JRTC CALL History Lesson

Folks,

I do these about every 2 weeks. They can also be viewed on the CALL web page for those with access. This is the most recent:

"The remnants of Sergeant Savage's isolated little band meanwhile continued to be hard pressed. Three times the enemy attacked with at least a reinforced platoon but were turned back by the artillery and the small arms fire of the men in the perimeter, including some of the wounded. Spec. 5 Charles H. Lose, the company senior medical aidman (whom Captain Herren had placed with the platoon because of a shortage of medics), moved about the perimeter, exposed to fire while he administered to the wounded. His diligence and ingenuity throughout the day and during the night saved at least a half-dozen lives; having run out of first-aid packets as well as bandages from his own bag, he used the C ration toilet tissue packets most of the men had with them to help stop bleeding. Calm, sure, and thoroughly professional, he brought reassurance to the men.
Before the second attack, which came at 0345, bugle calls were heard around the entire perimeter. Some sounds seemed to come from Chu Pong itself, 200 to 400 meters distant. Sergeant Savage could even hear enemy soldiers muttering softly to each other in the sing-song cadence of their language. He called down a 15-minute artillery barrage to saturate the area and followed it with a tactical air strike on the ground just above the positions. Executed under flagship illumination, the two strikes in combination broke up the attack. The sergeant noted that the illumination exposed his position and it was therefore not used again that night.
A third and final attack came over an hour later and was as unsuccessful as the previous two. Sergeant Savage and his men, isolated but still holding throughout the night, could hear and sometimes see the enemy dragging off his dead and wounded."

This installment of the JRTC CALL Cell BiWeekly History Lesson draws on Chapter 1 from the US Army Center of Military History's Vietnam series monograph, Seven Firefights in Vietnam. Chapter 1 is Fight at IaDrang and it tells the story of then Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore's 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry in its fight along the Ia Drang valley. 7 Firefights is somewhat unique as a CMH publication. First of all it is not a somewhat dry historical discourse. Ia Drang was a knock down fight and the chapter conveys that very well. Second is that 7 Firefights was the first CMH publication on the war and it remains one of the most read monographs from the Center. The remaining chapters include :


2. CONVOY AMBUSH ON HIGHWAY 1, 21 NOVEMBER 1966 by John Albright
3. AMBUSH AT PHUOC AN, 18 JUNE 1967 by John A Cash
4. FIGHT ALONG THE RACH BA RAI, 15 SEPTEMBER 1967 by John Albright
5. THREE COMPANIES AT DAK TO, 6 NOBEMBER 1967 by Alllan W. Sandstrum
6. BATTLE OF LANG VEI, 7 FEBRUARY 1968 by John A. Cash
7. GUNSHIP MISSION, 5 MAY 1968 by John A. Cash

To read the remainder of 7 Firefights go to http://www.army.mil/cmh/books/Vietna...rontMatter.htm


Best all,

Tom