He seems to think there was only one rocket attack at Da Nang in 1972. At first, the general and his steward confused the rockets with the traditional fireworks shot off in honor of Tt. [1]:156, The Da Nang Northern Sector Defense Command dispatched a provisional company to assist the CAP Marines as well as the security detachment. At first light, a Marine reaction force found enemy blood trails. The III MAF Command Center later that evening radioed MACV in Saigon: "Although the enemy has suffered heavy losses within his local and main force VC units during the past two days, he still possesses a formidable threat utilizing [PAVN] troops poised on the periphery of the Da Nang TAOR. Americal Division artillery operating in the Qu Sn sector took the PAVN/VC forces under fire, but did not shell Duy Xuyn town because of the civilian population there. As the Marine platoon patrolled along the banks of the Yn, a heavy machine gun suddenly opened up. 17. While Marine fixed-wing aircraft flew strike missions against the gun emplacements, another helicopter evacuated the survivors. At Da Nang, III MAF knew that the PAVN/VC were on the move. The area the rockets were fired from was called the "Rocket Belt". While the Marine battalions successfully kept these initial assaults on the night of 5/6 February in check, Robertson was not sure how much longer they could. Elements of the PAVN 368B Rocket Artillery Regiment were in firing positions to the west and northwest of the 7th Marines. At about the same time, approximately 15 enemy 122mm rockets struck an artillery complex in the 11th Marines Northern Sector Defense Command which included a detachment from the 1st Armored Amphibian Company, the 155mm Gun and 8-inch Gun Batteries, as well as Batteries H, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines and M, 4th Battalion, 11th Marines. The Marines lost one helicopter and sustained damage to 29 others. Rockey, the 3/5 Marines commander, commented on the "increasing frequency and ferocity" of enemy contacts. "[1]:163, Another possible explanation was that the Da Nang attack may have been a secondary assault, to cause as much damage as possible and divert Allied forces from the almost successful effort of the PAVN/VC forces to capture Hu. By the afternoon of the 31st, the Marines and Rangers had completed their sweep. I was assigned to the 1st Marine Division and sent to Marble Mountain Airfield to Join Marine Air Group 16 and VMO2. Of the prisoners, the South Vietnamese identified six as military, 109 as workers, and the remaining 80 as VC cadre. DaNang earned the nickname Rocket City during the Vietnam war, having been attacked over 900 times in 10 years. About 09:00, Lieutenant Colonel Rockey, the 3/5 Marines commander, ordered a small command group and two companies, Company M of his battalion and Company F, 2/3 Marines attached to his command, to the relief of the ARVN camp. Finally the PAVN broke contact at 20:00 and disappeared. 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. At least some members of his group also reportedly provided security for Richard Spencer's often violent campus appearances. Just 19 when he arrived, the horrors he witnessed would forever shape him. Further, the National Police reported that VC local leaders from Qung Tn, Qung Nam and Qung Ngi Provinces met in a base area in the hills of northern Qung Ngi to plan attacks on Chu Lai and on Qung Ngi City. The Marine companies then pulled back and called in artillery and air. [1]:163, The official PAVN history records the attack as follows:[3]. "[1]:159, The heaviest action occurred in the 3/5 Marines and 4th Battalion, 51st ARVN sectors along Highway 1. Countermortar fire quickly silenced the enemy tubes. In the assault, the PAVN/VC killed four Marines and wounded another seven before withdrawing. Some 36 of the large missiles landed on the main base, including the airfield. 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. One sapper was captured. Lost him to a rocket attack. Da Nang Vietnam January 30, 1968 - Rocket attack on the Da Nang Air Base. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. # Not in AF records, submitted by members, # Not in AF records, submitted by members, Air Base Defense in the Republic of Vietnam, 1960-1973. Davis notified the division headquarters of his findings. Two attached U .S. with rocket and mortar attacks at the Da Nang and Marhle Mountain Airfields on 30 January, and hit the Marble Mountain facility once again on 31 January, They hit the new Quang Tri airstrip with Doth rockets and mortars on 24, 27, and 29 January. The ROKMC Marine Brigade deployed six companies around the city and the ARVN 51st Regiment prepared a reaction force. Da Nang AB was nicknamed "Rocket City" due to the large number of attacks by 122mm and 140mm rockets. Although most of the enemy activity was restricted to small-unit contacts, on the night of 2/3 February, PAVN/VC gunners again rocketed the Air Base. Freedom Hill 327 can be seen beneath the left flare, with convoy lights winding up the perimeter road. Cam Ranh Bay AB: US Army 6th Convalescent Hospital debris by Sapper Attack! About 20 minutes later the missile battery sighted enemy rocket firing sites and two minutes later radioed that 12 rockets of undetermined size landed in and around its area. In the attack on the I Corps headquarters and in the defense of Ha Vang village the Allies sustained losses of nine dead and several wounded. Material and equipment losses, however, were much more extensive. A conglomeration of internal security forces threw back the VC force from the