. The South Vietnamese quickly rushed the newly arrived ARVN 5th Ranger Battalion into the area. Robertson later praised the Security and Communications platoons of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters Battalion for their efforts in the defense. Below the Marine battalions, the ROKMC 2nd Marine Brigade secured the Hi An sector and the southeastern approaches above the Ky Lam River to Da Nang Air Base. [1]:160, By this time, Robertson was worried about the ability to contain the PAVN/VC offensive south of Da Nang. Photographer: Unknown Nng Air Base, AKA: Rocket City, often had more than six Silk-Moons of false dawn orbiting the base. In the Southern Sector Defense Command, just north of the Cu River and west of Highway 1, a PAVN/VC 12-15-man sapper squad blew a hole in the defensive wire of the joint perimeter of the 7th Engineer and 7th Communication Battalion. Milantoni relayed the request to the air support center. The U.S. major remonstrated that the site was relatively close to the compound, but Lm insisted that the air strikes be flown. Airbase Shelled: Soviet Rockets Used in Attack (film #111 on Universal Newsreels). That same day, the 1st Marine Division notified III MAF that "usually reliable sources" told of staging areas south of Da Nang for an impending attack. He and Randall agreed that they would deploy one of the battalion's two reserve provisional Quick Reaction platoons composed of headquarters personnel. Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia. This should include information pertaining to the rocket and mortar attacks at the Da Nang Air base from April 1967 to May 1968, to include any attacks occurring on or about July 14, 1967. WASHINGTON The White House warned that the U.S. may consider a military response to the rocket attack that hit an air base in western Iraq where American and coalition troops are . Nng AB: 366th TFW: Rocket Attack! The battalion's Company B, however, in an operation with a CAP in two hamlets on the Tiensha Peninsula or Da Nang East, surprised a VC force in two hamlets north of Marble Mountain. The two PAVN prisoners identified themselves as members of the H-2 Engineering Company, part of the 2nd Sapper Battalion. The Marines lost 12 killed and 6 wounded. The air base at Da Nang was, therefore, a particularly enticing target. In the meantime, the VC harassed with sniper fire both CAP Q-4 and the nearby Nam O bridge security detachment from 2/7 Marines. 07-18 488 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Muskogee, Additional intelligence tended to confirm the enemy was about to initiate something big. The Front announced that the 1968 Tt greeting of "Chairman Ho [Chi Minh] is actually a combat order for our entire Army and population. *** The first time that rockets were used in the Republic of Vietnam by the Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army. Location: Da Nang Vietnam. If we went a week without a few rockets coming we knew something was in the works. [1]:158, During the day of 1 February, the number of incidents between allied and PAVN/VC forces fell from those of the two previous days. Still PAVN/VC gunners just before 01:00 launched 12 122mm rockets aimed at the Da Nang base and blew up two ammunition dumps, one for napalm and the other for flares. By dark the Korean had captured the hospital and were in position to relieve the engineer compound. Entering the town from the southwest, the VC fired about 70 RPGs at the local forces, but never penetrated the defender's perimeter. Because of an air observer on station, the Marine gunners checked their fire. The mortar attacks resulted in only five wounded and none killed among the Marine defenders. Although the Koreans and the ARVN surrounded most of the city, the VC still were able to keep their southern flank open. In the Da Nang sector, during the early morning hours of 30 January, PAVN/VC gunners took under mortar and rocket fire 15 different Allied units and installations. Given also the enemy rocket threat, he still needed to maintain extensive patrols in the so-called Rocket Belt. According to this former member of the VC 401st Regimental Security Guard, local VC cadre stated that "the war had lasted too long and the Front had to seek a good opportunity to stage a great offensive that would bring the war to an early end." Davis notified the division headquarters of his findings. a-~_ -~ ijsafss 0 w 86 i jun !17 history of 6994th security squadron The ARVN 51st Regiment operating in the southern sector of the Da Nang area of operations came across evidence including documents pointing to a buildup of PAVN/VC strength together with probes of Allied defenses. [1]:1478, The Marine response to the bombardments was rapid, the 11th Marines artillery units "initiated counter-rocket fires" at suspected avenues of approach. [1]:163, From almost every account, the PAVN/VC attack in the Da Nang TAOR was very inept. On my second combat hop on the 14th I flew below 500 feet for 30 minutes 5 to 10 miles south of Da Nang searching for rocket launching sites. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. Another sapper squad, about the same size as the one that carried out the earlier attack, penetrated the 1st Marine Division Subsector Bravo combat operations center and communications facility on Hill 200, less than 1,000 meters from the main command post on Hill 327. Missiles launched from nearby mountains have caused eight deaths, many injuries and. Other enemy rocketeers took the Force Logistic Command compound under fire. He nevertheless released Task Force Miracle from the operational control of the 1st Marine Division and returned it to the Americal Division. At 20:00 on the night of the 5th, a Marine platoon ambush from Company C, 1/7 Marines intercepted about 60 PAVN troops about 4,000 meters south of the Ty Loan River in the western sector of the area of operations moving northeast towards the river and the base with mortars and automatic weapons. [1]:1445, At 03:30 PAVN/VC forces launched an assault against General Hong Xun Lm's I Corps headquarters. A contingent of South Vietnamese Nng mercenaries from the Special Forces Thng c Camp took over the defense of Hill 52 from Company M.[1]:158, Still the Marine command believed the new positions of Company M not only covered the approaches to i Lc, but provided the division with another reserve force. The provisional company linked up with two ARVN Ranger companies that were operating in the area to contain the battalion from the PAVN 4th Regiment which had slipped through the Hi Vn Pass the night before. A warning order and plan prepared by the VC Da Nang City Committee called for a preliminary attack on the city by sappers and VC troops. Menu. The struggle for Hi An would continue into the following day. Although the PAVN troops fled, the Marines found five unexpended 122mm rockets on the site. Marine counter-rocket fire from the 11th Marines and 1st Tank Battalion resulted in five secondary explosions. Pictures of Danang 8. Pictures of Danang 10. [1]:147, Major General Raymond Murray, the III MAF deputy commander, remembered that he heard a "hell of a lot of racket" and "woke up [to] the airfield at Da Nang being rocketed." Marine and Army reconnaissance flights using infrared technology and XM-3 "People Sniffer" airborne personnel detectors (APD) mounted on UH-1 helicopters indicated strong enemy concentrations in the hills near Hiu c west of the 7th Marines. PAVN battalions from the 2nd Division had eluded the Korean and ARVN defenses in the southern sector and had penetrated the defensive perimeter of the 2/3 Marines and 3/5 Marines just below the Air Base. Two attached U .S. # Not in AF records, submitted by members, # Not in AF records, submitted by members, Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam, 1960-1973. Date: July 15, 1967.Visit us at www.CriticalPast.com:57,000+ broadcast-quality historic clips for immediate download.Fully digitized and searchable, the CriticalPast collection is one of the largest archival footage collections in the world. You comrades should act as heroes of Vietnam and with the spirit and pride of combatants of the Liberation Army. ** The first two attacks on DaNang were by mortars. PAVN/VC fired rockets at both the Da Nang Air Base and Marble Mountain Air Facility. At Da Nang city the Military Region's main force 2nd Division, sapper battalions, the Quang Da province local force battalions and mass forces participating in the political struggle had been preparing since October 1967. [1]:159, While from 15 February, the PAVN/VC ground assaults on Marine positions appeared to diminish , Marine spotters in the tower on Hill 55 reported the constant movement of small groups of enemy troops in the western portion of the ROKMC area of operations. 180 Da Nang Air Base Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 180 Da Nang Air Base Premium High Res Photos Browse 180 da nang air base stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The combined force then swept the general area where they found two PAVN bodies and took three prisoners. According to a Marine report, "it was evident that the enemy was prepared to masquerade as Vietnamese civilians in the process of infiltrating the TAOR and that he was attempting to infiltrate his forces in small units. The company arrived at its dispositions at 01:00 the following morning . From firing positions southwest of the base, 28 122mm missiles fell on the airfield, destroying one aircraft and damaging six others. Today, several areas on the Da Nang Base including the loading, storage and mixing areas and Sen Lake to the north and the Pacer Ivy area at the south of the base have been confirmed to have . [1]:149, The fighting did not subside with the coming of daylight. CMSgt (Ret) Gary Chaffin, who was at Da Nang with the 366th Civil Engineering Squadron, recalls this attack much as Dick does. March 2, 1965 - Operation Rolling Thunder begins as over 100 American fighter-bombers attack targets in North Vietnam. [1]:159, While the Marines successfully thwarted this attempt, between 01:00 and 05:00 on the morning of the 6th, PAVN/VC gunners mortared or rocketed all of the command posts, fire bases and company combat bases in the 7th Marines sector. In fact, elements of both regiments had reached jump-off points just south of the Cau Do River. According to Marine intelligence reports, on 9 February, the 2nd Division moved its headquarters back to the Go Noi from its more forward positions. Da Nang was a major base area for United States and South Vietnamese military forces supporting operations throughout I Corps. According to Marine pilot reports, the PAVN/VC had approximately 250 men in the area equipped with automatic weapons, including at least one .51-caliber machine gun. It wrapped around the base and city. Obtenez des photos d'actualit haute rsolution de qualit sur Getty Images At 07:30, the ROKMC reported about 200 to 300 enemy troops still in Hi An. 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