1969

History of the 12^th Cav in Vietnam 27 Jul 1968 – 30 Nov 1971
According to the collective remembrances of it’s surviving troopers.

CPT Errol D. Alexander, July-Oct 1968
CPT Kenneth G. Carlson, Oct 68-Mar 69
CPT Larry R. Robinson, Mar-Sep 1969
CPT William C. Kaufman, Sep-Nov 1969
CPT Matthias A. Spruill, Nov 69-Feb 70
CPT John L. B. Smith, Feb-May 1970
CPT Robert R. Richards, May-Oct 70
CPT Woodrow W. Waldrop, Oct 70-Apr 71
CPT Edward E. Helton, Apr-Oct 71

Go directly to the Battle of Cam Hung

Go to Captain Carlson's account of the Battle of Cam Hung

February 1969

From Lt. William McShane:
Feb 5 Received two sets of long john's from home and slept in them along with a sleeping bag last night
Feb 7 The top half of the tree arrived. Mail service could not send a six foot long tree so they asked permission to cut it. Naturally they took two feet off the top, and not the bottom. Arty going off big time. Carbine rifle vibrated right off the wall.
Feb 12 Tomorrow I am going back to the DMZ for about a week and a half. Been quiet up there.
Feb 14 Mission to A-2 cancelled. Off to Wonder Beach.

16Feb

Van Winkle killed on an ambush. AK round hit a M 79 round as he was loading it. This was around a cemetery. Sgt Ski was severely wounded. A guy from Sisters (?) Oregon was slightly wounded. Jerry, the Kit Carson, sprung the ambush early. I think Larry Stone was also on the ambush. (G. Bowers)

Feb 23 Been back in the field. Got four vehicles stuck in a ravine for four hours and had to "float them down a river to where the banks were not so steep." Out on ground patrols of foothills. Freyler shot the boa constrictor.
Feb 27 "Been in the field for several days. Haven't had a shower or bath or river to clean in for six days so I'm gross, filthy to be exact. My replacement is here. Use the word "short" for the first time in a letter. Should be off the line within the next week. Don't know what the new guy is like.
Bill McShane

28Feb

I'll never forget how bad Ken Dye felt on the night of Feb. 28th, 1969 when we were riding with Herb Parsons on track A-13, on our way to setup a night ambush near hill 101, and we hit a land mine. I got hit in the head and leg and was bleeding like a stuck pig. Ken, the cool calm guy that he was, took the situation in hand and made sure I got medivaced to Quang Tri. He would have carried me on his back if he had to. Ken and Herb felt so bad that I hardly hurt for myself because they were so hurt that it happened. I remember I was gone from the Troop for about 8 to 10 days and when I got back the guys was all in camp and man what a welcome I got when I came in the A Troop area. (Jim Rinaldi)

March 1969

from Bill McShane:
First let me say that I was on the patrol with Freyler, when he got the constrictor/ python or what ever. I was given a mission to go out west of Nancy I think, to the foothills, cordon up the platoon and take a squad of infantry out and patrol on foot to see what wee could find. After humping in a few steps, there were nine or so of us and a Chu Hoi, Freyler, on point, opened up. I crawled to his position to find him saying I got it, etc, and then see him get up and run into the bush and grab the snake by the tail. The damn thing had gone under him and the head came out of a hole behind him and bit him in the foot if I remember right. Was it 17 feet long, or shot 17 times or both. Made the Stars and Stripes. Photo of the snake

On to March. In thinking about how to write this I realized there are one hell of a lot of words I have no idea of how to spell so allow me the liberty. Any way, your description and the AAR you sent put some things in perspective that I really wasn't really sure of, but I will assume them accurate and go with what I remember after 30 years.

