[1]:153, The Marines now counterattacked supported by artillery and Marine gunships and fixed-wing air. According to a Marine report, "it was evident that the enemy was prepared to masquerade as Vietnamese civilians in the process of infiltrating the TAOR and that he was attempting to infiltrate his forces in small units. 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. A high number of casualties were Vietnamese civilians living in a village just east of DaNang Air Base. This information should also include any information involving plane crashes at the Da Nang base in early 1968. These included Hills 65 and 52 manned by companies of the 3/7 Marines in the southwestern part of the TAOR and Hill 41 defended by Company D, 1/7 Marines in the central western sector. The Koreans kept one company at the MACV compound for security and prepared for a sweep to clear out the city in the morning. WASHINGTON The White House warned that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack that hit an air base in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are . Again the artillery responded with "excellent effect on target." [1]:149, About 5,000 meters to the east, in Hi An, however, PAVN/VC forces gained somewhat the upper hand. It was decided that two battalions from the Americal Division code-named Task Force Miracle would be moved into the northern sector of the 3/5 Marines near Route 1 south of the Cau Do. Elements of the PAVN 368B Rocket Artillery Regiment were in firing positions to the west and northwest of the 7th Marines. Photographer: Unknown Nng Air Base, AKA: Rocket City, often had more than six Silk-Moons of false dawn orbiting the base. heros. The U.S Marine Corps Fighter Squadron VMF (AW) 232, also based here, lost some of its F-8E Crusader aircraft in this attack. Although the PAVN troops fled, the Marines found five unexpended 122mm rockets on the site. "[1]:1578, The greatest danger to the TAOR at this juncture, however, was from the south in that area defended by the ROKMC and the ARVN 51st Regiment. Results of a rocket attack on Da Nang air base: revetment area building Military Photo: Rocket Attack On The Eve Of The Tet Offensive. The AC-47 then called in Marine fixed-wing attack aircraft which dropped Napalm with "outstanding coverage of target." "[1]:147[2], Shortly afterwards, Marine fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter gunships blasted the VC in Ha Vang. Date: July 15, 1967.Visit us at www.CriticalPast.com:57,000+ broadcast-quality historic clips for immediate download.Fully digitized and searchable, the CriticalPast collection is one of the largest archival footage collections in the world. # Not in AF records, submitted by members, # Not in AF records, submitted by members, Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam, 1960-1973. 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. [1]:1478, The Marine response to the bombardments was rapid, the 11th Marines artillery units "initiated counter-rocket fires" at suspected avenues of approach. [1]:153, South of the Hi Vn Pass, in the northern portion of the Da Nang TAOR, in the 2/7 Marines sector, the PAVN were able to close Highway 1 temporarily, but failed to penetrate Allied defenses. The reaction force itself came under automatic weapons fire and RPGs disabled the two tanks. Liked the Oriental rock bands came to the Club: Entering the town from the southwest, the VC fired about 70 RPGs at the local forces, but never penetrated the defender's perimeter. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. With part of the force establishing blocking positions north of the hamlet, the rest of the provisional company and Rangers moved through Nam O. Robertson observed that the delay of the 2nd Division into the picture may have been because the PAVN forces "got their signals mixed " The VC were supposed to be inside "when the [PAVN] division came marching down main street. The Marine company called in mortar and artillery fire. from The New York Times: Police officers provided security for the marchers, and the march concluded peacefully at Maltepe, Istanbul (where . Still photo images extracted from the vintage footage are also available for immediate download. [1]:159, While the Marines successfully thwarted this attempt, between 01:00 and 05:00 on the morning of the 6th, PAVN/VC gunners mortared or rocketed all of the command posts, fire bases and company combat bases in the 7th Marines sector. Robertson later praised the Security and Communications platoons of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters Battalion for their efforts in the defense. Aircraft destroyed included F-4 Phantom II's \u0026 C-130's. 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. [1]:156, The Da Nang Northern Sector Defense Command dispatched a provisional company to assist the CAP Marines as well as the security detachment. Scheduled to last eight weeks, Rolling Thunder will instead go on for three years. Shortly after 04:45, General Lm ordered the ARVN 4th Cavalry Regiment, a Ranger battalion and a detachment of National Police to augment the units in Ha Vang and the headquarters personnel forces in the compound. Communist attack of the war on an American stockade or brig. Finally the PAVN broke contact at 20:00 and disappeared. The 3/5 Marines were landed and immediately came under heavy automatic and small arms fire from the island. [1]:149, The fighting did not subside with the coming of daylight. The bulk of the attack force remained in Ha Vang Village bogged down in a firefight with local Popular Force (PF) and Regional Force (RF) troops reinforced by a USMC Combined Action Platoon (CAP), E-3. Despite the Marine patrolling, PAVN sappers, probably from the 2nd Sapper Battalion, blew three bridges and one culvert over Highway 1 in the pass area. About 20 minutes later the missile battery sighted enemy rocket firing sites and two minutes later radioed that 