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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 12/27/2002 12:01:53 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 A mud-covered hill, 158 meters in height, anchoring the northeast corner of Leatherneck Square, the quadrilateral of Marine combat bases – Gio Linh, Dong Ha, Cam Lo and Con Thien – South of the DMZ (demilitarized zone), Con Thien loosely translated means “place of angels” of “hill of angels.” But no angels were in evidence there during the terrible summer and fall of 1967 when the base came under heavy ground and artillery attack by the invading North Vietnamese Army (NVA). Situated less than two miles from the DMZ, elements of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, nervously eyed the hostile terrain in front of their perimeter at Con Thien. The date was May 8, 1967. At approximately 0300, the all-too-familiar sound of a flare popping broke the eerie silence. Soon, the surrounding landscape was bathed in an artificial light, giving the battlefield a surrealistic touch. Suddenly, the deafening roar of rockets stabbed the night air, and the Marines dove for any available cover to escape injury. As the artillery fell, NVA units jockeyed to prepare a ground assault on the compound. Armed with flamethrowers and using Bangalore torpedoes, two NVA battalions managed to breach the wire. It was the first reported use of flamethrowers by the enemy since American troops had engaged NVA regulars. Company D was hit extremely hard and the leathernecks were engaged in hand-to-hand fighting as a platoon from the 11th Engineers raced into the line to plug the gap. After desperate fighting that lasted until dawn, the defenders were able to repel the attackers. During the firefight, Lance Cpl. Michael P. Finley, a grenadier with Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, vaulted from his position and accurately lobbed two rounds from his M-79 “blooper,” destroying an enemy machine-gun emplacement. Despite being wounded, he dashed to another Marine’s aid. After finishing with him, he raced to administer medical treatment to his mortally wounded squad leader. Killed in the attempt, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the nation’s second-highest medal for bravery. When the attack ended, 44 Marines had been killed and 110 wounded. The NVA lost 197 killed and 8 captured. Why had the enemy pressed so hard at Con Thien – an undersized knoll a “stone’s throw” from the DMZ? What was so important here? Burdened with construction of the strongpoint obstacle system, pejoratively called “McNamara’s Line” by the Marines, Con Thien overlooked enemy supply routes from the north and its capture would constitute an enemy foothold in Quang Tri province. As Colonel Richard B. Smith, commanding officer of the 9th Marines, put it: “Con Thien was clearly visible from the 9th Marines Headquarter on the high ground at Dong Ha 10 miles away, so good line-of-sight communications were enjoyed. Although Con Thien was only 160 meters high, it tenants had dominant observation over the entire area. If the enemy occupied it he would be looking down our throats.”  And the NVA wanted to be the new tenants. Consequently, several attempts would be made to seize Con Thien. Until mid-1967, the northern section of the DMZ had been a safe haven for the Communists. Here, they reorganized and prepared their plans for future assaults in Northern I Corps, including the strongpoint of Con Thien. The first of these thrusts was in the spring of 1967, as recorded above, and coincided with the anniversary of the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The second would be made in the summer, when the NVA utilized heavy artillery, for the first time, in support of ground units. The third would be made, during the months of September and October; the enemy fired punishing artillery barrages on the occupants of Con Thien. After the May 8 offensive on Con Thien, Washington directed the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) to enter the southern portion of the DMZ. Previous to this, the NVA was using this area as a sanctuary and U.S. Forces were expressly prohibited from penetrating this region. Code-named Operation Hickory for the 3rd Marine Division, Lam Son 54 for the 1st ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) Division, Beau Charger for Special Landing Force (SLF) Alpha, and Belt Tight for SLF Bravo, the Allies wasted no time in making contact with the enemy.  