Marine Brigade 147
Retreated in March 1975
Major Pham Van Tien
At the beginning of March 1975, North Vietnam used all its strength to try and occupy the whole of South Vietnam. Binh Long and An Loc were lost in their hands. Ban Me Thuot was left open and a massive retreat of II corps to Nha Trang as well as to other cities followed. Meanwhile the northern defensive line kept by Marine Division was still safe. Both sides were carefully watching each other.
The Airborne Division was in Duc Duc of Quang Nam province.
Marine Division was in charge of a long defensive line stretching from the sea shore in the east to the mountains of Truong Son range in the west. Passing My Thuy, Long Quang, Bich La, Trieu Phong, South of Thach Han river, Nhu Le, Tich Tuong, La Vang, Dong Ong Do, Barbara, Anne, Co Bi, Hien Si, Thanh Tan, Lo o… Group 911 and independent companies of RF of Quang Tri province, they were all put under the command of Marine Division. Given the responsibility of safety and defence, the Marine Division were always able to attack the enemy, eg. the crossing of Thach Han river in 10-1972 of Battalion 6, the operation to reoccupy Cua Viet in January 1973. (This occurred some hours before the time fixed for cease fire by Paris Agreement) and the destruction of a NVA big cargo ship at My Thuy sea by Brigade 258 in June 1974. In the contrary, NVA did not dare to attack Marine units, yet instead sabotaged sapper's activities and triggered mine explosions of logistics road. This was the most solid defence line, being more than capable in stopping all NVA invasions from the north.
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Due to great disturbances in the nation and urgent demands for battlefields, the JGS decided to move most of the Marine Division to the South. This composed of Brigades 258, 369 and the newly formed 468. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen The Luong commanded Brigade 147 which was composed of Battalions 3, 4 and 5. This Brigade and an Artillery Battalion, two long range patrol companies and Battalion 7 were contingents of the Special Task Force Tango which was commanded by Colonel Nguyen Thanh Tri. All these units were located at the defensive line. To replace the empty hole left by the withdrawal, two Ranger Groups arrived, with insufficient personnel. That was the start of the following abandonment in the Northern front of Quang Tri.
On 7-3-1975, the enemy started opening a violent attack on an outpost platoon at Hill 51, Base Tu Tuong, west of National Route 1, at kilometre mark 23. This unit was commanded by 1st Lieutenant Sang, the executive officer of Company 1, Battalion 4. It combated toughly, pushing back many enemy human waves. At the last radio contact by radio PRC - 25 at 4:00 AM, he requested Artillery "right on top of his position" because it had been overrun. He then sacrificed his life in close combat with the enemy by grenades. Early in the morning 9-3-1975, Major Tran Ngoc Toan directed all the remaining forces to counterattack. Thanks to the extremely accurate airstrikes of the A37 aircrafts, Battalion 4 mastered the situation. Bodies of the NVA littered the mine fields of the defensive line. Another number of NVA hid in bushes and were captured. On the same night, in another place, the RF Battalion 121 captured a whole NVA platoon when it had been trying to advance to the Huong Dien district. On 22-3-1975, the last supply convoy left the units of the rear station in Mang Ca of Hue to run to the area of operation.
We knew that most of the civilians had fled to Da Nang and the rear stations had brought all the equipment to Thuan An Mouth. I told all companies to pack all equipment and send all sick or wounded marines on this convoy to Hue. On 23-3-1975, at 3:00pm, after having simultaneously shelled at all units, the NVA from the upper part of Bo River, attacked and charged at the defensive line of Company 2. Being suddenly assaulted and lacking alertness, these two platoons' defensive lines were broken. I radioed Captain Tran Van Loan, the Company 5 commander and told him to try and gather all of his boys to rearrange deployment. I also reported the situation to the Colonel Brigade commander. He ordered to reoccupy the lost positions at all costs. Admitting all potentials losses and damages, Company 4 of Captain Nguyen Van Hai reinforced and accomplished the mission at 6.00am, 24-3-1975. During this time most of the Ranger and RF units abandoned the defensive line, North of Quang Tri, by themselves, and withdrew to Hue disorderly. Quang Tri city was considered as completely left open. Battalion 4 received orders to move to the south of An Lo Bridge and make a blocking force. Battalion 7 positioned itself along the My Chanh River, from Van Trinh Bridge to the sea in the east. It was the northern most defensive line of South Vietnam.
