It took considerable effort to get Spooky 71 back to base. Privacy Policy2023 CriticalPast LLC. Back in the States, the aircraft had been fitted with a tank inside the fuselage to hold isopropyl alcohol. Behind the driver, strewn about the passenger seat and floor, was his personal combat gear, including his M14 rifle and several magazines filled with ammunition. 1 minigun and a jumble of spilled ammunition. Following the employment of the supporting fires, the 36th Ranger Battalion moved back into the village. It was situated between Bien Hoa, the location of a large American airbase, and Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, the battle gradually died out. ATTACK ON LONG BINH POST. 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. Slow fire was 3,000 rounds a minute each, or fast fire which was 6,000 rounds a minute each. 1969 Amphitheatre - Long Binh - by Dave Ondrey by manhhai 6 1 BOB HOPE Show - Long Binh - Largest Audience Show by manhhai 5 1 1969 Amphitheatre - Long Binh - by Dave Ondrey by manhhai 5 1 LONG BNH 1967 by manhhai 5 2 1 2. This attack was going to be a big one.. A sign reads 'Headquarters II Field Force Vietnam Artillery'. When it finally ended with the assistance of several Cobra gunbships, 23 enemy dead were discovered. The deployment, which began March 1, is part of an exercise dubbed Agile Reaper 23-1. We had a perfect view of the VC hill, and it slowly began to dawn on me that for the past seven months, as each evenings shift began with my casually scanning the quiet hills to the south and southeast of Long Binh, there was a fair probability I was being scanned right backlikely by some VC ammo counter busily inventorying his AK-47 bullets, 122 mm rockets, 82 mm mortars and B-40 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, while I counted M16 bullets, Claymore mines and howitzer shells. Levitows Medal of Honor is prominently displayed at Enlisted Heritage Hall. Copyright 2023. The following is a collection of photographs and letters sent to college friends, dated from 27 November 1969 to 26 May 1970, from John Cook. Full-scale sweeping operations to secure the perimeter began just after noon that day. The gunship had flown into the path of an 82 mm mortar round, which struck the top of the right wing. The brigade was activated on 1 June 1966 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as the 199th Infantry Brigade (Light), with emphasis on counterinsurgency operations and mobility. On 22 February, elements of the VC 274th Regiment, 5th Division assembled at three hills along Highway 15, approximately three kilometers south of Long Binh. . 3 Lt xem. 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. After years of Army training one cannot help but itch for a shot at the enemy, especially when all the advantages are on ones own side. An injured North Vietnamese soldier fighting with the Viet Cong, Pvt. Military aviation and technology are ever-changing, from the prevalence of drones to a shift to jets for special mission surveillance, once the province of propeller aircraft. (On earlier AC-47s, one of the guns had been mounted in the door.) Levitow had joined the Air Force in June 1966, some 20 days ahead of being drafted into the Army. 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. Trans primary motivations seem quite similar to our own: eating and getting home. c chuyn cho qun i Ukraine 1.000 v kh chng xe tng v 500 ha tin di t - trn khng Typ/kiu Stinger (bo vc dch l : tn la t i khng).c cng ng thun cho Holland chuyn cho qun Ukraine 400 Panzerfaeuste/ v kh chng xe tng v cc v kh khc do c ch . 23 July 1969 - SFC Eddie Hamby escorts Sgt McIntosh to Moc Hoa by boat on first leg of stops heading stateside. --- and so it went for lots of the fighting in Vietnam. Except for the eruptions from our perimeter bunkers, the entire battlefield seemed devoid of peopleat least people who could be seen. The paperwork for advancement in skill level (from three to five) in his original specialty had been lost. And yet there was nobody, absolutely nobody, visible out there. DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press. 83 Lt thch,23 Bnh lun.Video TikTok t Nguyn Huy Cng 1969 (@userz65oz3pvgr1969). Just after 16:00 US Air Force F-100s and F-4s along with Republic of Vietnam Air Force A-1 Skyraiders were directed against the PAVN/VC positions in the village. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Jim Van Eldik is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. It had been flying in Vietnam since 1964, first with the air commandos and after that with the special operations squadrons. Seventh Air Force, among others, expressed concern that transmissions might be intercepted and give warning of the gunships approach to the enemy. When we were hit, all of us [Owen, Levitow, Sgt. The Hot War (1968-October 1969) The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in late 1967 launched several costly attacks. Ambush at Ap Nhi. I was not in this Regiment, but I believe I may have observed some of the Regiment's activities the day of the attack. Johanalvheey 1 ting trc. YouTube, Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. Apparently, not much was out there, as there was no firing to speak of. The villagers met elements of the South Vietnamese 5th Marine Battalion, the 3rd Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment, 18th Division and the 3rd Squadron, 5th Armored Cavalry moving on the road less than a half mile from Thai Hiep in response to the contact at the air base. . 