a noise! The colonel explained that since we were infantry soldiers and did not know the proper method of searching a house, he and his crew had come to teach us. Page contents not supported in other languages. [2]:348, As the rockets hit Bien Hoa AB, 2 battalions of the VC 274th Regiment emerged from a rubber plantation 500m east of the eastern perimeter of Bien Hoa AB. At dawn on 2 February the US counted approximately 50 VC/PAVN dead in the area and captured 3 VC. 1.04 We began to pop hand-held flares so they could see we were there, but the shooting persisted, one round actually hitting my track. and the perimeter was still intact. I then jacked a round into my M-16 and who would you believe After telling them to stop shooting I walked back to my track, thinking this was going to be a nightmare. all personnel to the flight line. The bombs descend and explode near structures in grove of tress in agricultural area 30 miles southwest of Saigon on 19 August, 1968. I realized we were driving past our objective, halted the company and called for the 2nd Platoon to find a place to turn around. 4. I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion.He said: Forget that. The 2nd Platoon took the one north of the road, the 1st Platoon attacked the other. No answer. The village of Ho Nai, now a ghost town, still smoldered. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. John Gross received the Silver Star for his actions in command of Charlie Company on the first day of the Tet Offensive. Around midnight on October 29th, 1966, the Viet Cong mortared or rocketed the Long Binh Ammo Dump. This article incorporates public domain material from the .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Air Force Historical Research Agency. [2]:3512 US losses in the fighting in the Widow's Village were three dead. because Mankato (Minnesota)Vocational school had taught me to weld as Somehow the foam trucks from The bombs descend and explode on structures in grove of trees near rice paddies 23 miles east of Binh Thuy on 19th August. He was alive but he suffered a busted ear drum and singed hair, eye brows and arms. Suddenly he came upon a VC RPG team drawing a bead on my command track, which was marked as a prime target by the number of radio antennas jutting from it. We packed up all of our gear, rolled up our concertina wire and waited. This site was called Hill 63 because there was a hill nearby that had an elevation of 63 meters on the map. We had run through the rear of the 274th VC Regiment, which was attacking the airfield. 102 comments 105 shares. OK. In another sign that the situation was serious, the battalion commander himself gave map coordinates of company objectives in the clear. PAVN/VC losses were 137 killed and 25 captured. The scout platoon had fought valiantly all day long in Widows Village and in Ho Nai. This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. THE EXPLOSIONS RATTLED WINDOWS IN SAIGON, ABOUT 13 MILES (20 KILOMETERS) AWAY. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. All rights reserved. 11K views 9 years ago This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. [2]:347, The ARVN 53rd Regional Force Battalion was responsible for security in the countryside around Bin Ha. [2]:347[3]:236 The rocket/mortar attack was the signal to start the ground assaults on Bien Hoa AB and Long Binh. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. I had learned no tactic at infantry school that fit the situation we were faced with, so we improvised. After all had left for the trooper was injured by a piece of shrapnel that had come down Bucks County Pennsylvania United States USA, Del Rio Texas Laughlin Air Force Base USA, Roxborough Pennsylvania United States USA, U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base Thailand. An MP full colonel, along with a deputy sheriff from Los Angeles (dressed in his deputy uniform) and two jeeploads of Vietnamese National Police, drove up to my track. 0.54 During this time, the battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. When I pointed out that the 101st Battalion had more than 500 troops and I had only two line platoons and less than 90 troops, he said, Youre mechanized, youre very strong.. went off and all hell broke lose. He said his battalion was in heavy contact, and he had several wounded rangers he needed to evacuate. Privacy Policy2023 CriticalPast LLC. Bravo Company (one member of which was Spc. [2]:347[3]:225, At 03:00, the PAVN 84A Artillery Regiment began a barrage of approximately 100 82-mm. [4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. As the 2nd Platoon began to run short, Spc. We came up with a T formation. As we turned to head back, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Website Terms & Conditions | 4 and future U.S. senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel) had defended the Long Binh ammo dump and had helped in the Widows Village fight. There we would be assigned a unit we would serve with in Vietnam. Widows Village made a perfect attack position for the VC, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters in the Long Binh complex. I told him we couldnt take the tracks off Highway 1 into town because the streets were too narrow. When offered the chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I turned it down to stay with