The Battle at Giong Rieng of
the 1st Marine Battalion
(6-12-1955)
Colonel Ngo Van Dinh
1. General Overview
On 23-10-1955, there was a referendum in South Vietnam to overthrow the Head of State, Bao Dai. Premier Ngo Dinh Diem became the first President of the Republic of South Vietnam on 26-10-1956. To unify the armed forces, large scale operations were organised to search for Lieutenant Generals Tran Van Soai's and Ba Cut's forces in the western region.
Campaign Nguyen Hue commenced on 23-5-1955 and ended on 5-6-1956. Lieutenant General Tran Van Soai surrendered, Ba Cut was captured and Campaign Hoang Dieu swept Bay Vien's Binh Xuyen force from Rung Sat.
In November 1955, the 1st Marine Battalion returned to its Rear Base after Operation Hoang Dieu in Rung Sat had ended. At the end of November 1955, the Battalion was transported by train to Saigon, where it received order to participate in the Nguyen Hue Campaign. The Commander of the Campaign was Colonel Duong Van Duc. On 4-12-1955, the Battalion moved to Rach Gia to prepare to enter Giong Rieng early in the morning of 6-12-1955.
2. Location of Operational Area
Giong Rieng was a village located 35 kilometres east of Rach Soi airfield, 45 kilometres south east of Rach Gia, 50 kilometres north of Vi Thanh district and 100 kilometres south west of Can Tho. The Operational area composed of scattered villages, rice fields and criss-crossed canal systems.
3. The Battalion's Duty
The Battalion's duty was to seek out the armed forces of Lieutenant General Tran Van Soai and Ba Cut in Giong Rieng, Rach Gia. It was entitled to use its own discretion to organise the operations in the area of responsibility. The Battalion's name at that time was the 1st Amphibious Battalion, commanded by Captain Bui Pho Chi.
4. Friendly Force
An airborne Battalion to the south.
5. Support
One observation plane L19
One 155mm gun battery.
6. Means of Transportation
From Rach Gia to the Operational area, the means of transportation was by Navy Crafts, LCM and LCVP.
7. The operation
The Battalion boarded the vessels on a bridge at Rach Gia Market at 3:00 am. The order of boarding was as follows: Company 3. Company 2, the Headquarters Company, Company 1, Company of Heavy Weapons.
The Battalion was divided into 2 groups:
"Group A was commanded by Captain Bui Pho Chi, the Battalion commander. It was composed of Company 3 commanded by 2nd Lieutenant Phan Thanh Dan and Company 2 under the leadership of 2nd Lieutenant Cao Tan Hap.
"Group B was commanded by 1st Lieutenant Tran Van Duc, the Executive Officer of the Battalion. This group consisted of Company 1 commanded by 2nd Lieutenant Tran Van Nhut and a heavy weapons Company led by 2nd Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Nhon.
The distance from Rach Gia to Giong Rieng was about 65 kilometres, and the Battalion searched the place of disembarkation at approximately 10:00 am. There had been no incidents up until that point in time.
Company 3 advanced first to Giong Rieng, followed by Company 2. The Battalion headquarters and the 81mm Mortar platoon positioned themselves at the location they disembarked at and then deployed, ready to support the progressing companies. Group B reached shore about 1 kilometre to the left of Group A. The weather was fine, dry and sunny, making observation of the operational area easy.
Approximately 500 metres away from Giong Rieng, the pioneering platoon spotted a hut adjacent to a village road. Inside it, there were five to six people, donning black and carrying firearms. When they saw us, they ran towards the village where trees and bushes kept all activities out of sight. That platoon pursued them.
Other platoons advanced towards the village swiftly. It was with the first two platoons and when we were about 150 metres away from the village edge, the enemy fired intensely. Two .30 caliber machine guns fired in a sparrow wing pattern. Company 3 was entirely within the opponent's firing range and the company was unable to move forwards.
Artillery supports were ineffective due to two sides being so close to each other. The foe had prepared to wait for us. In the middle there was no shelter and it was situated on rice fields. The only solution for us was to charge forward directly towards the enemy's defensive line, wave after wave. An image that I have never been able to forget was of Master Sergeant Nguyen Van Bang, commanding the Headquarters Platoon. He received a bullet in the mouth, which had broken some of his teeth. With his face entirely smothered with his own blood, he still stood erect, commanding the platoon as if nothing had occurred. Two minutes later, my Radio telephone operator was hit by a spray of bullets and fell. I grabbed the radio to call the company headquarters, but the hearing piece of the handset had been destroyed. I could therefore not make any radio contact. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Xinh's platoon was trapped in a fierce conflict and suffered heavy losses. The command of platoons now entirely depended on platoons leaders themselves. Since radio contact wasn't possible, we didn't know whether Company headquarters had retreated.
In this battle, Company 3 endured heavy losses. There had been more than 100 involved, but the survivors didn't exceed half of that number. The first two pioneering platoons also suffered terribly. 1st Corporal Nguyen Van Bach's squad was unharmed, primarily attributed to a large heap of hay situated in the middle of the rice field that provided cover. The reason for the heavy casualties was due to all participants fighting according to previous Commando's tactics.
Despite being recently trained about marine methods, habits could not easily be broken in one morning and an afternoon. Although they were ambushed in a disadvantageous terrain, these courageous fighters instilled considerable fear into the enemy armed forces.
Company 2 also had a number of dead and wounded in action, among them being 2nd Lieutenant Nguyen Van Nho, the Executive Officer of Company 2.
