His grieving son had no option but to file away those unanswered questions forever. (Vietnam War period). Dennis Yenser checks in about Sapper Attack story. Is it possible Tran and his friends would have simply elected to return to North Vietnam and forgotten the idea of an attack on Long Binh altogether? By 15:00 the 36th Ranger Battalion moved into the village attacking the PAVN/VC force. For reasons unknown, it had not been emptied when the AC-47 went to Vietnam. United States and South Vietnamese forces responded with . Among those present was Carpenter, the commander of Spooky 71, now retired and living in Marshall, Tex. The 228th per DA consolidated orders of 1970 was "confirmed" as being awarded an MUC for time period 15 February 1969 - 15 August 1969, as was the 277th and other units/sections under its command { HHC . And that they would already have been shot three or four times before they got there. Trans primary motivations seem quite similar to our own: eating and getting home. . 21 July 1969 - Rheault, Marasco, and others transferred to Long Binh Jail (LBJ). Combat training for ordnance officers at best is rudimentary. [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. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. It was his 180th combat mission, but he had never flown with this crew before. Terms & Conditions | A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. Im not going to bring shame on either the medal or myself, so I do watch it very carefully.. Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. Since the headquarters building stood out on the hill like a large bulls eye, I proceeded outside and took up a defensive position behind a corner of our building, on the safe side. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. Battle At The Rifle Range. Spookys operators had successfully resisted pressure to change the call sign. SUMMARY: On December 17, 1968, a 39-vehicle convoy from the 48th Transportation Group was moving ammunition and food between Long Binh and Dau Tieng, South Vietnam when the lead vehicles were suddenly hit by mortar fire. It was situated between Bien Hoa, the location of a large American airbase, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. Soldiers counting the notes. A change of command at 2nd Field Force Artillery Headquarters at Long Binh, Vietnam. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. Duration: 2 min 9 sec. An injured North Vietnamese soldier fighting with the Viet Cong, Pvt. It was also called Dragonship and Puff the Magic Dragon (after a song, then popular, by Peter, Paul, and Mary) but went mostly by Spooky, the call sign with which it flew its missions. The firing grew to a continuous roar, with lines and lines of red tracers emitted by M60 machine guns crisscrossing the battlefield. Privacy Policy2023 CriticalPast LLC. An ambush platoon reaction team that was held in ready reserve was assigned to conduct a sweep of the tree line where the post perimeter had received heavy enemy fire from during the early morning attack. Convoy of M-113 ARCs and M-551 assault vehicles move out of camp and drive along road. The spilled ammunition19,000 rounds of it by Platts estimatewould start cooking off in seconds. Published in the October 2017 issue ofVietnammagazine. COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT, VIETNAM 1969. 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. Binh chng c cng c nhim v tp trung nghin cu, tham mu cho B Quc phng Vit Nam xy dng v pht trin cc lc lng . . Edward Fuzie, the flight engineer] were knocked to the floor and the flare was knocked out of my hands. In my case it was my unusual ability to count. On 23 February 1969, Task Force Privette (A and B Troops, 1st Squadron, 11th Cav and a company of 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry) reacted to an attack on the Long Binh perimeter, killing 88 NVA. These ingredientswhen mixed with the C-ration Beef, Spiced with Sauce or the Beans w/ Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Saucewould have provided the Viet Cong a feast for the ages. 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. I crawled to the location of the flare. (Vietnam War period). A sign reads 'Headquarters II Field Force Vietnam Artillery'. The loadmaster on Spooky 71 was A1C John L. Levitow, 23, from Glastonbury, Conn. 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. Some of our troops had recaptured it from the VC a few months before. Air & Space Forces Magazine is the official publication of the Air & Space Forces Association, 1501 Langston Boulevard, Arlington, Va., 22209-1198. ATTENTION If you participated in any of the incidents listed on this page or know of some that are not, please contact the History Project Manager via the Email Link at the top of this page. The clouds hung low, making flying helicopters . More than 100 individual and crew-served weapons were captured. 