We, the troop were ordered into a blocking action along the ridgeline northwest of Cam Lo. I believe the whole troop was involved and we spread out on the ridgeline. TAC air was called in and I remember F4's nailing a few locations. Sitting up there is was like watching a circus, but it seemed to take forever to get the air there. Buy the time the air arrived the little guys had an hour to run. I knew the 1/61 was involved but didn't know the 3/5 was, really only that other friendlies were engaged to the north and were in the AO. I was asked/ordered/told, whatever you prefer, result is the same, to take a bunch of infantry down into the valley to link up with their unit. I think they were to link up. I don't know of another reason. Carlson was the CO at the time and Hap Trainer the XO. Anyway, Platt my Platoon Sergeant, was strung out some where and it was easier for your tank to lead so you were attached to the column and were the lead. I only had one other tank in the platoon at the time because 38 I think, was that the third tank #, had sunk in the Cua Viet. Do you remember when we were ferried by the navy down toward the Hai Vong pass and attached to the 101. Any way my third tank was loading when the boat backed up and the TC was off the vehicle and it slowly rolled right into the Cua Viet, a million bucks down the river.

OK. We formed a column, loaded with infantry and down we went. Couldn't recon by fire as friendlies were in the AO, couldn't fire mortars because of friendlies and lets face it at that time, my mortar guys didn't have the experience the VC did. Matter of fact I don't ever remember using that big baby the entire time I was there. Do remember talking about using it though. Anyway you know what happened. It ended up not being the walk into nothing that we had taken so many times before, but a ride into an ambush. When you were hit the whole column pulled a right flank and opened up. I had to clear the infantry out of my track, think I had their Lt on the track, and they hit the ground behind my vehicle. In the process my como wire became undone and I had to go below, make contact with 6 and then gain control of things, and it took me a bit to get the como back up and working. In the frenzy I didn't know if it was the radio again or what, and then I found the wire unplugged. When I popped up Freyler was firing off to the right and Zamora on the 50 forward I told Freyler to shoot low, and he got pissed and yelled "I got one in my sights" or words to that effect. I cased the terrain to the rear and fired some bursts, when Freyler got hit in the wrist and went down. The firefight continued until things died down. I remember looking at Sgt Skinner( second tour ex 11ACR, damn good Sgt.) the TC to my right and him motioning me to move the line forward. I nixed that and motioned so. This is when I get fuzzy. Don't know what I did about other wounded, assumed I checked but knew support was headed down. Had to get Freyler out. I am embarrassed to say I don't know how bad you personally were, but knew one guy, your TC, was lost. Think I told others to stay put until support came and took off up the hill alone to get Freyler out. May have been in some shit on the way out as rear of the track was riddled with bullet marks. Got Freyler medevaced, after passing the relief on the way down. Then returned. Always wondered how the rear of my track got shot up with small arms fire. We were on a little knoll. Where they on both sides of us, or did it happen on the trip out to evacuate Freyler? I'll never know.

The rest is just some observations after 30 or so years. Didn't know you were hit with 2 RPG's. Assume your TC was riding in position. Ryan on the hatch. You on the outside left. How can you say if the RPG hit Lower all would have been okay? They must have knocked you out and hoped to take me out because there was one of those big pizza type claymores they had just in front of my track location. Think I recall a chunk was blown off but lucky they didn't get to fire it or it misfired. Wonder if Zamora got it with the 50.

I have been embarrassed about this whole event for years. Wish all could have been different. Lost some sleep many times, but managed to get on with life. Have always wanted to talk with the guy others said fought the tank single-handedly. The word was you did a hell of a job. What about Hagland? Any word?

They gave me a Bronze Star with V. I'm embarrassed about that. I did what I had to do. Nothing more and I hope nothing less. I have no idea why I consented to ferry a bunch of infantry down into the area, hornets nest, and didn't proceed slowly, with infantry out front as would be classic formation. We were giving these guys a ride! Of course we did a whole lot of things unconventionally over there.

As for you, I would be more than willing to write and find out why you didn't receive anything. You deserve something. Believed in what we were doing and still do. Volunteered to go the Nam with the 4/12. Was in C Troop in Carson and transferred to A when the word got out they were going. Much rather go with guys I trained and trained with.