the company. As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track, as we called it. When we arrived, we filed off the busses . Chu Lai and LZ Baldy Photos. probably one of the best deals I had been Used for because the I explained to the colonel that this was not a police action, and that we werent searching houses, we were in combat. The armed helicopter teams had a field day shooting guerrillas trying to flee into the jungle. At 0300 hours I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as S3, stating that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. [3]:218, The town of Ho Nai (105812N 1065335E / 10.970N 106.893E / 10.970; 106.893) was located on Highway 1 north of the Widow's Village and Long Binh Post. With small-arms fire cracking overhead, young girls carrying bottles of Coca-Cola were trying to sell them to the troops. A burst of VC machine gun fire erupted nearby, causing the colonel, the deputy and their Vietnamese escorts to pile into their vehicles and roar off in the direction from whence they had come. Incredibly, nobody in my company had been killed the day before. [2]:347 Weyand also requested the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) to defend the eastern approaches to Long Binh/Bien Hoa and 1 ATF had commenced Operation Coburg on 24 January. After the cemetery had been cleared Company B, 2/3rd Infantry joined Company C, 4/12th Infantry and they made a night defensive perimeter north of Ho Nai, while the 2/47th Infantry was withdrawn to Bin Ha. Not only would I not finish my command tour, but I was also being assigned to a leg division. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. I was never so happy in my life. Our outfit was a Several M 113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) are seen accompanying the troops. ton wrecker weighing in at 22 thousand pounds. Following that fight, the 2-47 was ordered south of the 9th Divisions base camp. First was sand then bigger stuff. Suddenly he came upon a VC RPG team drawing a bead on my command track, which was a prime target given the number of radio antennas jutting from it. By 1968 the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex was the largest US/South Vietnamese military base in South Vietnam. That was 90th Replacement Battalion, situated on the road to Saigon between the village of Bien Hoa and the huge base at Long Binh. The 2-47s scout platoon had just finished a brutal fight in Widows Village, and at 1600 hours, it was ordered to move to the junction of Highways 1 and 316, and to attack westward through the village of Ho Nai toward Charlie Company, in the hope of pinning the VC between us. As was our normal practice, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. convoy about two days before and were repairing anything that had failed 0.22 We threw grenades over the wall behind them, but hit nothing.. the barracks hall just as he stepped out of his room going to introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. There was an ammo dump explosion in 1968 also and both 1967 and 1968 are correct and were of course separate incidents. (Vietnam War period). About 30 minutes later, the track came back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to evacuate the wounded. 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. and no one was injured. 4 Joseph Sugar Bear Dames returned to the tracks for more grenades. In January 1968, our battalion relocated to the area between Xuan Loc and Bien Hoa, where intelligence had located a VC battalion. We could use our tracks as a base of fire or in a blocking position as the company maneuvered dismounted. Then, for the last week in January, the 2-47 was sent south of the 9th Divisions base camp to patrol the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. As we cleared the ambush, the column suddenly came to a halt because of some kind of block in the road; simultaneously, someone keyed the company net. while we were gone. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. The 2nd Platoon pulled the damaged track out of the side street and towed it back to the III Corps compound. Ive just been told you work for me again. The Vietnamese brigadier generalthe ranking man at III Corpsdrew circles on a map around two areas of downtown Bien Hoa. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. 11. Over the two month recovery and clearing operation, tens of thousands of these hazardous munitions were recoverd by hand, one at a time. GV EXPLOSIONS, AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. Benny Toney, the 2nd Platoon sergeant, hooked a tow cable to Stormy. GV AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. To ensure you can use all the features please enable it. main target because they were outnumbered 5 to 1. We were west of Highway QL1 along a road named 535. the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. At 07:30 the VC/PAVN force stopped and made a stand in a cemetery where they continued to be hit by the gunships and the ACAVs of Company C. At 08:00 Company C was joined by a force from 2/47th Infantry and they proceeded to methodically kill all the VC/PAVN in the cemetery. Those orders were for us to clear the VC from the houses surrounding the corps headquarters. Several of his tracks were hit by RPGs and surrounded by the enemy. