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| 16 Feb 1968....
Intelligence reports indicated the presence of an NVA battalion and
possible higher headquarters near the coastal fishing village of Gia
Dang 3, near Quang Tri, the provincial capital. B and A Companies
were combat assaulted into a "green" L.Z. near each other and linked
up on the ground for final coordination. During the air assault, the
supporting helicopter ARA gun ships had received gunfire from near
Gia Dang 3 and one pilot was wounded. The two Air Cav companies
began the Reconnaissance in Force mission through Gia Dang 3 with no
enemy involvement . The companies moved abreast, although neither
could see the other due to the vegetation. B Co. moved parallel to
the beach (South China Sea), but "back" among the small scrub pines
and undergrowth for some concealment from enemy vision. During the
movement, B CO. received fire from one lone fortified bunker. The
CAV men were able to place well-aimed fire into the front bunker
opening, which wounded one and may have killed one. The enemy firing
stopped and the CAV men approached very cautiously. By some method,
one NVA soldier signaled his desire to surrender and came out of the
bunker with no rifle, but wearing his "web gear" which had about
four Chinese "pineapple" grenades attached to the front of his web
gear. Each grenade had a heavy duty cord loop that acted in place of
the U.S. grenade "pin" to activate the timer and detonation. The NVA
seemed composed until a CAV man hit him, then the NVA became upset.
Lt. Bill Blevins stepped forward and ordered the NVA to put his
hands above his head. The man immediately locked each thumb through
a different grenade "pin" cord and tightly wrapped his fingers
around each wooden throwing handle. Lt. Blevins thought the man
intended to pull the cords, then bear hug the Lt. and wait for the
explosion. "In a flash" Lt. Blevins stepped forward and grabbed the
mans wrists, they struggled, as the two men looked at each other
"eye to eye". The NVA soldier was the same height as the American
and had a very determined look on his face. The fast-acting Lt. then
jerked the man's forearms and spun and pushed downward,
simultaneously, as the NVA was propelled to the ground on his
stomach. All CAV men reacted by fast movement away. The grenades
exploded and the NVA absorbed the explosion; no Americans were hurt.
Lt. Blevins' "stock went up". The NVA was large for a Vietnamese
about 5ft.10 in.; he wore a newish, crisp-looking green uniform and
had a neat, short haircut. Although the NVA was near death, the CAV
men were impressed by his physical size and appearance. They were
also very impressed with Lt. Blevins' actions. The B CO. men were
very alert. They knew that two or three NVA soldiers would not be
alone. Their unit must be nearby. The move toward Gia Dang 3 started
again. The B CO. men were so accustomed to operating as a separate
and single rifle company, that, even though A CO. was near, it "was
out of sight out of mind". A few hundred meters later, B co. found
an enemy 60mm mortar tube that was damaged and, apparently not
repairable. Another sign the NVA was near. Minutes later, still near
the beach and in an area with a small stream that ran generally
parallel to the ocean, the B CO. point man was shot through the
forehead and the battle began at about 1410 hrs. Within seconds two
more men were wounded and medevac was requested. No one could see
the enemy; they were well dug-in and camouflaged. B CO. poured fire
toward the enemy,while medics and other men tried to rescue the
wounded. Artillery was requested, but in a "cardinal sin" by the
superiors, no artillery units could "reach" the AO. A "tactical
emergency" was declared by superiors and CH- 47 Chinook helicopters
were diverted to lift two 105mm artillery tubes to support the
battle. Helicopter gun ships provided fire support. It took about 45
minutes to give first aid to the initial two wounded men and to drag
and carry them to the beach area for medevac. The beach sandy area
was about 40 meters wide and sloped slightly downward to the ocean
from a very low dune area. The sand area was protected from direct
enemy fire and was used to land medevac choppers. Pilots were told
to fly along the beach at sand level to avoid enemy fire. In the
meantime, three more men were wounded and two others killed. As
before, it took 30 minutes, or so , under intense enemy fire, to
stabilize the wounded and get them back to the beach. Their medevac
occurred at 1620 hrs. One of the dead had initially been shot in the
wrist; he was in pain and rose up, perhaps to call for a medic, and
was shot in the chest. The other man had "gone back" to a trailing
platoon to lead its medic forward to the wounded. As the two neared
the battle area, the "guide" man was shot several times in the
stomach by machine gun fire and they both fell into the stream. He
died in the arms of his friend Medic Gary White.
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| At some point,
Cpt. Brett requested an "emergency ammunition resupply" which came
by chopper. He observed enemy shoulder-fire rockets landing on the
beach; they were used as indirect-fire weapons, since the NVA could
not fire directly onto the beach at the choppers. A scout helicopter
team that was "covering" the battle area reported to the 1-8 command
radio net at 1705 hrs that, from above, they could count 29 bodies
and many weapons lying on the ground. Many men were heroes on 16
Feb. The four dead men: SSGT Thomas H. Morris, and PFCs Anthony L.
Capozzi, Wayne T Severino and Eugene A Sorenson all performed with
great distinction. Catholic Chaplain Cpt. Lucid was present and
helped with the wounded until he was shot in the elbow his second or
third wound. Sgt . Robert G Lynch, SP4s Gary White and Alvin
Schroeder both medics, and Benito R Esparza, and Pfc. Montalvo F
Acosta, and others all comforted and aided the dying and wounded.
Sgt. Lynch was shot through the knee while dragging a wounded man
and was then evacuated. Indirect fire support came from the U.S.
Navy Cruiser,USS Manley, and 1st CAV artillery units. SP4 David
Bowman described seeing the Naval gunfire projectiles overhead that
were "the size of a VW". Casualties on 16 Feb. were; 4 KIA and 5 WIA
. The company captured one rifle and one ligh machine gun at the
inital bunker engagement. By 2000hrs, the 72 men and 4 officers
moved 200 meters down the beach, dug holes in the sand and tried to
get some sleep.Enemy forces apparently withdrew hurriedly during the
night as artillery pounded the area. Alpha CO was nearby throughout
and provided fire support as they could; they had no casualties on
16 Feb. The next morning 2- 3 searched the immediate battle area and
found: 5 NVA bodies, some body parts, 3 AK-47 and 2 SKS rifles, 15
Chinese mortar rounds, assorted enemy rifle ammo and equipment,
medical supplies, blood trails and drag marks. AT 0940 hrs., two 10-
minute artillery and U.S. Naval gunfire TOTs and a CS gas firing by
ARA gunships began on possible enemy areas nearby. Immediately after
that A and B companies attacked abreast toward Gia Dang 3 and within
2 hours, the village had been cleared without resistance. By 1600
hrs. B CO. had been extracted and very happily left "the beach". B
CO. received credit for killing 29 NVA soldiers.
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