Easily create a Forum Website with Website Toolbox. As a soldier unfastens a skid of 8 shells, from the crane, it falls over sideways. Nowhere, however, is Levitows memory recalled more vividly than at the Enlisted Heritage Research Institute at the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Maxwell AFB, Gunter Annex, Ala. Levitow willed his Medal of Honor to the Enlisted Heritage Hall there. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Featured Collections | The base was host to US Army Headquarters. They fought to the last because (1) they were told that they would be tortured mercilessly by US soldiers should they be captured, and (2) being Buddhists, they did not want to die on foreign soil, but hoped to escape so they could go home to North Vietnam to die. Before the night was over, Levitow would perform an act of astounding bravery for which he would ultimately be awarded the Medal of Honor. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. As Ole-Luk-Oie, the pen name for British officer Ernest Swinton, wrote in the 1915 book The Great Tab Dope: Who can blame a desire for the real thing, or professional zeal, whether it be that of a burglar, a Harley Street appendix hunter, or a trainer of blind monkeys?. A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. The 64-year-old Army veteran died suddenly of a heart attack. Thus, my daily mission (with the aid of my eight-man crew) was to account for all the ammunition in South Vietnam, at least every round not yet in the hands of the fighting troops. F-100C Super Sabre 54-1956 120 TFS, 35 TFW, USAF . I stay away from publicity and things like that. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. The Medal of Honor was presented to John L. Levitow at the White House by President Nixon on May 14, 1970. The intense heat of the flare would burn rapidly through the aluminum floor of the cargo bay and drop on the empennage control cables, destroying them and causing the aircraft to go out of control. After the massive casualties it suffered during the vicious battles in 1966 and 1967, and especially due to the division's disastrous . ARVN casualties were 10 killed and 100 wounded and one US Army photographer was killed. Media Battle of Long Binh 1969 Parts 1 & 2 11thACRCombat Operations After Action Report of Attacks in Northern Binh Long Province 10-13aug69 (All content and photos on this site are the property of their named owners and may not be copied or used for any other purposes without permission. Interestingly, the only thing that came readily to mind was a small sign I discovered at one of the outdoor latrines set back in the woods: ALL TERDS [sic.] Two of the pockets were destroyed by the next morning resulting in the capture of the acting commander of the 141st Regiment. Some of our troops had recaptured it from the VC a few months before. The gunship had flown into the path of an 82 mm mortar round, which struck the top of the right wing. 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. [4]:97, After midnight on 23 February Company K, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines and Company D, 1st Military Police Battalion detected VC approaching the Song Cau Do river bridges and attacked them killing 47 and capturing 11. About 85 per cent of the force was estimated to be PAVN soldiers. Soldiers of the United States Army Signal Group have military payment certificates exchanged at their headquarters in Long Binh Vi, U.S. soldiers handling 155mm artilery shells in an ammunition dump at Long Binh, Vietnam. Note the attacking Skyhawk in the lower right and one directly left of the explosions on the bridge. I dont think I was alone in this. The threat of communism was pounded into our heads all through elementary and high school at Rock Valley, Iowa. There are some night scenes of the base under attack showing mostly flares, explosions and gunships firing on enemy targets. The Air Force Scientific Advisory Boarda group of experts and researchers the department taps for independent advice on key science and technology effortsis undertaking four studies in 2023, including two that will likely inform the services approach to Secretary Frank Kendalls operational imperatives. About Us | [1], The VC made several attempts to advance on the base, but were halted. U.S. Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawks from Attack Squadrons VA-163 Saints and VA-164 Ghost Riders attack the Phuong Dinh railroad bypass bridge, 10 kilometers north of Thanh Hoe, North Vietnam, on September 10, 1967. Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive.. Nhng Chin Binh Ph Thu Xinh p tp 29. st_Luna-kun. It was thrown out of the aircraft and floated to the ground on a parachute, burning for as long as three minutes with an intensity of two million candlepower and making daylight over a square mile or so. Tet offensive attack on Long Binh and Bien Hoa, 31 January 1968: Date: 31 January-2 February 1968: Location: Bien Hoa, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, South Vietnam. It had been flying in Vietnam since 1964, first with the air commandos and after that with the special operations squadrons. Members of the 1st Squadron 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, surround their M551, Air Droppable Assault Vehicle as they wait for the word to move out, 23 February 1969 Overview; The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launch artillery attacks on over 100 population centers and military . Brigadier General Francis J. Roberts addresses troops. Since my finger was through the safety pin ring the safety pin was pulled.. . Answer (1 of 6): Now I can answer that from a very odd perspective. The attacks were repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses, having inflicted . Dad wanted to be buried standing up. aring, as AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships began strafing the battlefield with 7.62 mm minigun bullets fired at the rate of about 4,000 rounds per minute. 