east that tried to use similar tactics to get inside the compound from that direction. The Victory will be with us. From the details of the other recovered documents, the VC obviously were making an extensive reconnaissance of the Da Nang area giving descriptions of military structures, distances, weapons and other information that would be of value to an attacking force. Instead of calling artillery fire immediately, the reconnaissance Marines arranged with Battery K, 4/11 Marines and a detachment of the 3rd 155mm Gun Battery at An Ha for an "artillery ambush." Robertson later praised the Security and Communications platoons of the 1st Marine Division Headquarters Battalion for their efforts in the defense. Able to establish clear fields of fire in the rice paddy where the heaviest firefight occurred, the PAVN prevented the 7th Marines elements from closing with them. Reinforced by another squad, the Company G Marines killed three and captured two. The 3/5 Marines reported "a definite increase of enemy harassment" and the movement of sizeable enemy units into the Go Noi Island area (.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}1551N 10812E / 15.85N 108.2E / 15.85; 108.2). Cam Ranh Bay AB: US Army 6th Convalescent Hospital damaged by Rocket Attack! Note: Dick previously sent us some Stars and Stripes clippings mentioning rocket attacks and other "newsworthy items" of the day. The USAF 620th Tactical Control Squadron established a control and reporting post (CRP) code-named Panama on the mountain in 1964 to support operations from Danang Air Base. The PAVN fought a delaying action as they began to withdraw. According to documents captured later, the two VC assault companies were to pull out at first light, but became bogged down in the city. 14 New Guns For 2022 by B. GIL HORMAN; A First-Year Magnum: Shooting The S&W "Pre-29" by JUSTIN DYAL; Contact; Donate; Eye Candy for the Gentlemen out there Da Nang air base attacked in Vietnam by 40mm rockets 7 miles away, 47 killed many from local village (partial newsreel) Addeddate 2005-04-08 19:44:43 Color b&w Identifier 1967-03-03_Airbase_Shelled . At Duy Xuyn, however, the PAVN/VC overran the town, forcing the district chief to flee and take refuge with the Koreans. 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. The armored force pushed through the hamlet and encountered only occasional small-arms fire. Since you were there, Colonel, you can verify that there were no fewer than 26 rocket attacks on the Da Nang. It was a helicopter facility that was constructed in August 1965 and served as home to Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16), the 5th Special Forces Group and an assortment of other squadrons until May 1971. 366th Security Police K-9. In the extensive Da Nang TAOR, the early morning hours of 31 January were almost a repeat of the events of the 30th. NMCB-7 sends a Disaster. [1]:1523, The rest of the enemy efforts in the Da Nang area and TAOR were about as haphazard and relatively ineffective as the fight on the unnamed island. In the engagement, the Marines lost 5 killed and 12 wounded. Would like to get in touch w/anyone attached to Security. The National Police arrested 25 of the crowd and quickly dispersed the would-be demonstrators. After dark, both sides withdrew, the Marines to night defensive positions and the PAVN to the west. According to the U.S. 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. The air base at Da Nang was, therefore, a particularly enticing target. Again the crowd dispersed and this time did not recongregate. 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. A second platoon from Company G arrived at the site and attempted to maneuver to the PAVN flank. Reinforced by the remainder of Company L and two platoons from Company M together with two tanks and an LVTP-5, the Marines engaged the PAVN. From the south, about a dozen VC used boards to cross the outer wire and ladders and boards to clamber over the compound wall into the courtyard below. Shortly after 18:00, an air observer reported seeing 25-30 enemy troops in trenchlines, bunkers and fighting holes. Two separate occurrences may have frustrated this attack. [1]:1502, On the morning of the 31st, the Marines of Company I, now reinforced by the ARVN and the AmTrac Marines, surveyed the results of the fighting and continued to mop up the remnants of the VC force. According to them their mission was to mine and interdict allied traffic in the Hi Vn Pass area. The Sequence number refers to the sequence number assigned to all attacks on ten primary US Air Force operating bases in Vietnam. Even in the face of the artillery, the PAVN continued their advance upon the Marine positions. At that point, three fixed-wing aircraft and four helicopter gunships then bombed and strafed the enemy column. Nearly 11 million liters of Agent Orange were handled on the base. From 18:00 to 24:00 on the 30th, the 1st Marine Division reported to III MAF over 30 incidents ranging from sightings of large enemy forces, to mortar attacks and a few infantry assaults. Newsreel story showing the aftermath of the shelling of an . from The New York Times: Police officers provided security for the marchers, and the march concluded peacefully at Maltepe, Istanbul (where . By daybreak, the engineers held their own and the situation in Hi An was at a stalemate. Stationed with 1882n Comm Gp., 1969-1970, worked in the Base Comm Center. Newsreel reporting on a rocket attack on the Da Nang military base being used for US Marine Corps operations. 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