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. My class had graduated the month before from our 35-week "Fixed Ciphony Repair" course at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Spooky was flying at about 3,500 feet. more 45th Air Ambulance Medical Company helipad Long Binh, November 1969.jpg 1,820 1,434 . Long Binh/Bien Hoa; Da Nang; References; External links; Most attacks centered on military targets near Saigon and Da Nang and were quickly beaten off. The decision to make the fix to. We were officially MOS (Military Operational Specialty) 32F20, which was depot-level repair and maintenance on AUTOSEVOCOM (AUTOmatic SEcure VOice COMmunications) crypto . 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 . South Vietnamese forces follow after terrified children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding . 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. License Agreement | In another scene, a large crane is used to stack shells in the ammunition dump. The AC-47 was the first of the Air Forces side-firing gunships. 5 Lt xem. Levitow declined to board the helicopter until he was finally ordered to do so by Carpenter. (I was a big-shot first lieutenant and chauffeured to work.) Citation Nr: 0307323 Decision Date: 04/16/03 Archive Date: 04/24/03 DOCKET NO. Soldiers lined inside the building waiting for their number. Viet Cong sappers infiltrated the base and lay in long grass between the runways for several hours before placing their satchel charges. In the interest of security - and to ease communications - the army centralized Saigon's American forces in 1967 by stationing them all at an enormous compound built just outside of the city. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Over the years, there were numerous other recognitions. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Necessarily, more is lost to time than is remembered. (Vietnam War period). Slow fire was 3,000 rounds a minute each, or fast fire which was 6,000 rounds a minute each. . At the ceremonies, his son, John L. Levitow Jr., said: I have only one apology to make. Most of us were "Regular Army," almost a year into a 3-year hitch. YouTube, Thirty-four years after it happened, the story of John L. Levitow has lost none of its power to excite and inspire. We heard later that the VC who attacked were trained as something akin to Peace Corps workers in North Vietnam, but when they arrived in South Vietnam, they met with a VC commander who told them that there was only one more small pocket of corrupt "fat desk soldiers" to root out in order to rid South Vietnam completely of U.S. soldiers. The Tet 1969 offensive was carried out mostly by Viet Cong irregulars. At about 03:00, as reconnaissance elements of the unit were observed and engaged by US Air Force security forces at the perimeter of Bien Hoa Air Base, the villagers began to flee their homes, running down streets and creek beds. Ni bt nht; Gn y; Gi. The Medal of Honor was presented to John L. Levitow at the White House by President Nixon on May 14, 1970. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. The attack continued into 27 February when the Marines overran the PAVN resulting in a total of more than 200 killed. Soldiers walk around outside the headquarters. Includes scenes shot in and around the base showing soldiers preparing for the attack. (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? By Richard E. Killblane - Transportation Branch Historian September 15, 2008. The research for this After Action Report included OPERATIONAL REPORTS, DAILY STAFF JOURNALS and DUTY OFFICER S LOGS at the Battalion, Brigade and Division levels located in the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. 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. He had been nominated for the Medal of Honorat Carpenters urging, Gen. George S. Brown, the 7th Air Force commander, had marked the recommendation up from an Air Force Crossand he was no longer allowed to fly in combat. Quan Loi August 12/13, 1969 by Bill Rubenstein. Soldiers give forms to the soldier with type-writer. Media in category "Long Binh Post" The following 36 files are in this category, out of 36 total. Those satellites will join the already-planned 28 satellites in the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer of SDAs Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. 