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Home of the Veterans who served at Khe Sanh Combat Base, Hill 950, Hill 881, Hill 861, Hill 861-A, Hill 558 Khe Sanh Village, Lang-Vei and Surrounding Area
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The Battle Of Khe Sanh
1968 40th Anniversary 2008 |
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Casualties 40 Years Ago This Month February 1968
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Data compiled from the book, Battalion of Kings by: Ray W. Stubbe (Chaplain) Khe Sanh Combat Base |
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01 FEB 1968 SCOTT, GYSGT Jeremiah I/3/26 02 FEB 1968 ALFANO, 1/Lt Rodney Arthur 37th Sig Bn About 1600H, 5 or 6 rockets slammed into KSCB. One struck the bunker housing the 37th Signal Battalion TROPO unit, killing the Officer in Charge, 1/Lt ALFANO, and three of his men. Marines of Co D/1/26 enjoyed a special relationship with these Army Signal types as Lt ALFANO was always eager to share what he had with them and brought food to these Marines. One of the Marines who rushed to rescue any survivors was struck by what he saw: “I’ll never forget: I saw his hand sticking out of that red dirt and he had a wedding ring on.” [Note: the uncanny fact that all three of the enlisted men had the unusual name “Leon”]. 03 FEB 1968 McCANN, LCPL James Kevin B/3dRecon McCANN was wounded when Tim BARMER was hit on 30 Jan: “..he and several other men were sitting out in front of their bunker—late in the afternoon. It was still daylight, and a round came in and landed close, and it blew his foot off. So we got him in a stretcher and over to the aid station, but he died—shock and everything.” 05 FEB 1968 BOGARD, PFC Jack Crosby E/2/26 At 0405H, Hill 86l-Alfa, occupied by Co E/2/26, received a ground assault sup-ported by a tremendous volley of 82mm mortars. Although the perimeter was penetrated and a desperate battle ensued—involving “hand-to-hand” combat—most casualties to Co “E” were sustained during the opening mortar barrage. The NVA force concentrated its assault against positions manned by E-1. A ChiCom grenade was dropped into a bunker occupied by STEVENSON killing him, and a RPG fired into another bunker, killing “Red.” Both were with the mortar squad. “STEVENSON had been hit by a ChiCom and he was killed instantly by the way it looked because he was really mangled up. And then we went to the next hole to get ‘Reds’ out and we could see where ‘Reds’ had been hit, but was still alive because he had claw marks on the wall where you could see he had tried to get out.” “..I came upon a sight I will never forget as long as I live. Here in one of the holes lay 3 young Marines who had been blown apart. And on the dirt walls of their hole you could see TEN LONG BLOODY MARKS from the top of the hole to the bottom made by one of those Marines who had attempted to crawl out before he died.” PFC Jack BOGARD was hit by a round in the head by a AK-47. PFC RIMSON was hit by shrapnel from the initial mortar blast and killed. SGT ORNELAS expressed the idea that ‘lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same spot’ and didn’t cotton to the idea of using a trench to move to the LSU. He walked, instead, by using the road, and one day a large arty round, probably l52, struck him, tearing his body but not affecting his head. His eyes were like saucers. 6 FEB 1968 CORLEY, LCPL Thomas Eugene C/1/26 At 1815H, 1/26 received three 122mm rockets or l52mm artillery rounds, resulting in 2 KIAs. LCPL CORLEY was in a bunker struck by a rocket; CPL MEADE was hit by a rocket explosion as he ran from his office to a living bunker. 07 FEB 1968 ASHLEY, SFC Eugene Jr. A-101 During the attack by tanks and ground forces against the newly relocated and constructed camp housing Detachment A-101, US Special forces (at XD 795 360), LINDEWALD and HANNA were at the MIKE Force OP (XD 778 53l). SFC HOLT, the team’s senior medic, was at his duty post in the 2d Reconnaissance Platoon area. When it came time to break out f the camp and move to cover at the old Lang Vei site, MORELAND, inside the TOC, had a head wound, was semi-conscious, screaming when someone touched him, unable to recognize or understand anything said to him. He was given medication to ease the pain. He had to be left in the bunker when the others dashed for rescue since they were forced to fight their way out to an escape route. One survivor testified: “Captain WILLOUGHBY tried to get him up and he started screaming and making noises. He couldn’t control himself. At that time everyone was wounded except for two of us and we couldn’t have carried him because of the enemy fire. It would have been suicide.” MORELAND was left in the TOC. SGT ASHLEY, with the Laotian survivors of BV-33 at the old Lang Vei camp site, organized a small assault force and made 5 vigorous assaults against the enemy, continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine-gun and automatic weapons fire. While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine-gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After his fifth assault he was hit by a bullet which passed through his chest on the right side and exited through his radio. He was placed on a jeep that arrived from the old camp. As the jeep bounced over the road, SP4 Joel JOHNSON administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to ASHLEY. Then an artillery round struck within 15 meters, knocking JOHNSON unconscious and mortally wounding ASLEY. (ASHLEY was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, one of two at Khe Sanh; the other was JON CAVAIANI. Both were Army Special Forces). During the attack on Lang Vei, Harvey G. BRANDE, William G. McMURRAY, and Dennis L. THOMPSON were captured by the NVA; they were released 05 Mar 1973. At 1700H, Bunker #18 (XD 847 417) received rocket fire resulting in the death of LCPL CORBIN who received shrapnel in his entire body, and the serious wounding of another Marine. 