[1]:160, By this time, Robertson was worried about the ability to contain the PAVN/VC offensive south of Da Nang. Rummage soon determined that the total number of PAVN approximated 500 or more men, moving in two columns. Built by the Colonial French government of Indochina in 1949, it became a training school for Vietnamese pilots. AP Photo U.S. Marines landing in Da Nang, March 8, 1965. More like this Camp Friendship Korat Cat Air Force Special Operations Vietnam War Photos May Bay North Vietnam Air Force Bases Vietnam Veterans "[1]:163, During the Tet Offensive in Da Nang, both sides experienced heavy casualties. General Walt's staff received word on 27 October that a VC main force battalion was moving out of its base in "Happy Valley," 10 miles southwest of Da Nang, and heading towards the base. See our A-Level Essay Example on Vietnam war, Modern European History, 1789-1945 now at Marked By Teachers. Two separate occurrences may have frustrated this attack. Accompanied by tanks and LVTP-5s, Company F maneuvered to the north of the ARVN base. Military Photo: Rocket Attack On The Eve Of The Tet Offensive. Twenty rockets fell on Hill 10, manned by Battery G , 3/11 Marines which resulted in 23 casualties, including two dead. 15 July 1967Unknown number of VC attacks Da Nang air base in Quang Nam Province with an estimated 50 rounds of suspected 122mm rockets. To the south, in the Korean sector, the ROKMC with the assistance of the ARVN again drove PAVN/VC forces out of the Hi An environs. CriticalPast makes this media available for researchers and documentarians, and does not endorse or condone any behavior or message, implied or explicit, that is seen or heard in this video.Link to order this clip:http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675029937_Vietcong-rocket-attack_Danang-Airbase_Marine-operation-headquarters_heavy-explosionsHistoric Stock Footage Archival and Vintage Video Clips in HD.Vietcong rocket attack on the U.S. Da Nang Airbase in VietnamShows a night time Vietcong rocket attack, just after midnight, July 15, 1967, on the United States Air Force flight line and barracks areas at the Da Nang Airbase in Vietnam. There were still ominous signs and actions that the enemy push on Da Nang was not over. That same day, the 1st Marine Division notified III MAF that "usually reliable sources" told of staging areas south of Da Nang for an impending attack. With part of the force establishing blocking positions north of the hamlet, the rest of the provisional company and Rangers moved through Nam O. This demonstration may have been planned to coincide with an attack on the city which never developed. Cleaning up and repairs at Gunfighter Village. At 16:00, one of the Stingray units, using the codename Saddle Bag, situated in the mountains just south of a bend in the Thu Bn River below An Ha Combat Base, about 20 miles (32km) southwest of the Da Nang, reported observing about 75 enemy soldiers wearing helmets and some carrying mortars. Captured 122mm Tripod Launcher. During the night, VC resistance dwindled to sniper fire on the ROKMC positions. Lm arrived at the headquarters compound shortly after dawn. Another platoon from the Marine company also reinforced the engaged troops about an hour later. The Flightline, Funny Money, Rocket shrapnel. The ROKMC Marine Brigade deployed six companies around the city and the ARVN 51st Regiment prepared a reaction force. [1]:1445, At 03:30 PAVN/VC forces launched an assault against General Hong Xun Lm's I Corps headquarters. Da Nang, the main Seabee base in the I Corps area, which bordered North Vietnam, came under repeated attack from Viet Cong and North Vietnamese regulars. In Vietnam this rocket comprised one of the primary means of inflicting standoff attacks against airfields and other . The VC attacked the compound from two directions, from the south and the east. According to the prisoner accounts, they were from the PAVN 3rd Battalion, 31st Regiment and confirmed that "Da Nang itself was the ultimate objective. In the extensive Da Nang TAOR, the early morning hours of 31 January were almost a repeat of the events of the 30th. Rocket attacks in 1972 Da Nang Vietnam a425couple Aug 29, 2017, 4:51:30 PM to Rocket attack 72 redhorse compound DaNang on: August 24, 2009, 08:06:45 pm Does anyone remember the date of. Immediately after the artillery shelling, an AC47 Spooky arrived on station and worked over the same area with its Gatling guns. DaNang earned the nickname Rocket City during the Vietnam war, having been attacked over 900 times in 10 years. Although agent reports and other intelligence indicated continued assaults north of the Cau Do River against Ha Vang and Da Nang City, most of these came