At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. Under pressure from the South Vietnamese relief forces and the Marine MP platoon, the VC retreated with the allies in pursuit. We don't know why, but we know they are!" According to III MAF figures, from 29 January through 14 February at Da Nang, Marines sustained 124 killed and more than 480 wounded. Pictures of Danang 8. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] Second cache of bombs ignites. Rockey, the 3/5 Marines commander, commented on the "increasing frequency and ferocity" of enemy contacts. Darkness prevented any accurate bomb assessment. Fifteen minutes later, the enemy gunners followed with another 29 rockets, mostly aimed at the southern end of the Air Base. Immediately after the artillery shelling, an AC47 Spooky arrived on station and worked over the same area with its Gatling guns. The Marines called in artillery and mortar missions . Both Marine companies encountered heavy small-arms fire and RPGs as they approached their objectives. 16. This platoon under First Lieutenant John E. Manning departed the airbase about 04:15 and arrived in the blocking positions about 05:15. 366th AMS, Mystery SP, Bob Hope. In the pursuit, which amounted to a rout, the VC lost nearly 100 dead. [1]:154, South of Da Nang, in Hi An, on the 30th, the ROKMC, reinforced by elements of the ARVN 51st Regiment, tried to tighten the loop and began preparations to retake the city. In one operation near Dien Ban, the ARVN 51st Regiment sustained losses of 40 men killed, six missing, and 140 wounded while accounting for about 80 enemy dead and 13 prisoners. Da Nang Under Heavy Rocketing. Among the casualties were two Marines killed, including Lieutenant Manning and six wounded from the 1st MP Battalion. You comrades should act as heroes of Vietnam and with the spirit and pride of combatants of the Liberation Army. Doc, as his friends called him, was one of 58,200 Americans that died during the Vietnam War. The fighting within the compound continued until daylight. Covered revetments to protect F-4s from rocket attacks -1969 [ Bob Kaatman photo ] American down as Marines arrive on scene just outside perimeter of DaNang AFB. from Vice: That day, Mr. Trump hosted a ceremony to honor law enforcement officials who had provided security for the inauguration. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. [1]:154, Throughout the Da Nang TAOR, the intensity of activity increased during the night. [1]:1534, On the night of the 30th, elements of a battalion of the PAVN 4th Regiment attacked an ARVN outpost at the foot of the Hi Vn Pass. Soon reports came in that the base was under attack and a Marine helicopter flew the general from his quarters to III MAF headquarters. 00:00 00:00 What the Captain Means Unless otherwise noted all videos on this site appear on, and are posted here via embedded links to, You Tube. About 01:00, a Marine platoon from Company G, 2/7 Marines, positioned near the Nam Bridge on Highway 1 crossing the Cu River north of Da Nang, saw another two enemy on a raft with a wooden box. Stationed with 1882n Comm Gp., 1969-1970, worked in the Base Comm Center. [1]:144, Shortly after midnight, Marine sentries from the 1st MP Battalion, posted near the main I Corps Bridge connecting Da Nang to the Tiensha (Tin Sa) Peninsula, spotted two swimmers near the span. Company G repulsed a number of probes throughout the night until the PAVN broke contact at dawn. Finally the PAVN broke contact at 20:00 and disappeared. According to a Marine report, "it was evident that the enemy was prepared to masquerade as Vietnamese civilians in the process of infiltrating the TAOR and that he was attempting to infiltrate his forces in small units. After the fixed-wing aircraft and evacuation helicopter cleared the area, the 11th Marines saturated the area with artillery fire. He remembered that because of the number of casualties his battalion sustained, "it was necessary to employ administrative personnel on patrols" with "clerks, cooks, and drivers" on line. Archives. The nickname for DaNang was "Rocket City" garnering that appellation from the frequent attacks on it by means of the "Katyusha" which is the name given the Soviet BM-21 122mm artillery rocket. Click here to view those.. Update: 12 December 2020. [1]:1523, The rest of the enemy efforts in the Da Nang area and TAOR were about as haphazard and relatively ineffective as the fight on the unnamed island. The struggle for Hi An would continue into the following day. Further, the National Police reported that VC local leaders from Qung Tn, Qung Nam