The Battle of Ba Long
(Operation Lam Son 810, 5/6/1971)
Captain Doan Van Tinh
Located approximately 10km north from Quang Tu was Dong Ha, a town that was not big, but still very important for both military and economic reasons. An important outpost of South Vietnam, it was situated at the T-junction of National Route 1 and National Route 9, the second of which led to Laos.
Militarily, Dong Ha served as a support and logistics base for U.S forces, supplying northern outposts close to the north. Starting at Dong Ha, if one followed National Route 1 and headed straight northwards, one would arrive at Gio Linh; with bases C1, C2, Con Thien etc. In the west and A1, A2, A3, A4 close to the DMZ. These fire bases primarily supported and served as departure points for U.S marine units performing operations that were aimed at blocking North Vietnamese army intrusions. Hien Luong bridge, spanning across the Ben Hai river was only 1km further up north from that area. It was the border, as decided by General Pakt in 1954, between the North and the South. National Route 9 led to mountainous areas in the south west such as Cua, Cam Lo and Mai Loc. Bases like Mai Loc, Sarge, Ba Ho… were located there. From the T-junction of Cua, one could see Camp Carrol. Base Fuller was situated across the Dong Ha river on the top of a high mountain.
From the ragged mountains, one could look down into the valley and see Khe Sanh; a famous name in Vietnam. If one continued to follow National Route 9, it would pass by Lang Vei, then Nam Khang river at the Vietnam-Lao Tian border. In Laos, there were mountain ranges as vertical as a wall, and these were known as Koroc.
On the other hand, in an economical sense, Dong Ha was the place where Vietnamese and ethnic mountaineers exchanged merchandise. Civilians who lived in deltas near the seashore mainly brought different types of foods to sell. These were namely fish, prawns, salt, fish sauces and some clothing and household utensils. Mountaineers carried potatoes, maniocs, honey, cinnamon, elephant ivory, and rhinoceros horns down from the mountains to trade. Lastly, Dong Ha was also an important centre of commerce between Laos and Vietnam.
In summer, winds from the west carried with them red dusts in such magnitudes that the roofs, trees and grasses would be carpeted with the dust. This wind was called “Laotian wind” and it caused great discomfort. From December to January, winds from the mountains blew the cold down to the meagre deltas bringing with it bone chilling sensations. There was a poem that described the harsh conditions of living there:
“My native town was so poor! In Winter, we lack of clothing; In summer we lack of rice…”
The late afternoon sun lowered slowly in the mountains near Dong Ha. As it was summer, the sky was still bright. From our position on a bald hilltop next to Base Mailoc, in the Mailoc village about some kilometers from the Cua T-junction, we could still see the tops of the high mountains where the bases Sarge, Ba Ho and Holcomb had been. Also from there, artillery rounds could reach mountain ranges to the west and southwest. That range, known as Dong Cho, ran from the east to the west. Some days ago, the North Vietnamese Army was discovered to be gathering at Dong Cho in great numbers. As a result, the top of the mountain range, Dong Cho, was continuously bombed by A37 and F5 aircrafts. This was in addition to carpet bombing operations performed by the B52. However, Dong Cho was full of old forests with tall trees in them. It was both very high and long, with little width not dissimilar to a thin wall. The resultant effect of this was that the bombings and artillery had little effect. This meant that the 8th Marine Battalion of Major Nguyen Van Phan met violent resistance and was heavily attacked by a North Vietnamese Army regiment defending that area when they jumped down onto Dong Cho.
From a distance, if one looked at the top of Dong Cho, one could notice several small clearances with peaked rocks of differing heights. These rocks caused no small trouble to helicopters wanting to land, and it was obvious that the clearance coordinates had been predetermined for North Vietnamese Army's accurate shelling of mortars. The 8th Battalion was continuously supported by ARVN aircrafts and Marine artillery from the foot of the mountains.
