.......
End of Phase I, 25 February-17 March
During the rest of Phase I (which was officially terminated at midnight of 17 March) the units of both divisions continued their meticulous search of the operational area. Since the hammer forces had completed their operations, the units of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, started leaving their portion of the horseshoe as early as 2 March when one battalion was airlifted to Quan Loi. A second battalion was lifted the following day to Minh Thanh, and on 4 March the 1st Brigade terminated Phase I. On 3 March the 1st Engineers completed the Katum airfield;2 the next day all of the battalion had terminated Phase I and began relocating to the east-ern edge of War Zone C. (For all intents and purposes the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division and the 1st Engineer Battalion began Phase II on 7 March when they started operations west of An Loc along Route 246 and at the destroyed bridge site where that road crosses the Saigon River.)
Artillery ammunition and C-rations, dropped by parachutes to the 82nd Arty, 196th Light Inf Bde, fall to the ground in War Zone "C", 70 miles north east of Saigon, 26 February 1967
During this 21-day period the action was marked mainly by contacts with small forces (one to ten men) and the continual discovery of more and more base camps. Rice, documents, dried fish, ammunition and explosives, some weapons, and much communication equipment (including miles of wire) were the principal items found. Along Route 4 convoy vehicles continued to hit mines and be harassed by RPG2 antitank weapons and small arms fire.
The two major battles fought during Phase I occurred at or near Prek Klok on 28 February and 10 March. However, there were other occurrences and sizable engagements during this period which are worthy of mention.
On 26 February a company of the 3d Brigade, 4th Division, west of Route 22, engaged the 3d Battalion, 271st Viet Cong Regiment, in the latter's base camp. The company was completely surrounded and another company came to its relief. Eleven enemy were killed with U.S. losses 5 killed and 19 wounded.
SP4 Russell Roever (New York City), Hq & Hq Co, 2nd Bn, 503rd Inf, 173rd Abn Bde (Sept), disconnects the parachute form a crate of 105mm howitzer ammunition in War Zone "C" 26-27 Feb 1967
Two days later the 173d Brigade northeast of Katum found what appeared to be the public information office for psychological propaganda of the Central Office of South Vietnam. In an underground photographic laboratory the troopers found 120 reels of motion picture film, numerous still photographs, and pictures and busts of Communist leaders. This discovery proved to be one of the major intelligence coups of the war.
On the following day, 1 March, a battalion of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, sweeping in the same general area as the location of the COSVN military affairs section, found what appeared to be a school and propaganda center. There were light, office-type huts, a mess hall, two dispensaries, and sleeping quarters, but no fighting positions. Among the items taken were a loudspeaker system com-plete with speakers and amplifiers, material for making identification cards, and a bag of documents.
On 3 March a company of the 173d Brigade made contact with an estimated enemy company east of Katum. In an intensive fire fight in which the enemy used small arms, automatic weapons, and M79 grenade launchers, and which lasted only thirty minutes, the enemy lost 39 killed and the U.S. 20 killed and 28 wounded.
On 6 March the 173d Brigade made airmobile assaults with its three battalions into three landing zones located one, three, and six kilometers south of Bo Tuc (on Route 246 southeast of Katum).
The brigade was searching for the COSVN military intelligence bureau reported to be located south of Bo Tuc. During the next seven days of search and destroy the battalions made sporadic con-tact, killing about 40 Viet Cong.
A captain from the 27th Infantry Regiment burns VC supplies and equipment in Tay Ninh province during Operation Junction City in March, 1967.
Having completed its participation in the hammer operation, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (-) had tuned west on 26 February to continue search and destroy in the 25th Division's operational area. On 6 March the two squadrons of the 11th Armored Cavalry began a sweep along the Cambodian border. The sweep was to cover a zone extending 1,500 meters from the border and was to start four kilometers southwest of the point where Route 22 hits the Cambodian border in the north and was to end at Lo Go. The sweep would include all the border in the "Little Elephant's Ear" proper. Just after noon on 11 March one troop was brought under small arms, automatic weapons, RPG2, and recoilless rifle fire from an estimated Viet Cong company at six kilometers northwest of Lo Go and within 200 meters of the Cambodian border. The enemy was in well-prepared positions with fortified bunkers and an extensive trench system. As friendly fires and air strikes increased, the Viet Cong were trapped on the near bank of the river which marks the border at this point; helicopter gunships kept the river under surveillance to prevent escape into Cambodia. During the night the position was kept under con-tinuous illumination by flareships and under artillery and mini-gun fire from the flareships.