At 4:00, I was summoned to attend an urgent briefing at the Brigade Headquarters. Colonel Luong, the Brigade Commander, informed us about the general situation and told us to execute a tactical withdrawal of all units to Thuan An Mouth, immediately that night. The north of Hai Van Pass would fall into the enemy hands. It was exactly like Quang Tri that morning, which had been abandoned after some rare mortar shellings.
The most important thing now was how to protect my unit safely to complete the retreat, i.e. to finish a march of about 30km at night. Major Ngo Thanh Huu, the executive officer and Captain Giang Van Nhan, the chief of S3 were waiting for me. We agreed to each other that we would withdraw secretly and unexpectedly. All heavy weapons, such as 90mm cannons, 81 mm mortars, antitank TOW rockets, ammunition and all heavy equipment would be destroyed in place or be thrown into the river. Company 1 of Captain Ho Van Chanh, which has been positioned as an outpost in the distance, was to move first. We did not use the daily road which passes by a small hamlet at An Lo Bridge at the seventeenth kilometre. However, we marched south along the railway and then we changed direction towards National Route 1 where all the companies will meet. There were already hundreds of soldiers of all service branches, having been disconnected from units, standing around four lonesome, abandoned M48 tanks on the road. The tanks cannons pointed toward the enemy direction. These soldiers were speaking and joking as if they had been attending a night manoeuvre in an open field. Reaching Huong Tra high school on the eastern side of National Route 1, we stopped to recount personnel and rearranged deployment. It was lucky that my battalion still had a jeep which ran back and forth to bring some exhausted soldiers dragging their feet in the rear. There was an unexpected incident. A RF platoon had been ordered to gather at this place to wait for an order which had never come. The RF of Huong Tra district was forgotten. The old platoon leader asked to accompany us. Some M41 tanks started their motors and advanced among the troops. Crowds of civilians mingled in or followed us. They came from Cho Can, Hoi Yen, Van Trinh, Hai Lang, My Chanh… and joined us either yesterday or this morning. They had no hope of being protected by ARVN if they were to continue to stay in those places. Weeping and crying sounds reverberated in the sky. These unfortunate people dragged their feet to freedom. What would happen to the elderly leaning on their walking sticks, or the children? Would they have enough strength to flee or would they succumb at midway?
We left the An Hoa T junction to turn right to and advance to Hue. The city was left open in the darkness. There were only some lamps on the roadsides. Some flares occasionally tore the dark sky. They were thrown up by soldiers, disconnected from their disintegrating units and they did not know what to do. There were some gun sounds mixed with the howling of dogs being left behind in deserted houses. Phu Van Lau was still here, close to Perfume River. However, no more boats were sailing in the river. My Battalion started walking across a newly built concrete bridge and from there we turned left towards the direction of the sea. My jeep stopped on this side of the river, waiting for the last soldier to cross the bridge. I felt reassured and proud of my soldiers. Everybody was brave, enduring and always obeying the superiors' orders during those dangerous moments. I could not remember how many times I had ordered my boys to "charge" to the death. With my twelve years as a combatant's life, the number of times I had done so was certainly not small. Being a low ranked commander, I was only the one who transmitted orders from my superiors and followed up the executions of those orders. For myself, I was caught in that cycle! Some strong winds came from the sea. The bridge, the river were souvenirs. I suddenly felt that I would like to see some familiar places for the last time and hoped that these places would remind me of some people of the past! I told my driver to return my jeep and I intended to follow the Old Trang Tien Bridge to cross the river. There was not a single car on the streets or the roads. Darkness was flapping its wings in the distance. There were only shadows of some people. I started feeling a chill. With exception to the marine units, the other units had nothing left to distinguish one from another. There was now no sentimental relationship between the people. Someone could whimsically release a trigger. I received an order to go forward and meet Colonel Nguyen The Luong. He gave me a number of maps. My Battalion had to change the route we travelled to the Tan My ferry. The segment of the road from Vy Da hamlet to Thuan An mouth was excessively overcrowded and jammed with civilians and disintegrated unit soldiers. Innumerable vehicles were pouring into this place. Sergeant Major Thuong brought back some crates of beer "33", probably from the deserted Huong Giang hotel.