Remember Sgt. Cook. Think I liked him. Don't remember De Somer. Sgt. Platt told me one new Lt. that came in after me to one of the platoons shot himself in the foot. Charlie Brown was Kirchner, first Platoon, Mad Dog, Howell, second platoon, and Blue Max, me the third. Don't know how or why on the call sign, think Howell uttered it and it stuck. .
Bill McShane

From Glenn Bowers:

I was in Ft. Knox teaching tanker stuff to trainee's. The student Bn commander was walking by checking on his troops. He saw my patch and ask what unit I was with and I told him. He was wearing the 9th Infantry patch and said that he was with, I interrupted and told him he was from the 3/5 Cav. I haven't a clue why I said that, but it turned out he was. I asked him if he remembered some crazy son of a bitch that made contact with the 27th NVA Regiment and we had to come and bail his ass out. He told me that he knew him quite well-he was the one. I could not believe it. His name was Lau. He has retired and was working at the golf course on Knox This is the AAR:

The Battle of Cam Hung

At 1540 hrs on 28 Feb 3/B/3-5 Cav was engaged by an estimated NVA company at YD098630. The remainder of B & C Troop 3-5 Cav reinforced by a platoon of M/3-3 marines moved to reinforce the platoon. The cavalry employing air & artillery closed with the enemy and swept the battle area finding 60 enemy KIA. At 1815 hrs contact was broken. Results of the days action were one (1) US KIA, nine (9) WIA and 60 NVA KIA. The enemy appeared to fresh, well trained , and well equipped with new uniforms and weapons. An assessment was that a forward element for a larger force(possibly a Battalion or Regiment). Based on the above estimate A/4-12 Cav was ordered to moved to an assembly area at YD102596 to block. The troop moved at 0010 hrs on 1 Mar and arrived 0330 hrs and was put opcon to 3-5. At dawn A/4-12 crossed the Cam Lo river and moved north to regain contact. Contact was regained at 1050 hrs at YD078639. Shortly after contact B/1-61 moved from AO Black to C2 (YD136646) to act as reserve. At 1250 hrs C/1-11 was air assaulted in the battle area. Results of the days activities, two (2) US KIA, twenty-five (25) WIA and 17 NVA KIA. In addition five (5) PCs and four (4) tanks were damaged and placed out of action. Then a whole bunch of stuff. Enemy: During the battle of Cam Hung the enemy lost 118 NVA KIA and 13 individual and 8 crew served weapons captured. A bunch off ammo. Friendly: Personnel loses were three (3) US KIA, thirty-five (35) WIA. Seven (7) personnel carriers, and six (6) tanks. Documents captured during the battle indicate that two (2) Battalions of the 27th NVA Regiment were operating in the Cam Hung area during the battle. Well we made it. Photo and newspaper story Glenn Bowers

01 Mar

This very cathartic for me. If you have any questions, I will answer any and all the best that I can.
I will tell you that the inside of the tank was a mess. The RPG exploded a can of Rise menthol shaving cream. It took many years before I could stand the smell. I would almost throw up.
Glenn

Here goes:
A28 led Lt. McShane's platoon into the valley. The crew was; TC - SSG Hagland, Gnr - Sp5 Ryan, Driver - Sp4 Gossman, and Ldr - Sp4 Bowers. There were several infantry riding on the outside of the tank. As we were going down into the valley we hit a dip and one of the grunts fell off the tank. It is strange, we could hear the sounds of fighting, but we were laughing at the grunt who fell off. We stopped and he got back on.
We entered the bottom of the valley into an open area. I remember looking right and then left. I saw a black cloud out of the corner of my eye, but I don't remember hearing an explosion. The RPG hit the right side of the turret just above the infantry rail. If it would have went lower it would have hit the track blocks that hanging from the rail. I kept hitting Bill on the head yelling we had been hit, but he was probably gone. The blast wounded several of the grunts, tore up Haglands legs (heard he lost one), and hit Bill on the right side. The next RPG hit the infantry squad leader in the chest. He was riding on the right front fender, this one also wounded Gossman, the driver. The concussion or the jerking of the tank threw me off the left side. The tank continued down the valley. I did some fighting and killed one NVA (another story for another time).
When the tank returned, I climbed on and looked into the turret.
I went over to a PC, but they could not understand me.
When I returned to the tank I found Bill lying under the breech and Hagland was gone. I found out at the 2d reunion that Miike Revill had removed Hagland from the tank. I could see muzzle flashes in the brush. I saw a couple of RPGs come in and hit the ground and I think some grenades went off too.
I fought in the tank the best I could and then we moved out of the area to the top of the hill. It was the longest journey of my life. Collage of some pictures that Lt. John "Mad-Dog" Howell took on that day.

