For my personal defense, I relied upon a somewhat rusty M16 kept around the office. The brigade was comprised of 2d Battalion, 3d . Din vin Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Ninh Dng Lan Ngc Vit Trinh. The attack lifted momentarily, and the gunship began dropping flares to provide illumination requested by a nearby ground unit. We were young men in the U.S. Army. (Vietnam War period). The gunners kept the guns loaded and working during the flight. The first explosion, seemingly an earth-shattering blast, occurred perhaps 30 or 40 yards outside our office, spraying the building with gravel and steel fragments, perforating our walls and windows. SSG Richard E, Slaven died from his wounds the next day. At about 03:00, as reconnaissance elements of the unit were observed and engaged by US Air Force security forces at the perimeter of Bien Hoa Air Base, the villagers began to flee their homes, running down streets and creek beds. When attacking, Spooky rolled into a level 30-degree bank turn, flying at an airspeed of almost 140 mph. --- and so it went for lots of the fighting in Vietnam. At first, he was a power line specialist with the civil engineering squadron at McGuire AFB, N.J. Later I enrolled as an ROTC student at South Dakota State University, became an Army officer and was assigned to Long Binh in August 1968. As Ole-Luk-Oie, the pen name for British officer Ernest Swinton, wrote in the 1915 book. Each one of the guns could fire two speeds, Levitow said. It would be relieved by another gunship for the midnight-to-dawn shift. Viet Cong sappers infiltrated the base and lay in long grass between the runways for several hours before placing their satchel charges. Thomas Baer, the other gunner, and SSgt. I heard that five American soldiers were killed and some 30 wounded. My driver arrived at the usual time, a little before sundown, on Feb. 22, for my 12-hour graveyard shift at the 1st Logistics Command headquarters. 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. Long Binh Ammo Dump Explosion, Tet, 1968 - YouTube Soon we received word that every spare man was to report for perimeter duty, and within minutes my entire crew had been spirited away, leaving me to fend for myself. (Vietnam War period). April 1969 ~ Battalion Time Line - 720mpreunion.org The base was host to US Army Headquarters. 23 July 1969 - SFC Eddie Hamby escorts Sgt McIntosh to Moc Hoa by boat on first leg of stops heading stateside. A South . The Space Development Agency has added another batch of missile-tracking satellites to its expansive constellation, awarding Raytheon a $250 million contract March 2 to build seven spacecraft. Photo courtesy of Corpman Bill Luppeti HM3 [Rach Soi 1967-1970] It was an unlucky hit. What was it like to live on Long Binh Post during the Vietnam War 1965 January 1 - February 7, 1965: Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam. [4]:98, At dawn PAVN sappers attacked the 1st Marine Division headquarters on Hill 327 and the 2/7 Marines command post to the northwest. SUMMARY: On December 17, 1968, a 39-vehicle convoy from the 48th Transportation Group was moving ammunition and food between Long Binh and Dau Tieng, South Vietnam when the lead vehicles were suddenly hit by mortar fire. 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. 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. The resultant damage was a hole two feet in diameter through the wing and over 3,500 shrapnel holes riddling the fuselage, said Lt. Col. Robert A. Davidson, commander of the AC-47 forward operating location at Bien Hoa. (Vietnam War period). Levitows Medal of Honor is prominently displayed at Enlisted Heritage Hall. For reasons unknown, it had not been emptied when the AC-47 went to Vietnam. 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. If it ignited, it would quickly fill the aircraft with toxic smoke, incapacitating the entire crew. [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. The Tet 1969 offensive was carried out mostly by Viet Cong irregulars. The research for this After Action Report included OPERATIONAL REPORTS, DAILY STAFF JOURNALS and DUTY OFFICER S LOGS at the Battalion, Brigade and Division levels located in the National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Soldiers of the 221st Signal Company Vietnam have military payment certificates (MPC) exchanged at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam as part of a country wide general order. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Some of my first recollections as a youngster from the cornfields of Iowa were the television and radio presentations of an ominous phenomena known as the yellow peril, although on our black-and-white TV sets this threat appeared more as black swaths oozing first from Russia across China, then over North Korea and finally covering the countries of Southeast Asia on their way across the ocean to the United States. Over the years, there were numerous other recognitions. We were officially MOS (Military Operational Specialty) 32F20, which was depot-level repair and maintenance on AUTOSEVOCOM (AUTOmatic SEcure VOice COMmunications) crypto . The Hot War (1968-October 1969) The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army in late 1967 launched several costly attacks. Includes captions and a music soundtrack. The 199th later became known as the "Redcatchers" for its mission objectiveto seek out and destroy Communist cadres in Vietnam. 