The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Siege of Khe Sanh - Dec. 10th, 2002

http://www.willpete.com/siege.htm ^ | Maj Mark A. Swearengen, USA

[SAMWolf]

Those beautiful Phantoms

With clear weather in March, the American firepower was further augmented by daily close air support missions. The enemy could do little more than sit and take the overwhelming punishment. By late March it was evident he would never recover from the beating.

Firepower has been mentioned throughout the discussion because it was probably the most critical difference between Khe Sanh and Dien Bien Phu. At Khe Sanh, the NVA never approached the volume of preparatory and supporting artillery fire they had dropped on the French at Dien Bien Phu. The Marines expected the volume of eventually build into something comparable to our own fire preparations, but this was never achieved. This time the Communists faced fire power which more than tripled what they delivered on the French during their last great siege in 1954.

The enemy guns were well camouflaged and emplaced using methods similar to those at Dien Bien Phu; at Khe Sanh the camouflage afforded little protection from saturation bomb strikes.

The aerial re-supply of the main base and the outposts has been touched upon only lightly. Nevertheless, it too was an important contribution to the American victory., The re-supply operations were daring, timely and coordinated properly to keep the bullets and rations flowing into Khe Sanh. A quick comparison of air missions by number well illustrates the difference between American and French air support. During the siege of Dien Bien Phu, the besieged fortress received 10,400 air missions. Only 6,700 were supply or troop missions; the other were combat missions. Air missions for Khe Sanh approached 40,000. Around 28,000 of these were bombing missions; the rest were re-supply. A typical mission around Khe Sanh involved a Phantom jet (F4), whereas a typical French mission employed a WW II vintage Marauder (B-26). The ordnance load of the B-26 approaches about half that of the Phantom.

In early April, the 1st Air Cavalry Division launched Operation Pegasus which resulted in the relief of Khe Sanh. It was at this point that final and complete success could be realized. Re-enforcement’s, re-supply, fire power and the relief force; the original concepts of the stand for Khe Sanh had transpired smoothly.

The Communists fate was inevitable when someone (perhaps Gen Giap) decided to lay siege to Khe Sanh. After the decision, it remained only for thousands of enemy soldiers to surround the base and take the shellacking.

The marines lost 205 men during the siege, while the NVA had a reported 12,000 men killed in action. The siege tactics were unsuccessful because the enemy could not choke off the logistical support, or even begin to stop a relief force. Heavy encirclement of the base was disastrous to the enemy as he fell prey to the heavy bomb and artillery strikes. Considering the losses, Khe Sanh was a North Vietnamese flop.

Khe Sanh veterans returning there today would recognize the calm atmosphere provided by Dong Tri Mountain northeast of the plateau; and the ghosts of Khe Sanh would quietly whisper the memories which some will never forget.

Mud, torn sand bags, cold air, burning odors, dirty skin and more mud; cautious ears, cautious eyes, C-rations and P-38 can openers (the Marines call them John Waynes); a cigarette for a buddy, a short prayer for a tomorrow – spoken in a silent whisper or written on a helmet cover. Some sleep now and then. Night darkness and fog which completely masked all vision; ChiCom grenades, screaming enemy soldiers, mortars and then rockets; silence after a battle, another prayer and removal of the dead. This was life from a trench at Khe Sanh. A hero is a man who works hard to do his job the best way he possibly can. There is little glory in the actual fighting of a war. In Washington, statements had been signed indicating the base could be held. At Khe Sanh the Marine’s job was to fight and defend. He did his job the best way possible. And in New York, the garbage strike continued.

[SAMWolf]

The Siege of Khe Sanh

At about 5:00 A.M. on the morning of 21 January 1968, a reconnaissance team radioed that a flight of rockets had been launched from a nearby hill and would land on the combat base. This initial attack was small by later standards, consisted of about one hundred 82mm mortar rounds and sixty 122mm rockets. But fifteen minutes after the attack began one rocket landed in the midst of the main ammunition storage area with devastating results.

This ammo dump contained eleven thousand rounds of ordnance that began burning. Red-hot artillery and recoilless rifle rounds were hurled into nearby trenches. CS tear gas was ignited and filled the entire area with gas as thick as fog. About 10:00 A.M. the fire set off a large quantity of C-4 plastic explosives and other explosives. At the airstrip all navigational aides were destroyed or damaged, living quarters for the Marines air group were destroyed, the control tower was rendered inoperative, and the runway was cratered. All this on the first day of incoming rocket, artillery and mortar attacks that would continue for the next 76 days.

In a sense both sides besieged each other. The Marines could only be supplied by air and could not have evacuated the base without sustaining unacceptable casualties. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) were trapped by their military and political goals, whatever they might have been, and by the greatest application of U.S. air power directed at them in history.

