16 Ibid.
17 Extracted from Noonan Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, DC.
18 Hitzelberger Interview.
19 Lt Robert S. Lankford Interview, 5–9 Mar 1969, Sound Recording (USMC Oral History Collection, History Division, Quantico, VA).
20 Smith, High Mobility, p. 38.
21 Extracted from Benfatti Silver Star Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 20 Nov 2014.
22 Lt Milton J. Tiexeira Interview, 5–9 Mar 1969, Sound Recording (USMC Oral History Collection, History Division, Quantico, VA).
23 Smith, High Mobility, p. 40.
24 Extracted from Wilhelm Navy Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 21 Nov 2014.
25 Capt David F. Winecoff Interview, 5–9 Mar 1969, Sound Recording (USMC Oral History Collection, History Division, Quantico, VA).
26 Col Robert H. Barrow Interview, 8 Apr 1969, Sound Recording (USMC Oral History Collection, History Division, Quantico, VA).
27 Dave Winecoff, “Night Ambush!” Marine Corps Gazette, January 1984, pp. 47–52.
28 Barrow Interview.
29 Moore, We Were Soldiers, pp. 341–342.
30 Smith, High Mobility, p. 44.
31 Barrow Interview.
32 Extracted from Fox Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, DC.
33 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, Combat Operations After Action Report, 31 Mar 1969, pp. 11–12.
34 Smith, High Mobility, p. 46.
35 Extracted from Morgan Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, DC.
36 Smith, High Mobility, p. 47.
37 Extracted from Wilson Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, DC.
38 Lt Wesley L. Fox Interview, 5-9 Mar 1969, Sound Recording (USMC Oral History Collection, History Division, Quantico, VA).
39 “Wesley Fox Lessons Steeled in Combat,” Vietnam Magazine, April 2012, p. 18.
40 Beth Crumley, “Green Hell—Operation Dewey Canyon,” 22 Aug 2011. http://www.mca-marines.org. Accessed 25 Sep 2014.
41 Department of Defense, Report on Selected Air and Ground Operations in Cambodia and Laos, 10 Sep 1973, pp. 5–9, as presented in “Bombing in Cambodia,” Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, 93rd Congress, 1st Session, July 16–20, 1973.
42 Smith, High Mobility, p. 50.
43 Drummond Ayres, Jr., “Hilltops in Laos Seized by Marines,” New York Times, March 9, 1969, A1.
44 “Laird Foresees a Troop Cut by U.S. in Vietnam,” New York Times, March 11, 1969.
45 Smith, High Mobility, p. 51.
46 Tom Campbell, The Old Man’s Trail (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995), p. vi.
CHAPTER 7: ELEVEN TIMES UP HAMBURGER HILL
1 “American Grunt,” http://www.vetswithamission.com. Accessed 24 Sep 2014.
2 2nd Brigade, Combat Operations After Action Report, Massachusetts Striker, 25 May 1969, pp. 3–4.
3 “Division History: Massachusetts Striker,” http://www.ripcordassociation.com, p. 28. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.
4 Extracted from Wright Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 9 Nov 2014.
5 Several web sites and Samuel Zaffiri’s book Hamburger Hill, incorrectly identify the dates for the battle of Bloody Ridge as 17–20 April, 1969. The actual dates, confirmed by all after action reports, were 19–25 March.
6 Extracted from Dent Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 8 Nov 2014.
7 Samuel Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill: The Brutal Battle for Dong Ap Bia, May 11–20, 1969 (New York: Ballantine Books, 2000), p. 58.
8 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry, Annual Historic Supplement, 22 Mar 1970.
9 2nd Brigade, AAR, pp. 14–16.
10 Ibid, pp. 10–12.
11 Lt. Frank Hair, “The Summer Offensive in the A Shau Valley Massachusetts Striker” Originally published in Rendezvous With Destiny Magazine, Summer 1969, http://www.101st-Airborne-ranger.com. Accessed 3 Nov 2014.
12 Taylor, “The A Shau,” n.d.
13 Larry Chambers, Death in the A Shau Valley: L Company LRRPS in Vietnam, 1969–70 (New York: Ivy Books, 1998), pp. 11–12.
14 Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses, p. 180. Phil Mascari and Yarborough were pilot training classmates together at Laughlin AFB, TX, 1967–1968.
15 2nd Brigade, AAR, pp. 6–7; p. 17.