However, the enemy slipped away during the night, leaving twenty-eight dead behind. The reason for the stiff resistance became readily apparent the next morning. Located in reinforced concrete bunkers fifteen feet underground were two large, electrically powered Chinese printing presses weighing nearly a ton each. Manufactured in Shanghai in 1965, each press had an hourly output of 5,000 printed sheets measuring 17 by 24 inches; the presses also had cutting and folding attach-ments. A further search yielded several barrels of lead printer's type as well as thirty-one individual weapons. The presses were airlifted to the 25th Division's base camp. Indications were that the presses were being utilized by the COSVN propaganda and cultural indoctrination section.
Men of the 32d Artillery load a round into a 175mm howitzer at Tay Ninh during Junction City.
The Phase I operations started to wind down beginning 12 March. On the 14th the 3d Brigade, 1st Division, turned over responsibility for the security of Prek Klok Special Forces Camp, the old French Fort, and Route 4 to the 196th Brigade. Colonel Marks commenced repositioning his forces and prepared to relieve the division's 2d Brigade of its Revolutionary Development mission so the brigade could participate in JUNCTION CITY II. On 15 March the 173d left the operational area and reverted to control of II Field Force; on the same day the 11th Cavalry (-) terminated its participation. At midnight on 17 March Phase I officially came to a close. The enemy had lost 835 killed, 15 captured, 264 weapons, and enormous quantities of supplies and equipment.
............
In the mid-morning hours of February 22, 1967, a task force from the 173d Airborne Brigade jumped into history by making the first United States combat parachute assault in the war against the enemy in South Vietnam - and the first such assault since the Korean War.
173d Troopers loading for Combat Jump
The jump put 845 Sky Soldiers under silk over War Zone C near the Cambodian border long a Viet Cong redoubt. Below them lay drop zone "Charlie" 1,000 by 6,000 feet of dried rice paddies deep in enemy controlled territory.
Within an hour after the start of the parachute assault, an Infantry battalion with artillery, heavy equipment, control teams, and support elements were on the ground, deployed to secure the drop zone and ready for combat as Operation Junction City got underway. To both men and planners, the combat jump was a success.
Map of DZ Charlie
The 1st and 4th Battalions came into adjacent landing zones by airmobile assault. Operation JUNCTION CITY's objective was to locate and destroy the Central Office South Vietnam (COSVN) the supreme headquarters of the Viet Cong in the Republic of Vietnam.
The accomplishments of Phase I of Operation JUNCTION CITY were significant:
266 VC killed by body count, 32 possible kills, and 4 captured, the complete destruction of the (COSVN) Public Information Office for Psychological Propaganda and a COSVN Signal site dealt a heavy blow to the enemy propaganda effort.
JUNCTION CITY was the biggest Allied offensive to date in Vietnam.
173rd ready to jump
At 0825 , the planes took off.
At 0900, the green light flashed
At 0910, 778 Skytroopers were on the DZ ready to do battle.
For the operation, 23 C-130 aircraft were available -
13 for personnel and 10 for heavy equipment.
The size of the dropzone and operational plan dictated how the aircraft were to be loaded, the drop zone was 26 seconds long and would require two passes to put all personnel into the drop zone. Each C-130 would carry 60 men and would be cross loaded to put the men of each company on the drop zone in the approximate area of their assigned sectors.
HITTING THE SILK... A U.S. Paratrooper, along with 844 others, jumping behind Viet Cong lines in a vast blocking and encircling operation a few miles from the Cambodian border. Continued air strikes paved the way for the massive ground-air assault of 45,000 troops.
It was imperative that all units react rapidly in clearing and securing the DZ, for the airdrop of supplies and heavy equipment was scheduled to commence 30 minutes after the first man exited the aircraft.
The cargo was being dropped by the container delivery system which uses colored parachutes to denote the contents of the container swaying beneath it. It was a perfect drop Everything landed in a DZ the size of a baseball field without mishap.