* 5/6/1971
The 9th Marine Battalion had received an order from higher authorities. They were to be air lifted to Dong Cho as the 8th Battalion urgently needed reinforcements. Major Nguyen Kim De ordered dried rations to be distributed to companies. Ammunition had already been re supplied after a briefing about this operation the previous night. The battalion had been divided into two groups, group A and group B. Group B, with companies 1 and 2 were commanded by the executive officer of the battalion, Captain Pham Cang. Group A encompassed Companies 3 and 4. The battalion headquarters was commanded by the Battalion commander. The operation was to happen as follows: Groups A and B would be air lifted by chopper to the mountains, about 1km east and northeast of Dong Cho. From there, Group B (on the right) and Group A (on the left), would advance and attack the east and north east of Dong Cho. This was to accomplish two things, the reinforcement of the 8th Battalion and the occupation of Dong Cho. The 1st Marine Artillery Battalion and US aircraft were designated to provide fire support.
It was the beginning of June. It was cold and Truong Son range was covered by a thick layer of fog. The sun, despite being already high, was unable to dissipate the thick fog and as such, the airlift of the 9th Battalion had to begin late.
At 10.00 we heard the sound of helicopter motors coming from the east. Group B was airlifted first. The fleet flew to Dong Cho; twenty minutes later, the fleet returned to Mai Loc, to pick up company 3 and the Battalion headquarters. It soared up in the sky and flew off towards Dong Cho. After about 10 minutes we could see, from above looking down onto areas of operation, continuous shelling by the North Vietnamese Army resulting in explosions on the top of the mountain ranges. Helicopters quickly landed in groups of 2 and 3. We jumped when the helicopter was still 2m above ground, and ran out to take positions, ready to fight. After a few minutes, my company was prepared to move. 2nd Lieutenant Sang's platoon 1 spearheaded the operation. Lieutenant Dang ngoc Minh's platoon 2 was on the right side of the company headquarters. 3rd Lieutenant Vo Hoang Nam's Platoon 4 protected the company headquarters' back. 2nd Lieutenant Lam's platoon 3 stayed back to protect the Battalion headquarters.
Despite enemy shellings and resulting wounded, we continued to move. The entire forest echoed with the noise of the North Vietnamese Army's artillery and mortars. Marine artillery and A37 aircrafts continuously pounded to the west and on the top of the high mountains in front of us. It had been one hour since landing. Up until now, we had not encountered any enemies and so had not had the opportunity to fire. Only Company 4 on the left had encountered a mild, insignificant skirmish.
“Calling Dalat! This is Cam Ranh.”
“Hear you, Cam Ranh.”
“I saw a number of the 8th Marine Battalion, running towards us and with a number of wounded marines.”
“Direct the 8th to the back. Be ready to fight.”
The forest in front of us exploded with shouts and the sound of footsteps. We lay down in positions, waiting for the enemy. I gave an order to my boys to watch carefully before hitting the trigger in order to avoid harming friendly troops. However, fortunately, we did not encounter any enemy troops. This made the recognition of friendly troops much simpler and easier. Many of the officers and troops of the 8th Marine battalion had reached our defensive line. It was because North Vietnamese Army's attacks and shellings had been both violent and powerful that the 8th battalion was unable to stay back and fight. Their defensive line had been broken and they were forced to retreat. Difficult terrain in the dangerous mountains made withdrawing for the 8th battalion, no easy task. This was especially so when many of the 8th battalion was carrying their wounded friends and bodies. Most of the 8th Battalion had no more rucksacks, they only had their guns and ammunition; their inseparable belongings. Victory or defeat; these were normal occurrences in battle. It was now, only now, that friendly troops were able to recover their calmness because they knew that another Marine unit had come to the rescue. However, danger was still about. Time passed quickly, and we were busy with the task of receiving friends during their retreat. It was my watch at 4:15pm. I thought: “No problems it's still early. Perhaps we have to position ourselves somewhere in this forest tonight. But I have to allow for the transfer of all wounded and all the ranks of the 8th Battalion back to the 9th Battalion headquarters.” Suddenly, I heard the call of a familiar voice. I turned around. Oh! Captain Loc, one of the company commanders of the 8th Battalion with a stern but saddened expression, he sighed and said: “Immediately after landing we were attacked and shelled. Finally, we had to retreat.”