The Operation Hickory phase of the three-pronged advance into the DMZ began on May 18. By late morning, Lt. Col. Charles R. Figard’s 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, ran head-on into two NVA battalions. Fighting from well-camouflaged bunker complexes, the enemy delivered a hail of automatic weapons fire upon the leathernecks’ right flank. Realizing his squad was unable to maneuver, Corporal Richard E. Moffit of Company G lunged forward at the hedge-row where the shooting was coming from and let loose a steady stream of rifle fire. Once there, he killed two NVA soldiers manning the trench. The following day, the intrepid Moffit braved another enemy machine-gun nest. Again, he rushed the fortification, this time hurling fragmentation grenades. He would miraculously survive to be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. During the intense combat, Lt. Col. Figard and his operations officer were hit by mortar fire. Soon, Lt. Col. John J. Peeler’s 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, was also heavily committed. Meanwhile, Operation Lam Son 54 was initiated by two ARVN battalions from the 1st ARVN Division. Making no contact, the South Vietnamese units proceeded to the Ben Hai River, located in the center of the DMZ itself, and started sweeping southward. While these two battalions were advancing on the east side of Highway 1, three ARVN airborne battalions did so on the west. On May 19, the 31st and 812th NVA regiments met the ARVN multibattalion sweep and fighting ensued that would continue for more than a week. The ARVN, while losing 22 killed and 122 wounded, dealt the Communists a greater blow: 342 dead, 30 enemy soldiers captured and 51 assorted weapons seized. Beau Charger was another story. Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, the assault element for SLF Alpha, was greeted with a hot reception at its destination, Landing Zone (LZ) Goose. As the fifteen UH-34s (“Sea Horses” from Squadron HMM-263) prepared to land, enemy machine-gun fire blasted the vulnerable choppers.  The lead helicopter, flown by squadron commander Lt. Col. Edward K. Kirby, was struck by a broadside as it hovered less than 50 feet off the ground. The initial burst rendered the chopper’s radio inoperable and injured the copilot, crew chief, door gunner and three Marines from 1/3. Another leatherneck was killed outright and tumbled from the “bird.” Upon hearing of the “hot LZ,” SLF commander Colonel James A Gallo, Jr., scrubbed all further heliborne assaults into Goose and opted instead to disembark his Marines at LZ owl, 800 meters to the south. However, A 1/3, already on the ground, was isolated. With the enemy so intertwined with the Marines, urgent requests for naval gunfire from warships just offshore had to be aborted. By 100, other units, plus a force of M-48 tanks, reached the trapped men a LZ Goose. The infantrymen met the enemy in hand-to-hand combat as fixed-wing aircraft hammered NVA trenches. After 11 jets pounded the positions, Companies A and B of 1/3 jumped off to continue the planned attack. While attacking the enemy’s bulwarks, Corporal Russell F. Keck, a machine-gun squad leader with Alpha Company, dispersed his guns to deliver accurate fire upon the trench line. Coming under a heavy barrage, Keck ordered the automatic weapons moved to another location to prevent their being destroyed. Although wounded, Keck remained in his position to administer covering fire for another Marine, knowing this action would surely result in his death. Corporal Keck received the Navy Cross posthumously. All told, the various operations carried out in the southern portion of the DMZ by the Marine and ARVN units snagged 789 enemy killed, 37 captured, and 187 weapons confiscated. Allied casualties would attest to the intensity of fighting as 142 Marines and 22 ARVN soldiers were killed, and 896 and 122 respectively, were wounded. But the Marines were not idle either, In July the leathernecks counterattacked with another multibattalion operation code-named Buffalo.
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Today's classic warship, USS Denver (CL-58)
Cleveland class light cruiser
Displacement: 10,000 t.
Length: 610’1”
Beam: 66’6”
Draft: 20’
Speed: 33 k.
Complement: 992
Armament: 12 6”; 12 5” 28 40mm; 10 20mm
The USS DENVER (CL-58) was launched 4 April 1942 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J.; sponsored by Miss L. J. Stapleton, daughter of the Mayor of Denver; and commissioned 15 October 1942, Captain R. B. Carney in command.