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. I stay away from publicity and things like that. Category:Long Binh Post - Wikimedia Commons Im not going to bring shame on either the medal or myself, so I do watch it very carefully.. 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. 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. The other skid remains upright, as it is unfastened from the crane. The Air Force sent a C-54 to Hartford to pick up him, his wife, and his parents and take them to Washington. (true?/false? 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. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry. Shortly, another mortar battery began firing. More than 100 individual and crew-served weapons were captured. 44 Declassified Vietnam War Photos The Public Wasn't Meant To See (On earlier AC-47s, one of the guns had been mounted in the door.) "Text of Camp Lejeune Committee's Report to Commanding General." 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. 5 Lt xem. He flew two more AC-47 combat missions and showed up at the flight line for a third when the squadron commander told him he was grounded. The flare posed a deadly danger in several ways. Ellis C. Owen, had been working as a team in dropping the flares. The gunship carried about 150,000 rounds of ammunition on each flight, Levitow said. 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. Opportunity knocks. Website Terms & Conditions | The aircraft veered sharply to the right and down.. [4]:101. Citation Nr: 0307323 Decision Date: 04/16/03 Archive Date: 04/24/03 DOCKET NO. Even in the navigation compartment the flash lit up the inside of the aircraft like daylight. Carpenter waved off taxi instructions from the tower and the crew got out fast. Most estimates put the Viet Cong deaths at over 100. Furthermore, the flare would be burning at a temperature of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Dennis E Haines, Recipient of the Images Of Bravery Award, Patient at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, December 1968. The Long Binh/Bien Hoa complex was huge, with thousands of soldiers and airmen assigned to the combined logistics complex and air base. 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. The right tire was flat, having been cut by shrapnel, and it was all Carpenter could do, standing on the left brake, to keep control until he brought the airplane to a stop. Inside the aircraft is a mannequin of Levitow, struggling to get the flare to the door. At 02:00 on 23 February, the 274th VC Regiment initiated their attack with an estimated 78 rounds of rocket and mortar fire from their positions. That evening, several ambush squads from the 720th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Brigade kept watch along potential avenues of approach to Long Binh Post. 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. The attack was expected to come on the ground, as opposed to those . Battle of Binh Long Province (KENTUCKY COUGAR) 12 August 1969 I visited my friends down the hall in the almost deserted headquarters building, but mostly kept up my vigil of the activity outside the perimeter, which, as darkness descended, now included an occasional flare. Mini-Tet 1969 Begins February 23, 1969. 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 . 1969 Time Line ~ Ambush & Recon - 720mpreunion.org His most recent article, Rolling Thunder, appeared in the March issue. Soldiers walk around outside the headquarters. My hope was that no more than one or two VC would reach my position. Thoughts now turned to what we should do if we came face to face with the enemy. Stacks of 155mm artillery shells are loaded onto a truck by a crane, in groups of 16 at a time, on wooden skids holding 8 apiece.The soldiers are stripped to the waist. Lieutenant General Julian J. Ewell shakes hands with both of the brigadier generals. Thought to be in retaliation for Chuyen's disappearance. Large images may take a few minutes to appear. III Corps - Army of the Rapublic of Vietnam (ARVN) - GlobalSecurity.org Easily create a Forum Website with Website Toolbox. He had been nominated for the Medal of Honorat Carpenters urging, Gen. George S. Brown, the 7th Air Force commander, had marked the recommendation up from an Air Force Crossand he was no longer allowed to fly in combat. In another scene, a large crane is used to stack shells in the ammunition dump. 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. At the ceremonies, his son, John L. Levitow Jr., said: I have only one apology to make. Location: Long Binh Vietnam. Battlefield:Vietnam | Timeline - PBS My class had graduated the month before from our 35-week "Fixed Ciphony Repair" course at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. By 01:00 the next morning, the bodies of 264 PAVN/VC soldiers lay in the village, and 87 had been captured or surrendered. 