long binh attack 1969 long binh attack 1969

It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. Instructions to promote Levitow to sergeant without regard to skill level had not been followed. The typist soldier types on the form with a type-writer. At most, there would be 20 seconds before it exploded. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Vit Trinh thng hiu tht l trn Vit Trinh, sinh ngy 27 mon 11 nm 1972, l con gi din vin nng lng in nh, tn dn chng trnh, o din vi gim kho ngi vit Nam. This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Tran, who was from the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, had high expectations for a victory in the attack, according to an interview in Stars and Stripes. I was a 2nd Lieutenant, on my second night in Vietnam when the attack on Long Bing Post began at 2 AM. Featured Collections | 23 February, Attack on Long Binh Post The rumors of an impending attack became fact when at 0200 hours [2:00 AM] the first enemy rockets soared across the eastern end of the TAOR and landed on Long Binh Post. United States and South Vietnamese forces responded with . It was situated between Bien Hoa, the location of a large American airbase, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. At the ceremonies, his son, John L. Levitow Jr., said: I have only one apology to make. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. The resultant damage was a hole two feet in diameter through the wing and over 3,500 shrapnel holes riddling the fuselage, said Lt. Col. Robert A. Davidson, commander of the AC-47 forward operating location at Bien Hoa. Surely neither the. Danil_1969 4 ting trc. As noted, the 277th S&S BN (DS) stationed in Long Binh became the superior command 30 August 1968, physically arrived in Tay Ninh by early January 1969 and remained in Tay Ninh until mid July 1970 {approximate} when it was re-assigned to Di An {near Saigon} - (see 1970 History, where the 228th was for all intent and purposes reduced to a . Full-scale sweeping operations to secure the perimeter began just after noon that day. About 11:30 p.m., the gunship was diverted from patrol over the village of Lai Kai, north of Long Binh. The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? The Medal of Honor was presented to John L. Levitow at the White House by President Nixon on May 14, 1970. Apparently, not much was out there, as there was no firing to speak of. I am interested in corresponding with any Black Scarf soldiers who . Small-arms fire opened up in his path. Other members of the squad have yet to be identified. South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding . I am the historian for the 11th Armored Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia (11th ACVVC). He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 17, 2000. It would be relieved by another gunship for the midnight-to-dawn shift. When it finally ended with the assistance of several Cobra gunbships, 23 enemy dead were discovered. Contact Us | We were young men in the U.S. Army. Shopping Cart | Another typist gives MPC currency notes to the soldiers. Nothing was more effective than a gunship in breaking up such attacks. Later I learned that we were attacked by the 274th Regiment, 5th Viet Cong Division, which was repulsed by the firepower of the 720th Military Police Battalion, the 18th Military Police Brigade and helicopter gunships from the 145th Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. It was Feb. 24, 1969, and the second day of the Tet counteroffensive. A regimental commissar had assured the men in Trans company that the attack would be easily successful and after it was over we would be able to go home to North Vietnam. The rationale given for the supposedly easy victory: The VC battalion would face only desk soldiers without field experience (ouch!). This place is situated in Bien Hoa Town, Dong Nai, Vietnam, its geographical coordinates are 10 54' 0" North, 106 51' 0" East and its original name (with diacritics) is Long Bnh. (Vietnam War period). The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. Poor guys; they didn't stand a chance. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. 45th Air Ambulance Medical Company helipad Long Binh, November 1969.jpg 1,820 1,434 . The following is a collection of photographs and letters sent to college friends, dated from 27 November 1969 to 26 May 1970, from John Cook. The two huge U.S. bases dripped firepowerdozens of batteries of field artillery, large calibers and small, rows and rows of helicopter gunships and jet fighters loaded to the gills with the most lethal ordnance the world has ever seen, dozens of M113 armored personnel carriers with powerful .50-caliber machine guns manned by surly military police, and, of course, hundreds of trigger-happy clerks and truck drivers, not necessarily eager, but most definitely ready, for action. History is not a fixed set of facts. Published in the October 2017 issue ofVietnammagazine. See Long Binh photos and images from satellite below, explore the aerial photographs of Long Binh in Vietnam. From there, I had a good view of the perimeter and the rapidlyunfolding battle. The last pocket along the An Tan ridgeline proved more difficult and Company L, 3/7 Marines suffered numerous casualties forcing it to withdraw. Dennis E Haines, Recipient of the Images Of Bravery Award, Patient at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, December 1968. Lieutenant General Julian J. Ewell shakes hands with both of the brigadier generals. The gunship carried about 150,000 rounds of ammunition on each flight, Levitow said. The first explosion, seemingly an earth-shattering blast, occurred perhaps 30 or 40 yards outside our office, spraying the building with gravel and steel fragments, perforating our walls and windows. Grabbing my helmet and flak jacket (and finding that, after sitting on the shelf for several months, neither would fit properly), I departed with my Jeep driver for the Logistics Commands large yellow headquarters building. If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. 