3 Lt xem. Most of us were "Regular Army," almost a year into a 3-year hitch. 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 . The basic course at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland allocated one week in the field for brushing up on combat skills. 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. The post and the 720th MP Battalion were informed of the planned attack late in the afternoon of the 22nd. Capt. Textual Records: Correspondence and daily journal, 1972-73. Soldiers walk around outside the headquarters. [4]:100, After dawn on 23 February a VC unit was detected near the Ha Vang District and the Marine security force killed 6 and captured 2 and forced the rest of the unit to retreat into a cemetery where they were attacked by the ARVN 21st Ranger Battalion the next day losing a further 57 killed. DaNang Ammo Dump April 27 1969. Thus, Spooky 71 was leaking two highly inflammable substances. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. Levitow had joined the Air Force in June 1966, some 20 days ahead of being drafted into the Army. For months I observed various combat actions outside the perimeter and every now and then even sought cover beneath a nearby steel desk as a stray mortar or artillery round came flying in our direction, which, whenever it occurred, was astonishing enough. These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. This was a bit disconcerting. Soon we received word that every spare man was to report for perimeter duty, and within minutes my entire crew had been spirited away, leaving me to fend for myself. At the ceremonies, his son, John L. Levitow Jr., said: I have only one apology to make. In early August 1969, the 1st Infantry Division determined that its old nemesis, the 9th PLAF Division, was preparing for a new offensive in Binh Duong province.By this time, the 9th Division had been reorganized and redesignated as a PAVN (NVA) division. 128 KB. Privacy Policy2023 CriticalPast LLC. Nearly 60 years after he was first recommended for the nation's highest military award for his bravery during the Vietnam War, retired Col. Paris Davis, one of the first Black officers to lead a Special Forces team in combat, received the Medal of Honor on Friday. At 02:00 on 23 February, the 274th VC Regiment initiated their attack with an estimated 78 rounds of rocket and mortar fire from their positions. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps. South Vietnamese woman 1969 Sep 15, 2017. . Copyright 2023. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. 45th Air Ambulance Medical Company helipad Long Binh, November 1969.jpg 1,820 1,434 . In my case it was my unusual ability to count. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Although at first overwhelmed by the intensity of the enemy fire the MPs stood their ground, suppressed the enemy fire, eliminated an enemy machine gun emplacement and were able to evacuate their seriously wounded point man, SP/4 Brown. Between the town of Bien Hoa and the base was an old French minefield, never cleared and fenced by barbed wire. 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, 47th Infantry. A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. Things quieted down for a while. Stacks of 155mm artillery shells are loaded onto a truck by a crane, in groups of 16 at a time, on wooden skids holding 8 apiece.The soldiers are stripped to the waist. "Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report #105 - Special Report: The Fourth Offensive - 23 February-3 April 1969", Cold War International History Project's Cold War Files, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tet_1969&oldid=1142428918, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 09:26. We heard that the commander of the tanks was Col. George S. Patton Jr. It's not widely known that during the course of the Vietnam Conflict, about 2 million (2,000,000) VC and NVA were killed -- which was about 15 percent of North Vietnam's 13 million population. "6 To Face Murder Charges for G.I.'s Riot in Prison." New York Times, October 1, 1968, p. 3. My Account | The brigade was comprised of 2d Battalion, 3d . The enemy was too close for artillery, so gunships were . Poor guys; they didn't stand a chance. Spooky 71 had gone as far as it was going. Tet Offensive attack on Long Binh and Bien Hoa 31 January 1968.jpg . [4]:99100, PAVN/VC retreating to the south from Da Nang were intercepted by elements of the 1st Marine Regiment and ARVN 1st Battalion, 51st Regiment 11km south of Da Nang losing 139 dead in 3 days of fighting. There was also a Vietnamese liaison officer. Result: United States and South Vietnam victory: Belligerents The clouds hung low, making flying helicopters . (Vietnam War period). 472.6.8 Records of the U.S. Army Central Finance and Accounting Office, Vietnam. One of the MP ambush squads held a position within a kilometer of the VC stronghold. I hated it. More to his liking, he went home to Connecticut and became a medical administration officer in the VA hospital system and special assistant to the chief of Medical Administration Service in New England. Dennis Yenser checks in about Sapper Attack story. Unlike our headquarters, theirs was built under a hill rather than on top of one. 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. (Lt. Cdr. Very seldom did we ever fire fast rounds at 18,000 rounds a minute because it had a tendency to turn the airplane. After years of Army training one cannot help but itch for a shot at the enemy, especially when all the advantages are on ones own side. Includes scenes shot in and around the base showing soldiers preparing for the attack. [4]:101. 