and Qung Ngi Provinces met in a base area in the hills of northern Qung Ngi to plan attacks on Chu Lai and on Qung Ngi City. The PAVN soldiers wore flak jackets and helmets and carried a machine gun, and a small rocket detachment with six 122mm rockets. A summary of these attacks can be found on the Web site of the 366th. The Marines lost one helicopter and sustained damage to 29 others. Accompanied by tanks and LVTP-5s, Company F maneuvered to the north of the ARVN base. Battery A, 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion armed with MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles, in the mountainous Hi Vn Pass sector north of Da Nang, reported about 01:40 coming under 82mm mortar fire. After counting 500 men pass their position, Rummage called in the artillery. ** The first two attacks on DaNang were by mortars. The crowd scattered only to gather on the fringes of Red Beach Base Area. Linking up, under artillery and air cover, the two Marine companies continued their advance until forced to halt because of darkness and then took up night defensive positions. One of the companies captured a German missionary hospital in the city and the other hit the rear base of the ARVN 51st Regiment, the Chi Lng Camp, garrisoned by the ARVN 102nd Engineer Battalion. In the 7th Marines sector, the Marines described the same type of activity as well as increased enemy infiltration. Allied intelligence officers identified members from the V-25th, R-20th, C-130th Battalions and the Q-15th and Q-16th Local Force Companies. [1]:1478, The Marine response to the bombardments was rapid, the 11th Marines artillery units "initiated counter-rocket fires" at suspected avenues of approach. by Edward H. Phillips 2/1/2017. [1]:1423, From other sources, the Marine command learned of other ominous measures taken by the PAVN/VC forces in the Da Nang sector. It was decided that two battalions from the Americal Division code-named Task Force Miracle would be moved into the northern sector of the 3/5 Marines near Route 1 south of the Cau Do. He personally believed the plans were impractical and deserted at the first chance he had. During the Cuban missile crisis, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed a Hawk air defense missile battery from the 3d Light Antiaircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion to Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, to protect the U.S. naval base from a surprise low-level air attack by Soviet and Cuban aircraft. The company arrived at its dispositions at 01:00 the following morning . Lieutenant Colonel William K . The U.S Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF (AW) 232, also based here, lost some of its F-8E Crusader aircraft in this attack. Galand Kramer at the Danang Officers Open Mess, the DOOM Club, so appropriately named for those of us flying into the teeth of North Vietnams AAA, missile and MiG air defenses. [1]:163, The PAVN/VC offensive in the Da Nang sector had spent itself. . To the south of the Air Base, other PAVN/VC main force units attacked the District Town of in Bn and the provincial capital of Qung Nam, Hi An, on Route 4. Flares light up the Da Nang area to make it easier to spot infiltrating guerrillas. In fact, elements of both regiments had reached jump-off points just south of the Cau Do River. In the meantime, the VC harassed with sniper fire both CAP Q-4 and the nearby Nam O bridge security detachment from 2/7 Marines. Even at Marble Mountain the damage was relatively contained. After dark, both sides withdrew, the Marines to night defensive positions and the PAVN to the west. This information should also include any information involving plane crashes at the Da Nang base in early 1968. General Walt's staff received word on 27 October that a VC main force battalion was moving out of its base in "Happy Valley," 10 miles southwest of Da Nang, and heading towards the base. Total Marine casualties of this incident on the 30th were 10 Marines killed and 15 wounded, most from the platoon of Company G that was initially ambushed. WASHINGTON The White House warned that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack that hit an air base in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are . A prisoner captured in Nam O identified a PAVN battalion, probably from the PAVN 4th Regiment, operating below the Hi Vn Pass with the "mission to form civilians for demonstrations." According to Washington Post correspondent Don Oberdorfer, Lm pointed with his swagger stick to the enemy's firing positions on the large map in the room and said: "Milantoni, bomb