11 November SP/4s Jared Kelley and John R. Klemm, tend to their gear during a recon mission in the Tactical Area Of Responsibility. Other members of the squad have yet to be identified. I think it was a very discriminatory flight.. I consider the fact that the aircraft was able to fly at all a miracle, Carpenter said. Answer (1 of 6): Now I can answer that from a very odd perspective. Retired Army Col. Paris Davis, 83, stood in the East Room of the White House on Friday as President Joe Biden draped the Medal of Honor around his neck, nearly six decades after he saved the lives of three fellow troops during the Vietnam War.. Pan Am had a ticket office on base. A U.S. 2nd Field Force soldier poses. But now the tough Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army itself were coming. So here I was, wounds and all, finally managed to stand up and Im lifting 140-pound ammo cans and stuffing them between the guns [so they would not] go flying all around and really hurt somebody, Levitow said. The aircraft veered sharply to the right and down.. Vimeo, Partway through the mission he had come forward and was talking to the flight crew when the action unfolded that night. Hugging the deadly device to his body, he dragged himself back to the rear of the aircraft and hurled the flare through the open cargo door. Jim Van Eldik is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. The pilot was Maj. Kenneth B. Carpenter, flying his first combat mission as aircraft commander. 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. 23 July 1969 - SFC Eddie Hamby escorts Sgt McIntosh to Moc Hoa by boat on first leg of stops heading stateside. F-100C Super Sabre 54-1956 120 TFS, 35 TFW, USAF . Mini-Tet 1969 Begins February 23, 1969. The panorama took on an aspect of high noon, the entire battlefield bathed with an eerie golden glow. It could lay down an awesome field of fire, with each of its three 7.62 mm Gatling miniguns shooting up to 6,000 rounds per minute. My Lightboxes | Let us know if you remember Steve as we seek more information and photos to make a MyPage for him. A VC mortar attack on the airfield at Binh Thuy on the banks of the Mekong resulted in the destruction of a Bird Dog FAC aircraft. He decided to try a different specialty after an experience in which the power was not turned off when I thought it was turned off, so he cross trained as a loadmaster. War and peace. Another typist gives MPC currency notes to the soldiers. Dailymotion, The Space Development Agency has added another batch of missile-tracking satellites to its expansive constellation, awarding Raytheon a $250 million contract March 2 to build seven spacecraft. The idea seemed absurd! 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. The troops sent to Saigon originally lived in army units dispersed throughout the city. Back home in Connecticut, he learned that his Medal of Honor had been approved. Levitow set the timersallowing 10 seconds after the safety pin was pulled before a minor explosion deployed the parachute and another 10 seconds before the flare ignitedthen handed the flare to Owen, who attached a lanyard, which created a little extra distance before the pin was pulled after Owen tossed the flare from the aircraft. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. It was used as a base of operation for the increased ambush and reconnaissance patrols conducted in the uninhabited eastern end of the TAOR. On 9 May 1969, Pentagon correspondent William Beecher stated that US air raids against ammo dumps and base camps in Cambodia . center, as they run down Route 1 near Trang Bang after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places on June 8, 1972. It led the way for the more powerful AC-119 and AC-130 gunships that came later. All of the enlisted got wounded and the officers did not. Then came a sound akin to that of large paper sacks tearing, 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. Sound: No. After Levitow left the Air Force, he worked in veterans affairs for more than 22 years. Video TikTok t Thnh Long Jr (@thlongjr): "Bn tng xem qua v phim attack on Titan bao gi cha? #anime #attackontitan". Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. He did not yet have a five-level as a loadmaster, and without a five-level, he could not be promoted, and if not promoted, he could not re-enlist. He spent almost two months recuperating in Japan before returning to Vietnam in April. I visited my friends down the hall in the almost deserted headquarters building, but mostly kept up my vigil of the activity outside the perimeter, which, as darkness descended, now included an occasional flare. By 01:00 the next morning, the bodies of 264 PAVN/VC soldiers lay in the village, and 87 had been captured or surrendered. I was a ticket office supervisor with several Vietnamese and Chinese-Vietnamese women reservations/ticket agents. 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. As far as political considerations go, he hardly seemed interested in building a communist utopia at all. 3 Lt xem. Things quieted down for a while. The Tet lunar new year of 1968the one history remembershad seen large-scale coordinated attacks on cities, provincial capitals, and bases all over South Vietnam. The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. The prisoners revealed that their mission had been to attack Bien Hoa city and the Bien Hoa Air Base. 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. 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. Levitow was struggling toward the flare despite the violent maneuvering of the aircraft. 