I clapped my hand on his shoulder. He was a friend of mine. I knew that he was a gutsy and successful commander. Suddenly, enemy bullets darted directly towards our defensive line. They hit leaves making a “chat..chat..chat…”. Sang's platoon returned fire immediately on the right side, Minh's platoon was also engaged. Facing our prepared and strong retaliation of firepower, North Vietnamese Army's pursuing units could not advance. After half an hour, they began to retreat, probably with intention of preparing for an assault at night. The whole 8th Battalion had withdrawn. My company had also received an order to move back to a riverbank. Captain Cang and company 2 had also moved to that bank. 1st Lieutenant Nguyen Minh Tri's company 4 stayed in place to protect the retreat of the 9th Marine Battalion headquarters and company 3.
I analysed the formations. Ho Viet Lam's platoon 3 stayed in place to protect the withdrawal of Platoons 1 and 4. The company headquarters, together with Platoon 2 moved to the left, in the direction of the river. The backward movement was not very difficult, but we had to carry the wounded and a number of the 8th Battalion's bodies. Among them was an officer, of class 23 Dalat Military Academy, named Luong Van Cua. (His wife was the daughter of the owner of the coffee shop Tung in Dalat). In the battlefields, beside each and every fighter there was a co-fighter. That was joy, that was friendship. We shared the ups and the downs of life. We could not leave the wounded and killed in action in this place. No matter how hard it became to carry them, we voluntarily tried to bring them back to their families, if possible. That's why our movement was slow. There were segments of the retreating route where we had to either crawl, or creep or climb. If we continued, we could cross the river tonight. However, it was so dangerous that we decided instead to position the Battalion headquarters and companies 3 and 4 here on this side of the river. That night, as I lay sleepless in my hammock slung very close to the ground between two tree trunks, I reflected and wished that daybreak would come quickly. There were no gun sounds that night, nor was there a single attack despite the fact that we had been staying in a forest which was full of the North Vietnamese Army. Captain Cang, two companies and the entire 8th Battalion had managed to cross the river at dusk and had, by now already reached the mountaintop on the other side of the river. They were deployed and were waiting for Group A to cross the river the next morning.
* 6/6/1971
It was 6.00am and Companies 3, 4 and the Battalion headquarters were ready to move. At 7.00am, Sang's leading troops reached the river bank. From the mountain to the river bank, it was extremely steep. This, in addition to the fact that the river was on the foot of the mountain meant that there was no appropriate site for which deployment to support the crossing of the river, could be established. On the other side of the river, there lay a field of tiger grass and reeds that stretched a massive 1km distance from the river to the foot of another mountain. If the enemy was to hide on the steep slope and fire down upon us, we would be helpless. The grass and reeds on the other side of the river offered little protection and could potentially become an adversity if the enemy was to set them aflame. Our troops would be routed; we, as the commanders, saw the danger of the terrain but there was no other option. Ba Long river embraced the mountain's feet for about another 1km.To cross this perilous river, the spearheading team had to follow the foot of the mountain in order to find a suitable place in which we could make the crossing.
Ba Long river passed by Thach Xa, Tan Tra of Ba Long district which had been established by President Ngo Dinh Diem government. When the river flowed through Quang Tri city, it became known as Thach Han river.
2nd lieutenant Sang directed the river crossing. The river was not particularly large, only about 20m in width with a sandy island in the middle. After having crossed 7 – 8m of water, at about waist level, one reached the island. From there, after another 10m, one would arrive on the other bank. A strand, with a width of approximately 20m, ran along the river. Next to it lay a forest of tiger grass and reeds.