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 . Welcome to the Long Binh google satellite map! 25/26 January 1969. Published in the October 2017 issue ofVietnammagazine. Edward Fuzie, the flight engineer] were knocked to the floor and the flare was knocked out of my hands. 20 July 1969 circa - Mortar attack on base camp A-414 Thanh Tri. The Spooky 71 crew could see mortar tube flashes about one mile south of the area of the earlier attack. Seriously wounded were, SSG Slaven the squad leader, SP/4 Robert Cressman, PFC Larry W. Holton, and CPL Lee Van Muon, their Popular Forces Interpreter. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. The Tet 1969 offensive was carried out mostly by Viet Cong irregulars. [4]:99, The PAVN/VC attacks on Da Nang were a failure resulting in more than 500 dead. Large images may take a few minutes to appear. nhc nn - Mo One Piece - Thnh Long Jr. Ike originally intended these dominos to represent Chinas neighbors such as North and South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, but it was not long before some believed that places like Cuba, Angola, Chile, Peru, Michigan and South Carolina would also be on the list. 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. The video has no narration. FAQs - How to Order | Long Binh Post was situated East of Bien Hoa and approximately 20 miles northeast of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City.) Supported videos include: If you like this movie trailer, go to https://militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 60 minute video. The other skid remains upright, as it is unfastened from the crane. Photo of the famous Saigon Taxi. Levitow declined to board the helicopter until he was finally ordered to do so by Carpenter. By 15:00 the 36th Ranger Battalion moved into the village attacking the PAVN/VC force. It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. 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. After years of Army training one cannot help but itch for a shot at the enemy, especially when all the advantages are on ones own side. 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. 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. Location: Long Binh Vietnam. In 1968, a group of black inmates were fed up with their treatment and the war. Spookys operators had successfully resisted pressure to change the call sign. The 64-year-old Army veteran died suddenly of a heart attack. Although at first overwhelmed by the intensity of the enemy fire the MPs stood their ground, suppressed the enemy fire, eliminated an enemy machine gun emplacement and were able to evacuate their seriously wounded point man, SP/4 Brown. My class had graduated the month before from our 35-week "Fixed Ciphony Repair" course at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. Under Col. Robert Smoker, Task Force 99s new commander, the unit will continue to try to cut through red tape and field new systems quickly. The gunners kept the guns loaded and working during the flight. 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. I hated it. More to his liking, he went home to Connecticut and became a medical administration officer in the VA hospital system and special assistant to the chief of Medical Administration Service in New England. from 1969 to 1970. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. It was used as a base of operation for the increased ambush and reconnaissance patrols conducted in the uninhabited eastern end of the TAOR. Sorry, Dad, I couldnt make that happen.. United States 2nd Field Force change of command ceremony at Long Binh, Vietnam. 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. . Over the years, there were numerous other recognitions. remembrance of shared experience. Includes scenes shot in and around the base showing soldiers preparing for the attack. 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 rifle was accompanied by a single magazine of tracer roundsbullets treated with a chemical that creates a trail of light when fired. His most recent article, Rolling Thunder, appeared in the March issue. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. 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. I had a real tough time grabbing hold of it with two hands because of the pain in my leg and everything. 44th Medical Brigade Headquarters Long Binh 1969.jpeg 2,079 1,716; 209 KB. Spooky 71 flew with a crew of eight. Carpenter waved off taxi instructions from the tower and the crew got out fast. The prisoners revealed that their mission had been to attack Bien Hoa city and the Bien Hoa Air Base. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 17, 2000. Among those present was Carpenter, the commander of Spooky 71, now retired and living in Marshall, Tex. In 1998, Air Mobility Command named a C-17 Globemaster, The Spirit of Sgt. Inside the aircraft is a mannequin of Levitow, struggling to get the flare to the door. [4]:99, Meanwhile to the west 3/7 Marines continued to engage PAVN forces, forcing them into 3 pockets along the Song Tuy Loan river. After the battle came another shock. Once my eight-man crew of ammo counters had assembled, we set aside our usual duties and made the best preparations we could to survive the night. 