Decatur County TN VIETNAM WAR
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The American Traveler / Vol. 29, No. 30 1st Infantry Division
Div 10 - Seven days of aggressive action against the enemy by Division forces netted more than 200 dead North Vietnamese Army soldiers near Loc Ninh, only a few miles from teh Cambodian border.
The week of frequent contacts with the enemy began when ARVN and Special Forces compounds in the area received rocket, mortar and ground attacks. Elements of the 2nd Dquadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, under operational control of the Big Red One, swept into the area to begin their offensive. The cavalry unit was joined later in the week by the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, which conducted extensive and thorough reconnaissance-in-force operations.
An early highlight of the action occurred late in the afternoon of AUgust 29, when cavalrymen from Troop G were moving toward their night defensive perimeter. While passing through an area covered by rubber trees, the unit began receiving small arms and automatic weapons fire from an enemy force. The troopers engaged the enemy with teh assistance of artillery and helicopter gunships until the enemy broke contact, leaving 12 of their numer dead.
A short distance away, Troop F also came under fire from NVA soldiers entrenched in a wooded area. The cavalrymen engaged the enemy killing two. Additional reconnaissance in the battle area four days after by a Special Forces unit revealed 32 more enemy dead from the August 20 engagements.
On August 22, the *Blackhorse* cavalrymen killed 16 enemy soldiers in a fierce firefight. The enemy fired at Troop F while its ACAVs rumbled down a road heading for Loc Ninh.
Forcing their way into the area in which the enemy was attempting to hide, the troop killed 12 communists, assisted by the firepower of gunships and artillery. While conducting a second sweep in the same area, the US force received sporadic sniper fire. The cavalrymen moved in on the snipers, killing four. Additional patrolling the following day revealed the bodies of 15 more enemy soldiers killed in the engagement and produced several brief firefights in which seven VC were killed.
The two largest engagements in the week-long series of events occurred on August 23 and 24. On those two days elements of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry killed 91 NVA soldiers, while the 2nd Squadron 11th Armored.
On the 23rd, the infantry battalion killed 39 enemy in over an hour of close-quarters fighting. While leading the battalion scouts, Specialist 4 Terrance L. Schaffer, WIedman, Mich., spotted three NVA soldiers hiding in an erosion ditch. The recon team opened fire, killing all three. Hearing the firing, Company D moved up to reinforce the recon element. As they moved on line, Serpeant EdwardJoyner, Greenville, N.C. spotted several enemy running across a road nearby.
"I alerted the company as we moved on line for assault", Sergeant Joyner stated. As the company moved toward the position of the reconnaissance team, it began receiving heavy small arms and RPG fire. "It looked to me like we walked into the tail end of an enemy ambush," added Specialist 4 John Hollingsworth, Portsmouth, VA.
In the ensuing battle, Company D bore down on the enemy with barrages of small arms and automatic weapons fire. According to First Lt. Leo F. Jones, South Haven, Mich., The action took place in open areas, with tree to tree fighting. It was a knock-down, drag-out battle.
As Company D battled the enemy force, the reconnaisance element and Company C flanked the enemy blocking his escape. After the fierce fighting, a sweep of the area (continued Col 3 Pg 8).
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