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. My hope was that no more than one or two VC would reach my position. About 11:30 p.m., the gunship was diverted from patrol over the village of Lai Kai, north of Long Binh. 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. A three-second burst would saturate an area the size of a football field. CRITICALPAST.COM: 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. It took considerable effort to get Spooky 71 back to base. You can imagine how frightful that was to the mind of a 6-year-old. Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. TAOR With the enemy still in force south of the Buong River there remained the continuing threat of additional ground, rocket and heavy mortar attacks against Long Binh Post.. Battalion TOC still considered the eastern sector as the weak spot of the TAOR, so they called for a strong-point (outpost) to be constructed on the Finger of Land just to the west of the abandoned tank on the crest of . It was presented in ceremonies in February 2002 by his son to CMSgt. 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. Long Binh Jail was a prison for American soldiers on the outskirts of Saigon with notoriously harsh conditions. He reported to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron at Nha Trang in July 1968 and was assigned to the squadrons forward operating location at Bien Hoa. at the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh, South Vietnam, both patient and unit members, to find each other and join in the. Surely neither the. Brigadier General Leo D. Kinnard speaks to the troops. It was an unlucky hit. He was filling in for a loadmaster who had taken his place when he was sick. 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. Scenes of Viet Cong bodies around the perimeter of the base.Please Note! Website Terms & Conditions | I had the aircraft in a 30-degree bank and how Levitow ever managed to get to the flare and throw it out, Ill never know, Carpenter said. Very seldom did we ever fire fast rounds at 18,000 rounds a minute because it had a tendency to turn the airplane. The gunners kept the guns loaded and working during the flight. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. 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. His most recent article, Rolling Thunder, appeared in the March issue. 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. Metacafe, Beyond that was an open area where tanks were patrolling back and forth, apparently looking for VC who had squirreled themselves down into rat holes trying to avoid the tanks. At the end of his tour in Vietnam, Levitow was assigned to Norton AFB, Calif., as a loadmaster on C-141s. ElyRatner, assistant secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, discussed how China continues to prod the U.S. and challenge stability in region, even as, The entire F-35 fleet is slated to get the retrofit engine maker Pratt & Whitney has identified to mitigate the problem that led to suspended deliveries and flight restrictions for some aircraft for nearly two monthsa move that will affect hundreds of fighters globally. I am compiling a history of our Regiment's service in the war. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) Part of the Vietnam War: Date: 4-5 December 1966: Location: Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. With usual soldier directness the driver divulged the ominous news: Sir, were gonna get hit tonight, so youre gonna need your helmet, flak jacket and rifle., A Viet Cong deserter had warned South Vietnamese officials on Feb.19 that an attack would occur on Feb. 22, but Long Binh didnt get the word until the day of the planned assault. Date: 1969, August 11. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. My driver arrived at the usual time, a little before sundown, on Feb. 22, for my 12-hour graveyard shift at the 1st Logistics Command headquarters. I spent nine years working for Congressional Liaison between the Veterans Administration and members of the Congress, he said. Photo of the famous Saigon Taxi. Dennis E Haines, Recipient of the Images Of Bravery Award, Patient at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, December 1968. Back in the States, the aircraft had been fitted with a tank inside the fuselage to hold isopropyl alcohol. The typist soldier types on the form with a type-writer. John T. Correll was editor in chief of Air Force Magazine for 18 years and is now a contributing editor. 30. Members of the reaction team were, SSG Larry J. Mentink, SGT Dennis E. Wiehle, SP/4 Clinton Brown (WIA), SP/4 Fred H. Pazmino (WIA), SP/4 Clay F. Creamer (WIA), SP/4 Michael A. Coto, PFC Robert S. Johnson, PFC Clinton M. Lloyd (WIA), PFC Simpson and others yet identified. The award-winning exhibit, designed by curator William I. Chivalette, includes a lifelike mannequin of Levitow, paintings, photographs, uniform items, and artifacts. Background. There was also a Vietnamese liaison officer. After the battle came another shock. This region includes ten provinces: Binh Duong, Binh Hyua, Binh Long, Binh Tuy, Hau Nghia, Long An, Long Kahnh, Phuoc Long, Phuac Tuy Tay Ninh. Bucks County Pennsylvania United States USA, Del Rio Texas Laughlin Air Force Base USA, Roxborough Pennsylvania United States USA, U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base Thailand. 