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. A U.S. 2nd Field Force soldier poses. Necessarily, more is lost to time than is remembered. Inside the aircraft is a mannequin of Levitow, struggling to get the flare to the door. (I was a big-shot first lieutenant and chauffeured to work.) 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. He was the center of much attention but also the victim of bureaucracy. independent documentary Letters from Long Binh. Smoke rises from surrounding area. 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. New York Times, January 8, 1969, p. 12. If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. Brigadier General Leo D. Kinnard speaks to the troops. The pilot fired the guns, using a sight at the left side of the cockpit. Filmmaker Mel Brooks once said he looked upon his Army experience in World War II as a newsreel.. As darkness approached some comfort was provided by the constant sweeps outside the perimeter made at treetop level by the guys in their little OH-6 Loach light observation helicopters. NEW on HistoryNet: Attack on Long Binh, a 1969 Viet Cong attack on a US logistics base in Vietnam #VietnamWar http://trib.al/poYUWdo Video TikTok t Thnh Long Jr (@thlongjr): "Bn tng xem qua v phim attack on Titan bao gi cha? #anime #attackontitan". He was told his unit would capture many C-rations. Food was always a dominant concern for the habitually starved Viet Cong. 21 July 1969 - Rheault, Marasco, and others transferred to Long Binh Jail (LBJ). The Mk 24 flare was a metal tube, just over three feet long and about five inches in diameter. Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, one year after the original Tet Offensive. I consider the fact that the aircraft was able to fly at all a miracle, Carpenter said. With no friendly troops visible between me and the battle, into my M16 went the magazine of tracers in preparation for a confrontation with anyone who might break through that wall of gunfire, something at which the Viet Cong were quite adept. (Jim Van Eldik), It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling, Behind the driver, strewn about the passenger seat and floor, was his personal combat gear, including his, The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? Airman Levitow was setting [the ejection and ignition dials] and handing me the flares, Owen said. After Levitow left the Air Force, he worked in veterans affairs for more than 22 years. 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 29 October the Viet Cong attacked the South Vietnamese district capital of Loc Ninh, ran up the flag of the National Liberation Front, and tried to hold the city. Small-arms fire opened up in his path. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Binh chng c cng l binh chng chin u c bit tinh nhu ca Qun i nhn dn Vit Nam, do B Tng tham mu Qun i nhn dn Vit Nam trc tip qun l v ch o. It weighed 27 pounds. The villagers told the ARVN forces how they were driven out of their homes and confined to an area near a creek running alongside the village. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Some speculate that the attacks were mounted to test the will of the new U.S. President Richard Nixon who retaliated by secretly bombing PAVN/VC sanctuaries in Cambodia the following month. The Hot War (1968-October 1969) The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in late 1967 launched several costly attacks. But now the tough Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army itself were coming. Hamby advises McIntosh to . Back in the States, the aircraft had been fitted with a tank inside the fuselage to hold isopropyl alcohol. It was Feb. 24, 1969, and the second day of the Tet counteroffensive. The right tire was flat, having been cut by shrapnel, and it was all Carpenter could do, standing on the left brake, to keep control until he brought the airplane to a stop. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Danil_1969 4 ting trc. Banned from the Long Binh O'Club: The Club was a . His grieving son had no option but to file away those unanswered questions forever. The attack lifted momentarily, and the gunship began dropping flares to provide illumination requested by a nearby ground unit. It was presented in ceremonies in February 2002 by his son to CMSgt. He had a serious leg wound and was evacuated to the field hospital across the street from my barracks. I worked for Pan American Airways and lived with the 99th Replacement Battallion across from USARV Headquarters in Long Binh from October 1969 through December 1969. 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. Day scenes show soldiers defending positions and firing at the enemy. The last pocket along the An Tan ridgeline proved more difficult and Company L, 3/7 Marines suffered numerous casualties forcing it to withdraw. The pilot, copilot, and navigator were in the forward cabin, and the flight engineer, two gunners, and the loadmaster were in the cargo bay in back. . Location: Long Binh Vietnam. The U.S. created an Afghan air force that was too technologically advanced for its native country to sustain, then pulled the rug out from under it, according to a U.S. government inspector general report. . As of 1969 Lieutenant General Do Cao Tri's III CTZ . It would light up, oh, about half a mile, a good area, quite brightly, Levitow said. Sorry, Dad, I couldnt make that happen.. OVER 30 POUNDS IN WEIGHT MUST BE LOWERED BY ROPE. With no clear idea of what to do in combat, I would have to improvise. Trang ch> attack on Titan final season 3 part 1 > Bnh lun 6. Others were there, others were wounded, but Levitow being the furthest removed from the flare, recognized the danger, took action when seconds counted, and saved the lives of the entire crew, Carpenter wrote. Despite his wounds, Levitow helped secure the airplane on the way back. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. Quan Loi August 12/13, 1969 by Bill Rubenstein. 