12 rockets of undetermined size landed in and around its area. More like this Camp Friendship Korat Cat Air Force Special Operations Vietnam War Photos May Bay North Vietnam Air Force Bases Vietnam Veterans CMSgt (Ret) Gary Chaffin, who was at Da Nang with the 366th Civil Engineering Squadron, recalls this attack much as Dick does. For example, while the R-20th attempted to maintain a full complement of 400 men through the recruitment or impressment of local villagers and infiltration of North Vietnamese "volunteers," intelligence sources rated the unit only "marginally effective. . "The call for assault to achieve independence and liberty has sounded; Robertson wanted to "canalize enemy movements in order to develop lucrative targets which could be exploited." Robertson later compared the enemy activity that night to a "10-ring circus." Shortly after 01:00 on the 6th, PAVN gunners opened up on the hamlet with intermittent mortar rounds and small-arms fire. In both these sectors support troops doubled as infantry, manning fixed defensive positions and conducting patrols. [1]:147, Major General Raymond Murray, the III MAF deputy commander, remembered that he heard a "hell of a lot of racket" and "woke up [to] the airfield at Da Nang being rocketed." On 14 February 1965 the Marine 1st LAAM Battalion established its anti-aircraft operations center colocated with the USAF CRP. At Da Nang, III MAF knew that the PAVN/VC were on the move. 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. The battalion's Company B, however, in an operation with a CAP in two hamlets on the Tiensha Peninsula or Da Nang East, surprised a VC force in two hamlets north of Marble Mountain. The following day, the same sources indicated that both the VC 1st and the PAVN 3rd Regiments had also withdrawn to the Go Noi. Open to all Vietnam Veterans that served at DA NANG Air Base of ROCKET CITY from 1971-1972. Menu. This platoon under First Lieutenant John E. Manning departed the airbase about 04:15 and arrived in the blocking positions about 05:15. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. Another platoon from the Marine company also reinforced the engaged troops about an hour later. The Flightline, Funny Money, Rocket shrapnel. This apparently broke the back of the VC resistance. The struggle for Hi An would continue into the following day. [1]:159, While from 15 February, the PAVN/VC ground assaults on Marine positions appeared to diminish , Marine spotters in the tower on Hill 55 reported the constant movement of small groups of enemy troops in the western portion of the ROKMC area of operations. PAVN/VC gunners, however, continued to be active and shot down a Marine CH-46 attempting to insert a reconnaissance team into a landing zone in the hill mass in the western sector of Da Nang below the Ty Loan River. Marine losses were 14 killed, Army losses were 18 killed, while PAVN/VC losses were in excess of 286. [1]:163, The PAVN/VC offensive in the Da Nang sector had spent itself. Two other squad patrols from Company C in the vicinity quickly joined the first squad. He remembered that because of the number of casualties his battalion sustained, "it was necessary to employ administrative personnel on patrols" with "clerks, cooks, and drivers" on line. The Marines called in artillery and mortar missions . The attack began about 1 A.M. and the United States command said the missiles were Sovietbuilt 122mm rockets, each weighing about 100 pounds. 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. The nickname for DaNang was "Rocket City" garnering that appellation from the frequent attacks on it by means of the "Katyusha" which is the name given the Soviet BM-21 122mm artillery rocket. They were ordered to the area to bolster defenses around the air base at Da Nang against possible VietCong attacks. Da Nang Under Heavy Rocketing. In the extensive Da Nang TAOR, the early morning hours of 31 January were almost a repeat of the events of the 30th. By 11:00, Marine helicopters evacuated the most seriously wounded and brought in the rest of Company G into blocking positions on the western bank of the Yn. A 19-year-old sentry assigned to a listening post at a U.S. air base gets caught in the crossfire during a Viet Cong attack. Further to the east Company G, 2/3 Marines, at the battalion's command post about 500 meters north of in Bn town, remained as the division mobile reserve mounted in LVTP-5s and supported by tanks. Da Nang Air Base had intelligence predicting a rocket attack any day. The 1st MP Battalion completed three sweeps of the Air Base perimeter and the areas just southeast, southwest and just north of the airbase without incident. In this fighting, which had lasted about three hours, the South Vietnamese defenders sustained casualties of three dead, seven wounded, and two damaged armored vehicles. [1]:1412, In the Da Nang sector, the tempo of operations had picked up during the last weeks of January. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. In the 3/7 Marines area of operations, about 2,000 meters west of Hill 55 on the other side of a bend in the Yen River, a squad from Company L at 11:45 ran into what eventually turned out to be a fairly large-sized PAVN unit. [1]:163 Army forces in the Da Nang area including the troops from Task Force Miracle suffered 18 dead and 59 wounded. There were still ominous signs and actions that the enemy push on Da Nang was not over. [ Bob Kaatman photo ] Nng AB: 366th TFW: Rocket Attack! 16. Darkness prevented any accurate bomb assessment. The 11th Marines fired an artillery mission with unknown results. The skirmishing south of the headquarters near Ha Vang, however, continued. *** The first time that rockets were used in RVN by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. Some viewers may find some scenes or audio in this archival material to be unsettling or distressing. 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