[Okie] If you were on Cook's tank, you must have some insight to the fight in Cam Lo valley. I remember Cook's tank flanking me to the right, breaking through some brush.  That tank was putting out some outstanding suppressive fire as it moved forward.  I lost contact with it as we moved out. Glenn A28

1969-From the DMZ to Cam Hung=3 days

I am trying to see how bad my memory is and to talk about something I have kept inside me for more than 30 years. I might be getting different actions mixed up, but this is how I remember it. This might not be the place for some of this, but I have held it in long enough and I think some of you might understand.

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In my mind it all started in the evening. We were one or two clicks west of Ocean View. That's what I remember the name of the base just north of C4, it had two 40mm Dusters on it. Anyway after we had set up the captian told us that there was a build up north of as that might run as high as 5,000 an that we were bait. Boy that sure made me feel good. During the night there was a lot of action around us. I remember to the south west it looked like a ambush had been popped. There were red and green tracers flying everywhere then the Dusters over at Ocean View opened up. Then, at about the same time, an artillery cluster round went off to my right. I had never seen one before. While I was looking right I saw this flash out in the gulf. A little later heard this BOOM and than the round going over head and than seen a large flash and a little later BOOM. The captain came on and said "Oh, I forgot to tell you the USS New Jersey is backing us up. He sure could have told us that a lot sooner.

At the same time the mouth of the Cua Viet got rockets. (We were in a NDP and in the middle of the night a 122mm rocket platoon(?) set up north of us.  I don't think they even knew we were there.  The New Jersey fired 2 rounds one was an HE and the other was a Corfram(?). It was full of little bomblets and boy did it look like the 4th of July when it went off.  A28 got stuck in some kind of sink hole the next morning.  We were finally drug out and everyone had a chance to laugh at us.  We headed toward the DMZ from there. G. Bowers.)   When the sun came up we were told to go to C4 and pick up a platoon of Marines and see if we could catch the rocket teams going north. ( For some reason I keep thinking that we ran across 4 or 5 soldiers dressed like a band of gypsies.  They came out of nowhere and didn't want to be bothered. G. Bowers)  

We got the Marines and started north up the beach. I can remember that we passed some members of the 1/77 on the way up there. Later we were told that they had been hit by mortars. On the way north Rat said that he saw something. We stopped and he and some of the infantry squad went into the bush and came back out with a NVA with a chest wound. ( The NVA was a Lt . and it was someone from our unit that drug him out of a bunker.  I think he received a Bronze Star for this G. Bowers ). We kept moving north and heard that the Marines had caught some bad guys trying to cross the Ben Hai River . By the time we got there they had already wasted the bad guys. (This is how I know my mind doesn't remember everything right). Over the years my mind told me that I had fired some rounds into North Vietnam . After reading Glenn Bowers memories I knew that it had been him that had fired those rounds. If I remember right you fired two rounds. A HE round at a radio tower and a Beehive round. I remember the beehive round because it was the first one I had ever seen fired and had to ask Sarge Cook what it was. .( I saw 9 or 10 gooks running down the bank of the river on the North side.  I called Shadow and asked him if I could engage, he told me that I could.  I fired a canister round at them and only one got away.  I fired 3 or 4 rounds at the tower.  I ranged out to 4000m and added Kentucky windage and still missed. G. Bowers)

We moved out again and heard that a bunker complex was found. When we got there I saw a group standing over by one of the bunkers. As I watch one of the guys leaned down to look in and said that something moved. So he went in to get him. (This was SSG Dick Makela, he received the Silver Star for this G. Bowers.) When he came out he said that the guy had pulled one of his dead buddies over top of him.

Higher up had been yelling at us all morning to get out of there and than about that time they told us to blow up the bunkers and get out of there. ( About this time one of the Kit Carson scouts found a cache of medical supplies that was covered with PSP and bamboo.  We destroyed it.  The marines were in overall control of the AO and Gen. Davis was screaming that we had no business in there because the Paris peace talks going on. G. Bowers)     Right, we backed up and I fired one HE round right though the door of one of the bunkers. Hell, you couldn't even tell I had even hit it.

