The 6th Marine Battalion in 1968

                                                                                         Written by: Colonel Pham Van Chung

My 6th Marine Battalion belonged to the Marine Task Force A, which was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Tich Thong. In early 1968, we had performed operations in Phu Cu, Bong Son, and Tam Quan, all of which were in the Province of Binh Dinh. Executing the three day cease fire which had been ordered by the Joint General Staff, the 6th Marine Battalion stationed in a village south of the pass at Phu Cu.

At 3.00am on the eve before Tet, Lieutenant Colonel Thong informed us that the NVA had violated the cease-fire. They had simultaneously attacked multiple provinces and cities including the capital Saigon. We were told to be ready to move.

On New Year's Day of the lunar New Year, the 6th Battalion received order to dislodge the enemy from the city of Dalat. A convoy of trucks was to transport us to Phu Cat airfield; from there, we were to be airlifted to the airstrip at Camly by US 130 aircrafts. We were not able to land at Lien Khuong, since it had been occupied by the NVA and the road between it and Dalat was no longer safe. From Phu Cat, the Companies were to be airlifted out in the following order:

* 3rd Company, under the command of 1st Lieutenant Le Van Huyen

* Captain Hoang Trong Do's Command Company

* 1st Company, Captain Nguyen Dinh Thuy commanded this unit; he was later killed in Can Tho towards the end of 1968.

* 2nd Company, the commander of which was 1st Lieutenant Nguyen Tuong Huy.

* 4th Company, whose commander was 1st Lieutenant Le Van Cuu. The Bravo Command Group of the Battalion's executive officer Captain Tran Van Hien was also flown out with the 4th Company.

The first of the aircrafts took off at 9.15 am with the whole of the 3rd Company and one platoon of the 1st Company. The Battalion Staff and the remainder of the 1st Company boarded the next aircraft. Once airborne it was impossible for our units to communicate with each other. It was supposed to be a flight of 90 minutes, but only 45 minutes into the trip the aircraft carrying the battalion staff was forced to land at Tuy Hoa airfield. Only on the ground afterwards did we find out that they were not able to land on Camly airstrip in Dalat since the enemy's antiaircraft firepower came so thick and fast.

At that time, my battalion had been divided into three parts. The 3rd Company was flying in the sky somewhere; the battalion staff and the 1st Company were in Tuy Hoa, whilst the 2nd and the 4th Companies were still with the battalion executive officer at Phu Cat in Binh Dinh. Any form of communication between us was impossible. I had to borrow the Americans' communication system at Tuy Hoa airfield to talk to the Marine Brigade's Chief of Staff - Colonel Bui The Lan. I told him about our situation. He asked me to hold the line whilst he passed it on to Lieutenant Le Nguyen Khang, who was at that moment sitting in the Joint General Staff with General Cao Van Vien. After a little while Colonel Lan told me that both generals had agreed to the 6th Battalion's being transferred to Tan Son Nhut Airbase. When I had concluded my conversation I learnt that the 3rd Company had landed. My battalion was now only in two parts.

My entire Battalion arrived at Tan Son Nhut at 9.00pm on New Year's Day. We were ordered to move to the Capital Military Special Zone headquarters in Le Van Duyet Street and station there temporarily to protect it. What was particularly heart aching for the Battalion, was that due to the heavy fighting everywhere our request for urgent medevac could not be met. The widespread fighting also meant that none of the hospitals were a possibility for us. We needed medevac desperately: in our possession were about eight dead bodies of Marines who had just been killed before the ceasefire. In the heat of the tropics, we had been carrying about with us for two days these bodies wrapped up only in ponchos. It was the first night of a new year... that knew where their souls were, but the bodies of these Marines had been laid down temporarily in the courtyard of the Capital Military Special Zone. At long last, the following day we were able to have their remains stored in the Military General Hospital.

The following day, trucks along the Bien Hoa Highway transported us: our task was to liberate Thu Duc district. We alighted in a forest of rubber trees, north of the university area. We had a quick briefing immediately. It was decided that the Alpha Command Group (composed of the Battalion Staff, and the 2nd and 3rd Companies) was to cross after the 1st Marine Artillery. They were then to occupy a position high up enough to overlook the 3rd Marine Battalion's base camp. (The fence had killed the base commander - Second Lieutenant Le Dinh Minh, during an enemy attack the previous day.) As for Bravo Group, (composing of the 1st and 4th Companies and commanded by the Battalion executive officer), it was ordered to deal with the enemy outposts scattered about the district. After that, it was to advance to higher terrain near to where the Thu Duc district government house was. This terrain overlooked the 2nd Marine Battalion Base Camp. First Lieutenant Nguyen Van Dien commanded the Camp.

