&
good reading.
This site, developed around the course materials for Robert Brigham's senior seminar on the Viet Nam War at Vassar College, offers students an opportunity to examine some of those sources, including numerous official documents. Brigham was the first American scholar given access to the Vietnamese archives on the war in Hanoi. Included here are his translations of some of the Hanoi documents, offered for examination and study.
*This site offers much
reading and research on Vietnam during its war years, as well as history on its
development as a nation.
A Good & Interesting Read
A VIETNAMESE PERSPECTIVE OF THE US WITHDRAWAL FROM THE VIETNAM WAR
BY LESLEY UPHAM
"Welcome to the Web site designed to give insight on the Vietnamese perspective of the United States withdrawal from Vietnam. The purpose of this web site is not only to give you a brief overview of the reasons for the US withdrawal, but also to share the adverse affects that it had on the South Vietnamese who were left to fend for themselves when we were gone. By analyzing the policies of the U.S., we can better see how we caused total chaos after we left. Our pullout left a whole nation of people feeling abandoned and confused. After exploring this web site, hopefully you will have found yourself looking at the Vietnam war in a way you never have before."
"There are four sections included within this site. If followed in order they will provide maximum understanding. The first section is an interview performed with an ARVN vet, Cu Van Nguyen. The second section is a perspective of the withdrawal from Vietnam as seen through the eyes of many Vietnamese. The third is a critical book review by a Vietnamese diplomat. After reading this, I had a much better understanding of the U.S. withdrawal. The final section provides additional resources about the withdrawal that will be very helpful."
Click here to go to this website.
Below are several different articles from the Tropic Lightning News sent in by Stephen Earp
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the article.
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‘They Were All Heroes’
Regulars vs. NVA at Crook: 400 Enemy Die
FSB CROOK, 7 JUN 69
- During two nights of deadly close-in fighting, Bravo Company of the 3d
Battalion, 22nd Infantry, turned back two NVA regiments. In two
separate back-to-back ground attacks Thursday and Friday nights on Fire
Support Base Crook, eight and a half miles northwest of Tay Ninh City, the
outnumbered Regulars held firm and killed off the charging NVA.
Both battles saw the NVA forces soundly defeated. The enemy initially
tried to breach the perimeter with sappers but failed. At no time was the
Regulars’ bunker line penetrated.
Supporting fires for Crook were supplied by Cobra gunships, tactical air
strikes, spookie, shadow (C119 gunship) and a host of artillery batteries.
Alpha Battery of the 7th Battalion, 11th Artillery, fired point
blank the on-rushing enemy as rocket and mortar fire slammed into Crook.
“Throughout both attacks my men performed remarkably. Even during the
height of the in-coming rounds, they got out of their bunkers and fired the
guns. They knew they had to do it, so they stayed low and we came out like
bandits, taking very few casualties,” said the battery commander, Captain Dick
Neal of San Antonio, Tex.
AS BRAVO COMPANY
left the perimeter to sweep the area the following morning they were greeted
by hand grenade-throwing NVA who tossed grenades out of well-camouflaged
spider holes. Bravo returned to its perimeter and had spookie hose down the
area with its deadly mini-gun.
Alpha Company was dropped off four kilometers north of Crook by the 187th
Assault Helicopter Company to spoil the enemy’s rapid retreat. Following a
trail of commo wire they met head-on with the NVA regiment’s headquarters.
First Lieutenant William Ervin of Richmond, Va., called for tactical air
strikes as he maneuvered his men against the enemy. Darkness forced Alpha to
return to Fire Support Base Washington before enemy casualties were known.
THE SECOND NIGHT
of fighting seemed to be an instant replay of the previous night’s action.
The only difference was that a fresh NVA regiment hit from the opposite side.
As mortars, rockets and RPGs slashed into the fire support base, First
Lieutenant Curtis McFarland of Midland, Tex., readied his platoon. Again the
sappers were stopped before they breached the perimeter.
On both nights Major Joseph Hacia of Wethersfield, Conn., ran the entire
show. He gained the perspective of the situation by rapidly moving between
his tactical operations center, tower and bunker line.
“I’M REALLY IMPRESSED
with the men of Bravo Company,” said Hacia, the battalion’s XO. “They
performed to perfection and fought just as if they were at a turkey shoot.
The real key to our success was early warning. Our electronic devices had
them zeroed in several hours before they actually reached the perimeter. We
knew they were coming and we were ready for them. The men on the bunker line
knew exactly what to do and caught the sappers before they had a chance to do
any damage.”
Specialist 4 Thomas Belan of Pittsburgh was one of the first to spot the
sappers as they attempted to crawl under the wire on the southwest side of the
perimeter. Belan literally burned up the barrel of his machine gun.
