 29, 1969, he had earned a fourth Distinguished Fly Cross with a “V” device for valor, three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and 48 Air Medals, one with a “V.” After the war, Cozzalio rose to lieutenant colonel. In 1986 he contracted Epstein Barr disease and was medically retired. A heart transplant candidate, he moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1992 to wait for a donor heart. On April 28 he underwent transplant surgery but suffered complications. The U.S. Cavalry legend of Vietnam died two days later at age 46. V

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ROMAN GLADIATORS FROZEN IN TIME FOR OVER 1,600 YEARS

Found: 1,600-Year-Old Roman Gladiator Coins Hold the Glory of Rome In the Palm of Your Hand

hen your famous father appoints you Caesar at age 7, you’re stepping into some very big sandals. But when that father is Emperor Constantine the Great, those sandals can be epic! Constantius II, became Caesar at 7, and a Roman Emperor at age 20. Today, he is remembered for helping continue his father’s work of bringing Christianity to the Roman Empire, as well as for his valiant leadership in battle. But for many collectors, his strongest legacy is having created one of the most fascinating and unique bronze coins in the history of the Roman Empire: the “Gladiator’s Paycheck”.

the Gladiators Paycheck

Roman bronze coins were the “silver dollars” of their day. They were the coins used for daily purchases, as well as for the payment of wages. Elite Roman Gladiators—paid to do battle before cheering crowds in the Colosseum—often received their monthly ‘paycheck’ in the form of Roman bronze coins. But this particular Roman bronze has a gladiator pedigree like no other! Minted between 348 to 361 AD, the Emperor’s portrait appears on one side of this coin. The other side depicts a literal clash of the gladiators. One warrior raises his spear menacingly at a second warrior on horseback. Frozen in bronze for over 1,600 years, the drama of this moment can still be felt when you hold the coin. Surrounding this dramatic scene is a Latin inscription—a phrase you would never expect in a million years!

Happy Days are Here Again The Latin inscription surrounding the gladiators reads: “Happy Days are Here Again” (Fel Temp Reparatio). You see, at the time these coins were designed,

the Emperor had just won several important military battles against the foes of Rome. At the same time, Romans were preparing to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Rome. To mark these momentous occasions, this new motto was added and the joyful inscription makes complete sense.

A Miracle of Survival for 1,600 Years

For more than sixteen centuries, these stunning coins have survived the rise and fall of empires, earthquakes, floods and two world wars. The relatively few Roman bronze coins that have survived to this day were often part of buried treasure hoards, hidden away centuries ago until rediscovered and brought to light. These authentic Roman coins can be found in major museums around the world. But today, thanks to GovMint. com, you can find them a little closer to home: your home! Claim your very own genuine Roman Gladiator Bronze Coin for less than $40 (plus s/h). Each coin is protected in a clear acrylic holder for preservation and display. A Certificate of Authenticity accompanies your coin. Unfortunately, quantities are extremely limited. Less than 2,000 coins are currently available. Demand is certain to be overwhelming so call now for your best chance at obtaining this authentic piece of the Roman Empire.

Approximately 17-20 mm

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We invite you to examine your coin in your home or office—with the confidence of our 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee.

Reserve Your Coin Today! These Roman Gladiator Bronze Coins are not available in stores. Call now to reserve yours. Orders will be accepted on a strict first-call, first-served basis. Sold-out orders will be promptly refunded. Roman Gladiator Bronze $39.95 +s/h

FREE SHIPPING on 4 or More! Limited time only. Product total over $149 before taxes (if any). Standard domestic shipping only. Not valid on previous purchases.

Call today toll-free for fastest service

1-800-558-6468 Offer Code RGB144-02 Please mention this code when you call.

GovMint.com • 14101 Southcross Dr. W., Suite 175, Dept. RGB144-02 • Burnsville, MN 55337

GovMint.com® is a retail distributor of coin and currency issues and is not affiliated with the U.S. government. The collectible coin market is unregulated, highly speculative and involves risk. GovMint.com reserves the right to decline to consummate any sale, within its discretion, including due to pricing errors. Prices, facts, figures and populations deemed accurate as of the date of publication but may change significantly over time. All purchases are expressly conditioned upon your acceptance of GovMint.com’s Terms and Conditions (www.govmint.com/ terms-conditions or call 1-800-721-0320); to decline, return your purchase pursuant to GovMint.com’s Return Policy. © 2021 GovMint.com. All rights reserved.

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“I’’ve gotten many compliments on this watch. The craftsmanship is phenomenal and the watch is simply pleasing to the eye.” —M., Irvine, CA “GET THIS WATCH.” —M., Wheeling, IL

Back in Black: The New Face of Luxury Watches “...go black. Dark and handsome remains a classic for a reason” — Men’s Journal

I’ll Take Mine Black…No Sugar

n the early 1930s watch manufacturers took a clue from Henry Ford’s favorite quote concerning his automobiles, “You can have any color as long as it is black.” Black dialed watches became the rage especially with pilots and race drivers. Of course, since the black dial went well with a black tuxedo, the adventurer’s black dial watch easily moved from the airplane hangar to dancing at the nightclub. Now, Stauer brings back the “Noire”, a design based 27 jewels and handon an elegant timepiece built in 1936. Black dialed, assembled parts drive complex automatics from the 1930s have recently hit this classic masterpiece. new heights at auction. One was sold for in excess of $600,000. We thought that you might like to have an affordable version that will be much more accurate than the original. Basic black with a twist. Not only are the dial, hands and face vintage, but we used a 27-jeweled automatic movement. This is the kind of engineering desired by fine watch collectors worldwide. But since we design this classic movement on state of the art computer-controlled Swiss built machines, the accuracy is excellent. Three interior dials display day, month and date. We have priced the luxurious Stauer Noire at a price to keep you in the black… only 3 payments of $33. So slip into the back of your black limousine, savor some rich tasting black coffee and look at your wrist knowing that you have some great times on your hands.

An offer that will make you dig out your old tux. The movement of the Stauer Noire wrist watch carries an extended two year warranty. But first enjoy this handsome timepiece risk-free for 30 days for the extraordinary price of only 3 payments of $33. If you are not thrilled with the quality and rare design, simply send it back for a full refund of the item price. But once you strap on the Noire you’ll want to stay in the black.

Exclusive Offer—Not Available in Stores Stauer Noire Watch $399† Your Cost With Offer Code

$99 + S&P Save $300

OR 3 credit card payments of $33 + S&P

1-800-333-2045 Offer Code: NWT525-06

You must use this offer code to get our special price.

† Special price only for customers using the offer code versus the price on Stauer.com without your offer code.

Stauer

14101 Southcross Drive W., Ste 155, Dept. NWT525-06 Burnsville, Minnesota 55337 www.stauer.com

Rating of A+

27-jewel automatic movement • Month, day, date and 24-hour, sun/ moon dials • Luminous markers • Date window at 3’ o’clock • Water resistant to 5 ATM • Crocodile embossed leather strap in black fits wrists to 6½"–9"

Stauer… Afford the Extraordinary.®

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