08 FEB 1968 ALLEN, PFC Kenneth Jeffrey A/l/l3 At 0400H, a l22mm rocket landed in the perimeter of Gun #6, Battery “A”, l/l3, hitting a WP ready bunker and causing all the powder in the bunker to burn and explode. 3 men were on watch where the rocket hit: SGT ANTRIM, LCPL AYERS, and PFC ALLEN; all were killed. Also killed at Battery “A” was PFC DALTON. At 0540H, 3 rounds hit Hill 88l-S (manned by I/3/26), killing one man and wounding 3 (2 were evacuated) and at l00lH, 2 rounds exploded killing one and wounding 2 (both evacuated). At l430H, Co C/l/26 received one incoming l22mm rocket killing PFC CUNNINGHAM who was 20 yards from the blast. “..I sent him to pick up C-rats at the CP one day and he was killed by incoming. He was just a kid, as was I. He was scheduled to go on R&R in a few days and was quite apprehensive about it. He confided in me that he had never even kissed a girl before and, based on stories he’d heard from the other guys returning from R&R, he didn’t think he could measure up. He was afraid of being ridiculed by the other guys by returning with no sea stories of passionate drunken romances. I told him to take his camera with him, be himself, and enjoy his five days as he saw fit. Then I told him to spend some of his time making up the biggest ‘sailor story’ he could dream of, and relate this upon his return. Unfortunately, he never had the chance. I think his mother would be happy to know that only God and her ever knew the tenderness of his kiss.” On 23 Jan, the 45 men of First Platoon, A/l/9, under the command of 2/Lt ROACH, together with 20 men of the l/9 Weapons Platoon under the command of 2/Lt LOVELY established an OP position at XD 823 4l6, called “Hill 64.” At 0445H, NVA forces suddenly unleashed the fury of a mortar attack on the outpost and launched a 3-prong assault on it. By 05l3H, NVA were inside the wire. “CPL YORK woke me up, said there was Gooks in the lines.. A couple of times—YORK—he and I would trade positions in the trenches, kept telling me to keep my head down. Later, right after daybreak, I would find out that YORK was dead. He’d been shot in the head. Also to find out the ‘weasel’ [nickname for FEASEL]—the bullet had gone through YORK’s head and into ‘weasel’s ear.” A bunker containing PVT DICKIE, LCPL SCOTT, and CPL TORRES had apparently collapsed from satchel charges. They were among the MIA the first day until their bodies were later recovered. “I was asleep [when the attack began]. TORRES was to my right. And this grenade—or satchel charge, whatever it was—came through the hole there, fell between TORRES and the wall, blew him up. I was laying on my left side, and it blew my right side. Anyway, I got out of there..” “There was a guy DICKIE who was a very good friend of mine. He was from Canada [and] joined the Marine Corps to become a citizen.. There was nothing left. A RPG hit him..” “His [ROACH’s] bunker was right behind my Squad Leader’s—Weapons Platoon—Corporal GLASPER. Corporal GLASPER’s bunker was the first one that went.” In the initial attack, one of the machine-gun bunkers got hit. It was the first explosion—CPL GLASPER’s bunker. CPL BURKHEAD was the second explosion, also a machine-gun position. James FEASEL came upon an empty bunker and was about to leave when Jimmy RIZZO dashed in followed by a burst of fire. Eventually, RIZZO told FEASEL, “I’m getting out of here!” FEASEL said to stay in because in the dark the NVA couldn’t see to fire where they were. But RIZZO ran out, “..and as soon as he left the bunker I heard automatic rifle fire, and Jimmy RIZZO came backwards into the bunker and fell on the floor on his back. I reached around and grabbed RIZZO by the shirt and as I did this another burst of fire entered the bunker. This was when RIZZO made his last transmission, “I’ve been hit and I’m dying.” “RIZZO called my name twice and died. He was shot several times in the chest.” On McDANIEL: “CPL McDANIEL asked for my grenade pouch. As I was handing the pouch to him another grenade landed between us again. This one must of been a frag because it knocked the hell out of me and the CPL. Every-thing seemed to be in slow motion. CPL McDANIEL’s face seemed to lift off, leaving a bloody mess, and then he fell backwards into the trench.” John PONDOFF was killed as part of the rescuing force led by CAPT RADCLIFFE. Others: “I went to CLEMSON’s bunker and saw his face. He was still in one piece. As I couldn’t bring myself to touch him, it just didn’t seem real. COLGATE was sitting like in an Indian position with his legs crossed in front of him, his head bowed, his chin touching his chest, black powder burns all over his face and his helmet lying upside down in his lap. I reached across to pick up his helmet as that was where we kept our mail tuck up inside of it, thinking maybe I would write his wife, and there was about two inches of his blood in the bottom of his helmet which covered the mail and then I noticed he had a hole in his forehead. I also noticed the other guy from my own fire team, the black guy, lying there next to CLEMSON.. I limped over to my bunker and got down my knees and found WALSH who also had a lot of powder burns on his face. LCPL WALSH was in a position I will never forget. He was on his knees sitting on the back of his legs with his head tilted up, eyes open as if waiting for someone to help him get out. He died that way. I was told later on they had to break his legs to get him out of the bunker.” “When it was light enough to see, I saw MALLOY holding CPL YORK in his arms. He (YORK) was either dead or unconscious. He appeared to have been shot through the left eye and temple. I looked at MALLOY and he looked back at me. We didn’t speak. Blood covered both of their flak jackets and I couldn’t tell if one or both were