“I Am Going to Fight a Duel
with the Enemy”
In memory of Artillery man Vu Quang Vinh...
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Thien Hieu
On the 2nd of May 1972, Quang Tri was lost. The 369th Brigade deployed a defensive line south of the My Chanh. The next day, the 258th Brigade received reinforcement. The 3rd Artillery Battalion was ordered to give fire support to the 369th Brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen The Luong replaced Colonel Pham Van Chung as the Brigade c
Commander.
The 369th Brigade Staff and the 3rd Artillery Company were stationed at a small hamlet of Chinh An. The area was small, sparsely populated, with about ten straw huts on a sand dune fenced in by a thin bamboo hedge. Artillery Company J occupied a position on one end of the hamlet, on a dry rice paddy. The 155mm company stationed to the right at it, for reinforcement. Company K was positioned in the east, on barren ground long down a path. In front was a low field. Everyone was waiting for orders to recapture Quant Tri.
The NVA's attack was blocked at Thach Han river. On May 13th, two marine battalions were airlifted to Hai Lang District for a probing operation. The enemy knew that we would certainly counter attack. Personally I was optimistic - thinking that the enemy did not have the strength to launch an assault. All the same, I could not sleep that night. All of a sudden, I received an extremely urgent call from Vu Quang Vinh, the commander of Artillery Company K.
“Ha Noi, Vinh Long calling...”
“Vinh Long, do you hear me?”
“Yes Great Eagle... the guys of the 8th have fled... now I am going to fight a duel with the enemy.”
“Vinh Long, try your best... if anything happens, follow the second plan of action.”
“Hear you loud and clear. Over.”
Releasing the microphone, I dashed through the bunker where a TOW antitank rocket had been positioned. Major Hart and the sergent who was the TOW rocket launcher were there. Pointing through the dimness towards the east, he asked:
Do you see enemy tanks?” Through the binoculars, I saw scores of moving bushes from which shells headed towards us were coming. A minute later, I clearly saw the tank columns, camouflaged with tree branches and leaves. They were advancing at a dashing pace. The cannons and machine guns on the turrets took turn spitting fire at the position of the 3rd Artillery Battalion and the 369th Brigade Staff. Where they were, the artillery men of the two 105mm companies and those manning the four 155mm Howitzers would have to fire directly in order to stop them. The noise of machine guns mixed with that of explosions, as we tried to stop them. A few moments passed, but the enemy tanks continued forwards. I waited for the TOW sergeant to launch his rocket, but he continued to aim but did not fire.
Suddenly the sergeant yelled: “They got one!” I looked, and indeed, an enemy tank was burning. A few seconds later, another one burst into flames, but did not stop until it was hit by another 155mm round. The hit sent the tank rolling over and over. A third tank was aflame soon after. The company artillery men lept up and threw their hats and raised their hands for joy. The enemy tank column came to a halt. The american sergeant finally launched his rocket. I wasn't sure whether he hit anything, as I didn't look through my binoculars.
The first sunlight was appearing, and american aircrafts began to fly in from the 7th Fleet to help the ground troops. The tank columns quickly disappeared, but the charred remains of seven tanks were left behind. Forgetting to bid my american advisor goodbye, I jumped to the ground and shouted to Corporal Thanh to drive me quickly to Artillery Company K's position to inspect the situation. Captain Vinh, wearing a flak jacket and a steel helmet, welcomed me. Pointing to a smouldering tank he said: “Were were lucky to have hunted it down on time. Had we been a minute slower, and they would have stormed us and it would have been impossible to escape.” I saw that the first tank destroyed had been only 150 m from the artillery men. The PT76 had a speed of 30km/hr i.e 500m per minute. Within 18 seconds, the tank would have been right where Artillery Company K was had it not been destroyed. Victory or defeat was determined within a mere 18 seconds. I squeezed Vinh's hand tightly, at lost as to how to congratulate him. I could not express how proud I was of him when he uttered those heroic words: “I am going to fight a duel with the enemy...” I made up my mind to commend him for an award. I wanted to inspect the closest of the tanks. Vinh quickly called some artillery men to accompany me. Dozens volunteered, as everyone wanted a close look. I was privileged to share their joy. It was the first time in their lives that they had succeeded in stopping a column of tanks.
First Lieutenant Duc, the executive officer of Artillery Company K himself had stood next to the chief of the gun team and had directed the fire at the PT76. The only casualty was a gunner killed by a 76mm cannon round. The damage was unbelievably light considering they were up against dozens of tanks. Approaching the PT76, I saw that its rear door had been opened, and four NVA soldiers were lying dead by the tank. They had emerged from the tank alive. But as they were helping each other to bandage wounds, they were killed by shrapnel. One was a driver, and the others cannon and machine gunners. The infantry men accompanying the tank were either too far behind or too afraid to advance. After a short walk of about 50m, I stopped to observe a larger tank. It must have been the flag tank.
Later, I found out that it was a PT85, a type of amphibious personnel carrier tank. A few enemy bodies littered the ground. All had died before they had the chance to bandage themselves. When I returned to the firing tower of Artillery Company K, a signal man told me that I was urgently needed at Brigade Headquarters for a briefing.
The victory at Hamlet Chinh An destroyed the NVA's dream to assault Hue. I recommended Vinh as the best fighter of the Battalion, and he was awarded a trip to Taiwan. The 3rd Artillery battalion received 270,000 piasters for having burnt nine tanks. (I Corps set the prize at 30,000 piasters per tank).
Today, is the 15th of September, twenty five years after the day our troops regained Dinh Cong Trang Citadel. As I sit writing down memories of the artillery men and the original and unique battles that they fought in, I sadly mourn Vu Quang Vinh. No one knows when he died. It was rumoured that he was either imprisoned in a connex or that he escaped. According to one source, he was shot trying to escape. Another source said he managed to flee into the jungle, led a group of guerillas, but was killed in one of the skirmishes with the Communists. I will always remember his famous quote, and I hope others will too. Vu Quang Vinh of the 19th Class of Thu Duc, you are a hero!
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Thien Hieu
No comments:
Post a Comment