He said:
- Great Eagle, drink!
- Go quickly! How can we drink in this urgent situation!
From the direction of "Hell" restaurant, a man about 60 years of age, came and complained that a number of soldiers had searched and looted his house.
The Sergeant Major said: Great eagle! Be careful! It could be the NVA. Who knows who's who in this twilight situation?
Passing the Dap Da bridge for a short distance, we turned right into an earthy road. The Vi Da hamlet was sunken in the quiet night. Scattered were some petrol lamps in small temples, vestiges of the golden time during the Nguyen Dynasty. Dogs were barking more and more on the sides of the deserted gardens. Troops still were moving. Reaching a broken road, it was obligatory to abandon the jeep.
- Sir, destroy it!
- Not necessarily. We are moving. It's best not to cause explosion.
Mumbling, Lien, the driver took out a knife out of a pocket, cut all wires inside the head of the car and threw its battery to a nearby thick bush. He did not forget to drop a lot of sand into the petrol tank, saying:
- We are not stupid enough to leave the car to cruel hands? If we don't use it, I will destroy it…
At day break, my whole company was present on this side of Pha Tam Giang, the immense lagoon. Everybody was radiantly glad. The crossing of Pha Tam Giang lasted three hours, using a number of boats or sampans of residents from a fishing hamlet. Today was a beautiful sunny day. The sky was blue and clear. Sunlight shone on the surface of the sea. Light winds caressed the waves on the shore. Nothing was more comforting than sitting here, under the shadow of the rows of firs, standing on sand dunes and looking at the open seas where many ships had been. I hurriedly swallowed some dried cooked rice from a half consumed bag. I was still obsessed by the weeping, crying and moaning sounds of civilians, old and young, on the way of retreat this morning. That was an extreme sadness of life. I woke up when there was an order to prepare my unit to travel towards the landing beach in order to board ships. It was about 2:00pm on 25-3-1975. The whole of Brigade 147 gathered on the white sand beach in good order. It looked like a preparation for an amphibious operation in the past but it was not that easy to board the ships! The NVA had pursued us last night. They were at our heels today. They were present on the other side of the ferry. They had infiltrated among our troops. Due to an order of General Lam Quang Thi, the executive officer of I Corps, the VN Navy ship HQ 801 had been reserved and waiting for us about 50m from the shore. However, not only we were needed to survive, civilians and soldiers of broken units also needed to be rescued, but no one had a plan to help them. In this urgent and desperate situation, nobody thought of other people other than one's self. Everybody shoved against others to survive. He who was stronger won.
Waves were stronger now. It was like the rebounding of a spring, everybody rushed toward the ship. People not knowing how to swim clung to swimmers. Some M113 ran into the sea and rolled over people. Shouting, weeping, crying, howling and crying. A high wave rose. Two waves smashed down… Some heads were bobbing. A number of bodies sunk, disappearing while the ship motor was still running. The enemy had crossed the Tan My ferry. They were present in a temple on a hill at an end of a village. They captured a number of soldiers. They started shelling the sea surface. The landing beach was no longer safe and order was lost. The ship left. To retain security, Brigade Headquarters decided to choose another landing beach further south, and by all means to separate from the extremely chaotic crowd. Along the shore, there were so many bodies, pale faces, immobile and not breathing. There were unknown faces. There were familiar faces, among them, Captain An, the Commander of the RF Company of Quang Tri province.