Well, almost without incident
As each man hit the ground, he grabbed his weapon and combat gear and moved to his designated assembly area. Colored smoke, colored helium balloons, and colored tape on each man's helmet assisted the task force in rapidly assembling on the ground and identified each man with his unit and section It was imperative that all units react rapidly in clearing and securing the drop zone, for the airdrop of supplies and heavy equipment was scheduled to commence 30 minutes after the first man exited the aircraft.
Right on time and target, the loaded C-l3Os began their heavy drops. Drag chutes pulled jeeps, trucks, mortars, and howitzers from the tail of each plane, and giant canopies lowered this vital equipment to the ground without mishap. Immediately thereafter, more planes appeared over the treetops at low altitude, leaving in their wakes brilliant clusters of colored parachutes over the DZ.
Supply Drop
The heavy equipment and supplies needed to support the task force included the 105mm howitzers and 2,400 rounds of l05mm ammunition, four 3/4-ton trucks, five 1/4-ton trucks, one l/4 ton trailer, six M274 Mule vehicles, four 4.2-inch mortars and 746 mortar rounds six 81mm mortars and 1,500 mortar rounds, 416 five-gallon water Cans, 18,000 sandbags, 746 cases of C-rations, 115,700 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 1,440 grenades for the 40mm M79 launchers, 1,000 fragmentation hand grenades, and 500 smoke grenades.
The success of this parachute assault shows that the airborne concept still has a place in modern warfare. It shows that large numbers of troops and heavy equipment can be delivered quickly and accurately with a minimum number of aircraft.
The spirit and professional enthusiasm demonstrated by the men of the task force during the training for and conduct of the jump into War Zone C made this combat parachute assault a success.
C.J. Magro
Additional Sources: home.hiwaay.net/~magro/173abn.html
www.discodesigns.com
www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil
www.aviation-art.net
www.angelfire.com/pa2/ hotshot/jc.html
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Operation Junction City (Feb 22 - Mar 17, 1967) - Aug. 12th, 2003
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on March 11:
1726 Madame Louise-Florence d'Épinay France, writer (Woman, Man & 2 Kingdoms)/salon hostess
1731 Robert Treat Paine judge, signer of Declaration of Independence
1811 Marsena Rudolph Patrick Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1811 Urbain Jean Joseph le Verrier co-discovered Neptune
1812 James Speed Attorney General (Union), died in 1887
1818 John Wilkins Whitfield Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879
1822 Allison Nelson Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862
1832 William Ruffin Cox Brigadier General (Confederate Army-2nd North Carolina Infantry), died in 1919
1840 Edmund Kirby Jr Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
1879 Niels Bjerrum Danish chemist (ph tests)
1885 Malcolm Campbell 1st auto racer to travel 5 miles/minutes (8 km/minute)
1890 Vannevar Bush developed 1st electronic analogue computer
1892 Raoul Walsh New York NY, director (Thief of Baghdad, Battle Cry)
1898 Dorothy Gish Massillon OH, stage & silent film actress (Orphans of the Storm)
1907 Helmuth J von Moltke German politician (July 20th plot)
1908 Lawrence Welk Strasburg ND, orchestra leader (Lawrence Welk Show)
1914 Ralph Ellison writer (Invisible Man, Shadow & Act)
1916 Sir [James] Harold Wilson (L) British Prime Minister (1964-70, 1974-76)
1926 Ralph Abernathy civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership)
1928 Albert Salmi Brooklyn NY, actor (Daniel Boone, 79 Park Avenue)
1931 Rupert Murdoch Australia, publisher (New York Post), CEO FOX-TV Network
1934 Sam "eyebrow" Donaldson El Paso TX, ABC White House correspondent (Prime Time)
1936 Antonin Scalia Trenton NJ, 105th Supreme Court Justice (1986- )
1945 Mark Stein vocalist/organist (Vanilla Fudge-You Keep Me Hanging On)
1952 Douglas Adams Cambridge England, author (Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy)(42)
1956 Curtis L Brown Jr Elizabethtown NC, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, 95)
Deaths which occurred on March 11:
0222 Varius A Bassianus Syrian emperor of Rome (218-22), murdered at 18?
0638 Sophronius of Jerusalem saint/patriarch of Jerusalem, dies
1820 Benjamin West British painter (Death of General Wolfe), dies at 81
1845 John Chapman [Johnny Appleseed] dies in Allen County Indiana
1897 Henry Drummond Scottish geologist/evangelist, dies at 45
1921 Sherburne W Burnham US astronomer (binary stars), dies at 83
1955 Alexander Fleming English bacteriologist (penicillin), dies at 73
1967 Geraldine Farrar soprano/actress (Such Sweet Compulsion), dies at 85
1969 John Wyndham [Parkes Lucas B Harris] author (Day of the Triffids, Chrysalids), dies at 65
1970 Erle Stanley Gardner US writer (Perry Mason), dies at 80
1971 Philo T Farnsworth US TV pioneer, dies at 64
1971 Whitney M Young Jr leader(National Urban League 1961-71), dies at 49
1972 Fredric [William] Brown sci-fi author (Martians Go Home), dies at 65
1987 [Wayne] Woody Hayes football coach (Ohio State), dies at 74
1993 Dino Bravo wrestler (WWF), shot to death at 44
1996 Vince Edwards actor (Ben Casey), dies of cancer at 67
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1965 SMITH RICHARD D.---WICHITA KS.
[REMAINS ID'D 9/94]
1967 GREENE CHARLES E.---SCHENECTADY NY.
03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 HITESHEW JAMES E.---WESTON WV.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 KARINS JOSEPH J. JR.---SYRACUSE NY]
[REMAINS RETURNED 04/88]
1967 MOORE ERNEST M.---MILLBRAE CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 BOND RONALD DALE---FARGO ND.
1968 BLANTON CLARENCE F.---EL RENO OK.
1968 CALLOWAY PORTER E.---BERNICE LA.
1968 CALFEE HAMES HENRY---NEWGULF TX.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 DAVIS THOMAS J.---EUFALFA AL.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 DAVIS JAMES WOODROW---WAYNESBORO MS.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 GISH HENRY G.---LANCASTER PA.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 HOLLAND MELVIN A.---TOLEDO WA.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 HALL WILLIS ROSELLE---BELLEVUE NE.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 KIRK HERBERT A.---PHILADELPHIA PA.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 MC MILLAN ISIAH---GRETNA FL.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 OLDS ERNEST A.---SALISBURY MD.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 02 AUG 96]
1968 PRICE DAVID STANLEY---CENTRALIA WA.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 RODRIGUEZ ALBERT E.---FRANKLINVILLE NY.
[REMAINS RET 12/15/88" ID 7/25/89]
1968 SHANNON PATRICK LEE---CORDELL OK.
NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 SPRINGSTEADAH DONALD K.---MILLVILLE NJ.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
1968 WORLEY DON F.---AUGUSTA AR.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST. TDY CIV/LOCKHEED]
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
On this day...
0417 Zosimus becomes bishop of Rome
0537 Goths lay siege to Rome
0843 Icon worship officially re-instated in Aya Sofia Constantinople
1302 Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare
1502 Tebriz shah Ismail I of Persia crowned
1513 Giovanni de' Medici chosen Pope Leo X
1665 New York approves new code guaranteeing Protestants religious rights
1669 Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000
1702 1st English daily newspaper, "Daily Courant", is published
1779 US army Corps of Engineers established (1st time)
1795 Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols
1810 Emperor Napoleon married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise
1812 Citizenship granted to Prussian Jews
1823 1st normal school in US opens, Concord Academy, Concord VT
1824 US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs
1851 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" premieres in Venice
1861 Confederate convention in Montgomery, adopts constitution
1862 General Stonewall Jackson evacuates Winchester Virginia
1862 Lincoln removes McClellen as general-in-chief & makes him head of Army of the Potomac. Gen Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief
1864 Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta), Tennessee
1865 General Sherman's Union forces occupy Fayetteville NC
1867 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Don Carlos" premieres in Paris France
1882 Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association organized in Princeton NJ
1888 Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeast US
1892 1st public basketball game (Springfield MA)
1901 Cincinnati Enquirer reports Baltimore manager John McGraw signed Cherokee Indian Tokohoma, who is really black 2nd baseman Charlie Grant
1917 British troops occupy Baghdad
1918 Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia
1918 Save the Redwoods League founded
1926 Eamon da Valera ends leadership of Sinn Fein
1927 1st armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh
1927 1st golden gloves tournament
1930 President & Chief Justice William Taft buried in Arlington
1935 Hermann Goering officially creates German Air Force, the Luftwaffe
1941 Bronko Nagurski beats Ray Steele in Minnesota, to become wrestling champion