DENVER sailed from Philadelphia 23 January 1943, and arrived at Efate, New Hebrides, 14 February. The new cruiser first saw combat in the bombardment of Vila, Solomon Islands, on 6 March. During this action her force engaged and sank two Japanese destroyers, MINEGUMO and MURASAME. Continuing her operations in the Solomons, DENVER joined the bombardment of Ballale Island on 29 and 30 June in conjunction with the invasion landings on New Georgia, then remained in the area on patrol.
On the last day of October 1943, DENVER sortied from Port Purvis with TF 39 to intercept an enemy force attempting to disrupt the landings at Cape Torokina, Bougainville. In the resulting Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on the night of 1-2 November, the American ships sank one enemy light cruiser and a destroyer and damaged two heavy cruisers and two destroyers, while the four other enemy ships broke off the action and retired. During the heavy firing DENVER was hit by three 8-inch shells, which fortunately did not explode. She shared in the Navy Unit Commendation awarded her division for its outstanding performance in this battle.
DENVER covered the support landings on Cape Torokina on 10 and 11 November 1943, and 2 days later, during a heavy air attack, was hit by an aerial torpedo which knocked out all power and communications and killed 20 of her men. She was towed by SIOUX (AT-75) to Port Purvis and by PAWNEE (AT-74) to Espiritu Santo for temporary repairs, then sailed to Mare Island for permanent repairs, arriving 2 January 1944.
DENVER returned to the forward area at Eniwetok, arriving 22 June 1944. Eight days later, she put to sea to screen carriers as they launched strikes to neutralize Japanese bases in the Bonins and Marianas during the invasion of the Marianas. She bombarded Iwo Jima 4 July, and after screening continued air assaults, returned to Eniwetok 5 August.
DENVER sailed from Port Purvis 6 September 1944 for the invasion of the Palaus. She bombarded Angaur Island from 12 to 18 September, then covered a task unit engaged in minesweeping, reconnaissance and underwater demolition operations before the landings on Ulithi 23 September. She returned to Manus 28 September to prepare for the return to the Philippines.
DENVER departed 12 October 1944 for the landings on Leyte, bombarding Suluan Island and Dulag to open the vast invasion fleet's way into Leyte Gulf, then sailed on to bombard the southern landing beaches. As the Japanese sent the major portion of their remaining combatant fleet south in a desperate attempt to break up the landings, DENVER's group took station in Surigao Strait on 24 October to prevent the passage of the Japanese Southern Force into Leyte Gulf. Gallant attacks were made by motor torpedo boats and destroyers stationed in advance of the battle line, and battleship YAMASHIRO, heavy cruiser MOGAMI, and destroyer SHIGURE were all that remained of the Japanese ships when DENVER and the others of the battle line opened fire at 0351. With three other cruisers, she made a material contribution to the cumulative gunfire which sank YAMASHIRO. MOGAMI was later sunk by aircraft, and SHIGURE was the sole survivor of the mighty fleet which had sailed forth for this phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf. After this action, DENVER sailed to aid in polishing off enemy cripples, aiding in sinking destroyer ASAGUMO early in the day on 25 October.
Continuing her service in Leyte Gulf, she fought off numerous attacks; during the one of 28 October, a bomb released from one of the planes she shot down exploded nearby causing minor damage and slight flooding. She screened reinforcement landings in November and fought off a suicide attack on 27 November, suffering four men wounded from fragments of a bomb which exploded 200 yards off the starboard quarter. She joined the heavy covering group, for the Mindoro landings of 13 to 16 December, then returned to Manus 24 December.
Returning to San Pedro Bay 3 January 1945, DENVER sortied the next day to cover the landings at Lingayen Gulf. She remained in the Philippines to join in the consolidation of those islands. She covered the landings on Zambales on 29 and 30 January, supported minesweeping near and landings on Grande Island; provided fire support at Nasugbu on 31 January; escorted a replenishment convoy to Mindoro between 1 and 7 February, covered the Army landings around Mariveles Bay from 13 to 16 February, rescuing the survivors of mined LA VALLETTE (DD-448); and supported the operations on Palawan and Mindanao Islands from February to May.