We had withdrawn in South Laos in 1971 and abandoned Dong Ha, Quang Tri in 1972, during extremely dangerous situations. However, we had not been so desperate like today because we had always hoped for reinforcements. Today, we fell into complete and total desperation. The whole Brigade with more than 3000 troops was in an area of four square kilometres and was exposing our backs to the enemy. The VN Navy battle ships were still in the open sea, but where were their naval artilleries? The flimsy hope was to be picked up by ships, but in which order? Which unit would be bearing the brunt and become the last sacrifice? Afternoon sunrays spread along the large white sand beach, announcing a coming nightfall. Brigade 147 decided to deploy in a defensive line: Battalion 4 and 7 in the west, Battalion 3 in the south and my Battalion 5 in the north. Captain To Thanh Chien, commander of Company 2, and Major Nguyen Tri Nam, the executive officer of Battalion 4 sacrificed their lives dur to the NVA snipers during this deployment. The most heartbreaking thing was that both of them had just married and both of their wives were pregnant. They were fateful deaths. An order coming from the Brigade Headquarters said: The ship would come tonight or at the latest, tomorrow morning. Boarding would be in the following order: Brigade Headquarters, 2nd Artillery Battalion, Battalion 4, Battalion 3, Battalion 5 and Battalion 7.
Under the dim moonlight, the crowd being abandoned in the afternoon massively approached our defensive line. There was no other solution than to stop them near our defensive lines to avoid disturbances for units inside the defensive perimeter. Guns were still clattering regularly and no ship had landed. The moon rose higher and higher.
Early in the morning 26-3-1975, a ship landed according to the Brigade directive. With previous preparations boarding was relatively more orderly this time. Priority was for the Brigade headquarters and the wounded of all battalions. The enemy tried to hit us with fatal blows. NVA shelling increased more and more. The ship was a good target for the NVA to readjust co-ordinates for their artillery. One fire ball, two fireballs and then many more fireballs of the NVA heat seeking AT3 rockets were flying everywhere. Some fell on floating people. One hit the hull of the ship. It lurched, then weighed anchor and sailed into the open sea.
To relieve my tension, I emerged from my fox hole and walked around my defensive line. Light path of bullet trajectories mingled with mortar trajectories in the sea winds. Our 60 mm mortars and M79 grenades launchers retaliated now and then. They were not very effective, but it was just to show that we were still there. Close to the water line, Major Vo Dang Phuong, the 2nd Artillery Battalion commander, Captain Le The Hao and some soldiers were hurriedly digging foxholes with their helmets. They were the last people being left behind while most of their units had boarded the ship.
- 207! This is 416. You stay there and take care of all the boys!
- Yes! Hear you clear, 416!
The radio code name of Major Pham Cang, the commander of Battalion 7, was 207. He was the most senior and talented in our present group. Also, 416 was the radio code name of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dang Tong, executive officer of Brigade 147.
Afternoon sunlight faded slowly and slowly. Sea waves rippled. The sand beach was so empty, to the point of coldness. There was not a single shadow. Marines were fighting in the defensive line, or hiding in foxholes. They regretted, they longed for another ship to come. Companies of my battalion had some more wounded and some more killed. Ammunitions and food dried up while I tried to keep the fighting morale of my unit by frequently making radio contact with companies. A feeling of being forsaken started sparking in my mind, but I still could not believe that it was a reality. Looking at a special note of the signal codes, I turned my radio frequency to the Marine Division headquarters frequency. They were somewhere on the Hai Van Pass, with a relay station between Hue and Da Nang. The man who answered me was Captain Dan - aide de camp of Marine Division commandant. I said:
- Dai Duong, please let me speak to Lang Son (Dai Duong was the radio code name of Captain Dan. Lang Son was the radio code name of the Commandant of Marine Division).
- Lang Son has been so busy. Tell me what you want. I will transfer your words.
- Ask him to give us an order.
- Here, we are too busy. Nobody can help you… with anything. Its best for you to "self serve". Good luck!
I had a black out. Desperate, I threw the radio handset into the sand. "Self serve" meant every man for himself, run for your life! Or dissolve the units! About past noon, Lieutenant General Thi reappeared with a very stern voice. He ordered another Viet Nam Navy ship to pick us up at all costs. A ship moved directly to the shore, about 200m north of our defensive line. This time, Battalion 4 would board under the command of Major Dinh Long Thanh, the new commander of this battalion. No matter what that ship was reserved for, no matter whose privilege it was, crowds from all directions torrentially rushed to it. The ship was immediately overloaded and it lurched. Its propeller stopped turning. The ship stayed immobile. Its motors were broken. Another night here would be worsening the situation. I had to decide now! But how? After having shaved my beard, I called 1st Corporal Le Hong Quang Nam, my closest body guard and said:
- Prepare for me some water and some bags of dried cooked rice!