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. Bravo Company was sent to protect the Long Binh ammunition dump, and Charlie Company was ordered into downtown Bien Hoa, where the ARVN III Corps headquarters was in danger of being overrun. In mid-September, when Ionoff moved to battalion to become the operations officer (S3), I assumed command of Charlie Company. I have . Their 81mm mortars were useless, since we were told we could not put any indirect fire into the town. 3. From our positions, we could see and hear the fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. Helicopter gunships took off from Bien Hoa AB to investigate, but were unable to locate the force in the darkness. As I walked around the front of a track, the .50-caliber gunner accidentally hit the trigger and pumped five rounds into the ground about three feet in front of me. Views of a number of huts, in the hamlet, that have not been destroyed. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. [3]:23950, In the late afternoon of 31 January after clearing the Widow's Village 2/47th Infantry advanced into Ho Nai from the south, the town appeared deserted. The VC who had fired the RPG slipped away, but Pfc Jim Love, who was tossed into a sewage ditch by the explosion, remembers killing the jeep with his M-16. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History. Kortuem! When I arrived at the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry, nicknamed the Panthers, Lt. Col. Arthur Moreland, the commander, asked me what job I wanted. HANOI, North Vietnam, June 1 (Agence FrancePresse)An American major was captured last month in a Communistcon trolled area of northern Laos by Pathet Lao forces, a Laotian representative said here today. I was told to forget about them, which reinforced our feeling that this situation was different and that combat was certainly imminent. The battle was significant, since Alphas leadership was seriously depleted during the days immediately prior to Tet. Ripped apart barbed wire. AIR V..AMMUNITION DUMPS AND FIRES I jumped down and ran from track to track, pounding on the sides and yelling, Check your handsets! As I ran back through the weapons platoon in the pre-dawn gloom, with small-arms fire cracking overhead, I was amazed to see young girls carrying bottles of Coca-Cola, trying to sell them to the troops. known as Widows Village. As time passed, I became a mechanized soldier. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. Ly's grandfather was a soldier stationed in Quang Binh during the war. 6. II Field Force commander LG Frederick C. Weyand had also ordered the 9th Infantry Division to be prepared to send its 1st Brigade from Bearcat Base 16km south of Long Binh to Bien Hoa-Long Binh in the event of an attack. APCs advance, firing 50 caliber machine guns. Craven and another photographer, were both wounded in the engagement.) Tower sent the battalion S3, Major Jones, to take command, and once Alpha got moving, it did a magnificent job. Then and It was We topped off our fuel tanks, replenished our ammo and continued to move toward our assigned blocking position. Our area from the STOCKPILES OF BOMBS AND ARTILLERY SHELLS AT THE U.S. ARMY AMMUNITION DUMP AT LONG BINH, IN SOUTH VIETNAM, ERUPTED YESTERDAY (SATURDAY) WHEN TIME CHARGES, PLACED BY VIET CONG RAIDERS, DETONATED AMID TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES. The ARVN general and III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not happy when we pulled out. I realize now that the track was high enough that the rounds would have passed over the troops in front of the vehicle, Love recalls. Dressed as travelers returning to ancestral homes for the Tet holiday, the guerrillas had quietly drifted into their urban assembly areas and put together their weapons. We were ordered to go there and detain every male between the ages of 16 and 80. GV DUMP AMMUNITION DUMP. Activity in the area had picked up in November and 10. [2]:347, The VC 275th Regiment had taken up positions in a residential area known at the Widows' Village (105731N 1065237E / 10.9587N 106.877E / 10.9587; 106.877), which housed the wives and families of dead ARVN soldiers and was located across Route 316 from the Plantation Compound. Rambo claims that the bunker guards were MPs with the call sign of Filmy Milker. According to him, I told their commander that any fool could see that the VC did not have M-113s, and that we had 22 .50-calibers and a 106mm recoilless rifle and they, for sure, did not want us to return fire. (Vietnam War period). 0.04 Many of the enlisted personnel with medical MOSs work two to three days per week at the 93 rd Evacuation Hospital, then came back to the 24 th to work on the various construction projects. View of surrounding areas. 