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. It includes footage shot between 17 Feb and 24 Feb 1. This site uses cookies to improve your experience and to help show content that is more relevant to your interests. We were being attacked by at least a full enemy battalion in a fight raging with remarkable intensity. Welcome to the Long Binh google satellite map! The brigade was comprised of 2d Battalion, 3d . Investigation reports of the Postal Inspector Division, 1971-73. . From there, I had a good view of the perimeter and the rapidlyunfolding battle. At most, there would be 20 seconds before it exploded. The base was host to US Army Headquarters. Copyright 2023. Featured Collections | Surely neither the Viet Cong nor North Vietnamese Army would attempt such a suicidal mission. He was told his unit would capture many C-rations. Food was always a dominant concern for the habitually starved Viet Cong. The 199th later became known as the "Redcatchers" for its mission objectiveto seek out and destroy Communist cadres in Vietnam. The gunship had flown into the path of an 82 mm mortar round, which struck the top of the right wing. Danil_1969 4 ting trc. The flare was armed and rolling loose in the aircraft. If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. Between the town of Bien Hoa and the base was an old French minefield, never cleared and fenced by barbed wire. Aerial view of Long Binh Post in Vietnam. As of 1969 Lieutenant General Do Cao Tri's III CTZ . Din vin Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Vit Trinh. 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. The Hot War (1968-October 1969) The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in late 1967 launched several costly attacks. On the second firing pass, the mortars firing on Long Binh were silenced.. Militarily, it was a failure for the North Vietnamese, but it undercut the confidence of the American public and it was a turning point in the war. If it ignited, it would quickly fill the aircraft with toxic smoke, incapacitating the entire crew. Tran Van Thiet, 19, had been left behind. Everybody has their job to do and they do it., Chinas growing capabilities and recent boldness in the air domain represent dangerous and destabilizing behavior patterns, the Pentagons top official on the Indo-Pacific said March 2. For the first time the U.S. territory of Tinian, a small island around 100 miles north of the American military hub of Guam, hosted F-22 Raptors. If you like this movie trailer, go to https://militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 60 minute video. These units made occasional contact, often with PAVN or VC who fought stubbornly from trenches and spider holes. nhc nn - Mo One Piece - Thnh Long Jr. Large images may take a few minutes to appear. Small-arms fire opened up in his path. The remaining elements of the company were held in ready reserve. The airplane made it over the minefield and onto the overrun, just barely. The three guns were mounted in window ports, just forward of the open cargo door. 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. On the other hand, one is left to ponder what affect seeding the battlefield or, even better, seeding the Ho Chi Minh Trail itself with C-ration packets of the despicable Ham and Lima Beans might have had. Textual Records: Correspondence and daily journal, 1972-73. Furthermore, the flare would be burning at a temperature of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Easily create a Forum Website with Website Toolbox. Color: Color. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. The Rangers met only slight, disorganized resistance. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. Unlike our headquarters, theirs was built under a hill rather than on top of one. It had been flying in Vietnam since 1964, first with the air commandos and after that with the special operations squadrons. 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 battle area had been cleared for at least 500 to 1,000 yards from the perimeterall foliage and any source of cover had been bulldozed flat. 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. Later I enrolled as an ROTC student at South Dakota State University, became an Army officer and was assigned to Long Binh in August 1968. Photo courtesy of Tom Lefavour and taken around October 1969. The enemy was too close for artillery, so gunships were . We heard that the commander of the tanks was Col. George S. Patton Jr. To the Air Forces embarrassment, a hero was not eligible to re-enlist. On searching the site at dawn it was found that 2 PAVN 81mm mortar teams had been destroyed in the barrage. 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.