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Summary October 1968
The company spent much of the month under the operational control of the 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry, an armored and mechanized infantry unit attached to the division. Most of the company was at LZ Hardcore with the 3/5 Cav, but 3rd Platoon was assigned to securing bridges in the area around LZ Jane and LZ Nancy in Quang Tri Province.
Along with A Company, C 2/5 Cav conducted a rare night air assault into an LZ near a village that had been cordoned off by the troopers of the 3rd Squadron 5th Cavalry. South Vietnamese National police searched the village. As a result, there were 2 NVA KIA, 9 PWs, and 7 weapons taken. The source does not indicate if C 2/5 Cav was involved in the fight. Anyone knowing more details, please contain the webmaster. (Source: Operational Report of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (AM) for Period 1 August - 31 October 1966, dtd 22 November 1968)
I remember we were a little nervous about doing a CA at night but when we were up in the air there was a full moon and you could see quite clearly. We landed on one side of the village and A company (Lean Apache) landed on the other. As soon as we surrounded the village the most hellatious firefight I had ever been in broke out. We were lying prone in a wet rice paddy huddled against the dikes with flares which I assume were dropped by the choppers drifting down on us. With the flares I could see some of the largest leeches I had seen in my tour crawling around my feet. Tracers were flying over head and the noise was tremendous. I was near Capt. Conrad as I was the senior medic at the time and he said "there's no way the NVA or VC had that much firepower. He called the commander of A co. on the radio and asked him to have his men cease fire and gave the order for Comanche to cease fire. Immediately there was complete silence. The rest of the night was mostly watching and waiting with some bursts of gunfire. I only remember seeing the one kia but the official reports say there were two. The one that Comanche killed may have been a innocent civilian decoy used to distract us from their escape from the encirclement. We know that at least 3 got away while the shooting was going on. The next morning the national police came in and rounded up all the villagers for questioning. They kept them at one location while they searched their homes. One individual was singled out by the police. I don't know if his answers were unsatisfactory or he was being made an example of. Watching their interrogation made one glad they lived in America. He was punched, beaten and kicked after each answer he gave. Then they forced what seemed like gallons of water down his throat until his stomach was bloated and then kicked him in the stomach. I never found out if they obtained information from him or if he was an innocent civilian. This was the only night assault that I remember. I was surprised they did not do more as this one certainly caught the enemy by surprise even though the results were somewhat small. (From an email from Doc Bovie)
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Click on picture to see larger version
Photo courtesy Richard Bovie
Richard "Doc" Bovie near LZ Nancy, Quang Tri Province
Click on Photos to See Larger Versions - all Courtesy Richard "Doc" Bovie
From left to right:
- Vietnamese National Police interrogate a villager. Notice the World War II era M2 carbine with folding stock carried by the police.
- Vietnamese National Police feed a Viet Cong prisoner.
- Dead Viet Cong, or innocent civilian? The enigma of war. Note the 1st Cav patch in his right hand.
- Mama-san watches over some of the children as the village is searched.
- Women and children move away from the village while the men are searched and interrogated
Cordon and Search missions were not unusual. Another can be seen on the August 1967 page.
October 28
The Battalion Commander, LTC Raymond Maladowitz, issued a warning order to all the companies - - the 1st cavalry Division is headed south. (Source: Warning Order dated 28 October to all company commanders.)
October - Exact Date Unknown
LZ Hardcore was located between Hai Lang and Utah Beach and under the control of the 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry. (Interestingly, the 3/5 Cav was a battalion-sized armored unit originally assigned to the 9th Infantry Division, but attached to the 1st Cavalry Division at various times.) All three units of the 5th Cavalry came together at the Battle of Binh An in June 1968.)
Top Left Photo: Houston Martin, Mel Wilkinson, Ray Brown, and Bob Hrncirik.
Top Right Photo: Two M-113 armored personnel carriers are parked in front of the Catholic church on LZ Hardcore. Notice the rain - October is monsoon season around the area of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ.)
Bottom Right Photo: The pontoon bridge could support heavy armored vehicles. Note the tank retriever on the other side of the river.
Bottom Left Photo: Wayne and Sierra with a Vietnamese kid.
Click on Photo to See Larger VersionPhoto Courtesy Mel Wilkison
Click on Photo to See Larger Version
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1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
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Updated October 04, 2006