Platoon 1 crossed the river safely with 1st lieutenant Do Duc Hoa (the company executive officer) and 2nd lieutenant Sang. They advanced towards the mountain, making a distance of about 700 – 800m from the river. Nam's Platoon 4 and 2nd Lieutenant Ho Viet Lam's Platoon 3 followed soon after. Staying on the river bank, I radioed Minh and told him to prepare for the crossing. Nearly 3 platoons had managed to cross to the other side safely. The only ones left was a squad from Platoon 3, the Company headquarters and Platoon 2. It was then that I thought it was safe, and put my map in a pocket on my uniform. Then, with 2 RTO and the Artillery Forward observers, we crossed the river. Corporal Tran Van Ba radioed the Battalion headquarters with the information that all 3 platoons had safely crossed the river. Upon reaching the island, I turned my head backwards to see Platoon 2 at the river bank. I was relieved and continued to cross. Right at the instant, a series of North Vietnamese Army B40 and B41 rockets were fired down onto the river bank and onto the island, followed by bullets from small firearms. These came from the steep slope. As a reflex, I pushed Corporal Ba and Private 1st Class Huong under the water, ducked deep, and dived under the water to the other bank. I quickly ran on the strand towards a bush about 10m from the water. Huong followed and lay down next to me. Ba however, was hit by a bullet on a buttock and fell down on the sandy strand. Swallowing the pain, he crawled towards the bush. The FO Loan and his RTO hid among some reeds behind us. Looking back, I saw 2nd Lieutenant Minh, who had been standing on the island with 1st Sergeant Canh, his platoon vice leader. There were some wounded under their feet. Minh ordered the squads which had been on the rear, to change formation into a row and to attack backwards, towards the steep slope. Squad leaders Sergeant Nguyen Van Con and Sergeant Le Van Tho urged their boys to climb back to occupy the steep slope. The North Vietnamese Army then concentrated their fire at the point of the river crossing and at places on the steep slope below them. It was extremely difficult for Platoon 2 to find a secure location from which they could hide and fire back. A B40 exploded near 1st Sergeant Canh on the island. He was severely wounded and fell over backwards. Half of his body was still on the island but his head was slumped in the water. 2nd Lieutenant Minh was hit by a bullet on one thigh. He fell down onto the wet sand and waved one hand at me, indicating that he had been injured. I shouted, “Minh, do your utmost! Enter into the water quickly.”
But when Minh tried to stand up, another bullet transfixed him from the back, behind his right shoulder to the front. He fell down once more. He used one hand to push himself into a sitting position. From a distance of 30m, I saw Minh, expressing an extreme calmness on his face. He looked in my direction and shook his head. He tried to raise his left hand to wave, but was unsuccessful, probably due to the pain. He could not raise it high enough to wave “adieu” (farewell). Then, he used his right hand, turned the nozzle of his Colt 45 to his right temporal area and released the trigger. Among the thousands of explosions and sounds of gunfire, all of us, myself included, could still distinctively hear the sound of his pistol from his suicide shot. He knew that it would have been difficult for him to have survived or to endure the pain and he probably also thought that had he tried to prolong his life, many other marines would have lost their lives trying to rescue him. Minh and I were parted by that fateful river. His body was thrown backwards, in supine position, lying on the sandy island. His helmet fell to his side. His blood, Canh's blood and the blood of their subordinates mixed with the clear green water current to create a special red colour; the colour of war and funeral. Minh was a man who had led an introverted and a resigned life. When commanding in the battlefields, or enjoying himself in the cities, he was always calm, reticent and resolute. It was known that he had come from a very rich family in Saigon. His student life might have been uninterrupted but for the fact that for unknown reasons, he chose a military life. After graduating from Class 4/68 Thu Duc Military School, he entered the Marine Corps. He was very proud of the tiger-striped uniform. At the moment he committed suicide, Huong, Ba and myself shouted “Oh!” Being heartbroken and touched, I slapped my hand onto the sand, moaning and weeping. Apart from the fact that he was a brother-in-arms and a subordinate, he was also my friend.