On 7 June 1945, DENVER sailed from Subic Bay for the amphibious assaults on Brunei Bay, Borneo, and later at Balikpapan. She covered the preinvasion work of minesweeping units and underwater demolition teams, and provided fire support for the invading troops until returning to San Pedro Bay, Leyte, 4 July for brief overhaul.
DENVER got underway for Okinawa 13 July 1945 to hunt Japanese shipping off the China coast until 7 August. She sailed from Okinawa 9 September to cover the evacuation of men of the Allied forces rescued from prison camps in the Wakayama area and covered the landing of occupation troops at Wakanoura Wan from 25 September to 20 October, when she sailed for home.
DENVER arrived at Norfolk 21 November 1945 and after overhaul, reported to Newport, R.I., in January 1946 for duty training men of the Naval Reserve, and a good-will visit to Quebec, Canada. In April, she arrived at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she was placed out of commission in reserve, 7 February 1947. She was sold for scrap on 29 February 1960.
In addition to the Navy Unit Commendation, DENVER received 11 battle stars for World War II service.
MIKE 3/3 FNG... August 1968
By J. D. Muphy 0331
Everybody that went to Nam was an FNG .. Nice Guys called them BNG's (brand new guys) .. I know because in August of 1968 I was a FNG. Quang Tri was my first stop and then on to Dong Ha. Dong Ha was located in the rear and wasn't bad at all. In fact everything seem pretty normal there. I found out how to burn the shitters (outhouses). Most of the people in the rear were either wounded in combat and just waiting to go back to the bush, or worked in the rear. The normalcy didn't last long though, after a few weeks it was time to go to the bush. They loaded about 8 of us FNG's on a Chopper along with Sgt Major Neal King and informed us we were being sent to a place called Mutters Ridge. It was almost dark thirty when we landed somewhere in the bush on Mutters Ridge. Man, there you are out in the middle of nowhere, not knowing what to expect. The Sgt Major told us that we would dig in here for the night. Mike Co. had already moved and we're in the wrong place. We paired up and dug in, praying it wasn't really anything to be worried about, after all the Sgt Major with us. That night turned out to be something else. We witnessed one hell of a firefight. It got so bad that they called in Puff the Magic Dragon. Man it was something. The only time I had ever seen Puff before was in the movie "Green Berets". When Puff finished firing his cannons, there was dead silence. After the fight was over it started to rain. It was a good thing that we had our ponchos with us. My buddy and I stayed nice and dry in our hole. Everything was fine until the next morning when the Sgt Major starting yelling for everyone to saddle up, we were moving out. When my bud and I crawled out of our hole we noticed that everybody else was all wet, including the Sgt Major. We looked at each other wishing like hell we were soaked and how long would it take for that to happen! For some reason the Sgt Major didn't understand why we weren't wet too. That was my first time to have my ass ate out in the bush. I hoped it would be the last. Man, could that Sgt Major chew on your butt. We finally got hooked up with the rest of the Company. I reported to the section leader and was informed I was transferring and I reported to the Squad Leader in 1st Platoon. He advised me that I would be the A-Gunner to 2nd Squad. The Squad Leader put me with Gunner Paul Lanseros. I wasn't with Paul very long when I found myself in my first Fire Fight. Paul and I were lying in a bomb crater. Paul was firing the gun and I was feeding the rounds to him. All of a sudden he starts yelling, " My Toe! My Toe! They shot my#@%$^@$ middle toe off!" I checked him out and sure enough they did shoot his middle toe off. Here I was in the bush for about 15 or 16 hours, and went from A-Gunner to Gunner. I started to get a little worried about this time. It quickly became very apparent that maybe this wasn't such a good advancement. The Gooks all seemed to aim at the Machine Gun Position for some reason. The next day my Section Leader moved me from 1st Platoon to 3rd Platoon. I was put into Thomas Saint's gun team. I was in the gun team with Thomas Saint and Jack Kzzinski. I had heard from the guys in 1st Platoon that Thomas Saint had his shit together. Saint started schooling me on