hit. I learned later that CPL YORK was already dead although MALLOY continued to hold him in his arms after he died.. it appeared that YORK had bled to death. MALLOY would have to wear his flak jacket for days with the entire front of it covered with dried blood..” After the battle, the Marines began to look for any still alive: “When I reached the top of the hill I went to the bunker PVT DICKEY had been in, the one that I’d seen destroyed and collapsed… we continued digging. It wasn’t long before we found the first body. It was PVT DICKIE. His head was blown apart from the base of his skull to his forehead; his brain was gone… The smell was sickening. We then dug out a black Marine, LCPL James SCOTT, who I’d known since getting in country and a member of the mortar crew who’d been standing watch that night.” MAJ Robert LAPHAM was flying HOBO-l, the lead AlG, #52-135043, in a flight of 2 on 08 FEB 68. The plane was diverted by HILLSBORO (the ABCCC) to the area immediately south of Lang Vei and alerted to join an airborne FAC at XD 778 322 to destroy 3 NVA tanks. Each HOBO aircraft was loaded with 6 BLU 23, 4 CBU 25, and 800 rounds 20mm. During the first pass, LAPHAM dropped 4 BLU 23s completely engulfing one tank. On his second pass, MAJ LAPHAM had already dropped his napalm when he crashed about l00 meters beyond the target at XD 792 357, approx. l00 meters SSW of Lang Vei. Neither the second AlG, who was then on his attack run, nor the FAC, observed a parachute. A helicopter flown to the crash site from Khe Sanh closely observed the crash site at close range and reported no recognizable portions of the aircraft remaining. 09 FEB 1968 LOVATO, PFC Michael Leon C/l/9 “I remember when our Listening Post got hit: I just wanted to jump up and go out there. They had movement—lots of movement—and they were attempting to come back in, and something went wrong. And I wanted to go out there because LOVATO got hurt real bad—both legs blown off—there, screaming for help. And I jumped up and I was going to go out there, but then the Lt started yelling: OK, we’re going to get a patrol out there. And it seemed like it took hours; it might of been 5, l0 minutes. But I wanted to go out there. [The patrol got the body]—and TOM PINATELLI: he was still alive when we got to him, but he died that night or early the next morning. I always assumed that if we just got them back alive, that we’re going to save them. [LOVATO].. was dead when we got to him. He bled to death, and he was screaming for help.” 10 FEB 1968 BROWN, SSGT William Leo ? - passenger At noon, a KC-l30F of VMGR-l52, #l498l3, callsign BASKETBALL-8l3, approached the KSCB runway carrying 6 JP-4 fuel bladders and 2 pallets of cargo on an emergency resupply of vitally needed fuel. As it approached, it was hit. At least one round penetrated the fuel bladders causing fuel to splash the interior, which was ignited by aircraft electrical systems and within seconds the plane’s interior was engulfed in flames. The pilot, an old legend of Marine Corps aviation, CWO-4 Henry WILDFANG, expertly managed to land the aircraft, thus saving 5 of the l0 on board. MSGT D’ADAMO, Jr., the flight engineer, remained in the cockpit and assisted the pilot, enabling a safe landing and permitting the escape of several before the aircraft burst into flames. LCPL FERREN, First Mechanic, remained at his post until the aircraft stopped and then made his exit through the crew entrance door receiving severe burns. (He later died from these wounds, on 0l March). SSGT WALBRIDGE was coming to Khe Sanh to write stories on Air Wing personnel at Khe Sanh; he had only been in country a few days. COL PETERSON, a reserve officer, had volunteered for active duty only a few months previously. 11 FEB 1968 KEEFE, CPL Dennis Michael HQ 26 MAR At 1115H, one rocket impacted on a l06mm recoilless rifle bunker (XD 848 4l6) killing PVT SCOTT. “We hear BOOM! I looked, and it was Mike’s bunker. So I ran there. PEREZ—he lifts the Air Force matting up and I crawl in there and pull out a body with no head. I go in and I can’t find Mike. I come out, and I saw ‘SCOTT’ right across his shirt—first one I pulled out—no head—decapitated.” From the official l/26 log: “Fm:B - KIA Report - A. S2357708 B. llllll5H C. XD8484l6 C. Shrapnel and concussion E. Multiple lacerations F. Dead G. Yes H. Defense of perimeter I. Rocket J. H&S Co, l06 plt.” Official records of Vietnam really don’t tell the story! A USAF C-l30 landed at ll30H and was promptly greeted with a barrage of incoming mortars that lasted 20 minutes. The first round landed l5 feet from the plane killing 2 passengers and seriously wounding the loadmaster. Among the passengers were all the company First Sergeants of l/9 who were sent to obtain the payroll for the battalion. As a result, all 5 First Sergeants were medevaced; First Sergeant TURNER, although evacuated to DELTA Med at Dong Ha, died of wounds. The next day, the USAF ceased landing l30s at the Khe Sanh airstrip; it was too dangerous. The other passenger killed was Lt WOODS. “He wasn’t even supposed to be there. They’d assigned him to be the coordinator of the drops and stuff [supplies] from Dong Ha, and he wanted to see how we were doing, and he came up to see and he got killed.” “He was about 6’l” with dark red hair and bright red moustache which he was really proud of. He even started to let it exceed regulations a bit… I guess he’d just wanted to see how the troops were, so he hopped a ride coming our way, intending, I was told, to see us, his platoon, and then catch the next bird out back to Dong Ha… He was thinking about us at the end. Lt WOODS, you were a good man. I never gave you much reason to believe this, but I honestly do say it now. We laughed at some of the things you did and kept our distance, but you did make us smile—most officers didn’t. You stuck up for us, especially me. We know you did—maybe you knew about us also. You thought about us, I see that now. Your actions clearly proved that. Perhaps God will deliver this for me!” [Note: these comments of Bill JABUSCH were written 08 Mar l990; Bill died 08 Nov l99l—he could tell his Lieutenant personally]. 