23 February, Attack on Long Binh Post The rumors of an impending attack became fact when at 0200 hours [2:00 AM] the first enemy rockets soared across the eastern end of the TAOR and landed on Long Binh Post. The training group headquarters building at Lackland AFB, Tex., is named for him. Sixteen bulldozers were quickly deployed to spend the rest of the day sealing the entrances. Investigation reports of the Postal Inspector Division, 1971-73. F-100C Super Sabre 54-1956 120 TFS, 35 TFW, USAF . Two stints one for 6 months and another for 7. Textual Records: Correspondence and daily journal, 1972-73. I was a 2nd Lieutenant, on my second night in Vietnam when the attack on Long Bing Post began at 2 AM. He decided to try a different specialty after an experience in which the power was not turned off when I thought it was turned off, so he cross trained as a loadmaster. Interestingly, the only thing that came readily to mind was a small sign I discovered at one of the outdoor latrines set back in the woods: ALL TERDS [sic.] Jim Van Eldik is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. After sundown on the 22nd, elements of the VC 274th Regiment, 5th Division made their final preparations while occupying three hills along Highway 15 approximately three kilometers south of the base. 24th Evacuation Hospital, Long Binh, Vietnam Paris Davis, Black Green Beret in Vietnam, Finally Awarded Medal of Records of the United States Forces in Southeast Asia, 1950-1975 After Levitow left the Air Force, he worked in veterans affairs for more than 22 years. The flare was armed and rolling loose in the aircraft. Location of service: Long Binh Post THOSE WHO SERVED To mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first U.S. ground troops in Vietnam, the Quad-City Times is profiling two dozen war veterans. Aerial view of (USARV) United States Army Republic of Vietnam Headquarters Complex at Long Binh, Vietnam. The firing grew to a continuous roar, with lines and lines of red tracers emitted by M60 machine guns crisscrossing the battlefield. 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.. 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. The gunship had flown into the path of an 82 mm mortar round, which struck the top of the right wing. 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. This site uses cookies to improve your experience and to help show content that is more relevant to your interests. A soldier with a typewriter creates a receipt. U.S. Navy Douglas A-4E Skyhawks from Attack Squadrons VA-163 Saints and VA-164 Ghost Riders attack the Phuong Dinh railroad bypass bridge, 10 kilometers north of Thanh Hoe, North Vietnam, on September 10, 1967. 28 March Ambush and Recon Team #75, and #76 were on a joint night operation on Hill-15 in the southeastern sector of the TAOR. If you like this movie trailer, go to https://militaryvideo.com/ to purchase the entire 60 minute video. The U.S. created an Afghan air force that was too technologically advanced for its native country to sustain, then pulled the rug out from under it, according to a U.S. government inspector general report. The soldiers with old (MPC) currency notes takes the receipt and proceeds towards the next officer. 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. As darkness approached some comfort was provided by the constant sweeps outside the perimeter made at treetop level by the guys in their little OH-6 Loach light observation helicopters. The next day, I was promoted to E-4, retroactive nine months with pay, Levitow said, but by then, he had decided to take an early out. These attacks were repulsed for Marines losses of 18 killed and more than 75 PAVN killed. Beyond that was an open area where tanks were patrolling back and forth, apparently looking for VC who had squirreled themselves down into rat holes trying to avoid the tanks. Im very careful what I do, he said in an oral history interview in 1986. They could'nt tell how big the post was, for the post's perimeter lighting had not yet been installed. Dedicated to those who were there. He was discharged from active duty after his Vietnam tour and shortly afterward was assigned to an Army Reserve unit. 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. HistoryNet - NEW on HistoryNet: Attack on Long Binh, a | Facebook History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Photos (51) by Lou Mengoli, 1967. Trans primary motivations seem quite similar to our own: eating and getting home. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. Fort Benning | Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries | MCoE HQ History: 1968-69 | 228th Levitow also gave Enlisted Heritage Hall his fathers uniform and ribbons, the original Medal of Honor citation signed by President Nixon, photos, and other memorabilia. The Spooky 71 crew could see mortar tube flashes about one mile south of the area of the earlier attack. Back home in Connecticut, he learned that his Medal of Honor had been approved. 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. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. . It was another hot February day in 1969 at the sprawling Long Binh logistics base about 20 miles northeast of Saigon. The Medal of Honor was presented to John L. Levitow at the White House by President Nixon on May 14, 1970. [4]:97 Later that day rockets hit the An Hoa Combat Base destroying 15,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and igniting 40,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 50 rockets were fired at Naval Support Activity Da Nang with more than half going into the sea and the remainder causing minor damage. from 1969 to 1970. (Lt. Cdr. 105837N 1064955E / . On 19 February, a defector surrendered to Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces and revealed a large VC force would attack key installations in the Saigon area to include Long Binh Post. I worked for Pan American Airways and lived with the 99th Replacement Battallion across from USARV Headquarters in Long Binh from October 1969 through December 1969. 