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Summary October 1965
The 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry participated in its first offensive combat operation after arriving in Vietnam by going into the Vinh Thanh Valley, northeast of the division base camp at An Khe. It was also known as Happy Valley
The Army was so delighted with the results of this "clear and secure" operation that the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) issued "Lessons Learned # 58." The paper refers to it as "Operation Happy Valley." The History of the 5th Cavalry Regiment refers to it as "Operation Gibraltar." While the 2/5 Cav is only mentioned peripherally, it is the first documented action by the battalion.
As you read the document, soldiers who served with any unit in Vietnam will be struck by the naiveté of the writers who seemed to believe the mere presence of the U. S. Army drove away the VC.
October 10
Charlie Company suffered its first death. During the first operation in the field after having helped secure the road from Qui Nhon to An Khe, the 2/5 Cav operated in the Vinh Thanh Valley, north east of An Khe. During that action, SGT William Clyde Harper was hit by small arms fire and succumbed to his wounds on the battle field. This fine young man left behind his parents in Memphis, Tennessee. SGT Dennis Kelly was an RTO at the time, and sent this email:
As I recall he was hit by a single round and I think he died at the spot where he was hit. We were on the move at the time of this incident so there was no out and out fire fight taking place. There was a memorial service for him and other KIA's in Saigon and C/2/5 was represented by SSG Jackie Hembree.
From a phone conversation between PFC James Mc Elwee and the webmaster on January 31, 2004:
We were moving towards an objective and were not in a firefight. We were moving through an area of rice paddies. In many instances, the lead man would have to lend a hand to the man behind him to get up the ledge to the next paddy. The point man was helping SGT Harper up when a single shot hit Bill in the left side. I was right behind him. Everybody liked Bill Harper - he was good man.
Staff Sergeant Jack Hembree was the Platoon Sergeant and acting Platoon Leader for the Mortar Platoon. He recalls SGT Harper was the 1st Squad Leader, SGT Roger Leggett was the 2nd Squad Leader, but he does not recall the name of the 3rd Squad Leader. SSG Hembree thought highly of Bill Harper, and they had worked together since the days of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) at Ft. Benning. The RTOs for the platoon were PFC Ernest Relford on the company command net, and a young trooper named Ferguson on the platoon net.
The platoon was moving with the rest of the company through a rice paddy area, but stayed off the dikes. That meant humping heavy base plates, pods, and ammo for the 81mm mortar tubes - and it was tough work slogging through wet rice paddies. As they approached each paddy dike, the first man up would help the next man to get up on top of the dike. As SGT Harper was climbing up a dike, a single shot rang out, mortally wounding him.
PFC James Mc Elwee was a member of SGT Harper's squad, and was holding SGT Harper in his arms when he died. Read the text in this clipping from a magazine article.
Click on Photo to See Larger VersionCourtesy James Mc Elwee
October - Exact Dates Unknown
Time for a little break in front of the company headquarters tent at An Khe. From left to right: 2LT Marvin Sprouse, PSG Parnell "Bones" Bethune (without shirt), 2LT Wallace (artillery forward observer), CPT Edward A. Boyt (Commanding Officer), 1SG Antonio Lopez-Aponte, and SSG Ellis E. Burnham (Supply Sergeant) (Source: Ed Boyt and letter from CO C 2/5 Cav to CO, 2/5 Cav dtd 29 July 1965, subject "Deployable Personnel)
Click on photo to see larger versionCourtesy Ed Boyt
h L to R: Front: Dennis Kelly, James Thornton, Juan Cerda.
Back: Raymond Spencer, Vic Titus, Harry Taggart, Edwin Seimons (Bent Over) (Source of identification: Dennis Kelly)
Click on Photo to See Larger VersionCourtesy Dennis Kelly
h SP4 Juan Cerda and SGT Victor Titus. According to Dennis Kelly: "Cerda's claim to fame is the incident in "Chickenhawk." He's the guy who put the M-79 round through the roof of Mason's chopper. He was also somewhat charmed. I saw him hit a trip wire that was attached to a WP grenade that did not go off."
Click on Photo to See Larger VersionCourtesy Dennis Kelly
October - Exact Date Unknown
1LT Al Conetto (Mortar Platoon) is reassigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade at Bien Hoa, and is replaced by 2LT Frank Leavens.
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1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
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Updated September 08, 2006