how to stay alive in the Bush. He was an Old Salt. He had been there since April 1968 and here it was September 1968. Only wounded once. I tried to remember everything he had to say. I knew that if he could make it that long he had to be good. I did make it out of the stage of FNG and was I glad. It only took about two months. Then you know, your boots had lost all of the black polish and were starting to turn white, You had got a sun tan by now or thought you had, the red dust over there makes you look like you really had a good tan until you take a bath. By that time you had gotten rid of the State Side Utilities, and finally gotten some Jungle Utilities. The other Marines had finally started to remember and call you by your name, instead of "Hey Boot" and figured maybe you would be around long enough to go ahead and talk to you. Then it's time to start seeing more FNGs coming to your Company. Man they walk up got they new clothes on, they boots are polished looking good. Then they look at you, and you can tell their thinking this guy must have been here a long time; just look at him I mean this is a real Grunt. One of the FNG's that came in late September, I will never forget. We were in the rear at Con Thien and it was nighttime. Con Thien to us seemed very safe for some reason although I don't know why, because you could see the NVA Flag flying in the daytime and watch the NVA convoys coming down the road at night. Anyway some guy comes up and says "Hey Murph got a FNG from Mesquite, Texas over in 2nd Squad". I said man that is close to home. So I went over and this guy was in full dress, pack and all, with his M16 at Port Arms, walking back and forth. I mean he is on Guard Duty. As I got closer to him, he says HALT WHO GOES THERE Well I knew what was going on. He was getting "welcomed" to Nam, by the rest of his Squad. I told him my name and he says ADVANCE TO BE RECONIZED so I did and asked him "Hey man what in the hell do you think you're doing?" "My Squad Leader told me that it was very important for me to watch this".
Long exposure of [Puff the Magic Dragon....or "Spooky"] in action
I also remember being bounced around in my hole by the shock waves from B-52 Bombers dumping their loads of 1,000 lb. bombs. It was truly a sight to behold watching the B-52s at work. During one bombing run, I remember large pieces of shrapnel flying around. One piece in particular was the size of a VW bug. When we first spotted it coming towards us, it seemed like it took forever to reach us. It was a giant, twisted piece of hot metal. It was like watching a movie in slow motion. It kept coming and coming and coming, making a whistling, whirring sound, sort of like an Australian Aborigine's noisemaker. As it approached, we all ducked lower and lower and lower into our holes. The last time I remember seeing it, it passed over our heads and continued on in a northerly direction. I also got to witness something not many people have had the opportunity to observe. A Huey helicopter was being chased by an NVA SAM (Surface to Air Missile). About 100 yards off to our left, we spotted a chopper that looked like it was crashing because it was coming down so fast. That helicopter landed very fast in a zigzag, downward motion. Then this big, slow SAM appeared with a flame coming out of the tail fin section. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, appeared a Phantom Jet doing a Victory roll right over the top of our heads; and the SAM slowly turned in pursuit. In very slow pursuit! The jet was literally flying circles around it. The jet lead the missile out and away from our perimeter, and the missile exploded. I believe without a doubt that, had we not had supporting arms at Con Thien, we would have been overrun many times over! The thing about September 25th that really sticks in my mind is a picture of a Marine sitting in a puddle of blood and battle dressings, on a poncho, with his legs blown off from the waist down! He was numb from morphine and in shock from loss of blood. He was smoking a cigarette very calmly, as if nothing had even happened! He was waiting for a Medevac! He probably died in the chopper ride back! Our platoon arrived at Con Thien with 45 men; when we left, we only had 12! Now you know why we called it, "The Meatgrinder!"
I am forever amazed, thrilled and overawed at the bravery and loyalty of our military. God bless them all!
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