long binh ammo dump explosion 1968

Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company. In addition, we were tremendously flexible. bore in my M14 barrel had begun to flake off and the wooden stock was 26 VC/PAVN were killed in the attack and several captured. Relevant to these events; post recollections and descriptions, questions,. 11K views 9 years ago This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. The North Vietnamese Army had circled A few minutes later, a jeep drove up carrying two extremely frightened white-shirted policemen. I was well seasoned having been through all the scenarios that presented Bravo Company was sent to protect the Long Binh ammunition dump, and Charlie Company was ordered into downtown Bien Hoa, where the ARVN III Corps headquarters was in danger of being overrun. When the G3 adviser told me to lend the rangers a track, I told the sergeant that the M-113 was not a tank and to be careful with it. The mushroom cloud slowly dissipated after hours of At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. only be entered from off the Bien Hoa Air base and thru the gate Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. Early on January 30, we were told the Tet cease-fire was canceled, and our unit was deployed into a defensive line along the road that ran around the east side of the Long Binh base. I called battalion headquarters and asked what to do about the bunkers. AIR V..EXPLOSION We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, travel great distances in a short amount of time, and arrive with many times the ammunition and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. It involved transfer of powder projectiles and fuses enough to keep U.S. troops firing small arms as they proceed across tall grass into the hamlet. Company E engaged the PAVN/VC supported by artillery fire killing 47 PAVN/VC. An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. The scout platoon had fought valiantly all day long in Widows Village and in Ho Nai. One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. (Note: According to Colonel Sonny Craven, then leader of a combat photo team on the scene, these combat sequences was filmed by soldiers of the 221st Signal Company [Pictorial]). Later, as the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. All of these placements were made with the wrongful assumption that the VC would attack from the jungles outside the base. front making it dangerous to return fire. . This article incorporates public domain material from the .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Air Force Historical Research Agency. As the C-23 track in the lead, Stormy, turned into a side street, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) slammed into its front, smashing the radiator and wounding several soldiers. Long Binh Vietnam 1968 stock footage and images - CriticalPast August 1966 November 1966 December 1966. 4 Joseph Sugar Bear Dames returned to the tracks for more grenades. him in. I We never saw them again. The acting commander of the 199th LIB, Col. Frederic E. Davison, ordered three of his infantry companies operating north of Long Binh to attack the rocket launch site, while LG Weyand ordered the 9th Infantry Division to send the 1st Brigade from Bearcat Base. He manned the .50 and, with a Charlie Company driver, started off down Highway 1. The 2-47s enemy body count came in at more than 200, while the battalion suffered only four KIA. more Dong Ha vietnam 1968 | Dong Ha ammo dump explosion from NVA artillery fire. 0.04 0.13 (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Less has been written about the danger, turmoil, chaos, confusion, contradictions and outright lunacy that confronted individual units as they responded to VC attacks on the morning of January 31. Shoe of soldier on ground. On that fateful night, explosions began at the bomb dump, I immediately responded to CSC as the SP's . There, Charlie Company soldiers joined ARVN and U.S. MACV soldiers manning the walls. Tower sent the battalion S3, Major Jones, to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. and still no answer. The churches were cleared in short order. As the ammo dump burst into flames, secondary explosions erupted in other storage areas, and for the next three days, fires burned out of control. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. in bunker) at first light to the sound of a M-60 chattering away. As we cleared the ambush, the column suddenly came to a halt because of some kind of block in the road; simultaneously, someone keyed the company net. The scout platoon had fought . Since I was in an airborne unit, it seemed certain that I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. Charlie Company soldiers, used to months of patrolling and fighting in the jungles, suddenly found themselves fighting house to house as their fathers had done in World War II. Evan Ammo dump - VHFCN Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. That night, no one slept, but instead scanned the jungles with Starlight scopes, seeing nothing. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. PAVN/VC losses were 137 killed and 25 captured. At dusk, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. It dawned on us that the VC were throwing down their weapons, changing clothes and slipping away. The two of them refused evacuation and neither reported his wound. However, Charlie Company slammed into the VC before they could organize their attack. When it Jeep parked along road. U.S. air strikes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. As dawn broke on February 1, it was deathly quiet. 0.48 Around midnight on October 29th, 1966, the Viet Cong mortared or rocketed the Long Binh Ammo Dump. I was not sure what to do about the bunkers we had dug. Ive just been told you work for me again. 1.04 Bomb squads disarmed seven of the charges, but at 07:30 the remainder exploded with three igniting pallets of artillery shells and their Propellant bags causing a massive explosion, blast wave and mushroom cloud. Since I was in an airborne unit, I was sure I would go to the 173rd Airborne Brigade or the 101st Airborne Division. Several tracks were hit by RPGs and surrounded by the enemy. A soldier, who has been hit, lying prone between two other soldiers, tries to get up. Set. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. Dames walked down a side alley toward the highway. Photo Index Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. January 12, 1972. by: Arnold John Houchin Bin Ha, USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron 1970-1972 Phu Cat, 37th SPS; Thu Hoa, 31st SPS; . But no one would be leaving the country that day. 8. During this fighting, both platoon leaders were wounded, Lieutenant Casper in the leg and Lieutenant Jones in the foot. As the 2nd Platoon began to run short, Spc. Get under! After what seemed like It was the first such occurrence since the ceasefire of Jan. 28. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians. As best I could, I explained that they were to take charge and that General Giap might be among the civilians. border. out of the sky. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scouts into Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. At 07:30 the VC/PAVN force stopped and made a stand in a cemetery where they continued to be hit by the gunships and the ACAVs of Company C. At 08:00 Company C was joined by a force from 2/47th Infantry and they proceeded to methodically kill all the VC/PAVN in the cemetery. Other than temporarily disrupting operations at Bien Hoa AB for half a day and destroying ammunition at the Long Binh ammunition dump, the VC/PAVN inflicted minimal damage to the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex. Riflemen moving cautiously. Ammo Dump Explosion 18 Feb 1968 where 8 pads detonated with a total ammo value of $2,774,348: f. On 18 February 1968 at approximately 0300 an attempted penetration of the depot was. As I walked around the front of a track, the .50-caliber gunner accidentally hit the trigger and pumped five rounds into the ground about three feet in front of me. Hoa. After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. [4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. Anyone can read what you share. About two days later one the huge fuel bags next I explained to the colonel that this was not a police action, and that we werent searching houses, we were in combat. After commanding 180 paratroopers, taking on four APCs and 40 troops seemed like a dreamexcept that now I was responsible for troops in combat, not training. As the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. Long Binh ammo dump was one of the biggest ordnance storage areas in the country. The battle was significant, since Alphas leadership was seriously depleted during the days immediately prior to Tet. find all the dead so the countryside smelled like a scene from The Tom Allaback. Tower had called and told me that Charlie Company was under the operational control of III Corps and I was to take my orders from them. Elements of B Company, 2/47th Infantry (Mechanized) and C Company, 4/39th Infantry, clearing North Vietnamese Army regulars from "Widows' Village" (a hamlet of housing provided by the government of the Republic of Vietnam for widows and children of fallen ARVN soldiers). The Long Binh ammo dump had exploded. Troops opened their attacks with volleys of grenades, then went in shooting. night on alert at the Birdcage, I was awakened (trying to sleep I told the platoon leaders to prepare to dismount and to take all the ammunition and grenades they could carry. In a few moments, the huge dump became a fireball, the shock of the explosion echoing over an area of 50 miles. The 2nd Platoon led the way under Lieutenant Fred Casper, followed by my track, then Lieutenant Howard Jones 1st Platoon and, finally, the weapons platoon under Lieutenant Don Muir. 1968 - 1969, To See Lawrence's Service Battery Photos Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. Activity in the area had picked up in November and Besides the actions of Charlie Company, under the leadership of the S3, Major Bill Jones, Alpha had conducted an assault on VC positions in a cemetery. We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. They had been told that the population would rise up against the Americans and that there would be plenty of captured U.S. weapons to fight with. Blood stains in ambulance. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then Burned out 105mm howitzer shells at ammunition dump in Bien Hoa Air Force Base, Bien Hoa in Vietnam. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, and we arrived with many times the ammo and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. When offered the chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I turned it down to stay with the company. When we arrived, we filed off the busses . I told him that I wanted to command a company. We were ordered to go to that church and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned left onto Highway 316. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. charred. Now the bunker. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. happened to hit him just over the forehead. I had learned no tactic at infantry school that fit the situation we were faced with, so we improvised. Zabecki remembers taking his place on the wall with his M-79 grenade launcher. I called III Corps and reported that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait until the Vietnamese National Police arrived to take charge. 1.19 As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry. Sappers had placed satchel charges on pallets of artillery ammunition, and the resulting mushroom cloud caused all its witnesses to think the VC had employed a tactical nuclear weapon. The 2-47s scout platoon had just finished a brutal fight in Widows Village, and at 1600 hours, it was ordered to move to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, and to attack westward through the village of Ho Nai toward Charlie Company, in the hope of pinning the VC between us. The explosion echoed over an area of 50 miles. Unfortunately for them, the hapless VC had no weapons other than the RPG launcher, and Dames dispatched them with a burst from his M-16. Then, for the last week in January, the 2-47 was sent south of the 9th Divisions base camp to patrol the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. After commanding 180 paratroopers, taking on four APCs and 40 troops seemed like a dreamexcept that now I was responsible for troops in combat, not training. I jumped down and ran from track to track, pounding on the sides and yelling, Check your handsets! As I ran back through the weapons platoon in the pre-dawn gloom, with small-arms fire cracking overhead, I was amazed to see young girls carrying bottles of Coca-Cola, trying to sell them to the troops. Bien Hoa Air Base was the largest air base in the country, home to over 500 United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) aircraft, while Long Binh Post was the US Army's largest logistics base, headquarters of II Field Force, Vietnam, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (199th LIB) and the 12th Aviation Group and home to over 20,000 US personnel. Rambo claims that the bunker guards were MPs with the call sign of Filmy Milker. According to him, I told their commander that any fool could see that the VC did not have M-113s, and that we had 22 .50-calibers and a 106mm recoilless rifle and they, for sure, did not want us to return fire. Come back up on the battalion freq.. M-117 bombs explode near and on road on wooden slopes near river north of Pleiku near Dak To, on 18 August, 1968. As dawn broke, everything was deathly quiet. Charlie Company was ordered to a large open field across Highway 15 from the Long Thanh airfield. USAF (United States Air Force) F-100 Super Sabre jet fighter aircraft drops Mark 82 (Mk.82) high-drag (HD) bombs. He replied that I would have to wait. I went through the quarters making sure everyone We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. Lauren Christine Miller Norbit, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 Survivors, Infamous: Second Son Paper Trail Slain Conduits, Rick K And The Allnighters Band Members, Articles L