We started moving back south and on the way (if my memory is right) we got word that 1/61 and the 3/5 had gotten into some shit and were going to Cam Lo. We went down to the Cua Viet and loaded up on landing craft (I think that is what they were called). We got loaded just before dark and started moving up river. W got up to where we were to unload and got moving at just about sun up. Just a click or two before we got to Cam Hung valley we ran into a mine field. A tank in front of me hit a mine and a track behind me hit one. We stopped and waited for the mine sweeps to get there and while we were waiting a M88 showed up. Instead of waiting for the mine sweep he decided to go around us. Dumb move. He was right beside our tank when he hit a mine.

Another M88 showed up about the time the sweep team did and we start moving again.

I can't remember where everyone was parked at, but A17 was parked where we could look down into the valley. I could see one of our sister units moving around over on the other side and it looked like they got hit as they moved the hell out of there and the jets came in shortly after that. I sure did like watching those jets do their job.

Shortly after that we got word that us and I think it was A15 was supposed to load up with some infantry dudes and move out with orders not to fire as there might be friendlies down there. We got loaded up and were just starting to move out when we got word that the orders had changed (This is why when I think of RPG's I think of Ryan). A28 was going down instead.

A28 came up and the infantry dudes got on they we moved back up to were we had been. I can still remember standing up out of the loaders hatch watching them move down the valley when all of a sudden all hell broke loose. I ask Cook if there was supposed to be fire and he said “no, MOVE OUT.”

We got down there and got into action and it was hot and heavy. Glenn and Bill, I can tell you that was more than just an ambush. Sarge Cook told me after that with all the bad guys we saw that you had ran right into their HQ. I don't remember how long it went on, but there were buku bad guys.

One thing I don't understand is how they could come up with a body count. Beehive and canister rounds at that range don't leave nothing to count.

We put a dead infantry guy on our back deck and went back up the hill.

This is a part I might, should leave out but it has haunted me all these years. Ryan's death really ate at me. We got up to the top of the hill again and were told to take rounds from A28 since we were running so low. As we were unloading the main gun rounds I keep seeing blood and bits and pieces of body and a slow madness started building up in me. I remember all of a sudden turning around and walking off. I heard Cook yell at me, but I kept walking until I got up to were the captain and the officers were and walk up to the captain and in a very calm voice, ok in the voice of a mad man I asked "who changed the orders", he said "it came from higher up", I said "it won't fucking happen again" turned around walked back to my tank got a can of water, washed the blood off the back deck and laid down and went to sleep. 

==========================================
Question is, was I crazy?

I turned 19 five days later. Hell of a birthday present wouldn't you say.

okie

The Battle of Cam Hung from the troop commander's viewpoint

05 Mar

Been north west of Dong Ha for days. Been in a firefight, walked into an ambush and also hit mine number 3 a few days later. Lost men that were attached to me from an Infantry unit, and Ryan from second platoon. He was in the lead tank heading the column down into the ravine, when hit by and RPG. Photo of A36 after it was hit. On the 7th wrote that we had run into the 27 NVA regiment. Whatever. Remember the events clearly, just don't to need to be public here.
March 12. Write home from Bien Hoa. Left some of the greatest guys I have ever known, and from a situation that would affect me for the rest of my life. ** Remembered there is a photo of A 36 after it hit a mine as/or in reference to Ryan.  It may be giving the wrong impression that it was the tank Ryan was on.  He was not on 36 but 28, which was attached to me for just this mission.  Bill McShane

DIAMOND DUST Vol 2, No 25 March 12,1969 (Apparently a newsletter of the 5 th Inf Div in Vietnam )

Article provided by Dan “Mack” McAuliff, 3 rd Plt 68-69

4/12 Interrupts Enemy Baths

by SP4 Robert P. Smith

An enemy bath party was interrupted recently by a reconnaissance patrol from A Troop, 4 th Squadron, 12 th Cavalry south of Quang Tri.

As the 10-man 1 st Brigade, 5 th Infantry Division (Mech) patrol cautiously made its way along a streambed, SP4 Mike D. Rich, Indianapolis, the point man, came to a sudden stop and motioned for the rest of the patrol to take cover.