Then 1st Lieutenant Nguyen Minh Tri's Company 4 received an order to fight back up the steep slope. The fighting became more violent and intense, because the direction of advance was a disadvantageous one, and because the enemy were more numerous and had taken positions in higher points. I was about 10m from the river bank. We were surrounded by barren sand while the river was just in front of us. Any single movement would have enticed the North Vietnamese Army into spraying bullets onto us. I wanted to stay there, where I was, to find a way to bring the remaining part of Platoon 2 across the river and to recover Minh's, Canh's and some other Marines' bodies lying on the island in the middle of the river. I was lying next to a river, but I was parched. Private 1st Class Huong wanted to creep to the river to fetch some water. I told him, “They will get you immediately. Just dig a little bit deeper, there would be water.” Huong used his helmet to dig. Fortunately, after about another 30cm deeper, water started to appear. The enemy still watched and knew that we had not left this bush. Now and then, they would fire sporadic bursts of B40 into the bush. These however, failed to get us. Corporal Ba, nicknamed Ba The Dwarf, again used his helmet to dig slowly and finally, managed to excavate a safe fox hole!
* At 5:00pm 6/6/1971
Squads from Platoon 2 withdrew from the river bank and joined the Battalion headquarters. I thought that they may have managed to cross the river safely. Nearly 5 minutes later, F105 jetfighters arrived and dropped two napalms. Two loud explosions could be heard. One of the napalm flew along the steep slope, and the other along the water's surface. Smoke and flames splashed over. The 3 of us were nearly killed by a blast and might have been burnt to death by the flames. After 2 hours of fighting, Company 4 managed to occupy a part of the slope and a small peak. However, it was then that the North Vietnamese Army launched their counterattack. Company 4 suffered heavy losses and slowly withdrew. Through the radio, I heard Major De and Captain Cang order artillery to pound right at the area where the fighting occurred. The night was approaching and I ordered 1st Lieutenant Hoa to let the Platoons deploy and to send 1 of them back to the place where we had crossed the river to recover Minh's and Canh's bodies. About an hour later, Hoa returned to the river. Hoa, together with a squad, crawled to the bush where I had been. After some exchange of opinions, they crawled to the river and swam onto the island. The water had risen to a higher level because of the tide. The river current had washed some of the bodies away, among them Cang's. Minh's and some other bodies were still there because they had been lying in higher positions. Hoa let the squad bring them back to have them wrapped in ponchos. At about 10.00pm, they accomplished the mission and all of us slowly dragged our feet, helping each other, towards the mountain. Exhausted, hungry and thirsty throughout the entire day, we had no more strength to climb up the top of the mountain. We sat in a row on the slope. After having drunk water given to us by Company 2, we fell asleep. I could still hear the voice of the executive officer of Company 2, 1st Lieutenant Luu Van Phan when I went to sleep. The next morning, by the time I had woken up, the sun was already high in the sky. I looked down onto the tiger grass and reeds field underneath, and at the other side of the river where on successive mountains, companies 3 and 4 of the 9th Marine Battalion had been ambushed by the North Vietnamese Army. Although we had accomplished the mission of rescuing the 8th Battalion, we lost the battle yesterday. We left the battlefield where a number of our subordinates had been lying, and where a number of them had been washed away by the Ba Long river into the sea. I moved my company to the peaks in this mountain and deployed them into positions.
* 8:00am 7/6/1971
A fleet of medevac helicopters arrived and landed on a low bald hilltop behind our positions. They were to carry the wounded to Hue. I gave the order for the re-check of the ponchos with the bodies inside. Name tags were tied outside each poncho before loading them into the helicopters. The fleet lifted. I looked up, raised my head and saluted “adieu”. My eyes, tragically sad, followed the helicopters disappearing slowly into the east. Those iron binds were carrying away the bodies of the sons of South Vietnam who had paid their debt, in full, to their country. The following days, the 9th battalion slowly moved to the peaks closest to Fire Base Sarge. We received supplies and waited for the day to return in order to cross Ba Long river, and to climb the steep slope on the other side of the river to find Marines from Companies 3 and 4 still lying there.