12 FEB 1968 SPANGLER, CPL Larry Keith HQ 26 MAR 13 FEB 1968 EDMONDS, PFC Arthur Lee Jr. H&S/2/26 The LSA area of the KSCB at l4l0H received 5 incoming rockets killing one man and wounding 8 (2 evacuated). EDMONDS was an American Indian, a member of the 8lmm mortar section of 2/26. 14 FEB 1968 DOORNBOS, CPL Don Michael D/1/9 At noon, KSCB received one incoming rocket in the 3d Engineers area which exploded next to a PC killing PFC PATRICK and seriously wounding another man. At l5l5H, Co D/l/9 received 3 rounds 60mm mortars resulting in one seriously wounded and one non-seriously wounded man. Later, two more rounds of 82mm were received, one of which landed in a bunker doorway killing CPL DOORNBOS and seriously wounding another Marine. 15 FEB l968 GAYNOR, SGTMAJ James Thomas H&S/1/26 The NVA had launched a heavy fire attack on 88l-S with l22mm rockets, 82mm mortars and sporadic fire from automatic weapons, injuring the MIKE Company CO in his legs and killing CPL PERETTA. “..a Lieutenant KING who had come off 88l-South was on his way to Graves Registration with the remains of a Marine from 3/26.. and all he had was a small Willy Peter bag. The young Marine had been hit directly with an enemy mortar.” “Sergeant-Major GAYNOR was at Corregidor when World War II broke out. He was taken prisoner and kept a POW for about 4 years. Obviously, when he got to Vietnam he was a very senior Sergeant-Major, and he really did not belong to an infantry battalion. I asked him why he was there. He said he wanted to be with the troops. And he was a fantastic Sergeant-Major. One morning we were checking the lines—pretty heavy incoming. I took the radio operator and said: ‘Sergeant-Major, you go and see Charlie Company and I’ll go around to the Gray [Sector] side and see Bravo.’ While we were doing this, several rockets came over and one scored a direct hit on Charlie Company’s bunker [at l5l5H], injuring Captain Dave ERNST.. and inflicting a very serious head wound on Sergeant-Major GAYNOR.” He was then medevaced to Dong Ha in an aircraft with John KAHENY: “I had in my hand the IV bottle for the Sergeant Major, and he was resting on my lap. And it was kind of eerie because the closer we got to Dong Ha where DELTA Med was, the grayer he became, and sometime, I think on the way in to Dong Ha, he passed away..” 16 FEB 1968 JOHNSON, LCPL Kenneth Richard B/l/9 A patrol from B/1/9 at XD 834 410 received heavy small arms and automatic weapons fire from XD 831 411. While attempting to locate the enemy, more fire came from XD 83l 411. One Marine was killed and 5 wounded (one evacuated). 18 FEB 1968 TAYLOR, CPL Homer Jr. I/3/26 A wounded Marine lay dying on top of 88l-South and our helicopters were powerless to rescue him due to intense fog and rain. No one was, at first, especially anxious: the fog usually burned-off by noon and then he could be medevaced. Today, however, the fog didn’t burn-off. Night fell. Heavy fog continued the next day. The Marine began slipping. The supply of glucose being given by IV was running out. The fog continued until late night. Excitedly, a radio operator reported, “I can see stars!” Although hazardous, a night landing on 88l-S was attempted. Ground flares provided a few momentary glimpses. A NVA machine-gunner fired at the chopper. The helicopter continued to search for land, only ten minutes of fuel remaining. Then a voice came up on the radio: “Be advised, the medevac is now ROUTINE, repeat, now ROUTINE.” The Marine had died. 19 FEB 1968 BAILEY, LCPL Joseph Thomas C/l/26 LCPL BAILEY died in DaNang at 02l5H from wounds when the Co C/l/26 bunker took the direct hit at l5l5H on l5 Feb and sustained wounds to his head and back. 20 FEB 1968 GOMEZ, PFC Armando Abel E/2/26 CPL Walt WHITESIDES, a TACP on 88l-S, was having his hair cut by the platoon barber when he heard that his best friend, Terry SMITH, the “one-four”, had been wounded. He immediately said, “Good, he’ll now leave due to this being his third [Purple] Heart.” That the wound was fatal was never thought; that SMITH died can never be forgotten. The official citation for the Silver Star Medal reads: “Corporal SMITH observed a Marine helicopter landing in a zone on which he knew NVA gunners had registered heavy mortars [i.e., l20mm]. He realized that the aircraft would almost certainly be destroyed if it remained in the landing zone, and attempted unsuccessfully to contact the pilot by radio. [Evidently, he had heard the mortars pop as they were being fired, but the noise from the choppers made it impossible for the pilots or crew to hear this warning]. Aware that the enemy rounds were probably already on the way, he restrained a Marine junior to him from going out onto the zone, and leaving the safety of his bunker ran across the open ground signaling manually to the helicopter crew to take off immediately. As the helicopter took off and before CPL SMITH could reach cover, he was fatally wounded by mortar fragments, gallantly sacrificing his life so that the crew might live.” [On 30 SEP 1988, the Henderson Hall Terry L. SMITH Memorial Gymnasium was dedicated at HQMC, Arlington, VA. The program for the event notes that SMITH was born in Nashville, Tennessee and had participated in little league baseball, Cub Scouts, Boy’s Club and was active in church activities. “It was at an early age that Terry learned to give of himself for others as evidenced by his work as a junior counselor at summer camps.”] 