The mess halls were immediately secured. In the atmosphere of flying metal it would not do for two hundred Marines to congregate in one place. C-rations were issued and the men took their meals in their bunkers. The rat population began to take off and Khe Sanh took on the look of a "shanty slum on the outskirts of Manila". Continuous aerial bombardment, shelling and digging and bulldozing of positions filled the air with red dust. Smoke filled the air, smoke from incoming, from diesel generators, from burning latrines, from burning ordnance and from trash fires. Water was restricted and few were able to bathe regularly. The monsoon rain served to drive the rats inside the bunkers.

By March 6, Saigon reported that NVA strength around Khe Sanh had been reduced, from a former level of possibly 35,000, to a level of 6,000 to 8,000 NVA troops. On April 9, for the first time in weeks, not one shell crashed into the combat base.

Army units entered the base, the first to arrive by land in months. They stared at the Marines in disbelief; some wore beards, all needed haircuts, all were exhausted, their clothes were filthy and tattered. The 1st Calvary had the attitude that they had "relieved" the Marines of Khe Sanh, that they had "broken" the NVA siege. The Marines largely ignored them.

In June 1968, it was announced that Khe Sanh was being abandoned. The Marines proceeded to dismantle the base, slashing sandbags, blowing up their fortifications, filling in trenches with bulldozers, hauling away everything of possible use to the enemy. The last Marines left on July 6. In their leaving, both sides turned the base over to the rats, whose population likely expanded still further now that the monsoon had ended, air and artillery strikes ceased, and there was no human population to harass them. The rats were free to police the remaining ration scraps within the base and the huge quantity of body parts that must have lay without. And when this food supply was consumed they too would depart Khe Sanh.

Franklin A. Gulledge, Jr., Major USMC(Ret)

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Steelerfan]

As always, an outstanding post. Thank you for including me on your list.

[freedomson]

Thanks for putting me on this ping list. Great stuff! Keep it rollin'!

[Dominic Harr]

"Always Remember" Bump.

[Jen]

In 1970, a song by the Blues Image was believed by some to be a story of the ill-fated Pueblo. It also reminds many of Khe Sanh because of the simultaneous occurrence of the two headline events.

Music Trivia - Ride Captain Ride

In May of 1971, Kent Henry was with a band called Blues Image. He describes it as, “kind of a one hit wonder band.” Their hit was “Ride Captain Ride.”

“Ride Captain Ride” was kind of a fluke thing that was thrown together in the studio. The song starts with the line, “73 men sailed.” Mike, the singer, had started writing the song when he was driving on route 73. So, all of a sudden in the studio he said ...“73 men sailed,” and that’s how we came up with it. All these people thought we wrote it about the Pueblo incident. (The USS Pueblo was a naval vessel that was seized off the coast of North Korea in 1968.) We were like “yeah right.” Mike actually wrote it for his kids. “Ride Captain Ride” is about Star Trek. The band toured for several months with that song.

Listen to the song

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

[nevergore]

BTTT.....

Thanks! Great read....Oh Rah... Gi-rines

NeverGore

[OldCorps]

Frank,

I'm a retired infantry officer (Army). I've always had the utmost respect for the USMC. Marines have always shown great heroism, sacrifice, honor and bravery. We should never forget the bravery the USMC showed us at the Chosin Resevoir or during the Tet offensive.

Thanks for the article.

John

[Jen]

Thanks to everyone who has posted or lurked at the FReeper Foxhole since it began as a daily thread on Dec. 6. And a special belated "Thank You" to each FReeper who posted on the Foxhole's debut thread. The response has been far greater than we had imagined and we appreciate your input and support of our nation's Veterans!

-- AntiJen, SAMWolf and MistyCA

[Pippin]

You're welcome! :^)

I think this thread is a great idea and a great way to educate folks about military history and to honor the veterans.

[Bahbah]

You are very welcome. This is a great thread and I visit everyday. You guys are the best.

[gridlock]

Always fascinating. BTTT!

[facedown]

[ST.LOUIE1]

BUMP!

[Jen]

You've been taken off the Foxhole ping list. Thanks for the note.

[big gray tabby]

A breathtaking story. I wasn't there because I was ten years old. In fact, I knew only that there was a siege, and nothing of the courage and hardship of those Marines. Looking back, it occurs to me that those 205 Marines lost there would have been spared had they had access to anything like today's technology.

Here's a prayer for them and to God for helping us make it unlikely we'll ever put Americans in a situation like that again.

Thanks for keeping me on the "ping." I don't know how I got here, but thanks!

[Gunrunner2]

Honorable, brave men all.