“We heard voices to our left; we were going to back off and come in from their blind side,” stated 1LT John DeSomer, Syracuse, Ind. “We were going to assault them because we thought we could take them by surprise but then we heard voices all around us.”

“About 25 yards in front three enemy were taking a bath in the stream. The had their weapons lying on the riverbank,” SP4 Rich commented. “One of them turned around and we were staring directly at each other and then they all started for their weapons. One burst from my M-16 and all three of them tumbled into the water.”

“Then all hell broke loose,” SGT George Padrick, Salem , Ore. , added. “We were in a pretty heavy fire fight and we had to withdraw because we were outnumbered.”

The patrol returned to the site the next day: “They must have cleared out of the area as fast as we did because they left behind weapons and other equipment,” said 1LT DeSomer.

That sounds exactly like the mission we went on my first full day with the Troop. They put me on an PC and off we went. I didn'tt pay any attention to what direction
we went in just out to these hills and dismounted all but one per vehicle and off we went up in the hills. It seemed like we went up for hours. We were told to get down
because we ran up on these guys taking baths and such and then all Hell broke lose. Point came back up the trail running full out and we started to return fire,
the trigger pin vibrated out of my M-16 (the one i was assigned that morning) and then the trigger fell out, just when i knew i was going to die we hauled ass, it didn't take us
as long to get out of those hills as it did to get up them. The track i was on hit a mine going back across the river and blew us off the back and when we hit the
ground we looked back across the river at the rest of the column and they where screaming at us to get back across the river and we didn't argue and that
was late March/early April 69 if i can remember right.

 That was a Hell of a way to start my first day with the Troop but in hindsight it was probably the best way to start one's tour.

I had a little talk with the guys in the arms room when we got back to Nancy .

Duke

Coop--      I do remember that incident somewhat. As I remember, it happened pretty much like the article says. But,I think we tried to go back in the next day from the back side,but could'nt find it. So the next day we went in the original way and hoped for the best.  Hope it helped.

Skip Padrick

April 1969

I remember those night ambushes we had to go on. I was on the Infantry track; I think it was A-15 in the 1st Platoon under TC SSgt Ken Dye. Man he taught me all I ever learned in Nam. He was one smart dude and always had his shit together. He saved me more than once. I remember one ambush we setup and just after it got dark we hear all these Gooks talking. All of a sudden the Gooks start walking down the trail towards us so Ken (aka DOC 4 EYES) signals us to get ready to nail these guys with all we got. Well we wait a little longer for some reason and all of a sudden we realize that this line of Gooks just doesn't end. They all had two mortar rounds tied on their backs and they are moving ammo up north. We never did spring the ambush and we all quit counting when the number of Gooks got over 100. (Jim Rinaldi)

8 April through 15 April

excerpts from Ellis Ravine Operational Report – Lesson Learned for Period Ending 30 April 69.

From 8 Arpil through 15 April the brigade conducted Operation Ellis Ravine, which was a search and clear, road building operation conducted in cooperation with the 1 st and 2 nd ARVN Regts, 1 st ARVN Division. During Ellis Ravine a road was opened between LZ Sharon(YD335445) and Ca Lu (Y015455) giving the 3 rd Marine Division a route from Quang Tri to Vandergrift Combat Base that could, with a little improvement, be used as a supply route for Vandergrift Combat Base should Route 9 be closed. On 8 April the 1 st Inf Bde, 5 th Inf Div (M) begin a combined search and clear, and road building operation in the Ba Long Valley west of Quang Tri City . The operation was conducted in coordination and cooperation with the 1 st and 2 nd ARVN Regts and lasted until 15 April 1969 .

•  Elements of the Brigade that participated in the operation were the 1 st Bn, 11 th Inf and the 3 rd Squadron, 5 th Cav. The 1 st Bn, 11 th Inf was reinforced by the addition of one Cav Troop (A/4-12 Cav) and an engineer platoon (Reinf) from the organic Brigade Engineer Company (A/7 Engr), while the 3 rd Sqdn, 5 th Cav Consisted of A and B Troops 3-5 Cav, D/1-11 Inf and a reinforced engineer platoon from A/7 Engr.