21 FEB 1968 BAKER, SFC Robert Nelson FOB-3 SFC BAKER was a Team Leader patrolling atop Co Roc Mountain in mid-January (along with MAJ George QUAMO and Team Leaders E-7 Robert CAVANAUGH and “Skip” MINNICKS). The patrol had been scouring Co Roc, finding caves full of NVA gear and munitions, but no NVA. Our Signal Intelligence had determined that the NVA forces had moved into the Khe Sanh area from eastern Laos; they were poised to attack and commence the Siege. “SKIP and me went out. We came to this clearing. We hadn’t made any contact. We came to this clearing by a river, and I said, Well I’m going to check over the top of this rise—see if there’s anything over at the top of this rise. And I said, You guys wait here. At that time, SKIP and Bob [BAKER] said, No, we’re going to go with you. So I said, OK. And Bob was on my left side, I was in the middle, SKIP was on the right side. We had maybe ten yards between us as we’re walking up there. To this day, I can still hear ‘click click’, which is BOB and SKIP taking their weapons off SAFETY and putting them on FULL AUTOMATIC. And this guy jumped out of a hole—to shoot me. He’d seen me, and he jumped up to shoot me, and when he did that, BOB was no more than three feet to four feet away from him, and he swung his weapon away from me, and that’s when he hit Bob [3 times in the gut].” BAKER died of these wounds on this date. DOUGLAS was washing himself, took off his flak vest. A round came in and he was killed. DOUGLAS was one of the non-airborne men at FOB-3. The logbook at Graves Registration reflected that on l9 January the entry was number l2-68. Today, the number is l4l-68, indicating that l29 have been killed and processed through our Khe Sanh Graves Registration unit. Of course, this does not reflect those who died after being evacuated. 22 FEB 1968 BRETT, LTJG Robert R (Chaplain Corps) H&S/2/26 The 2/26 chaplain LT BRETT, had been visiting Marines of Co “E” on Hill 86l-A and also the 3/26 Marines of Co “K” and the platoon of A/l/26 on Hill 86l for a couple of days. “BRETT walked around the trenchline and remained overnight in the company CP and showed a very deep concern for the troops. I thought the world of Bob BRETT.” Chaplain BRETT then flew to KSCB since there was no direct flight from 86l-A to his BN CP on Hill 558. He was in a narrow slit trench in the LSA waiting for further transportation to 558 when a large round—probably l52 or l30 artillery—penetrated and exploded, a direct hit. Also killed with him was PFC CHIN, his clerk, who had been wounded twice previously. SGT McCALL had just been promoted l5 Jan at Phu Bai and had talked to his friends of how happy he was he had made Sergeant. LCPL FOSTER (nickname “CORKY”) had walked 404 miles in September, l967, from his home in Welch, WV, to Camp LeJeune to enlist. He was then 29. Being somewhat of a news-worthy event, he made a statement that was quoted in the newspapers of the time: “I think America has a definite military commitment and that each person should do what he can to fulfill that commitment. I am seriously concerned about America’s no-win or get out attitude concerning the war in South Vietnam. The wars we have been engaged in in the past have been won by those who said we could win, not by those who said we could not. I want to emphasize the effort and sacrifice that so many others have made. I want to register the intent or prove or show the intent of the American people to win the war, not buy it out or bargain, to talk it out, but to win.” PFC VANCE was in the northeastern sector of the perimeter. At l625H, 21 Feb, a C-l30 cargo aircraft, while making a low-level approach over the runway, was fired upon by AA forcing it to make a radical evasive maneuver. In so doing, the tail section of the airplane struck Reggie’s bunker and caused it to collapse, seriously injuring Reggie and one other Marine. Reggie was immediately taken to C-Med, however, he failed to respond, and expired at 0l00H, 22 Feb. During the period l200 -l700, KSCB and outlying positions received approxima-tely 250 rounds of incoming resulting in 7 men killed and 22 wounded (18 evacuated). At l645H, a CH-53, YH-21, #l53283, from HMH-463 had off-loaded supplies and was just about to pick up some medevacs from C-Med when incoming rounds began exploding nearby. Disregarding his own safety, the pilot remained as the wounded Marines were brought aboard. Within seconds, YH-21 suffered a direct hit on its aft portion. The plot, CAPT RILEY, attempted to save his aircraft and crew from almost certain destruction by flying clear of the ramp by C-Med. As he lifted, severe vibrations developed, and he was forced to land immediately, flying only about 30 yards (to the area between recon and the airstrip). Following ground contact, the vibrations increased and the main rotor blade tilted, slicing into the cockpit, killing both CAPT RILEY and his co-pilot, Lt SMITH. The blade had decapitated one and sliced the other through his chest. The crew and embarked passengers had been saved. 23 FEB 1968 BIRCH, CPL Thomas H A/l/26 The platoon of A/l/26 manning Hill 950 under the leadership of 2/Lt Maxie R. WILLIAMS had been without water for many days and dispatched a small patrol at 0730H eastward toward Hill l0l5. After moving about l00 meters they suddenly encountered and surprised l0-l2 NVA smoking near 3 living bunkers at XD 847 454. CPL BIRCH was killed in the fire-fight that ensued due to gun shot in his leg and groin. (CPL BIRCH was the only man on Hill 950 killed during the Siege. His body was on Hill 950 for 7 days before he would be evacuated. The hill went 7 days without any water or any choppers landing due to fog). From ll00H to l800H KSCB received a heavy incoming rocket, mortar, and artillery attack resulting in 8 friendly killed and 38 wounded (l9 evacuated). The incoming set new records at l307 rounds (476 artillery, l6 60mm, 372 82mm, 4 l20mm mortars, 437 l22mm rockets, and 5 recoilless rounds). L/Lt JOHNSON, the l/26 Supply Officer, and LDS Lay-Leader, was killed by one of these rounds