16 101st Fact Sheet, “Summer of Action and Results,” 24 May 1969, pp. 4–5.
17 Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill, pp. 71–72.
18 Ibid, p. 85.
19 Ibid, pp. 87–88.
20 Ibid, pp. 88–89.
21 22nd Military History Detachment. Narrative: Operation “Apache Snow,” 10 May–7 June 1969. p. 5.
22 Harry G. Summers, Jr., “Battle of Hamburger Hill During the Vietnam War,” Originally published in Vietnam Magazine, June 1999, http://www.historynet.com, p. 5. Accessed 13 Nov 2014.
23 Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill, p. 66.
24 Narrative: Operation “Apache Snow,” pp. 6–7.
25 Extracted from Parker Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 23 Nov 2014; AAR, “Sapper Attack on FSB Airborne—13 May 1969,” http://www.alphaavengers.com/firebase-airborne. Accessed 23 Nov 2014.
26 Narrative: Operation “Apache Snow,” pp. 8–9.
27 3/187, After Action Report, Apache Snow, 20 June 1969, pp. 28–29.
28 Ibid, pp. 30–31.
29 Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill, p. 167.
30 Ibid, pp. 175–176. The strike aircraft information was extracted from the Combat Air Activities File, Southeast Asia Data Base, http://www.aad.archive.gov/aad/series. Accessed 25 Nov 2014.
31 3rd Battalion, 187th Regiment, AAR, pp. 32–34; Narrative, p. 21.
32 Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill, pp. 203–204.
33 3/187, AAR, pp. 40–41.
34 Extracted from Schoch Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com-citations-medals-awards. Accessed 26 Nov 2014.
35 Jay Sharbutt, “U.S. Assault on Viet Mountain Continues, Despite Heavy Toll.” The Washington Post, May 20, 1969, A15.
36 Edward M. Kennedy, “Hamburger Hill Speech,” 20 May 1969. http://www.tedkennedy.org. Accessed 26 Nov 2014.
37 Narrative: Operation “Apache Snow,” p. 232.
38 David Hoffman, “Hamburger Hill: The Army’s Rationale,” The Washington Post, May 23, 1969, p. A1.
39 Summers, “Battle of Hamburger Hill,” p. 5.
40 101st Airborne Division, Operational Report—Lessons Learned, Period ending 31 Jul 1969, pp. 6–7, 9 Dec 1969.
41 Col Bert Aton with William Thorndale, “A Shau Valley Campaign: December 1968–May 1969.” HQ PACAF, Directorate Tactical Evaluation, CHECO Division, p. 1, n.d.
42 Time Magazine, April 5, 1982, p. 12.
43 Zaffiri, Hamburger Hill, pp. 279–280.
44 Len Griffin, “Hill 996—July 11, 1969.” http://www.old.506infantry.org. Accessed 1 Dec 2014.
45 Extracted from Roberts Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft McNair, DC.
46 Extracted from Gertsch Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Ft McNair, DC.
CHAPTER 8: RIPCORD: VALOR IN DEFEAT
1 MACSOG Documentation Study, July 1970, Appendix E, pp. 12–14.
2 Extracted from Miller Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Center of Military History, Ft. McNair, DC.
3 John S. Carter correspondence with author, 24 Jan 2015.
4 James E. Mitschke correspondence with author, 5 Sep 2012. Mitschke du
plicated the feat in July 1970 when he earned the Silver Star for rescuing two Cobra pilots deep in Laos on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
5 U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group, Annex B, Command History 1970. Saigon: MACV-SOG, 1971, p. B-66.
6 HML-167 Command Chronology, 1 Mar-31 Mar 1970, pp. 3–5; SOG Annex B, Command History 1970, p. B-72; “Rescue of Larry D. Parsons,” http://www.taskforceomegainc.org, n.d. Accessed 8 Dec 2014.
7 “Pilot Rejoins the Living,” Pacific Stars and Stripes, 14 Apr 1970; SOG Annex B, p. B-72.
8 Lt General Sak Sutsakhan, The Khmer Republic at War and the Final Collapse (Washington: Department of the Army, 1978), p. 18.
9 Ibid, pp. 13–17.
10 101st Airborne Division, Operational Report—Lessons Learned, 15 Aug 1970, pp. 1–3.
11 M/Gen Benjamin L. Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop: America’s Last Major Battle in Vietnam (New York: IUniverse, Inc., 2004), pp. 41–47.
12 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 113–118.