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. (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? Some speculate that the attacks . Tet Offensive attack on Long Binh and Bien Hoa 31 January 1968.jpg . Long Binh, 23 February 1969 - Second Infantry Regiment - Website Toolbox Contact Us | Featured Collections | Many of the tracers bounced off the ground like rubber balls. Poor guys; they didn't stand a chance. When daylight came, I reported to my new duty station in the Engineer Section of USARV HQ, where, from the second floor of the air-conditioned building, we could observe the Post's perimeter wire about 1/4 mile away. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. The retired Green Beret, who was a trailblazer as one of the first Black officers to join the Special Forces, told Military.com on Thursday that he . Three B Company ambush squads were positioned along the eastern end of the TAOR on the "Finger Of Land," and a reinforced squad of twelve MP's, including two Scout Dog handlers from the 212th MP Company, were positioned on Hill-15 along the Buong River. Top 15 N Din Vin Xinh p Nht Vit Nam 2023, Top 10 Din Vin Xinh . A soldier counts his notes at the typist's desk. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. The intense heat of the flare would burn rapidly through the aluminum floor of the cargo bay and drop on the empennage control cables, destroying them and causing the aircraft to go out of control. 25/26 January 1969. In the attack on Bien Hoa Air Base the PAVN lost 264 killed and 87 captured while ARVN losses were 10 killed and US. Letters from Long Binh | Michigan Today Day scenes show soldiers defending positions and firing at the enemy. Levitow was struggling toward the flare despite the violent maneuvering of the aircraft. I immediately detected signs that all was not right. Spooky 71 had gone as far as it was going. I consider the fact that the aircraft was able to fly at all a miracle, Carpenter said. Shrapnel and jagged shards of metal ricocheted through the cargo bay, and a shock wave from the explosion swept the interior of the airplane. Smoke rises from surrounding area. South Vietnam tour 1968-69 by David Parsley - PBase 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. June The second of two new outpost's was built on the western end of the Finger Of Land. David L. Hamel, director of the institute. Following the employment of the supporting fires, the 36th Ranger Battalion moved back into the village. Tet Offensive: The Battles of Bien Hoa and Long Binh - HistoryNet Tran Van Thiet, 19, had been left behind. 472.6.8 Records of the U.S. Army Central Finance and Accounting Office, Vietnam. Terms & Conditions | Among the family members present were his son and grandson, John L. Levitow III. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. [2][3], Since early February 1969, the 1st Marine Division had noted an upsurge in PAVN/VC activity around Da Nang. 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 point man for Team #75, SP/4 Cressman, tripped a Viet Cong antipersonnel mine on the trail that runs down from the south side of the hill to the Buong River. . 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. maxhightForP2 = 14168; FAQs - How to Order | It would light up, oh, about half a mile, a good area, quite brightly, Levitow said. He is remembered at the Walk of Fame at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Levitow died Nov. 8, 2000, at his home in Connecticut after a lengthy battle with cancer. Media in category "Long Binh Post" The following 36 files are in this category, out of 36 total. The view is from the compound of the 20. [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. On 29 October the Viet Cong attacked the South Vietnamese district capital of Loc Ninh, ran up the flag of the National Liberation Front, and tried to hold the city. Amazingly five or six Viet Cong actually did sneak into the compound, but, luckily or unluckily for my sake, depending on the outcome, not in my area. Clip Type: Unedited. Levitows progress was clearly marked with his own blood on the floor of the aircraft.. Dailymotion, It was his 180th combat mission, but he had never flown with this crew before. War and peace. Top graduates of Air Force Airman Leadership Schools receive the Levitow Honor Graduate Award. It concentrated on US military installations, especially in the III Corps area around Saigon. Dense blue smoke was pouring out of the burning flare fuze.. Back in the States, the aircraft had been fitted with a tank inside the fuselage to hold isopropyl alcohol. Hc_Thn. Photo courtesy of Tom Lefavour and taken around October 1969. When we were hit, all of us [Owen, Levitow, Sgt. Viet Cong attack on Tan Son Nhut Air Base (1966) Part of the Vietnam War: Date: 4-5 December 1966: Location: Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. Then there was a blinding flash and the aircraft was rocked from nose to tail by a violent explosion. More than 500 airmen attended the funeral, and most of them followed the caisson to the grave site. United States Army soldiers participate in military payment certificates (MPC) exchange at their headquarters in Long Binh Vietnam.

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