when his bunker received a direct hit. His body had no marks; he probably died of concussion. “I remember digging them out. I was the first person to get to him [Kim JOHNSON] and initially I thought that he was probably alive, but the concussion had broken his neck. He was buried up to his waist and was sitting on his cot. So it was just like he was sort of sitting there with his head hanging down. The l06mm RR bunker on the lines near C-Med was hit. There was a body without a head; it had completely vanished and a search by Chaplain STUBBE for it failed to locate it. There were small pieces of flesh scattered—a hand, an arm, a stringy piece of flesh intertwined with cloth and caked with mud. The l06 rifle itself, standing high up and exposed, was untouched. Only a few nights before, these men were going in and out of their bunker, heating up a small can of coffee, listening to a jumpy version of “I Heard it on the Grape Vine,” and one man was reading from his prayer book. CPL LEASURE was hit by a sniper as he walked down a trench on Hill 88l-S. When the round hit him, he didn’t fall. He ran, and ran right into his good friend, putting his arms around his neck, and died. The round had hit him in the right shoulder and completely passed through his upper chest, and he let out an awful scream. The corpsman came running up and commenced to pound his fist on LEASURE’s chest to get his heart going, and another Marine there, a good friend, was punching the corpsman everytime the corpsman punched LEASURE’s chest. At the end, the corpsman’s face was literally bleeding. LEASURE had said the night before that he knew he was going to die. Two Gunnery Sergeants, WIRE and ROBITAILLE, had taken refuge in a single hole during incoming, and one round landed right in this hole. “The Gunny had just come up on the hill with us, and he was an older fellow. At first I thought: Gees, he’s too old to be in the Marine Corps, but he was just like everybody’s dad. He came around the hill and said, ‘Hey, listen guys, it’s all right. It’s the pits, but it’s all right; you’ll make it.’ He was real well respected. He was there just a few days, and he got killed. He had come up on the hill at just the right time, when we were really getting down on morale. We were all awfully young..” 24 FEB 1968 AGUIRRE, CPL Carlos Cruz E/2/26 The Marines of E/2/26 on Hill 86l-A were stringing defensive barbed wire. Their position was the only company-size outpost that had not previously been manned and they had to start from scratch to establish their position. PFC BORRELL was wrapping wire around a metal engineer stake when a mortar exploded right behind him, severing his legs at his knees. The other Marines on the working party desperately attempted to return to their defensive positions, running through the wire, crawling through it. First Squad was ordered to go out and assist them. BORRELL was a big man-- “And I saw that he was bleeding real excessively, so the corpsman commenced putting tourniquets on each one of his legs, and I could see that he was going into shock at the time. And the corpsman directed me to just hold him down until he got the tourniquets on. And I laid the weight of my body, which was l65, l70 pounds, and he just raised up like I wasn’t even laying on him. He got one look at his legs that had been blown off, and he just fell back, turned white, and he died.” 2/Lt DISTEFANO, XO of E/2/26, had been on R&R during the attack of 5 Feb. Upon his return,, he desperately pleaded to the point of tears, not to be returned to 86lA because he had a premonition he would die there. The BN XO ordered him to go. When the mortar barrage fell on those repairing the barbed wire defense, SSGT ALLEN, 2/Lt DISTEFANO, and a radio operator rushed toward those wounded, emotions overtaking more rational considerations. While they were so doing, another mortar exploded between ALLEN, DISTEFANO, and the radioman, killing the Lieutenant and the radioman (Max NELSON). CAPT BREEDING, CO of E/2/26, put DISTEFANO in for a Bronze Star for heroically going out into the dangerous area, but the BN XO squelched the nomination due to the Lieutenant’s plea not to return to the hill. On NELSON: “Max’s dad had been a POW in World War II and got out of the Army as a Major, and was teaching art in the high-school in Walker, Minnesota. Max was quite an artist himself. As a matter of fact, Max took at l:50,000 [tactical map] and he drew it to a much larger scale on a C-rat [carton] sleeve.. It was done beautifully, and it was that that allowed us to really work off of that [the night of 05 Feb attack].. A round came in and got this guy in the wire, and one of my corpsmen went out to get him, and the next round came in and got them.. and Max, who knew the corpsman pretty well--. Max went out to do what he could. He got the third round.” LCPL JONES had one of the most dangerous jobs at Khe Sanh: moving supplies, like pallets of ammo, from where the planes left them, to supply points via forklift. The noise of the forklift prevented hearing any mortars or artillery being fired. Being on the airstrip, there was no place to run for cover. Carrying ammo could mean a big explosion if hit. One day, during a lengthy period of incoming, as JONES was in a road culvert for cover, he decided to get up and run from the relatively insecure culvert to a more secure bunker, and an incoming round killed him. On AGUIRRE and JEFFRIES: “I don’t know if it was friendly fire or whatever, but the bunker next to ours—the name was C. C. AGUIREE and JEFFRIES. Their bunker was hit, and they suffocated. They had about a ton—two tons—of stuff on top of them and couldn’t get out… I heard a muffled scream. It was terrible! It was at night. A new Gunnery Sergeant vomited in my canteen, and I got very, very upset because of the water situation: we had no water. No, he was a Staff Sergeant. He said it was his second tour, and he still had underwear on! I knew it couldn’t of been his second tour; nobody wears underwear or sox when you’re a Grunt.” 