Night fall came slowly on that day. Before withdrawing, the enemy sent a group to search for wounded. A number of these wounded, already severely injured, were killed by this enemy search group. I was badly wounded, lying amongst others that were already dead or dying in a rice paddy field. That enemy group only searched for a limited time since nightfall soon engulfed the operational area in darkness.
Immersed in the water of the rice paddy field, my wounds continued to bleed. This attracted leeches, which sucked my bleeding wounds. I didn't dare to move and let them gorge themselves freely. They really had a feast that night.
We were cold, lying in the water throughout the night. Lying next to me was corporal Pham Van Phong, who had been wounded numerous times in his abdomen. He lost a large quantity of blood and became comatose. I touched his body and it was still warm, so I thought he was still alive.
The next morning 7-12, I heard steps coming from the direction of the Battalion Headquarters. I thought that Marines of Company 1 and of Heavy weapons Company were coming to our rescue but I still quietly lay there, and didn't dare move until I heard them speaking to each other in Nung ethnic dialect (most soldiers at that time had been of Nung origin).
With my anxiety now relieved and sure that my friends had arrived, I shouted loudly and gave them signals so that they could recognise our position in the rice paddy field. They heard my voice and a number of them came to support me and other wounded and led us to nurses to have our wounds aided and bandaged.
They then transported us to the Battalion headquarters and Company 1 and Heavy Weapons company entered and searched the village. The enemy had retreated completely the previous night. Villagers informed us that the enemy had 27 cadavers and a number of wounded. Myself and the other wounded marines were evacuated to Rach Gia Military Hospital on that very day.
In the Hospital, we were treated considerately by Dr Pham Ngoc Toa, a surgeon and 1st Lieutenant , who had been very conscientious. Corporal Pham van Phong's case was especially serious. His intestine was cut out in six different segments, but his life was saved by the work of Dr Pham Ngoc Toa. Later he (Pham Van Phong) was promoted to Sergeant and became Colonel Le Dinh Que's jeep driver. I don't know where he is now, but the fact that he survived after being so seriously wounded was nothing short of a miracle.
All killed-in-action marines were transported to Rach Soi cemetery, where the sacrificed fighters of Companies 2 and 3 eternally rested.
8. Miscellaneous
For the first few days in hospital, I could not move because Dr Pham Ngoc Toa had ordered to tie all my limbs to the bed. On the 9-12, Lieutenant Colonel Le Quang Trong, commander of Marines Group, arrived to visit wounded in Hospital and to decorate them with medals. 1st Lieutenant Nguyen Van Nho and I were given a Gallantry Medal with a gold star and a wounded in action medal.
Lieutenant Colonel stayed with us for about one week. He visited us daily before returning to Saigon. During this period of time, he invited a number of us to Rach Gia market to eat and also made fun of himself by saying to me, "My face was too bright and handsome to sit in the market to eat. It's inconveniently unsuitable. I probably have to make it blacker with dirt."
At the beginning of 1956, he left Marine Corps and I have never met him again.
In 1963, I had the opportunity to return to Rach Gia with the 2nd Marine Battalion on an operation. Time had not allowed me to visit the cemetery where a number of Marines of Companies 2 and 3 of the 1st Marine Battalion had lain, and to burn incenses and offer them to souls of whom who had sacrificed their lives so I could survive.
Among all officers and under officers participating in this operation.
A. A number of them are no longer with us:
"1st Lieutenant Phan Thanh Dan, commander of Company 3. After the Battalion had returned to Rear Base, he was assigned to be an instructor of mines and hand grenades in Dong De Under-officers School. He died in an accident during a teaching session.
"Pham Khac Dat, a platoon leader of Company 3. Killed-in-action in Mocay. The Rear Base of the 1st Marine Battalion in Rung Cam was named after him.
"Major Nguyen Van Nho, commander of the 4th Marine Battalion. Killed-in-action in Binh Gia operation on the 31-12-1964.
"Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Cat passed away in a Communist concentration camp after 1975.
"Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Vinh died of disease after being released from a concentration camp.
"Captain Bui Pho Chi, the then 1st Marine Battalion commander, died of old age.
"Captain Tran Van Duc already passed away. I am not sure when that occurred. In 1971 I met him when he had been the Police Chief of Quang Tri province.
B. While others are presently residing the United States of America:
"Tran Van Nhut
"Nguyen Van Hien
"Dao Ngoc Ky
"Dinh Van Thuoc
"Luong Xuan Duong (who passed away in California in 1999).
"Tran Dinh lived in Canada.
I wrote this article in commemoration of all Marines who, deceased or alive, had contributed to build the 1st Marine Battalion. This same Battalion in 1972 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dang Hoa were instrumental in the victory in Quang Tri Battle, which incited admiration from the US Armed Forces.
Operation Giong Rieng occurred 45 years ago. I could not recall all the details, especially names of participating fighters on 6-12-1955. I first hesitated to write this, however I then realised that if it weren't for me writing this article now, no one would know where Giong Rieng had been and how the battle unfolded. Very few people knew that in Rach Soi cemetery is the final resting place of several marines that were killed-in-action. Were there any annual visitors? The number of Marines participating in that operation that are still alive today are countable with my own two hands and fingers, and even those who are alive will have the scars and sequelae of injuries as a constant reminder of that operation. No one came out totally intact.
Colonel Ngo Van Dinh
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