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 . The gunship, situated on the lawn of the museum, was dedicated in October 2004. Shrapnel and jagged shards of metal ricocheted through the cargo bay, and a shock wave from the explosion swept the interior of the airplane. "On the second firing pass, the mortars firing on Long Binh were silenced." The attack lifted momentarily, and the gunship began dropping flares to provide illumination . The soldiers with old (MPC) currency notes takes the receipt and proceeds towards the next officer. You can imagine how frightful that was to the mind of a 6-year-old. (true?/false? For my personal defense, I relied upon a somewhat rusty M16 kept around the office. The rocket and mortar attacks on the bases picked up when darkness fell. 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. Between the town of Bien Hoa and the base was an old French minefield, never cleared and fenced by barbed wire. 99-08 286 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St. Louis, (Vietnam War period). The airplane made it over the minefield and onto the overrun, just barely. Media in category "Long Binh Post" The following 36 files are in this category, out of 36 total. 105837N 1064955E / . 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. 24:11. Banned from the Long Binh O'Club: The Club was a . (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? Spooky 71 had gone as far as it was going. 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. Vietnam Da Nang 2 Vietnam Dong Tranh River 2 Vietnam French Indo China 7 Vietnam Khe Sanh 13 Vietnam Long Binh 3 Vietnam Phan Rang Air Base 18. Terms & Conditions | It would light up, oh, about half a mile, a good area, quite brightly, Levitow said. In early 1969, the 277th was re-assigned from Long Binh to Tay Ninh West Base Camp, where it became the superior command of the 228th. Poor guys; they didn't stand a chance. 472.6.9 Records of the U.S. Army Garrison, Long Binh Post, Vietnam (Provisional) We heard that the commander of the tanks was Col. George S. Patton Jr. Dense blue smoke was pouring out of the burning flare fuze.. Between 1970 and 72 my father wound up in Vietnam as a civilian aircraft mechanic, working on helicopters. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. Even in the navigation compartment the flash lit up the inside of the aircraft like daylight. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Tran, who was from the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, had high expectations for a victory in the attack, according to an interview in Stars and Stripes. The nomination package included statements from Carpenter and most of the crew. As a soldier unfastens a skid of 8 shells, from the crane, it falls over sideways. In reality, it is a collection of ideas, images, and information that enough people have chosen to preserve and disseminate. He was filling in for a loadmaster who had taken his place when he was sick. This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. There was also a Vietnamese liaison officer. The Rangers met only slight, disorganized resistance. 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. 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. On July 1, an article titled "Libya and Syria: When Anti-Imperialism Goes Wrong" was published on the North Star website, signed by "Pham Binh of Occupy Wall Street, Class War Camp." The article argues that imperialist interventions in Libya and Syria are justified because they are demanded by forces the author calls revolutionary. On 8 February patrols from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines found 7 122mm rockets 14km southwest of Da Nang and another 13 140mm rockets 2km further south. Citation Nr: 0307323 Decision Date: 04/16/03 Archive Date: 04/24/03 DOCKET NO. Carpenter set it down in a full shuddering stall. 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. A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. 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.. 472.6.8 Records of the U.S. Army Central Finance and Accounting Office, Vietnam. 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. 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. This article was written by John E. Gross and originally published in the February 2008 issue of Vietnam Magazine. If it ignited, it would quickly fill the aircraft with toxic smoke, incapacitating the entire crew. That year, traumatic as it was . His grieving son had no option but to file away those unanswered questions forever. The last pocket along the An Tan ridgeline proved more difficult and Company L, 3/7 Marines suffered numerous casualties forcing it to withdraw. Airman Levitow was setting [the ejection and ignition dials] and handing me the flares, Owen said. He was discharged from active duty after his Vietnam tour and shortly afterward was assigned to an Army Reserve unit. 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 . I realize that what I say will be represented not only as a Vietnam veteran but as a Medal of Honor recipient, and the media will have a field day. The enemy would occasionally probe us, rocket us, mortar us and more than likely sometimes even shop at our PXs, but a ground attack? On top of that came the domino theory of 1954, invented by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower. We had no bunkers. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. hightForP2 = 330 The award-winning exhibit, designed by curator William I. Chivalette, includes a lifelike mannequin of Levitow, paintings, photographs, uniform items, and artifacts. At that time, the air base security forces reported that they had lost contact with the enemy reconnaissance element which withdrew east toward Thai Hiep. More than 100 individual and crew-served weapons were captured. At most, there would be 20 seconds before it exploded. During the Vietnam War, Long Binh Post was the U.S. Army's largest base located in the former South Vietnam. 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. Aviation gas was leaking from the fuel lines on the right side, and that wasnt all. It was full until ruptured in the battle. The pilot, copilot, and navigator were in the forward cabin, and the flight engineer, two gunners, and the loadmaster were in the cargo bay in back. 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. By mid-1967, United States Army, Vietnam (USARV), 1st Logistical Command and many other Army units dispersed in Saigon were moved to Long Binh Post to resolve centralization, security, and troop billeting issues. Once the sun came up, a troop of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment found 139 dead enemy soldiers, Tran, who was from the Haiphong area of North Vietnam, had high expectations for a victory in the attack, according to an interview in, On the other hand, one is left to ponder what affect seeding the battlefield or, even better, seeding the, https://www.historynet.com/long-binh-battle/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Battle At The Rifle Range. [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. A 70-strong VC force attacked the 2/1 Marines command post 6km south of Marble Mountain losing 17 dead. Unfortunately, the reporting was delayed and did not reach Long Binh until the morning of 22 February 1969, the day the defector warned the attacks were set to begin. Nhng Chin Binh Ph Thu Xinh p tp 29. st_Luna-kun. On 18 February a Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines called in artillery fire on a group of PAVN/VC 5km south of Marble Mountain resulting in 21 secondary explosions believed to be from detonating rockets. Well, not everybody had departed. [4]:99, To the west of Da Nang, shortly after midnight on the 23rd Company M, 3/7 Marines ambushed a PAVN force killing 10 and later that night a larger force was spotted and artillery fire was called in. 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. Trang ch> attack on Titan final season 3 part 1 > Bnh lun 6. I consider the fact that the aircraft was able to fly at all a miracle, Carpenter said. Facebook. Jerry Breast/U.S. He spent almost two months recuperating in Japan before returning to Vietnam in April. Small-arms fire opened up in his path. Easily create a Forum Website with Website Toolbox. A U.S. 2nd Field Force soldier poses. Before the night was over, Levitow would perform an act of astounding bravery for which he would ultimately be awarded the Medal of Honor. 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. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. ARVN casualties were 10 killed and 100 wounded and one US Army photographer was killed. View of surrounding areas. He will look for photos. N Vietnamese forces overrun and capture Phuoc Binh City, Phuoc Long Prov capital, after wklong siege, striking significant psychological blow to S Vietnamese Govt; loss of town, with population . Danil_1969 4 ting trc. He flew as a crewman on C-130s for a short tour, then went to Vietnam to fly on AC-47s. Jim Van Eldik, who kept count of ammunition from an office at the Long Binh logistics complex, spent the battle in a defensive position along the edge of the building, far from the fighting. 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. Remember: Using others' images on the web without their permission may be bad manners, or worse, copyright infringement. With no friendly troops visible between me and the battle, into my M16 went the magazine of tracers in preparation for a confrontation with anyone who might break through that wall of gunfire, something at which the Viet Cong were quite adept. Hc_Thn. If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. For the next six hours, Spooky 71 would fly a combat air patrol circuit over the Saigon/Tan Son Nhut area, ready to respond wherever its fire support was needed. I crawled to the location of the flare. The rounds landed on post with some igniting the POL fuel site east of the highway. 1965 January 1 - February 7, 1965: Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam. These Vietnam War photos taken by U.S. Army photographers reveal a side of the conflict that few people have ever seen. There are some night scenes of the base under attack showing mostly flares, explosions and gunships firing on enemy targets. Ni bt nht; Gn y; Gi. Over time, the Department of Defense plans to turn. Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. Media Battle of Long Binh 1969 Parts 1 & 2 11thACRCombat Operations After Action Report of Attacks in Northern Binh Long Province 10-13aug69 (All content and photos on this site are the property of their named owners and may not be copied or used for any other purposes without permission.

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