THE QUICK-THINKING
of Sergeant First Class Donald Neal of Columbus, Ga., proved to be fatal for
the unsuspecting sappers. Neal grabbed two grenade launchers and several
bandoleers of ammo before heading for Belan’s position. Together they popped
out the grenades and sent the sappers heading back for the nearby woodline.
BULLETIN
For the third night in a row, NVA soldiers launched a
futile attack against FSB Crook. Saturday night’s fight raged for two hours
and ten minutes with Tropic Lightning protecting Crook with air strikes,
artillery, light fire teams, spookie and shadow.
“THEY WERE all
heroes,” said Captain Larry B. Thomas of Camp Hill, Pa. Thomas directed his
Bravo Company while running back and forth on the bunker line determining
where the areas of greatest threat were. “The men knew what to do before I
had a chance to direct them. They performed beyond expectations, and I’m
proud of every one of them.”
A last-ditch effort was made from the northeast section where the initial
attack was fairly light. Machinegunner Specialist 4 Richard C. Marroquine of
Floresville, Tex., made an immediate assessment of the situation and turned
back the onrushing enemy with his M-60. The desperate NVA answered his volley
with a wave of rocket-propelled grenades. But Bravo had constructed their
fortifications well. Many bunkers and (Continued on Back Page)
TWO VIEWS -
(above right) Photographer Specialist 4 David DeMauro captures a scene of two
views of battle coming together. A Regular Infantryman peers out at the area
surrounding Fire Support Base Crook, as a Crusader gunship patrols overhead.
Regulars Slam Back NVA
Thrusts
(Continued From Page 1)
fighting positions received direct hits and withstood them.
“I SAW THEM COMING,” said Marroquine. “This
place was lit up like the Fourth of July and we could spot out targets as they
came out of the woodline.” Twelve enemy soldiers were riddled with machine
gun bullets in front of Marroquine’s position, and several blood trails led
off to the woodline.
Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael of Columbus, Ga.,
had nothing but praise for his Regulars.
“Everybody reacted to perfection to defeat the enemy force. We had one
hell of a battle on our hands, and it directly involved the entire battalion.
Our support elements provided everything we needed as fast as it could
possibly be done. Alpha, Charlie and Delta companies all got into the action
at Crook by sweeping the surrounding wood lines after the battle. Even our
recon platoon was out there clearing away the bodies and counting the captured
weapons. I’m proud of every man in the unit and especially proud of those men
in Bravo Company who pushed back two NVA regiments in two nights.”
After two nights of fierce fighting, the number of enemy killed on the
battle-marked terrain around Crook reached 400. One GI died in the action and
eight were wounded.
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Regulars Pounce On Dug-In NVA January 20, 1969
CU CHI - While on an air-mobile operation ten miles northwest of Tay Ninh, B Company, 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry battled a reinforced platoon-sized NVA element. After a fierce fire fight, six of the enemy lay dead.
While establishing a defensive perimeter, several men spotted two NVA soldiers walking along a trail with their weapons held at sling arms.
The 3d platoon, in hot pursuit, killed one NVA and wounded the other. Following the blood trail with caution the platoon soon found itself under heavy small arms, automatic weapons and RPG fire.
“We followed the blood trail into a woodline where we discovered several freshly dug bunkers and fighting positions. I arranged my platoon into a line formation and we slowly probed forward throwing hand grenades into the bunkers,” said First Lieutenant Roland J. White of Baltimore. “We knew that we were going to have a heck of a time getting them out of their bunkers and that they had no intentions of leaving them.”
Maneuvering to join their comrades, the Regulars poured out a devastating barrage of fire, allowing the 3d Platoon to pull back to a location where the big guns of the 7th Battalion, 11th Artillery, could be used to pound the enemy bunkers. Hovering gunships waited above for the Artillery to be lifted so they could get their turn at clobbering the enemy.
Commander of Bravo Company, Captain George D. Featherston of Houston, calmly said, “We inflicted a great deal of damage upon them and were ready to move in further when we were forced to return to our pickup zone because of the darkness.”
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IT’S AS EASY AS ONE, TWO, THREE - Members of the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry wait to be picked up by Crusader slicks of the 187th Assault Helicopter Company northwest of Tay Ninh. (PHOTO BY SP4 DAVE DEMAURO)
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Regulars of the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry, prepare to charge off of a chopper as they near a landing zone close to an NVA base camp. (PHOTO BY SP4 DAVID DE MAURO)
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Rocketeers Bag VC Ammo
Caches
TAY NINH -
Working the rocket belt surrounding Tay Ninh Base Camp, the 3rd Battalion, 22d
Infantry Regulars recently captured 53 107mm rockets.
Also captured during the operation were two mortar tubes.
Under the command of First Lieutenant William Ervin of Brunswick, Ga., A
Company uncovered a 120mm mortar tube complete with bipod legs, base plate,
aiming quadrant and tube. At the same enemy base camp 11 kilometers northwest
of Tay Ninh, an 82mm mortar tube was discovered. Both tubes were found by the
use of a mine detector.