In fact, the enemy had not quite succeeded in occupying the entire district. They had launched attacks on the base camps of the 2nd and 3rd Marine Battalions. The fact that there were desolate rubber plantations directly behind these base camps had enabled the enemy to attack. These very plantations led to Di An district, which was at the entry point of War Zone D Tan Uyen, in the province of Bien Hoa. The base camps housed mainly wounded Marines, placed there to recover, and also those who worked in administration. Notwithstanding this fact, they had fought fiercely and succeeded in repelling several waves of assault by the enemy. But their number in the camp had not been large enough to allow them to come out to collect the weapons of their fallen foe. When the Marines of the 6th Battalion arrived, they were able perform the task, and amassed numerous personal firearms such as AK47s, machine guns, B40s, B41s, 82mm mortars etc. The following day, the 6th Battalion sent out troops to search the thick rubber forest north west of Thu Duc on the border of Di An district. They found evidence of the retreat of the enemy: in the forest there were pools of blood, discarded bandages and cotton, khaki uniforms and military equipment. After one week, the Battalion extended the safety boundaries, and life began to go back to normal in the district of Thu Duc.

The 6th Battalion then moved on the Hang Xanh and Dong Ong Co (both in the Gia Dinh province). There, they were to rid the area of the Communists as well. The area certainly lacked harmony in any way shape or form: it was a cacophonous combination of brick houses, straw huts, “metal sheet houses”, muddy swamps, thick bushes, graves and tombs. There were mounds of earth of different heights that made observation rather difficult. Taking advantage of this, the enemy had set up multiple outposts. To gain a foothold the Marines were basically fighting to win back the land meter by meter, in an effort to push the enemy back towards the water coconut palms on the Binh Loi river. We employed helicopter gunship to wipe out the enemy. A number of them were captured and a large amount of weapons seized. Our side suffered mild casualties, amongst them a Second Lieutenant and a Warrant Officer.

About one week later the 2nd Marine Battalion commanded by Major Ngo Van Dinh came to replace the 6th Battalion, which returned under the command of the Marine Task Force A. It was then given the task of protecting Binh Loi bridge and its surrounding areas, extending up to the district of Thu Duc and the Lai Thieu border. The Battalion was also to rid the swamps south of the river and east of the bridge of Communists. The enemy frequently used this area to infiltrate Cay Thi, from whence they would advance to the area of the Chi Lang Swimming Pool and the government house at Gia Dinh.

The 6th Marine Battalion was positioned in a small camp at the southern end of Binh Loi Bridge. The 6th Battalion had long since passed its probation period. Its baptism of fire had been in February 1967 when it had followed its elder (Battalion) brothers into Tan Uyen in Zone D. Then it had marched into Rung Sat, Hau Nghia, Phu Cu pass, Binh Dinh province. Although it was the “youngest” - the most newly formed, the 6th Battalion always showed its fighting ability when faced with difficulties. Its fighting abilities were further honed under its second commander - Captain Phuc.

In early May 1968 Captain Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the executive officer of the 2nd Marine Battalion (“The Crazy Buffaloes”) was appointed to replace Major Pham Van Chung. Major Chung had formed the 6th Marine Battalion, and had been its first Commander. Major Chung himself then became the Commander of the Marine Training Centre. Right in the first week of his being appointed the new Battalion Commander, Captain Phuc showed his talent, proving that he would be one of the toughest Commanders in the Marine Corps...

One night, after the Battalion had been transferred to Captain Phuc, an NVA Battalion (reinforced by sapper platoons) suddenly attacked the southern end of the bridge where the Battalion Staff had been. The 1st Company was ordered to block the enemy from advancing past the coconut trees in the swamps east of the bridge. After a few hours of fighting, the 1st Company's executive officer was killed in action. From his command foxhole, Captain Phuc saw the enemy taking advantage of this weak link in the chain: groups of sappers with explosives abundantly wrapped around their bodies were making for the end of the bridge. He reacted immediately. A platoon stationed inside the battalion staff defensive line was sent out to annihilate the sappers. This platoon reached the 1st Company's position, and together they drove the enemy back to the thick water coconut trees in the swamp. Captain Phuc ordered the companies to drive the NVA eastwards. In the end he succeeded in having quite a few NVA companies “locked” in the coconut trees in the swamp east of the railroad and south of the Binh Loi bridge.

The sky became brighter as daybreak approached. The enemy had no chance of escaping. Psychology warfare groups used megaphones urging them to surrender. In the sky above, helicopters hovered about threateningly. The enemy stuck it out for a few more hours, before surrendering. They totaled 150 in all. Their weapons were duly taken. The battlefield was decorated with both heavy and light weapons abandoned here and there, as well as over 40 NVA corpses. It was the first victory of the battalion's new commander, Captain Nguyen Xuan Phuc; it was also the first battle in which the “youngest” battalion had fought unaided... and it had come out victorious.
 

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