Last Day of a Marine Long Range
Patrol Company
1st lieutenant Nguyen Van Hoa
Captain, we lost all radio contact with The Division Headquarters. Captain's Luc RTO told him.
Feeling something ominous, Captain Luc ran out of the small narrow bunker:
- Tell 1st Lieutenant Hoa to try and contact the artillery radio system! As well as that, summon all platoon leaders here.
His RTO ran to fulfil his order. Captain Luc clenched his teeth, pondering. He had to quickly decide in order to save his unit. His unit was allowed to have a rest here, but at the same time had to protect an ammunition dump. Captain Luc felt his unit had been tied at ankles in the middle of this white sand dune…
- Captain Luc, I also could not make any radio contact with Artillery headquarters of Marine Division. Had we been abandoned? I told him panting (I had been the artillery officer being in charge of this ammunition dump).
- The situation is changing so quickly. Let's care for ourselves. Looking at all present officers, he ordered:
- Prepare to move in ten minutes, carrying food, water and ammunitions to a maximum. Don't discuss it anymore to avoid demoralising the ranks.
Turning his head to me, he continued:
- We have to destroy this ammunition dump before retreating. You prepare a group which would be in charge of detonating it and withdraw fifteen minutes later.
- There has been no order to destroy this ammunition dump, Captain! I answered.
- Whose orders are you waiting for at this moment? Will we leave these hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds in the hands of the NVA?
Looking at his watch, Captain Luc continued.
- It's 12.59 pm of 25-3-1975. At 1.00 pm, platoon 1 would spearhead, going south, towards the Thuan An mouth. Platoon 2 and the company headquarters would start moving five minutes later. Platoon 3 would protect the rear. As well as that, 1st lieutenant Hoa would destroy the ammunition dump at exactly 1.15pm and then run to follow up to us. Everybody is to gather at Thuan An ferry - keep contact via an internal radio frequency.
At 5:30pm Captain Luc successfully brought the Company to Thuan An. The squad which had been responsible for protection of the two LCMs loaded with ammunition had moved away with them. Civilians and RF soldiers were stuck here because they could not cross the river. The situation was extremely chaotic.
Looking at the immerse surface of the river water, Captain Luc sighed. His unit could not transform into fish to swim across it or into birds to fly over it. He ordered his unit to position inside a small hamlet and to dig foxholes quickly for defence. He hoped to be able to make radio contact with a friendly unit so ships could come and pick up this company. That was his ephemeral hope. However, he himself felt that everybody had been like fish being pushed to the end of a fishing fence.
In the evening, the outpost team of the company reported that the NVA guerrillas had appeared and pushed civilians back to their village and the RF had hidden weapons to sneak away. There were some small gun sounds at one end of the hamlet.
At 8:00pm, the NVA troops approached and used megaphones to urge us to surrender. Captain Luc's Marines answered by M79 grenades.
At 10.00pm, the NVA gathered in great numbers at the north of Luc's Company and started a real attack. Based on the enemy's firepower, Captain Luc guessed that the NVA had been at a Battalion level. There were NVA 82 mm mortar, 75mm recoilless rifles and AT3 rockets exploding. The NVA were really trying to annihilate the Company. Captain Luc shouted in the radio, ordering the ranks not to spend bullets lavishly and to wait and fire only when the NVA infantry charges.
Being a long range patrol Company, his unit had always been lightly equipped. There were only three M-60 machine guns as collective weapons. The rest was composed of M-16s and M-79s.
I, as an Artillery officer, could not make any radio contact for artillery fire support and airstrikes!
Throughout the night, the NVA charged three times. They failed completely. Captain Luc's Company lost about a third of its soldiers. While Luc himself received an 82mm mortar fragment which cut into one of his thighs and an AK47 bullet which transfixed into his abdomen.
Captain Luc called me to tell his last words: "In the morning, the invaders would launch their final assault. The situation is already completely desperate. You replace me to care for our brothers-in-arms. Try to resist until the morning and then retreat to the river bank. I hope that the Navy ships would carry some reinforcements from Base Tran Ba. Don't be concerned about my life."
Finishing with these words, he raised his Colt 45 pistol to his head, but he had not enough strength because of his massive blood loss. His fingers opened and his pistol fell down to the ground…
The NVA fired again and shouted: "Marines! Surrender, you live! Resist, you die!"
1st Lieutenant Nguyen Van Hoa
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