to naught. Photographer: Unknown Nng Air Base, AKA: Rocket City, often had more than six Silk-Moons of false dawn orbiting the base. On 14 February 1965 the Marine 1st LAAM Battalion established its anti-aircraft operations center colocated with the USAF CRP. If we went a week without a few rockets coming we knew something was in the works. Despite limited attacks later in the month, these were largely, as a report stated, "an attempt to maintain the facade of an offensive. Behind the Marine and Korean lines, the ARVN 51st Regiment deployed in support of the South Vietnamese Revolutionary Development program. Open to all Vietnam Veterans that served at DA NANG Air Base of ROCKET CITY from 1971-1972. The first U.S. air strikes also occur against the Ho Chi Minh trail. Both Marine companies encountered heavy small-arms fire and RPGs as they approached their objectives. Robertson shared these concerns with General Robert E. Cushman Jr., the III MAF commander. Apparently the division was slow in moving into the Da Nang area and was not in position to support the local forces in the earlier phase of the offensive . Galand Kramer at the Danang Officers Open Mess, the DOOM Club, so appropriately named for those of us flying into the teeth of North Vietnams AAA, missile and MiG air defenses. The RPGs missed the apertures in the tower and fell to the ground. On Jan. 30, a 15-man commando squad penetrated Da Nang Air Base and another squad blew up the "Sector Bravo Combat Operations Center," just 1,000 meters from I Corps headquarters. by Edward H. Phillips 2/1/2017. At 19:20, in the same general area, still another Stingray patrol, Sailfish, radioed that about 200 PAVN/VC troops, some carrying 40mm rocket launchers, passed its positions. Nearly 11 million liters of Agent Orange were handled on the base. [1]:143, PAVN/VC forces throughout South Vietnam were about to strike. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. CMSgt (Ret) Gary Chaffin, who was at Da Nang with the 366th Civil Engineering Squadron, recalls this attack much as Dick does. Of the 13-man Recon team, codename Dublin City, one was dead, nine were injured and three escaped unscathed. The Koreans kept one company at the MACV compound for security and prepared for a sweep to clear out the city in the morning. The attack began about 1 A.M. and the United States command said the missiles were Sovietbuilt 122mm rockets, each weighing about 100 pounds. At 02:40, a squad from the 1/7 Marines, supported by two tanks from the 1st Tank Battalion, moved to assist the embattled CAP unit. The battalion was alerted and airlifted from Twentynine Palms, California, to Cherry Point, North Carolina, with its . The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. At the meeting Westmoreland ordered Americal Division commander General Samuel W. Koster to reinforce Danang. Da Nang Vietnam January 30, 1968 - Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base. A Company E, 2/3 Marines squad patrol in its regular area of operations just east of the confluence of the Thanh Qut and Vnh in River came under attack from an estimated squad of enemy. The battle for Da Nang was largely over. [1]:1534, On the night of the 30th, elements of a battalion of the PAVN 4th Regiment attacked an ARVN outpost at the foot of the Hi Vn Pass. The PAVN/VC attacked a Marine bunker and ran through the Communications Support Company area throwing grenades and Satchel charges in the living quarters. . According to them their mission was to mine and interdict allied traffic in the Hi Vn Pass area. Still photo images extracted from the vintage footage are also available for immediate download. He moved Company M, 3/7 Marines from its fairly remote position on Hill 52 in the far western reaches of the Vu Gia River Valley above the An Hoa Basin to the more centrally located Hill 65. Below the Marine battalions, the ROKMC 2nd Marine Brigade secured the Hi An sector and the southeastern approaches above the Ky Lam River to Da Nang Air Base. During the next few days, Task Force Miracle conducted sweeps in its sector and encountered relatively little resistance . (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images) PURCHASE A LICENSE Get personalized pricing by telling us when, where, and how you want to use this asset. The only other Marine reserves available to the division were the provisional companies of the Northern and Southern Defense Commands. Rockey then ordered a platoon from his Company K to reinforce Company G. By the end of the day, the elements of the four Marine companies had established their night positions. The MPs shot one of the swimmers, took the other man prisoner and drove off the boats with a fusillade of bullets. About two-and-a-half hours later, the VC units "ceased fire and withdrew." Spent many watches all over the city of Da Nang. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of Da Nang Air Base. [1]:147, After a lull of about an hour to an hour and a half, the enemy gunners renewed their assault on the Air Base and Marble Mountain Air Facility. Rummage reported about 50 PAVN dead with another 100 "probable." Total Marine casualties of this incident on the 30th were 10 Marines killed and 15 wounded, most from the platoon of Company G that was initially ambushed. Pictures of Danang 11. [1]:160, The fighting continued during the night and into the next day. Some 36 of the large missiles landed on the main base, including the airfield. About 07:45 approximately two companies or a reinforced company from the PAVN 31st Regiment ambushed a Marine platoon from Company G, 2/3 Marines. The crowd scattered only to gather on the fringes of Red Beach Base Area. The Marine squad lost one killed. Westmoreland was convinced that this big push would come either just before or right after Tt, but not during the holidays and probably at Khe Sanh and in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone sector. As Company G began its redeployment along the river route it ran into PAVN forces attempting to retreat in that direction. In a 1st Marine Division analyses, the author commented that the PAVN 2nd Division's approach was "along a single axis of advance so that his eventual target was easily identifiable." ARVN intelligence officers speculated that the battalion from the PAVN 4th Regiment was supposed to have spearheaded the attack on the city of Da Nang the previous day, but arrived too late to influence the battle. According to documents captured later, the two VC assault companies were to pull out at first light, but became bogged down in the city. "[1]:158, While the PAVN/VC forces continued to harass allied positions on the night of 31 January/1 February, the intensity of combat did not match that of the previous two nights. The 11th Marines fired an artillery mission with unknown results. The PAVN obviously were bringing the local VC main force units up to strength, even if to do so they had to bring in replacements from the north. Instead of calling artillery fire immediately, the reconnaissance Marines arranged with Battery K, 4/11 Marines and a detachment of the 3rd 155mm Gun Battery at An Ha for an "artillery ambush." Da Nang was a major base area for United States and South Vietnamese military forces supporting operations throughout I Corps. Although authorizing the ceasefire, he warned all American commanders to be unusually alert because of "enemy increased capabilities ." The two PAVN prisoners identified themselves as members of the H-2 Engineering Company, part of the 2nd Sapper Battalion. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The area around Nng, especially military installations, was subject to rocket attacks since that February. Before his death, however, the Vietnamese identified himself as Major Nguyen Van Lam, the commanding officer of the R-20th c Lp Battalion. The Marines and PF troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. Naval Support Activity Danang operated extensive logistics facilities on the Tiensha (Tin Sa) peninsula east of the city. By dark the Korean had captured the hospital and were in position to relieve the engineer compound. Doc, as his friends called him, was one of 58,200 Americans that died during the Vietnam War. According to Washington Post correspondent Don Oberdorfer, Lm pointed with his swagger stick to the enemy's firing positions on the large map in the room and said: "Milantoni, bomb here. Survived many Rocket Attacks. Noting the new web gear and weapons with the PAVN bodies left on the battlefield, Marine intelligence officers believed the PAVN unit to be from the 31st Regiment. Rockey, the 3/5 Marines commander, commented on the "increasing frequency and ferocity" of enemy contacts. Two other squad patrols from Company C in the vicinity quickly joined the first squad. Advisory Group at Da Nang, the PFs and RFs accounted for eight dead VC and captured one wounded VC. Heavy explosions and fires on the base. Da Nang AB was nicknamed "Rocket City" due to the large number of attacks by 122mm and 140mm rockets. Linking up, under artillery and air cover, the two Marine companies continued their advance until forced to halt because of darkness and then took up night defensive positions. According to Murray, "from then on until Tt was over, there were just constant attacks." At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. 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