The Regulars had assaulted the enemy base camp and met heavy resistance.
Utilizing Cobra gunships from the 187th Helicopter Company and the 3d Battalion,
17th Cavalry, artillery from the 7th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, and air
strikes, the Tropic Lightning troops forced the enemy to evacuate his own base
camp.
The next morning A and B Companies combat assaulted into the camp to see what
was left. The quick thinking of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael of
Columbus, Ga., brought the mine sweeper to aid in finding hidden enemy weapons.
The move paid off with the discovery of the two mortar tubes.
A few days after the find of the tubes, rockets became the point of interest.
While on an ambush patrol, A Company spotted three enemy soldiers setting up
107mm rockets to be fired at Tay Ninh Base Camp. Pursuing the enemy soldiers,
the Regulars captured the rockets before they could do any harm.
During the next several days A and B Companies captured more and more
rockets.
Staff Sergeant Donald W. Roberts of Weymouth, Mass. Made the first find. “It
seemed that no matter where I ran the mine sweeper, it clicked; I thought that
maybe we had come across a gold mine,” said Roberts.
B Company might as well have found a gold mine. 28 107mm Chinese Communist
rockets were found at that location.
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COUNT-OFF - Staff Sergeant Curtis Daniels of
Deer Park, Tex., smiles over the 28 107mm Chinese Communist rockets captured by
B Company, 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry. The Regulars captured a total of 53
rockets in 19 days. (PHOTO BY SP4 DAVID DE MAURO)
FAMILY PORTRAIT – First Lieutenant Danny Goins of Atlanta stands beside this 120mm mortar captured by infantrymen of the 1st Brigade. (PHOTO BY SP4 DAVE DE MAURO)
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Quick Moving Enemy Not So Fast After All
By SP4 KRIS PETERSEN
CU CHI – Recently, near the Boi Loi woods north of here, the 25th
Division’s Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry,
killed two members of an apparently fast-moving Viet Cong unit.
"The entire episode was amazing to say the least," recalled Platoon Sergeant
Richard Carpenter, of Crandon, Wis. "We were moving into our night defensive
position when we received a radio call from the CP (command post).
"They said that ten VC were heading our way, the CP being about 700 yards
from our position."
"We had quietly started to put out our claymores and prepare for them, when
suddenly there they were – seven of them , walking in file right in front of
us," remarked Sergeant Darce Chandler, from Commerce, Ga.
"The first thought that ran through my mind was that these guys must have
been flying awfully low in order to get here so fast from that far away," said
one Bravo Regular.
Nevertheless the platoon of Regulars surprised the enemy as they quickly
opened up with machinegun fire, killing one of them.
Minutes later, back at the CP, what was thought to be the same group was
spotted again.
They waited for them to get closer, then opened fire, killing one
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Regulars on Nui Ba Den; Make Like
Mountain Goats
By SP4 KRIS PETERSEN
FSB LYNCH – Since last October, the walking Regulars of the 3rd
Battalion, 22nd Infantry have beat feet from the scarred slopes of
Nui Ba Den to the sun-baked fields of Cambodia.
Mountain Goats
Early this year, the men made like mountain goats and crawled up and down the
Black Virgin Mountain trying to smoke out a regiment of NVA. In March, the
Regulars were summoned to the mountain again. With the aid of air strikes,
gunships and the firepower of various mech units acting as blocking forces at
the base, they began a nook and cranny search for the enemy.
They climbed the mountain down, poking into the myriad caves and crevasses in
hopes of coaxing out the entrenched enemy from his many-tunneled home.
The Regulars did locate numerous NVA hiding places and called in air strikes
to destroy them.
One Day in May
In May, the 3rd of the 22nd took part in another kind
of operation in another kind of country – Cambodia. The regulars penetrated the
border on the 5th and immediately confronted a sizeable enemy force
posing as friendly Cambodian villagers.
The Americans didn’t take the bait. They opened up with small arms and
automatic weapons fire.
South Vietnamese jet fighters then pounded the village while Cobra gunships
strafed the outlying woodlines with their mini-guns.
The men of the 3rd of the 22nd spent another month in
Cambodia mopping up the enemy – destroying his base camps, capturing his medical
supplies and confiscating his tons of rice.
As the Regulars marched out of Cambodia, they marched into the 3rd
Brigade’s Fire Support Base Kien.
Kien Job
Their mission at Kien was to improve the morale and effectiveness of the
local regular forces units. Joint platoon and company size operations were
undertaken with substantial success.
The Regulars have just been transferred to the 2nd Brigade.
Stationed near Xuan Loc, the 3rd of the 22nd is working an
area in the vicinity of Operation Base Lynch.
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