25 FEB 1968 AKINS, LCPL Ronald Paul B/1/26 2/Lt Donald JACQUES departed the KSCB perimeter 0800H with a 41-man patrol of two reinforced squads from B-3 of l/26 reinforced with one 8lmm FO, one S-2 Scout, one Kit Carson Scout, two machine-gun teams, and one rocket team. Dave HOLLIMAN, a Marine from B-3, did not accompany the patrol since several days previously a round had split his helmet and creased his skull. Neither did Jeff CULPEPPER accompany the patrol; he had been superficially wounded on l3 Feb but not medevaced. Instead, he received orders l7 Feb to Infantry Weapons School on Okinawa and departed Khe Sanh with James HEBRON on 23 February. As the patrol began to sweep a treeline area, three NVA were spotted, but turned off the road and disappeared after Marines shot at them. Lt JACQUES dispatched a squad under command of CPL CLAIRE (the fellow who used to make loud yells like Tarzan!) and accompanied by the Platoon Sergeant, SSGT McCLELLAND, along with one of the machine-guns, to move to the right and hook around the rear of the NVA position and take away the flanking position. This maneuver might have succeeded, but the squad leader did not hook sufficiently far enough to the west before turning back in on the NVA positions, and instead of hitting the flank, the squad walked into more blistering frontal fire. CPL CLAIRE’s point man, Ed RAYBURN, the first Marine in B-3 to be hit, had his jaw shot off. CPL CLAIRE placed him in a trench and RAYBURN, in a state of physical shock, witnessed the unfolding sequence of his entire squad being killed in minute detail. Writing from a hospital shortly thereafter, he told CAPT PIPES (CO of B/l/26): “I saw and heard them die for three hours.” [RAYBURN, who had been a very handsome young man, eventually returned to the States, had his mouth grafted to his upper shoulder, could only eat liquids or mash food with his remaining two upper front teeth, lost his girl-friend, turned to drugs, and committed suicide in a VA hospital]. A new man to the platoon, Ron RIDGEWAY, observed CLAIRE standing in the middle of the field, hollering and ducking bullets, telling his men to move. Forget maneuvers, he was saying—just run and try to get to the trench. RIDGEWAY, LCPL GELLER, and PFC BRUDER dashed and made it to one of the NVA trenches. BRUDER was shot in his chest and killed. LCPL GELLER, the first team leader, was kneeling at the side of PFC RUFF who lay there with a broken arm. RIDGEWAY laid down beside RUFF, facing the NVA, his feet alongside GELLER. GELLER just started to say something when a round was fired from where they had been. RIDGEWAY arose in a half push-up position and looked around at GELLER since he felt something at his feet. GELLER had been hit through the right side of his face, taking out the entire left side. He was spitting teeth. Just as he ducked, RIDGEWAY was hit in his shoulder, knocking him down. GELLER lay there moaning, attempting to talk. RUFF’s right arm was broken and he was laying on his back. RIDGEWAY’s left arm was broken, and he drifted in and out of consciousness. RIDGEWAY awoke in the late afternoon and talked with RUFF to keep each other’s morale up. GELLER had settled down but was becoming delirious and suddenly shouted: “Don’t leave me here!” There were some incoming grenades. GELLER got up on his knees as a grenade hit near him. There was a thump. GELLER fell over, moved a bit, and died. B-l, under the leadership of Lt WEISS, moved out to assist, moved out about 300 meters and was immediately pinned down by two machine-guns and heavy mortar fire. When 2d Squad of B-l became pinned down, HN MOORE fearlessly moved through the heavy barrage to provide aid to the seriously wounded. He continued despite the heavy mortars, saving the lives of at least three Marines who were subsequently evacuated. As he was trying to reach another wounded Marine, an incoming mortar took his life. Only a few of B-3 survived: Doc CICALA, Ed RAYBURN, Johnny BELINA, Thomas DETRICK. Doc CICALA had just attended DODSON’s wounds, jumped up to attend another’s when he was shot at the base of his throat by a NVA in a trench ten feet away. The round struck his dog tags and a large St. Christopher Medal and C-rat opener, all of which was pushed into his trachea. A second round struck his flak jacket and entered his right lung. He fell. A grenade rolled between his legs, detonated, and blew his knee cap off; burning metal entered his thighs, calves, and groin. Eventually CICALA, by his own resolve, crawled back to KSCB. (He later, miraculously, fathered a child). Doc CICALA had been with Lt JACQUES: “When he got hit, I crawled over to him. He caught it right across his femoral arteries, and he was dead within minutes. There was nothing that could be done. It looked like he got hit with machine-gun fire and it caught him just below the groin area, severed both arteries, and there wasn’t anything I could do.” On 26 Feb, RIDGEWAY awoke to a NVA pulling off his wristwatch. He was completely surrounded by NVA who thought he was dead. He was a POW until released in l973—to the surprise of all since everyone assumed he had been KIA and his parents had even been so notified, and his name was engraved in a common grave for the remains of those who could not be identified from this patrol at Jefferson Barracks, MO. Jack KILBRIDE was being medevaced 25 Feb from 88l-S. Two of his buddies, PFC SZMANSKI and CPL WIEDEMANN, were standing in a trenchline right behind KILBRIDE’s hole when an incoming round exploded between them. SZMANSKI was hit in the leg and WIEDEMANN took some shrapnel through the head and chest. A corpsman asked SZMANSKI, “You all right?” and he said, “Yeah, I’m all right.” So he went to work on