0.59 We began to pop hand-held flares so they could see we were there, but the shooting persisted, one round hitting my track. At about 0600, Lt. Col. John Tower, the new battalion commander, called with orders. At 4 a.m., Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move, and told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. As we rolled back through Bien Hoa, we were astounded to find the battalion S4, Captain Leroy Brown, in the middle of town with a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker and several ammunition trucks. It dawned on us that the VC were throwing down their weapons, changing clothes and slipping away. secondary explosions. He ignored me and went to a nearby house where he and the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door. (Note: According to Colonel Sonny Craven, then leader of a combat photo team on the scene, these combat sequences was filmed by soldiers of the 221st Signal Company [Pictorial]). All of these placements were made with the wrongful assumption that the VC would attack from the jungles outside the base. The 2nd Platoon, under Lieutenant Fred Casper, led the way, followed by my track, then Lieutenant Howard Jones 1st Platoon and, finally, the weapons platoon under Lieutenant Don Muir. happened to hit him just over the forehead. He Soldiers of the U.S. 2nd Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 4th Battalion 39th Infantry clearing a hamlet during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. When it went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of the light dome that rose from the explosion. The Communists were starting to carry out a plan that they had studied for a considerable period. As a result long-range reconnaissance patrols (LRRPs) from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment were positioned north of Long Binh to detect PAVN/VC approaching the base. It knocked a dimple in the side of the track as I fired up the gunner., Later in the fighting, Casper and several 2nd Platoon troops were pinned down next to a building. ". Most of we RAD 152 crew members arrived in-country on July 22, 1968. AIR V..EXPLOSION As we turned right onto Highway 15, an unbelievable spectacle stretched before us. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, and we arrived with many times the ammo and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. [2]:347 Within Bien Hoa AB, the USAF 3rd Security Police Squadron was responsible for security manning bunkers and operating mobile patrols within the base perimeter. M-113 APCs of the 9th Infantry Division storm VC positions 200 meters outside II Field Force headquarters at Long Binh on February 1, 1968. [3]:2015, At 04:00 a 60-man VC sapper team penetrated the northeastern perimeter of the base killing three MPs and entered the massive ammunition dump (105646N 1065436E / 10.946N 106.91E / 10.946; 106.91) where they planted eighteen Satchel charges before being forced to withdraw by the 720th Military Police Battalion. [3]:20, At 00:30 on 31 January, a patrol from Company E, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment detected a company-size PAVN/VC force approximately 10km north of Bien Hoa, moving in the direction of Bien Hoa AB. As we fought our way toward the scout platoon, we were blocked by two large churches that were directly across Highway 1 from each other, both occupied by the VC. After the fight for the churches, there occurred one of the most bizarre and inexplicable incidents of the day. [3]:2501, On the evening of 1 February 3 platoons from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and 2 platoons from Company D, 17th Cavalry Regiment were ordered 2km north of Ho Nai to establish an outer defense against any renewed VC/PAVN attack. The battalion made only sporadic contact and suffered few casualties. night on alert at the Birdcage, I was awakened (trying to sleep . Casper rose from the prone position and yelled for his troops to follow him. remember that my right shoulder and chest were black and blue from the Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. At that time, I received a call on my company frequency from the battalion commander, Colonel Tower, asking how things were going. We could ride, walk or be airlifted to war, travel great distances in a short amount of time, and arrive with many times the ammunition and equipment that could be lifted in by helicopter. With a push-to-talk button stuck in the transmit position, no one could use the radio. A VC guerrilla hiding behind a parked ARVN jeep had fired the rocket. Later, as the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. By some veterans' accounts, it had the unofficial name "Long Binh Junction." In 1968, the base fell under attack during the Tet Offensive, and the Viet Cong assault force was repelled by American troops. Several soldiers gathered in front of the track to help the wounded, and Love climbed up to man the .50-caliber. [2]:347, At 01:00, a 6-man LRRP from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment spotted PAVN/VC moving through rubber trees several hundred meters to the north of Long Binh Post. - The 2-47 was one of several units he pulled in from the jungles to guard the Long Binh headquarters and logistical complex 15 miles northeast of Saigon. bodies across the road began to bloat into a grotesque scene. Refine Your Search Long Binh Vietnam 1968 stock footage and images - Showing 1 to 6 of 5537 results Sort by: All All Search Results Decade 1890 - 1899 (3) 1900 - 1909 (18) 1910 - 1919 (136) 1920 - 1929 (83) more Location Aalen Germany (1) Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland USA (1) Afghanistan (2) Africa (3) more Akron Ohio USA (3) 0.42 The three companies formed a line almost three kilometers long, facing east, with their backs to the Long Binh wire, based on the mistaken assumption that the VC would attack from the jungle. The view is from the