- Master, please do not abandon us. Permit us to follow you.
Thuan and Thanh, my two RTO burst into tears.
I told them: Be calm! As "Master and disciples" we will live or die together. My mind was always obsessed by the suggestion of Captain Dan: "Self Serve!". However, there were five to seven different ways. The first option was to choose some very strong soldiers originated from Phan Thiet or Nha Trang and were born as fishermen and then ask them to search civilian houses along the shore to find a canoe or a sampan. We would then sneak out to the sea. Even if this solution sounded reasonable, it was not that easy! We would be fired at by brothers in arms before being killed by sharks. A second option was to declare dissolution of my Battalion and each soldier would "run for their lives!" It was not my fault to dissolve the battalion though. However, to do so was so crude!
I radioed Major Cang of Battalion 7 and Major Su of Battalion 3.
We came to a conclusion that there was not a better way than to open a blood path to the south, to the Hien mouth.
Saying to open a blood path was a kind of denial of dissolution of units. The way to the South was blocked. Even if we could reach there after many casualties, there would only be sky and… the immense sea. We then wait there for NVA predators. We still moved in good order, but no longer in formation. Our force eroded and our strength exhausted. We had firearms in our hands, but they contained no ammunition. Morale disappeared. We just walked, and ran, the further from the enemy the better. There were so many loud explosions, a few were from the enemy and a great number from us. Wounded marines had no more strength to follow that retreating column. They crawled to each other and gathered. They let grenades explode to "better gloriously die than shamefully live". The foremost platoon of Battalion 3 was stopped by a VC guerrilla company. The platoon ran backwards. The retreating mass ran forward with no hope and full of desperation. Never before had I been longing for life. I continuously, mumbled a prayer: "Stagnation would change, change would become a Flow."
Our group of five branched off into a fishing hamlet, hoping to be helped by the coherent sentiment "soldiers and civilians" in the past. Unfortunately, units had been dissolved and the civilians' sympathy did not continue to persist. We pleaded with residents to help us, to let us rent their sampan, with money. However, they coldly and categorically refused.
I found a canoe owner who was middle aged and was a robust man. He may have been a guerrilla or an undercover VC. His face was slightly pockmarked. We had to threaten him by pointing firearms to his temple. This was the second time that I had fled the "bandits". At the age of five, I followed my mother to run into terraces and hide whenever the French Army attacked our village. Now, 26 years later, after having matured in military life, and still having brothers in arms with some rare ammunition in the firearms, I had to escape NVA. The sampan owner sitting with me now was 99% VC. He sabotaged the motor of his canoe to stop it. He gave sign to enemy sampans or canoes when his canoe came close to them. Nhan and Ngoc, my two soldiers intended to kill him, but I did not permit them to do so.
During just only some ephemeral days, there had been so many unexpected events. What would be my fate and the others' destinies when the sunrise appears? The hope of survival was extremely flimsy while death would be a certainty. Early in the next morning, after having run out of fuel, the canoe floated, exposed, on the immense sea water of the Tu Hien mouth. Enemy flags were seen here and there. In the distance was the blue mountain range of the Hai Van Pass which seemed to invite us, to attract us. We missed it. We longed for it. Our fates were so predetermined, but by who?
Farewell to arms. We threw them down in the water. Sitting there, waiting for NVA. Our hands were tied and we were led to the shore. We were "liberated" of all uniforms, watches, bracelets, necklaces and money. Some of us were led to one side and shot dead. We were insulted as puppets of the US Empire. We were no more as we had been, just because we had served in the ARVN to protect freedom of South Vietnam. We were abandoned but we had fought with all our lives. The life of some thousand marines as prisoners started on that day… 27-3-1975 in a small remote, but familiar hamlet, Vinh Loc hamlet, Thua Thien province, Hue, right in our beloved nation, South Vietnam.
Major Pham Van Tien.
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