here. [1]:157, In other sectors of the Da Nang TAOR, the PAVN/VC also maintained the pressure on the Allied forces. [1]:1445, About 02:30, the PAVN/VC struck the perimeters of the Da Nang base itself. Beginning their attack about 03:00, two companies of the V-25th Battalion used the noise of firecrackers set off and general firing by Tt celebrants to cover their approach. Army personnel were wounded. Again the crowd dispersed and this time did not recongregate. In the ensuing firefight fought at a range as close as five meters from one another with the Marines achieving the upper hand. Located between the Cu and Thanh Qut Rivers and on either side of Highway 1, the two battalions provided the last line of defense before the so-called "Vital Area." Noting the new web gear and weapons with the PAVN bodies left on the battlefield, Marine intelligence officers believed the PAVN unit to be from the 31st Regiment. CriticalPast is an archive of historic footage. Caught east of the Cm L Bridge and Highway 1, on a small island formed by the convergence of the Cu , a small tributary of the river and the Vien Dien River, the VC turned to fight. He ordered the 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion to form a blocking position on the southeastern bank of the Vien Dien River. [1]:157, About 5,000 meters to the northwest, later that night, a squad from Company C, 1/7 Marines encountered an enemy force possibly from the same PAVN regiment. Results of a rocket attack on Da Nang air base: revetment area building In the Da Nang Vital Area, the artillery regiment, the 11th Marine Regiment, continued to oversee the Northern Sector Defense Command and the 1st Tank Battalion, the Southern Sector Defense Command. [1]:163 (L to R) Attack of 13 April 1972. Behind the Marine and Korean lines, the ARVN 51st Regiment deployed in support of the South Vietnamese Revolutionary Development program. [1]:159, While from 15 February, the PAVN/VC ground assaults on Marine positions appeared to diminish , Marine spotters in the tower on Hill 55 reported the constant movement of small groups of enemy troops in the western portion of the ROKMC area of operations. The ARVN 51st Regiment operating in the southern sector of the Da Nang area of operations came across evidence including documents pointing to a buildup of PAVN/VC strength together with probes of Allied defenses. SELECT OPTIONS SAVE TO CART From their night positions, Company G observers saw large numbers of PAVN approaching them from the north. While making for a loud and colorful pyrotechnic display, the explosions caused no casualties and no damage to any of the aircraft. from The New York Times: Police officers provided security for the marchers, and the march concluded peacefully at Maltepe, Istanbul (where . 45 USAF/USMC KIA, 10 aircraft destroyed , 41 aircraft damaged, and 13 barracks destroyed. Given also the enemy rocket threat, he still needed to maintain extensive patrols in the so-called Rocket Belt. [1]:1612, In the ensuing battle of Lo Giang the Marine and Army forces successfully repulsed the PAVN 2nd Division attack. Shortly after 01:00 on the 6th, PAVN gunners opened up on the hamlet with intermittent mortar rounds and small-arms fire. This apparently broke the back of the VC resistance. [1]:1556, During the day and evening of the 31st, the PAVN/VC infantry units pressed the offensive on the ground. Lm arrived at the headquarters compound shortly after dawn. Apparently the forces were a mixed group from several different units interspersed together. [1]:153, The Marines now counterattacked supported by artillery and Marine gunships and fixed-wing air. [1]:163, From almost every account, the PAVN/VC attack in the Da Nang TAOR was very inept. With the departure of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines in mid-January for Phu Bai Combat Base, the 3/7 Marines extended its area of operations to include An Hoa Combat Base to the south. About 09:00, Lieutenant Colonel Rockey, the 3/5 Marines commander, ordered a small command group and two companies, Company M of his battalion and Company F, 2/3 Marines attached to his command, to the relief of the ARVN camp. Later intelligence and interrogation reports of prisoners of war would indicate that the unit that Rummage had intercepted was probably a battalion of the PAVN 2nd Division. This fighting would continue in a desultory fashion throughout the night. Photographer: Unknown Nng Air Base, AKA: Rocket City, often had more than six Silk-Moons of false dawn orbiting the base. Freedom Hill 327 can be seen beneath the left flare, with convoy lights winding up the perimeter road. According to Murray, "from then on until Tt was over, there were just constant attacks." Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base that took place, Da Nang, Vietnam, January 30, 1968. heros. Nng AB: 366th TFW: Rocket Attack! Location: Da Nang Vietnam. The Da Nang airbase was a major Ranch Hand facility during the American War in Vietnam. Note: Dick previously sent us some Stars and Stripes clippings mentioning rocket attacks and other "newsworthy items" of the day. If we went a week without a few rockets coming we knew something was in the works. In the attack, the PAVN/VC fired 122mm rockets at Marine artillery positions at An Hoa, Hill 55 and Hill 10. The C-123's ability to land on short, unimproved fields proved invaluable and the four units served in Vietnam until the end of the war. In Vietnam this rocket comprised one of the primary means of inflicting standoff attacks against airfields and other . The remaining rocket attacks were ineffective. At 17:00 on 29 January, Westmoreland cancelled the truce in the entire I Corps sector. In addition to the VC R-20th Battalion, south of Da Nang, the VC 1st and PAVN 3rd Regiments both part of the 2nd Division started to deploy toward G Ni Island. The VC R-20 and V-25th Battalions had struck again at Hi An, engaging both the Korean Marine Brigade and the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the ARVN 51st Regiment. [1]:158, Robertson began to refine his defensive dispositions at Da Nang so as to counter any further incursions on the part of the PAVN/VC main force units pressing on the Marine TAOR. He was killed in action on January 21, 1968, during the Battle of Khe Sanh in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. The area was around 200 square miles, and the 140mm rockets had a range of over 6 miles. It was the worst attack on Danang since July 5,. 366th Security Police K-9. Full Citation: Photograph 127-N-A190364; Rocket Attack on the Da Nang Air Base; 1/30/1968; General Photograph File of the U.S. Marine Corps, 1927 - 1981; Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. One of the major attacks was against CAP B-3 in the hamlet of Duong Lam (1) just below the Ty Loan River. With part of the force establishing blocking positions north of the hamlet, the rest of the provisional company and Rangers moved through Nam O. The VC attacked the compound from two directions, from the south and the east. Two days later, Marine intelligence officers learned that the PAVN 21st Regiment was in the Go Noi area. Nha Trang Air Base is a military airfield in Vietnam, located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northwest of Nha Trang in Khnh Ha Province. Only the 7th Marines to the west experienced an increase in incidents as PAVN/VC troops moved through the western TAOR to return to their mountain strongholds in Base Area 114 and through Charlie Ridge into Happy Valley. According to Davis, a few hours later, Robertson called a division briefing for all battalion commanders. According to the Marine after-action report, 3/5 Marines and the attached two companies from the 2/3rd Marines accounted for more than 320 PAVN/VC dead in less than 36 hours. Although agent reports and other intelligence indicated continued assaults north of the Cau Do River against Ha Vang and Da Nang City, most of these came to naught. According to Marine sources, the heavy action on this small island resulted in 102 VC killed, 88 prisoners of war, 13 VC suspects and 70 laborers. [1]:141, A conglomeration of Marine support units, ARVN, ROKMC and two Marine infantry battalions attempted to secure the remaining area. Da Nang was a major base area for United States and South Vietnamese military forces supporting operations throughout I Corps. According to an NCO from the PAVN 31st Regiment captured in the fighting, the mission of his unit was to "attack Hi An, five times if necessary, and set up a liberation government. [1]:154, The ROKMC sent three companies to close the southern link and then moved forward into the attack. The Marines killed two and wounded the third. Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia. [1]:143, While the PAVN/VC concentrated their forces for the large offensive, many of these units suffered from too many rapid replacements and in some cases from poor morale. On my second combat hop on the 14th I flew below 500 feet for 30 minutes 5 to 10 miles south of Da Nang searching for rocket launching sites. CAP Q-4 there continued to hold out. The Stand Off Rocket attack of July 15, 1967 was the deadliest attack of the war at Nng Air Base. PAVN battalions from the 2nd Division had eluded the Korean and ARVN defenses in the southern sector and had penetrated the defensive perimeter of the 2/3 Marines and 3/5 Marines just below the Air Base. Flight line VMO-2 after mortar / rocket attack "Tet Offensive" 1968. . With the PAVN too close to call in artillery or fixed-wing air, the Marines radioed for reinforcements. From May 1968 to July 1970, the Army sergeant came of age in the U.S. Army mortuary at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon. Again the artillery responded with "excellent effect on target." Two separate occurrences may have frustrated this attack. Approximately at 02:00, about four of the 122mm rockets fell in or near the compound, one landing near the 1st Cavalry Division helipad temporarily located there, damaging four of the helicopters, but resulting in no Marine or Army casualties. Guards beat off the . [1]:160, By this time, Robertson was worried about the ability to contain the PAVN/VC offensive south of Da Nang. The task force headquarters and its two battalions returned to Chu Lai Base Area the following day. A conglomeration of internal security forces threw back the VC force from the east that tried to use similar tactics to get inside the compound from that direction. That same day, the 1st Marine Division notified III MAF that "usually reliable sources" told of staging areas south of Da Nang for an impending attack. At 02:30 on the 30th at in Bn, elements of the R-20th and V-25th struck the subsector headquarters defended by the 15th Popular Forces Platoon and the 708 Regional Forces Company. At least some members of his group also reportedly provided security for Richard Spencer's often violent campus appearances. By dark the Korean had captured the hospital and were in position to relieve the engineer compound. 366th AMS, Rocket attack BX, Gunfighter Pilots. Mortar and rocket attacks followed by ground assaults were made all along the perimeter of the base. Heavy explosions and fires on the base. The Snack Bar was halfway between the barracks and Base Comm. Pictures of Danang 9. At Da Nang, III MAF knew that the PAVN/VC were on the move. Further to the east Company G, 2/3 Marines, at the battalion's command post about 500 meters north of in Bn town, remained as the division mobile reserve mounted in LVTP-5s and supported by tanks. In the northern sector of Da Nang, PAVN/VC main force troops entered Nam O once again and killed the hamlet chief. The Truong Son and the Mekong River are moving. [1]:1489, In the Da Nang area of operations, outside of attacks by fire on the Marine base and outlying positions and the two ground assaults on Marine command and communications positions, the PAVN/VC infantry units largely concentrated on the South Vietnamese units. The artillerymen sustained two wounded and some equipment damage, but escaped relatively unscathed. I was in Danang less than a month when the Vietcong used rockets to attack the Danang Air Base for the first time in the war, on the morning of February 27. These rockets had a range of several miles and were deadly. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. As Company G began its redeployment along the river route it ran into PAVN forces attempting to retreat in that direction. In the resulting engagement, Company E killed about 13 VC from the Q-55th Local Force Company, which normally operated in the area. The rockets destroyed five aircraft, nine items of ground equipment, two vehicles, and one warehouse outright. The fighting during the preceding week had drawn down the strength of the ARVN and the two Marine battalions and the PAVN 2nd Division still had uncommitted units that it could throw into the fray. Two other squad patrols from Company C in the vicinity quickly joined the first squad. Material and equipment losses, however, were much more extensive. [Peter Halferty photo]. He later confided to Davis, "Bill, your phone call was right on the money! Hill received a telephone call at 03:45 on the 30th from Colonel Thomas Randall, the III MAF G-3, who asked him "to send three platoons to blocking positions south of I Corps headquarters." Da Nang, the main Seabee base in the I Corps area, which bordered North Vietnam, came under repeated attack from Viet Cong and North Vietnamese regulars. The bulk of the attack force remained in Ha Vang Village bogged down in a firefight with local Popular Force (PF) and Regional Force (RF) troops reinforced by a USMC Combined Action Platoon (CAP), E-3.

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