compound of the 20th. A great deal has been written about the battles of Tet 1968 and the political firestorm that resulted from them. [3]:2515, A VC/PAVN attack on the prisoner of war camp in Bin Ha which held over 2000 prisoners was repulsed by a platoon from Company C, 4/12th Infantry and a platoon from Company D, 17th Cavalry and their ACAVs. I went through the quarters making sure everyone When I arrived at 9th Division in June, I was shocked to learn that I was going to a mechanized battalion. By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. Unfortunately for the VC, they had no weapons other than the RPG launcher. At that moment, a burst of VC machine gun fire erupted, causing the colonel, the deputy and their Vietnamese escorts to pile into their vehicles and roar off in the direction from whence they had come. We left the clearing of Bien Hoa City in the capable hands of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry. That night, frightened bunker guards in the 199th compound shot into the darkness to their front. Hide. I had been in Vietnam about nine months. 2 comments. We usually got mortared at night whenever Dong Tam was getting it from our district. Copyright Screenocean 2022 | Powered byImagen. FAQs - How to Order | Burned out 105mm howitzer shells at ammunition dump in Bien Hoa Air Force Base, Bien Hoa in Vietnam. A force from Company C, 2/3rd Infantry mounted on ACAVs was sent north from Ho Nai and pinned the VC/PAVN in a crossfire. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. The attacks were repulsed with the VC/PAVN suffering heavy losses, having inflicted minimal damage on the bases. In fact, the Communists had already infiltrated the city of Bien Hoa, suburban Ho Nai village and Widows Village, where pensioned families of deceased ARVN soldiers lived. 4 "Late in the war" 1 comment. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. About Us | and completely out of sync. F-100 Super Sabre and F-4 Phantom II drop Mark 82 bombs in Vietnam during U.S. air strikes. [2]:3523, General Weyand later noted that in their attacks on the Saigon area "Despite the large number of Communist troops committed, insufficient force was applied in any one area to take and hold the objectiveThe assault had been launched piecemeal and it was repulsed piecemeal in a series of relatively small battles. We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. While much has been written about Tet and the political firestorm that resulted, in the hundreds of surprise battles and skirmishes that unfolded, individual units found themselves thrust into intense danger, turmoil, chaos, confusion, contradictions and outright lunacy as they responded to Viet Cong (VC) attacks. Sand bags near barbed wire fence. The idea was to leave nothing the VC might use against us. The colonel explained that since we were infantry soldiers and did not know the proper method of searching a house, he and his crew had come to teach us. Meanwhile, Hueys reported VC running from the village. As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track. We could haul more personal gear, live more comfortably and walk less than straight-leg troops. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. After much frequency changing, I finally got the commander of the bunker guards on the radio. They bowed and looked confused. -- color photo Near Moc Hoa. Some VC crossed Route 316 and took up firing positions in bush at the southern perimeter of the Plantation. Each APC could carry almost as much ammunition as a dismounted rifle company. from Bien Hoa City. we were a bit more trigger happy than usual. build bunkers, and help pick up the dead enemy across the fence. The ammunition dump contained high explosives like: C-4, artillery rounds, mortar rounds, aerial flares, 50 caliber rounds, M-60 machine gun rounds, and aerial rockets for the Huey Cobra and gunships. Toggle the table of contents Talk: Long Bnh, Bin Ha. Get under! After what seemed like Long Binh Ammo Dump October 29, 1966 . From our positions we could see and hear the celebratory fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. The 1st Platoon of Bravo Company was made the II Field Force reaction force and was placed in the PX parking lot at Long Binh. Long Binh Vietnam 1969 stock footage and images - Showing 1 to 6 of 5540 results Sort by: All Decade 1890 - 1899 Location (1) Norfolk Virginia USA (2) Normandy France (12) Norman Oklahoma USA (1) (1) (1) North Carolina United States USA (2) North Chicago Illinois USA (1) North Dakota United States USA (1) North Haven Maine USA (1) North Korea (1) During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army used the base as a logistics and command center. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. The VC/PAVN attacked the position that night in a 6 hour long assault which was met initially by US mortar and artillery fire, then helicopter gunships and then napalm strikes. Another VC battalion infiltrated near the area of the 3rd Ordnance (Long Binh) ammunition dump [and] in a few moments, the huge dump became a fireball. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. After I received the coordinates of our objective, I yelled, Crank em up! into the radio handset, and we moved out. We fired everything we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church.