(4) Ellis Ravine had not resulted in the destruction of any enemy forces or caches, but an alternate supply route was opened between Quang Tri Combat Base and Vandergrift Combat Base.

23 April – 15 June 1969

excerpts from Massachusetts Bay COAAR

6. TASK ORGANIZATION:

TF 1-11 Inf: 1-11 Inf (-C Co) and B/1-77 Armor

TF 1-61 Inf (M): 1-61 Inf (M) and C/1-40 Arty

TF 1-77 Armor: 1-77 Armor (- B Co), A/4-12 Cav and C/1-11 Inf

11. EXCEUTION (Significant Events):

28 April – 3 May 69 : At o430 hours on 28 April 69 , A/4-12 Cav and C/1-61 Inf (M) of TF 1-77 Armor conducted a cordon of the Bo Brang, Le Xuyen, and An Trach areas until 0800 hours 3 May 69 .

13 May 69: A/4-12 Cav, on a mission of searching southwest along the Quang Tri – Thua Thien border, found three bunkers at YD419361.

14 May 69: At YD420322 a patrol from A/4-12 Cav found a fresh trail, an NVA pistol belt, miscellaneous gear and tracks of 10-20 individuals. At 1337 hours contact was made with an unknown size enemy element which resulted in two VC killed by small arms fire and the capture of one K-44 rifle. B/1-61 Inf (M) was moved from Wunder Beach , placed OPCON to TF 1-77 and committed to assist A/4-12 Cav in developing the situation.

16 May 69: (a)1/A/1-11 Inf, while on ambush, had one of their booby traps detonated at 0530 hours. A search of the area revealed a bag of rice, pair of pants, and a blood trail.

(b) B/1-61 Inf (M) while continuing to search along the Quang Tri – Thua Thien border, killed an NVA who was carrying an 81mm mortar base plate. In order to conduct a thorough search of the area, C/1-11 Inf was committed to support A/4-12 Cav and B/1-61 Inf (M).

May 1969

June 1969

5 June 1969
Photo: Resting in shade after tank A16 it mine. It was shortly after this that I was called back to base camp at LZ Nancy to take over as company clerk after one of our own fragged the orderly room killing the company clerk and sending the 1SG and others to the hospital.
Schiano

10 June 1969 U.S. Army Photo Two M-113 APC's A Troop

8 Jun 1969
Nixon announced the withdrawal of 25,000 American troops. The first step in a plan called "Vietnamization," the aim of which was to turn the war over to the South Vietnamese.

"When I arrived in Country I went directly to LZ Nancy in June of 1969. The Ammo dump did go up in either Sept or Oct 1969. We then moved into the 3rd Marine Shore Party area in Quang Tri in Late 1969. I remember clearly since I couldn't believe any one would fill up that many sand bags in a life time." (Keith Eaton)

26Jun

John E Macklin (SP4) and myself escorted one Sam Phronerbarger down to Long Binh Jail for confinement. He is the one who threw a frag into the orderly room. (The names and dates come from a copy of travel Authorization. (I hope I have the names in the correct order) [Charles Cooper]

July 1969

"Was reading some old letters that a friend of mine sent me from Nam. He was my loader. His name was Garry Norberg from Gillette Wyoming. The letter is dated 5 Aug and he mentions 3rd platoon getting hit, the 30 track. There were four people wounded. A guy named Casha was really hit bad. Do you remember any of this?" (Glenn Bowers)

1st Platoon is ambushed a few klicks away from the site of the 3rd platoon ambush, no injuries, 1 NVA KIA, numerous blood trails.

1st Platoon spends 2 weeks guarding engineers in the Bi Long Valley, re-cutting a crude road to Khe Sanh with Rome Plows.

Lt. Shadow, 1st platoon, leaves.
Lt. Styles arrives in first platoon, reassigned to 2nd platoon on the 25th.

From Coop's war dairy 1st platoon, and 2nd Platoon's Bob Taylor's letters home:

02 July 69
Hi Lang Reinforce fire support base

04 July 69
Hi Lang Troy G. 26 today should leave country by 14th
assigned to 4/12 Cav (Taylor)