13 Ibid, p. 79.
14 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), Combat After Action Report: Firebase Ripcord, 23 July 1970, n.d. pp. 1–3.
15 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 88–89.
16 Ibid, p. 91.
17 Capt Isabelino Vazquez-Rodriguez Interview, Video Recording, 2013 (Grand Valley State University Veterans History Project, Allendale, MI).
18 John M. Shaw, The Cambodian Campaign (Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 2005), p. 162.
19 Stanton, Rise and Fall, p. 339.
20 Military History Institute, Victory in Vietnam, p. 257.
21 “Cambodian Campaign,” http://www.Wikipedia.org/Cambodian_Campaign. Accessed 5 Feb 2015.
22 Extract from Kays Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Military Center of History, Ft. McNair, DC.
23 Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop, p. 72.
24 Ibid, p. 67.
25 “Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is Repealed Without Furor,” The New York Times, January 14, 1971. President Nixon signed the Foreign Military Sales Act in January 1971. Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973, over Nixon’s veto.
26 Nolan, Ripcord, p. 27.
27 Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop, p. 77.
28 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 36–37.
29 Jim Shelton, “Induction as Distinguished Member of the 506th Infantry Regiment,” New Haven Register, May 1, 2014.
30 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 59–60.
31 Shelton, “Induction.”
32 101st Airborne Division Combat After Action Report: Operation Texas Star, 1–23 Jul 1970, pp. 19–20.
33 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 228–233.
34 Bill Colclough, “Delta Blood,” Coastguard Heartland, 5 Aug 2013, http://www.heartland.coastguard.dodlive.mil. Accessed 8 Feb 2015.
35 Nolan, Ripcord, p. 243.
36 Extracted from Rich Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards. Accessed 31 Jan 2015.
37 AAR, Ripcord, p. 2.
38 Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop, pp. 120–121.
39 Nolan, Ripcord, p. 429.
40 Extracted from Kreckel Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards. Accessed 31 Jan 2015.
41 Extract from Lucas Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Military Center of History, Ft. McNair, DC.
42 Tom Marshall, “Rescue from FSB Ripcord,” http://www.screamingeagles.org/rip cord pp. 6–8. Accessed 10 Dec 2014.
43 Nolan, Ripcord, pp. 474–475.
44 Ibid, p. 485.
45 Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop, pp. 213–216.
46 Norman Dixon, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence (London: Jonathan Cape, 1976), p. 41.
47 Harrison, Hell on a Hilltop, p. 121.
48 Extracted from Fratellenico Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Military Center of History, Ft. McNair, DC.
49 Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses, p. 208.
50 Allen B. Clark, Valor in Vietnam 1963–1977: Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice (Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2012), pp. 230–231.
51 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1970, p. B-112.
52 Gillespie, Black Ops, p. 205.
53 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1970, pp. B-VIII-8-9.
54 Extracted from Rose Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards. Accessed 3 Apr 2015.
55 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1970, pp. B-VIII-10.
56 JOPREP 230225 Sep 70, Rescue Opening/Closing Report; Mission Narrative Report, 30 Sep 70.
57 Evan J. Quiros, Sworn Statement, 23 Oct 1970; Taped interview with author, 1 June 1990.
58 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 191–192.
59 Telephone interview with Mel Swanson, 17 Nov 2014.
60 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group, Rescue Opening/Closing Report, 2 Dec 70, pp. 1–4.
61 Phil Marshal, “There Was No Billboard That Said Welcome to Laos,” http://www.vhpa.org/stories/billboard.pdf p. 9. Accessed 31 Jul 2014.
62 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1970, p. B-76; Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 246–247.
CHAPTER 9: A SHAU FINI: THE NINTH YEAR
1 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), Operational Report—Lessons Learned, period ending 31 Oct 1971, p. 3.
2 Dave R. Palmer, Summons of the Trumpet (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1995), p. 240.
3 Keith W. Nolan, Into Laos: The Story of Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719, Vietnam 1971 (New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1988), pp. 119–123.
4 Stanton, Rise and Fall, p. 351.
5 Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses, pp. 212–213.
6 Karnow, Vietnam, p. 629.
7 Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses, p. 213.
8 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, ed. Vietnam Helicopter History 1961–1975 (Citrus Heights, CA: VHPA, 2008). CD-ROM, pp. 1135–1136.