1941 FDR signs Lend-Lease Bill (lend money to Britain)
1942 1st deportation train leaves Paris France for Auschewitz Concentration Camp
1942 General MacArthur leaves Corregidor (Bataan) for Australia
1945 Flemish Nazi collaborator Maria Huygens sentenced to death
1948 Jewish Agency of Jerusalem bombed
1948 Reginald Weir became the 1st black to play in the US Tennis Open
1953 1st woman army doctor commissioned (FM Adams)
1953 An American B-47 accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on South Carolina, the bomb doesn't go off due to 6 safety catches (OOPS)
1954 US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics
1958 Charles Van Doren finally loses on TV game show "21"
1958 Starting this season, American League batters are required to wear batting helmets
1960 Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth & Venus
1966 Military coup led by Indonesian General Suharto breaks out
1968 Otis Redding posthumously receives gold record for "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay"
1969 Levi-Strauss started to sell bell-bottomed jeans (Groovy)
1970 Iraq Ba'th Party recognizes Kurd nation
1974 Rhino Store gives people 5¢ to take home Danny Bonaduce's Album
1975 Portugal military coup under General Spinola fails
1977 34 Israelis killed by Palestinians on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway
1977 Moslems hold 130 hostages in Washington DC
1978 Terrorists attack mail truck at Tel Aviv, 45 killed
1981 Chile constitution takes effect, Augusto Pinochet 2nd term begins
1981 Johnny Mize & Rube Foster elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1982 Harrison Williams (Senator-Democrat-NJ) resigned rather than face expulsion
1982 Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat sign peace treaty in Washington DC
1985 Mikhail S Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader
1986 1 million days since traditional foundation of Rome, 4/21/753 BC (My, how time flies)
1987 Wayne Gretzky scores 1,500th NHL point
1992 Five-time top contender Martin Buser won the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska in record time.
1992 Members of the U.N. Security Council accused Iraq of playing a game of "cheat and retreat" from its promises to disarm and respect its people's human rights; Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz lashed back, saying his country was complying with Gulf War cease-fire resolutions.
1993 Janet Reno won unanimous Senate approval to become the first female U.S. Attorney General.
1996 The Whitewater trial of Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and two former associates of Bill and Hillary Clinton opened in Arkansas.
1997 Ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry are launched into space
1997 Beatle Paul McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen Elizabeth II
2004 Madrid, Spain, a series of bombs hidden in backpacks explode in quick succession at 3 stations, blowing apart four commuter trains and killing 202 people and wounding over 1,450. Spanish leaders were quick to accuse Basque terrorists but a shadowy group claimed responsibility in the name of al-Qaida. The toll was later adjusted to 190 dead
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Liberia : Decorations Day
Mauritius : Maha Shivaratree
US : Johnny Appleseed Day (anniversary of his death-1845)
World : World Culture Day (leap years)
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days)(Tuesday)
New Mexico : Arbor Day (Friday)
US : Aardvark Week (Day 5)
US : Federal Employees Recognition Week (Day 5)
Worship of Tools Day
Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Teresa Margaret Redi, Italian Carmelite
Religious History
1665 New York's English Deputies approved a new legal code, which guaranteed all Protestants the right to practice their religious observances unhindered. (There were currently a host of Protestant groups thriving within this now_English colony, acquired only seven months earlier from the Dutch.)
1738 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in his journal: 'Suffering times are a Christian's best improving times; for they break the will, wean us from the creature, prove the heart.'
1845 Wittenberg College was chartered in Springfield, Ohio, under Lutheran auspices.
1860 Birth of H. Frances Davidson, pioneer missionary. In 1892 she became the first woman from the Brethren in Christ Church to earn an M.A. degree, and in 1897 became one of her denomination's first missionaries to travel to the African continent.
1923 Death of Mary Ann Thomson, 89, American hymnwriter. Among her most enduring contributions to the Church were the lyrics to "O Zion, Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling," which she wrote at age 34.
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance."
A number of years ago I was in the library of a prestigious university. As I walked among the bookshelves, I happened to pass by a row of small cubicles set aside for study and spied a student reading a Bugs Bunny comic book. I almost laughed out loud. Here was a young man surrounded by the wisdom of the ages, yet immersed in childish trivia.