Thanks for this post. So many don't know much of the VN war. Especially that the 5th Cav was also in this fight. We went there to fight Communism and the whole damn time they were infiltrating our own country. The genesis of what we're facing today. I was a grunt in Co. B 2 Bn 5th Cav late in the war (71-72). There were very few Americans in combat roles during there latter years. The first part of my tour involved the standard jungle warfare tactics used throughout the war. However, in the Spring of 1972 with further American combat force drawdowns the 5th Cav was stood down and sent back to Ft. Hood. I was tranferred to Co D 1/12th Cav, a single American company that had been detached from the 1st Ca , 3rd Brigade, and was virtually the only combat company in the Central Highlands (Military Region II) which was OPCON to John Paul Vann (former Col), the Civilian "Director" of MR II. The war changed drastically about April 1, 1972 with the massive conventional offensive named the 1972 Easter Offensive. And most VN Vets themselves are not familiar with this large conventional battle. North Vietnam sent most all it's active regular divisions to South Vietnam in an all out effort to take the county. Previous American and sllies had virtually eliminated the the Viet Cong, so the Offensive mostly comprised Regular NVA uniformed troops. The Easter Offensive comprised a massive three prong attack in MR I, II, and III. I was involved in differing parts of the 5-6 week battle in the Central Highlands collectively know as the Battle of Kontum. See: www.thebattleofkontum.com . One of the NVA Divisions we fought was actuall the same one the 1st Cav ( 7th & 5th Cav) fought in 1965 at Chu Pong. As a note of interest, a special group of 82nd Abn Div Jeep TOW crews were hurriedly shipped to MR II to help stem the T-54 and T-59 tanks overwhelming our bases. This was secretly known as 'Task Force Salvo'. A good account of this can be found in the book by Thomas McKenna, 'Kontum: The Battle To Save South Vietnam'. This battle is sometimes compared to the WW II Battle Of The Bulge. Thank God for American Airpower, the main thing that helped us win this large battle. Mostly the massive B52 strikes. And yes, NVA Tanks were killed by the American 'Task Force Salvo', of which I helped provide security. However, most all glory went to the two UH1 choppers armed with the new TOW missile. Nixon had said that there were no more American ground fighting in combat. BS. But we all liked Nixon for finally fighting the war as it should have been done years before. We beat the shit out of the NVA. The our cowardly congress cut off all funds and supplies to our allies and of course S. VN fell to the NVA in 1975. Our current problems with communist/socialist directly stem from these days when so many disloyal antiwar traitors were too cowardly to fight, but chose to run, protest, or bomb our own country. To this day I'd like to stick a knife in the heart of some of these SOB and twist while watching their face. They were cowards then. They were too scared back then to fight and chose to indoctrinate our children in a shameful way. It's that they're old now and want to somehow prove to themselves that their cowardice wasn't just that. Fuck 'em. They'll die knowing they were cowards. Bill ayers, Jane Fonda, and so many more come to mind. May they burn in hell!
William Page B 2/5th Cav MR III 1971-'72 & D 1/12th Cav MR II 1972 (OPCON SRAG - John Paul Vann)
Thanks for this post. So many don't know much of the VN war. Especially that the 5th Cav was also in this fight. We went there to fight Communism and the whole damn time they were infiltrating our own country. The genesis of what we're facing today. I was a grunt in Co. B 2 Bn 5th Cav late in the war (71-72). There were very few Americans in combat roles during there latter years. The first part of my tour involved the standard jungle warfare tactics used throughout the war. However, in the Spring of 1972 with further American combat force drawdowns the 5th Cav was stood down and sent back to Ft. Hood. I was tranferred to Co D 1/12th Cav, a single American company that had been detached from the 1st Ca , 3rd Brigade, and was virtually the only combat company in the Central Highlands (Military Region II) which was OPCON to John Paul Vann (former Col), the Civilian "Director" of MR II. The war changed drastically about April 1, 1972 with the massive conventional offensive named the 1972 Easter Offensive. And most VN Vets themselves are not familiar with this large conventional battle. North Vietnam sent most all it's active regular divisions to South Vietnam in an all out effort to take the county. Previous American and sllies had virtually eliminated the the Viet Cong, so the Offensive mostly comprised Regular NVA uniformed troops. The Easter Offensive comprised a massive three prong attack in MR I, II, and III. I was involved in differing parts of the 5-6 week battle in the Central Highlands collectively know as the Battle of Kontum. See: www.thebattleofkontum.com . One of the NVA Divisions we fought was actuall the same one the 1st Cav ( 7th & 5th Cav) fought in 1965 at Chu Pong. As a note of interest, a special group of 82nd Abn Div Jeep TOW crews were hurriedly shipped to MR II to help stem the T-54 and T-59 tanks overwhelming our bases. This was secretly known as 'Task Force Salvo'. A good account of this can be found in the book by Thomas McKenna, 'Kontum: The Battle To Save South Vietnam'. This battle is sometimes compared to the WW II Battle Of The Bulge. Thank God for American Airpower, the main thing that helped us win this large battle. Mostly the massive B52 strikes. And yes, NVA Tanks were killed by the American 'Task Force Salvo', of which I helped provide security. However, most all glory went to the two UH1 choppers armed with the new TOW missile. Nixon had said that there were no more American ground fighting in combat. BS. But we all liked Nixon for finally fighting the war as it should have been done years before. We beat the shit out of the NVA. The our cowardly congress cut off all funds and supplies to our allies and of course S. VN fell to the NVA in 1975. Our current problems with communist/socialist directly stem from these days when so many disloyal antiwar traitors were too cowardly to fight, but chose to run, protest, or bomb our own country. To this day I'd like to stick a knife in the heart of some of these SOB and twist while watching their face. They were cowards then. They were too scared back then to fight and chose to indoctrinate our children in a shameful way. It's that they're old now and want to somehow prove to themselves that their cowardice wasn't just that. Fuck 'em. They'll die knowing they were cowards. Bill ayers, Jane Fonda, and so many more come to mind. May they burn in hell!
ReplyDeleteWilliam Page
B 2/5th Cav MR III 1971-'72
& D 1/12th Cav MR II 1972 (OPCON SRAG - John Paul Vann)