9 Nolan, Into Laos, pp. 366–367.
10 Karnow, Vietnam, p. 630; Transcript: Address to the Nation on Situation in Southeast Asia (April 7, 1971), http://www.millercollection.org, n.d. Accessed 23 Mar 2015.
11 Earl H. Tilford, Jr., Setup: What the Air Force Did in Vietnam and Why (Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, 1991), p. 203.
12 Raymond L. Robinson and Charles F. Wesley, “The Missing Men of RT Intruder,” unpublished document, 2006, p. 2. The author obtained a copy from the Special Forces Association. It can be found on-line by searching the title.
13 “RT Intruder,” p. 1, http://www.taskforceomegainc.org. Accessed 31 Dec 2014.
14 Robinson, “Missing Men,” p. 5.
15 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 282–283; “Field Investigation Report Concerning Case 1706,” pp. 1–8, 28 May 1992. Found in LOC POW/MIA Database, 1706, Item 1.
16 “RT Intruder,” p. 2.
17 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1971–72, p. B-97.
18 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 285–286.
19 Robinson, “Missing Men,” pp. 7–8.
20 Frederick C. Wunderlich Eyewitness Account, hhtp://www.macvsog.cc/1971, n.d. Accessed 8 Mar 2015; “Detailed Report of Investigation of Case 1707,” pp. 185–188, 28 May 1992. Found in LOC POW/MIA Database, 1707, Item 16.
21 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 288–289.
22 Clifford M. Newman correspondence with the author, 28 Oct 2012.
23 Robinson, “Missing Men,” p. 10.
24 Ibid, p. 11.
25 James E. Butler correspondence with the author, 11 Mar 2015.
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid, p. 3.
28 Mike Perry, “When RT Python Ruled the Valley of Death,” June 22, 2014. http://www.specialoperations.com. Accessed 17 Dec 2014.
29 Butler written account to author, 28 Apr 2015, p. 1.
30 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, p. 292.
31 Extracted from Chapman Distinguished Service Cross Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.mil
itarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards. Accessed 10 Mar 2015.
32 Yarborough, Da Nang Diary, pp. 294–295.
33 Extracted from Yarborough Silver Star Citation, HQ Seventh Air Force Special Order G-1035, 5 May 1972.
34 MACSOG, Annex B, Command History, 1971–72, p. B-112.
35 Stanton, Rise and Fall, pp. 354–357.
36 Call interview, p. 64. Col Lawrence Trapp, Deputy Commander of OP-35, voiced almost identical opinions during a separate interview with Shultz, p. 41.
37 Kenneth Conby and James Morrison, “The Rise and Fall of Recon Team Asp,” Vietnam Magazine, August, 2001, p. 24.
38 MACSOG, Annex B Command History, 1971–72, p. B-141.
39 Robert L. Noe, “Chronological Listing of MACSOG MIA/KIA,” MACV Studies and Observations Group, Documentation Study and Command History 1964–1973 (Houston: Radix Press, 2002). CD-ROM, pp. 198–200.
40 Extracted from Cavainai Medal of Honor Citation, U.S. Army Military Center of History, Ft. McNair, DC.
41 Extracted from Eaton Silver Star Citation, Military Times Hall of Valor, http://www.projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards. Accessed 28 Mar 2015.
42 The most comprehensive list of SOG losses is contained in Robert Noe’s “Chronological Listing of MACSOG MIA/KIA.”
43 Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses, p. 216.
44 Plaster, SOG, p. 338.
EPILOGUE
1 David Demsey, “The Long Journey Home,” journal entry extracted from http://www.vietvet.org/ashau. Accessed 11 May 2015.
2 John T. Correll, “How Rolling Thunder Began,” Air Force Magazine, March 2015, p. 68.
3 David H. Petraeus, The American military and the lessons of Vietnam (Doctoral Dissertation). Princeton University, 1987, p. 128.
4. Nolan, Ripcord, p. 485.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Ankony, Robert C. LURPS: A Ranger’s Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri. Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books, 2009.
Bates, Milton J. et al. Reporting Vietnam, Part 1: American Journalism, 1959–1969. New York: The Library of America, 1998.
Browne, Malcolm W. The New Face of War. New York: Bantam, 1986.
Chambers, Larry. Death in the A Shau Valley: L Company LRRPS in Vietnam, 1969–70. New York: Ivy Books, 1998.
Dougan, Clark, and Stephen Weiss. The Vietnam Experience: Nineteen Sixty-Eight. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1983.
A Shau Valor Page 35