* Afternoon 13/6/1971
Captain Pham Cang commanded Companies 3 and 4 to return to the river. Our movements were difficult under the cold mountainous, torrential rains. We could not reach our predetermined destination because the rocky slope was too slippery. The night came earlier with the rain. Two companies had to position overnight. Thunder, continuous lightning and heavy rains hampered us from digging foxholes!
* 14/6/1971
Companies 3 and 4 supported each other in crossing the river and in climbing up to occupy the peaks. There were no confrontations. Back at the previous battlefields, bombs and bullets had devastating effect. Wide and deep bomb craters could be seen. There was a strong, nauseating odour formed through chemicals from bombs and the disintegration of corpses, which Company 4 carefully wrapped in ponchos. Suddenly, soldiers from Company 4 found a large bomb crater in which a body, at the bottom of the crater, had been lying next to a pool of water. That body was not disintegrated and it was in fact Private 2nd Class Nguyen Van Men from Company 4. He was still alive, with multiple wounds all over his body. The occipital area of his head was broken and the wound had maggots. After a moment of stunning emotion, he recounted this story which had been like a miracle to him.
“When Platoon 2 of Company 4 had climbed back about 100m, I was hit by 2 bullets; one of them in my left arm whilst the other hit my hip. I fell down and tried to crawl behind a tree. I looked around to find brothers-in-arms, to shout for help. But at that moment, the enemy fires were so intense that nobody was able to hear my call. Then, our artillery, in addition to North Vietnamese Artillery pounded continuously onto the fighting. Both sides retreated escaping. Afterwards, bombings and artillery rounds began to pound down in a terrifying way. I could not hear anything anymore. Wound pains caused me to become half conscious, and delirious. As night fell, I lay dead next to the tree trunk. I did not know for how long but I recovered consciousness. My blood had dried thickly on my uniform. I was so hungry and thirsty that I crawled around and found some food in friends' rucksacks that were left behind. I tried to open them and eat to relieve my hunger and my pain. Being tortured by the pain of my wounds, I tore my clothing to bandage my hips and my arms. After another night, it was so cold. I did not know what to do. I leaned against a tree trunk to avoid the wind. I was not aware of the presence of mosquitoes, worms or ants and whether they had been biting or nipping on my body. The next morning when I woke up, I heard the voices of people who had been searching and approaching. They shouted, “Comrades! There is one dead here.” Some North Vietnamese Army soldiers rushed towards me and found me still alive. They lifted me and put me onto a litter made of twigs. While they were carrying me away, they saw the tattooed line “TQLC, sat cong” on my left forearm (Marines kill VC). They angrily lowered the litter down onto the ground and used their rifle butts to strike my head and my entire body, creating these multiple wounds.”
He stopped, exhaustedly breathing out, and looked at his friends who had been sitting around and listening attentively to him. A Marine tendered him a cigarette. He continued, “The NVA soldiers insulted, 'You Marines want to kill VC? ‘I let you die.' They thought that I had died. They pulled me to a bomb crater, and threw me down. I lay there because I had no more strength to climb up.”
Private 2nd Class Nguyen Van Men was brought to Quang Tri Hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, his wounds had been so severe and had been left untreated for so many days that it had become gangrenous and severely infected. After having suffered hunger, thirst and cold rains of the mountains and frost for a whole week, he was exhausted. After one day in the hospital, Private 2nd Class Nguyen Van Men, of Platoon 2, Company 4, 9th Marine Battalion passed away, eternally left the battlefield, and his friends. 1st Lieutenant Luong Van Cua, 2nd Lieutenant Dang Ngoc Minh, Private 2nd Class Men, and others had paid their debts to the nation. We bowed respectfully and bid them farewell on their passage to Eternal Life.
Captain Doan Van Tinh
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