472.6.8 Records of the U.S. Army Central Finance and Accounting Office, Vietnam. In anticipation of what they would seize, many of Trans comrades packed can openers in addition to the noodle packets and dried rice they all carried. The airplane made it over the minefield and onto the overrun, just barely. He was discharged from active duty after his Vietnam tour and shortly afterward was assigned to an Army Reserve unit. 1971 serving with the 95th Military Police Battalion. Metacafe, Some speculate that the attacks . Long Binh Post was a sprawling logistics facility and the largest U.S. Army base in Vietnam, with a peak of 60,000 personnel in 1969. They tell me I ended up jumping on it, finally getting control and dragging myself and the flare back to the rear cargo door which was open and just managed to push it outside the door as it ejected and ignited simultaneously., Later, the citation to accompany the Medal of Honor put it this way: Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands, he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare. Levitow declined to board the helicopter until he was finally ordered to do so by Carpenter. I crawled to the location of the flare. More than 500 airmen attended the funeral, and most of them followed the caisson to the grave site. It took considerable effort to get Spooky 71 back to base. To the Air Forces embarrassment, a hero was not eligible to re-enlist. The rocket and mortar attacks on the bases picked up when darkness fell. Perhaps a word of explanation is in order on how I and all the others in our mix of volunteers and draftees ended up in this hot, smelly, unsafe corner of the world. (Vietnam War period). It was also called Dragonship and Puff the Magic Dragon (after a song, then popular, by Peter, Paul, and Mary) but went mostly by Spooky, the call sign with which it flew its missions. I visited my friends down the hall in the almost deserted headquarters building, but mostly kept up my vigil of the activity outside the perimeter, which, as darkness descended, now included an occasional flare. Southeast Asia is a very strange part of the world, where for centuries its leaders have had little or noregard for the lives of their own people. Numerous bases were attacked, these attacks were all beaten back but did inflict casualties and reinforced the fact that PAVN/VC forces were able to mount attacks at will. Soldiers give forms to the soldier with type-writer. Just after 16:00 US Air Force F-100s and F-4s along with Republic of Vietnam Air Force A-1 Skyraiders were directed against the PAVN/VC positions in the village. . John L. Levitow. Advanced Search | . 1965 January 1 - February 7, 1965: Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam. The remaining elements of the company were held in ready reserve. [4]:97 Later that day rockets hit the An Hoa Combat Base destroying 15,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and igniting 40,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 50 rockets were fired at Naval Support Activity Da Nang with more than half going into the sea and the remainder causing minor damage. Battle At The Rifle Range. If you like this movie trailer, go to https://militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 60 minute video. Intelligence had indicators of the pending attacks. Despite his wounds, Levitow helped secure the airplane on the way back. M113 armored personnel carriers and M551 Sheridan armored reconnaissance vehicles supported the forces on the ground while AH-1 Cobra gunships and OH-6 helicopters provided air support. ATTENTION If you participated in any of the incidents listed on this page or know of some that are not, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. Surely neither the Viet Cong nor North Vietnamese Army would attempt such a suicidal mission. (Vietnam War period). It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. On 19 February, a defector surrendered to Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces and revealed a large VC force would attack key installations in the Saigon area to include Long Binh Post. In early 1969, the 277th was re-assigned from Long Binh to Tay Ninh West Base Camp, where it became the superior command of the 228th. ARVN casualties were 10 killed and 100 wounded and one US Army photographer was killed. I had the lanyard on the flare hooked up and my finger through the safety pin ring. War and peace. The Viet Cong were no longer in the tunnels around Long Binh, most probably having taken the subway back to the main tunnel complex at Cu Chi. Ellis C. Owen, had been working as a team in dropping the flares. As usual, I initially took refuge under my desk, then ordered everyone to rush downstairs on the assumption that any direct hits would likely riddle the upper floor. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. . [4]:99, Meanwhile to the west 3/7 Marines continued to engage PAVN forces, forcing them into 3 pockets along the Song Tuy Loan river. June The second of two new outpost's was built on the western end of the Finger Of Land. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. It was used as a base of operation for the increased ambush and reconnaissance patrols conducted in the uninhabited eastern end of the TAOR. It was originally called the FC-47D (for fighter cargo) but subsequently changed to AC-47 (attack cargo) in response to objections from fighter pilots. On December 1, 1969 at 8:13 P.M. EST my birthday was randomly drawn as Number 36 for the draft in the first National Lottery . Includes scenes shot in and around the base showing soldiers preparing for the attack. Long Binh/Bien Hoa. Carpenter set it down in a full shuddering stall. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. An ammunition dump at Long Binh, Vietnam. He reported to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron at Nha Trang in July 1968 and was assigned to the squadrons forward operating location at Bien Hoa. "Riot at Long Binh Stockade Attributed to Racial Acts." New York Times, September 4, 1968, p. 38. Soldiers counting the notes. The gunners kept the guns loaded and working during the flight. The miniguns fired four rounds of invisible ball bullets followed by one tracer round, but the bullets came so fast they looked like a continuous red stream. Copyright 2023. About 85 per cent of the force was estimated to be PAVN soldiers. He flew as a crewman on C-130s for a short tour, then went to Vietnam to fly on AC-47s. When daylight came, I reported to my new duty station in the Engineer Section of USARV HQ, where, from the second floor of the air-conditioned building, we could observe the Post's perimeter wire about 1/4 mile away.