WIEDEMANN. He turned around when he realized WIEDEMANN was dead to SZMANSKI, and SZMANSKI had bled to death. SZMANSKI was a coal miner from Pennsylvania and had a couple of children. HUFF had departed Hill 86l and was on KSCB waiting for transportation that would take him to Okinawa to attend NCO School—a way to give an R&R that didn’t count as one. WOOD: “I remember there was one kid—and I don’t know what his name is—but he got both of his feet blown off with a mortar round. He was a spotter. He was a Corporal. The other mortar round hit down in the trenchline next to me, but luckily I was in the bend of the trench. The kid next to me wasn’t so lucky. It killed him. His name was Jim WOOD. Anyway, the other kid that got hit down [the trench]—it blew both of his feet off. He saw where it was fired from. We strapped him to a [stretcher], shoved him up against the side of the trench, and he called in artillery and airstrikes on the mortars that blew his feet off. We knocked them out, and nobody said shit about that either; it was just one of those deals.. [no awards.. “ Another man recalls, concerning WOOD: “He was with rockets. He was my best friend in the Nam.. My knees was against his back. He was completely decapitated. I had a mouth full of brains.” 26 FEB 1968 BRERETON, PFC Raymond James H&S/1/9 Air-strikes against NVA at the former CAP O-3 position were so close to the FOB-3 perimeter across the road that PFC LIVINGSTON was killed when two rockets inadvertently fired into the FOB-3 compound at ll00H. He was the only member of CAC OSCAR to be killed during the Siege at Khe Sanh. “I was standing next to LIVINGSTON. I was the last person to talk to him, then I walked away about 20 feet.. when this jet came by and dropped these bombs and took off this kid’s head.” Another man recalls that LIVINGSTON “..was killed by one of our own Phantoms.. They were doing close support on our perimeter. LIVINGSTON’s head was completely blown off. All that was hanging out of the trunk was raw meat. He was right next to me.” NVA gunners fired l50 rounds of artillery, 590 rockets, and 50 mortars into KSCB today, killing one man and wounding 23 (9 were evacuated). One of the rounds hit C/l/26 positions (XD 844 420) killing PVT STUCK who received shrapnel in his chest and concussion. STUCK had been due for discharge this month, but was serving “bad time” until the end of March and had to continue to be here. He had two athletic scholarships to attend college and wanted to be “out” by April. LCPL SWEENEY received sniper fire in the left arm and abdomen and died at Dong Ha from his wounds. “The chaplain’s assistant from l/9, a black fellow—you couldn’t ask for a better friend than he. His name was BRERETON.. and one day a mortar round went right down in front of a CONEX box and it killed the chaplain’s assistant. He had been up there just passing out some literature for the chaplain.” [Note: all the battalion chaplains assistants were killed at Khe Sanh] 27 FEB 1968 BERGER, PFC John Edward B/l/26 At l350H, PFC BERGER was killed when the 8l mortars position took a direct hit wounding one man. Others jumped on him to protect him as more incoming rounds exploded nearby, injuring several others and killing BERGER. HM2 NIEBUR was injured and later died from his wounds when a mortar round exploded near the l/26 BAS shitter where he was standing. 28 FEB 1968 BALADES, PFC David Zavala A/3dShoreParty [NOTE: all except HARRIS and LABONTE were in the CH-46 plane crash] On 28 February, HMM-262 was assigned a resupply mission from Quang Tri to Khe Sanh, picking up passengers at Dong Ha, taking them to Khe Sanh, then returning to Dong Ha for external cargo loads. The normal route flown was: lift from Dong Ha, climb to 3000-ft., go west over Route 9 and pass Cam Lo and Ca Lu, then to the Ba Long Valley, then north to Khe Sanh. As the NVA started to place AA guns on the mountains on the east and west side of the Ba Long Valley, the pilots flew higher—5,000 to 6,000-ft., arriving at Khe Sanh and spiraling downwards. As NVA arty became more effective, the pilots attempted to mask their arrival by flying a “back door route” to prevent an arty greeting upon touchdown. The “back door route” was: Dong Ha over Route 9 to Rock Pile, then northwest along a river bed and up to a cliff to a valley on the east side of the mountain range (Hill 973) east of Khe Sanh, around the north side of this range to Hill 552 and low level into Khe Sanh from the north. The NVA soon caught on, however, and one pilot, Lt BARBA, flying this route on 24 Feb., received six hits. MAJ NEIXNER had just joined the squadron and was getting the feel of the area. He didn’t like flying instrument, and due to low cloud cover, he was forced to fly low over known NVA AA positions, and was hit. At approximately 200-ft. above a river, he flared his helicopter, #l53360, struck some large rocks on the bank and crashed into a river bed, throwing bodies and pieces of helicopter over a 200-400 yard area. Judging from the rate of descent, there would be no survivors; all, in fact, were killed on impact except Danny GARD who was alive, put on a Huey , and flown to DELTA Med at Dong Ha. He died just as the helicopter arrived there. Among the passengers was BU1 SPILLMAN who was bringing the Seabees 40 pounds of mail, beer and pop. He was married and had three children. Also among the passengers was the 3/26 chaplain’s clerk, CPL CALDWELL. Chaplain HAMPTON, the 3/26 chaplain, was teaching him New Testament Greek since he planned to enter the ministry, and had sent him to DaNang for his rotation home. He was returned to Khe Sanh because of Marine policy on days “in the field before going to the rear to rotate.” He had something like one more day in the field to serve, and so was sent back to Khe Sanh; he was killed to serve that one day. |
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