A Shau Valor by Thomas R. Yarborough

Author:Thomas R. Yarborough [Yarborough, Thomas R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Vietnam War
ISBN: 978-1-5040-3710-5
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2016-04-18T22:00:00+00:00

The initial reports of the ambush reached the 3rd Marine Division in the form of monitored 9th Marine radio messages. Everyone felt uncomfortable since two days earlier General Abrams, reacting to the earlier request, had stated categorically that all operations into Base Area 611 were to be conducted by SOG forces. As news of the Marine raid made its way up the chain of command, a senior officer at III MAF offered a decidedly positive response when he said, “Good news—who knows where the border is anyway.”30 The day after the highly successful raid, Colonel Barrow sent another message outlining why he had taken the actions he did and emphasizing the success achieved. Furthermore, he requested authority to continue operations along Route 922. In justifying his request, Barrow said, “I put a final comment on my message which said, quote, put another way, my forces should not be here if ground interdiction of Route 922 not authorized.”31 Thus faced with a fait accompli, General Abrams finally approved the request on February 24, stipulating however, that there be no public discussion of the Laotian incursion. Whether General Abrams and his staff were focused on the raid and its implications is problematic; their hands were full coping with other issues. The day before, the NVA had launched a “mini Tet,” striking 110 cities throughout South Vietnam.

As Company H moved back into South Vietnam during the early morning hours of February 22, Company A of the 1st Battalion at the regiment’s center moved along the ill-defined border near the village of Lang Ha. In a sharp firefight, the company’s 1st Platoon took on an NVA squad camouflaged in the dense underbrush, killing seven while losing one Marine. In the lull following the battle, Lt Wesley Fox, the company commander, took the opportunity to ask battalion to send a water detail down to a creek near his position since his men were badly in need of water. As the 20-man detail started to fill canteens, they were attacked by heavy machine gun and mortar fire. As 1st Platoon deployed to meet the attack, they discovered they were confronting a reinforced NVA rifle company supported on the ridge above by a bunker complex with a host of automatic weapons and RPGs. Lt Fox immediately moved up his 3rd Platoon and placed it on line with the 1st, but when the attack stalled, he committed the 2nd Platoon through the center. As the close quarters fighting raged, Lt Fox faced a tough choice. He either needed to pull back so artillery could be called in, or he must push through the enemy complex. With his casualties mounting and no possibility of close air support due to low cloud ceilings, Fox reasoned that pulling back, carrying his dead and wounded, would leave no Marines to hold off the enemy; the NVA would wipe out his company. Pressing the attack was the lesser of two evils, so he decided that they would all stay in the Valley of Death together, or they would walk out together.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.