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. The attack was expected to come on the ground, as opposed to those . Mr. Cook served with the 1st Infantry Division, 2-16th Infantry, as a 1st Lieutenant in the Long Binh area of Vietnam. [4]:99, The PAVN/VC attacks on Da Nang were a failure resulting in more than 500 dead. The last major battle occurred along the berm of the rifle range on Highway 317 in the early morning just after daylight. The Army always tries to capitalize on a soldiers individual strengths. To the Air Forces embarrassment, a hero was not eligible to re-enlist. Over time, the Department of Defense plans to turn. On the second firing pass, the mortars firing on Long Binh were silenced.. Long Binh Post was a sprawling, 3,500 building . (Vietnam War period). Over the years, there were numerous other recognitions. I was experiencing what soldiers for more than half a century referred to as the empty battlefield. Modern battlefield weapons had become so lethal that to expose oneself, even for an instant, to their fire was tantamount to suicide. In 1968, a group of black inmates were fed up with their treatment and the war. Website Terms & Conditions | The enemy fire was situated across Highway 1A, directing a heavy concentration of fire into the 12th Group and II Field Force compounds. And yet there was nobody, absolutely nobody, visible out there. nhc nn - Mo One Piece - Thnh Long Jr. On 22 February, elements of the VC 274th Regiment, 5th Division assembled at three hills along Highway 15, approximately three kilometers south of Long Binh. Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. The occupants were helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage like so many rag dolls., At that moment, a loud explosion was heard and a bright flash filled the aircraft, said Maj. William P. Platt, the navigator. The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. Photos (51) by Lou Mengoli, 1967. 1971 serving with the 95th Military Police Battalion. On 8 February patrols from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines found 7 122mm rockets 14km southwest of Da Nang and another 13 140mm rockets 2km further south. June The second of two new outpost's was built on the western end of the Finger Of Land. He will look for photos. The attacks on Bin Ha, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968.The attacks by Vietcong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces were one of several major attacks around Saigon in the first days of the Tet offensive.The attacks were repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses, having inflicted . 24:11. Levitow and one of the gunners, Sgt. 83 Lt thch,23 Bnh lun.Video TikTok t Nguyn Huy Cng 1969 (@userz65oz3pvgr1969). The point man for Team #75, SP/4 Cressman, tripped a Viet Cong antipersonnel mine on the trail that runs down from the south side of the hill to the Buong River. Seriously wounded were, SSG Slaven the squad leader, SP/4 Robert Cressman, PFC Larry W. Holton, and CPL Lee Van Muon, their Popular Forces Interpreter. Surely neither the Viet Cong nor North Vietnamese Army would attempt such a suicidal mission. Spooky was flying at about 3,500 feet. 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. See Long Binh photos and images from satellite below, explore the aerial photographs of Long Binh in Vietnam. The Geography and Map Division holds a map from the war that was printed and created by the 66 th Engineer Company (known as the "Topo Corps"). So proficient had I become at this task that I had acquired the nickname Lieutenant Bullets. Officially, however, I was an ammunition stock control officer in the Army Ordnance Corps. Johanalvheey 1 ting trc. I crawled to the location of the flare. At that time, the air base security forces reported that they had lost contact with the enemy reconnaissance element which withdrew east toward Thai Hiep. The training group headquarters building at Lackland AFB, Tex., is named for him. 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. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. Location of service: Long Binh Post THOSE WHO SERVED To mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first U.S. ground troops in Vietnam, the Quad-City Times is profiling two dozen war veterans. By mid-1967, United States Army, Vietnam (USARV), 1st Logistical Command and many other Army units dispersed in Saigon were moved to Long Binh Post to resolve centralization, security, and troop billeting issues. It was his 180th combat mission, but he had never flown with this crew before. Stephen Hugh Lane SP5 Lead Clerk Jan 1969 to Sep 1970, MOS 67N20 has checked in and joined the 3/4 Cav Chapter. It was nothing like what I saw in my imagination or what is shown in movie theaters or on television. The view is from the compound of the 20. Some speculate that the attacks . Carpenter waved off taxi instructions from the tower and the crew got out fast. A battalion of the 274th Viet Cong Main Force (VCMF) Regiment of the 5 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Division, attacked the southern perimeter of Long Binh Post. Trans primary motivations seem quite similar to our own: eating and getting home. Also in mid-February Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines engaged an entrenched PAVN platoon 22km southwest of Da Nang killing 30 and the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 51st Regiment operating 4km west of the Marines killed 49 PAVN moving north of Go Noi Island. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. The cavalry troopers also stumbled onto a large tunnel complex not more than a mile from our perimeter. These attacks were repulsed for Marines losses of 18 killed and more than 75 PAVN killed. 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.
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