13th Valley

by John M. Del Vecchio

  VICTOR: The military phonetic for the letter V.

  ville: A village.

  WHISKEY: The military phonetic for the letter W.

  wake-up: As in ‘13 and a wake-up.’ The last day of a soldier’s Vietnam tour.

  weed: Marijuana.

  white bird: A LOH.

  WIA: Wounded In Action.

  widow maker: An MA.

  willie peter: Also WP. White phosphorus, usually an incendiary artillery round.

  World: The USA or anyplace other than NAM.

  X-RAY: The military phonetic for the letter X. Also, a reconnaissance patrol from an NDP.

  XO: Executive Officer.

  YANKEE: The military phonetic for the letter Y.

  YD: The grid 100,000 meters x 100,000 meters square from the Universal Transmercator (UTM) Grid Zone 48Q. The UTM map of the world dispenses with latitude and longitude in favor of a system of metric coordinates (usually six digits) which enable the user of the map to specify a location to within 100 meters. Thus the center of the Khe Ta Laou river valley is located at YD 150320.

  ZULU: The military phonetic for the letter Z.

  11-B: See Eleven-Bravo.

  16: See M-16.

  51s: A communist .51 caliber heavy machine gun.

  60: See M-60.

  60s, 81s: US mortars (millimeters).

  61s, 82s: Communist mortars.

  79: See M-79.

  122: 122mm communist rocket capable of traveling, with booster, 22 kilometers.

  HISTORICAL DATES

  “We think ourselves into war. The antecedents are in our minds. Brooks, 23 August 70.

  2879 to 258 BC —The First Vietnamese Kingdom (Van Lang or Van Tang, The Country of Tattooed Men).

  —The Bac-sonians, a wave of Australoids from the north settle in the Red River Valley area (Hanoi-Haiphong).

  —First wave of Malays from Central Asia settle coastal area from Saigon to Hue.

  500 BC —Han Chinese advance into Vietnam (Red River Valley) and force earlier settlers south setting off the first North/ South conflict.

  258 to 207 BC —The Second Vietnamese Kingdom (Au Lac). The King of Thuc conquers Van Lang.

  207 BC —Au Lac overrun by Central Chinese peoples who establish the Kingdom of Nam Viet in the Red River Valley.

  111 BCto AD 939 —Chinese occupy northern portion of Vietnam, Nam Viet, a conglomerate of smaller states falls.—Second wave of Malays.

  87 BC —Han Wu Ti, Emperor of China, spreads Chinese territory south to Hue.

  AD 39 —Trung sisters lead a two-year revolt against Chinese, reestablish Nam Viet.

  45 —Nam Viet again overrun and annexed by China.

  197 —Kingdom of Champa established by peoples from India and further west under Lam Ap settling coastal area from Da Nang south to Cam Ranh. A trading people.

  220 —Han Dynasty of China falls.

  542-4 —Ly Bon (Ly-Nan-De) leads successful rebellion against China. For the next 60 years there is constant pressure from the north and the ‘Vietnamese’ extend their settlements south along the coast.

  602 —China again imposes foreign rule on Vietnam. During this period Chinese method of agriculture adopted. A poor land becomes rich, the people remain poor.

  938 —Ngo-Quyen leads armies which decisively defeat Chinese at Bach Dang River. Independence lasts for most of next 900 years. Language reverts back to ancient ‘Vietnamese’ language.

  1215 —Mongols invade the Red River Valley area without success. A few years later they invade again. This time led by Kublai Khan. They are partially successful and keep the pressure from the north on until 1287.

  1284 —Tran Hung Dao writes Essential Summary of Military Arts. “The enemy must fight his battle far from his home base for a long time. We must further weaken him by drawing him into protracted campaigns. Once his initial dash is broken, it will be easier to destroy him.”

  1287 —Mongols withdraw from Vietnam.

  —With the overthrow of the Chinese (in 939) and for almost 500 years, the peoples of the Red River Valley area direct their efforts to the colonialization of the South. The Chams are destroyed in a systematic genocide, city by city. The remaining terrorized Chams fled into the highland jungles.

  1407 —Chinese under the Ming Emperors invade the Red River Valley area and gain control. They are eventually defeated by guerrilla warfare and attrition.

  1418 to 1427 —Ming Chinese defeated by Viet King, Le Loi. Le Dynasty comes to power in northern Vietnam. Nguyen feudal lords come to power in southern Vietnam.

  1459 to 1497 —Completion of destruction of kingdom of Champa by Le Thanh. This period is known as The Golden Age of Vietnam.

  1535 —First Europeans, Portuguese, drop anchor at Da Nang. This marks the beginning of the era of colonialization by Europeans of Asia.

  1540 —Vietnam politically divided into North and South (Le and Nguyen).

  1590 1613 —Vietnam reunified.

  1613 —Vietnam again divides into two countries. The Nguyen rulers of the South construct two walls at Dong-Hoi. One wall is six miles long, the other twelve miles long. Both are 18 feet high. Dong-Hoi is less than ten miles north of the DMZ established by the Geneva Accords of 1954.

  1615 —First Catholic missionaries, Italian and Portuguese Jesuits, land at Da Nang.

  1636 —First Dutch arrival in Vietnam.

  1672 —English open trading post.

  1680 —French open first trading office.

  1770 to 1776 —Revolt of the Tay-Son Village against the Nguyen Dynasty in the South. Trinh family defeats Le Dynasty in the North. Nguyen Anh, King of Cochin China (Southern South Vietnam area), holds on to his throne in South, very unstable, negotiates for French assistance and support.

  1776 —Vietnam and the Thai Kingdom clash over Cambodia.

  1790 to 1800 —New, unsuccessful, Chinese invasion of North.

  —Nguyen Anh and French force land in North (July 1789). Nominal reunification of country.

  1799 —Nguyen Anh recaptures most of South and exterminates Tay-Son leaders.

  1802 —Hue falls, the Tay-Son movement ends. Hanoi falls. Prince Nguyen Anh becomes Emperor Gia Long. Gia Long restores the name Vietnam to the entire country. Gia Long’s rule is anti-European. Ends with his death in 1820.

  1820 to 1841 —The Emperor Minh Mang: under his rule the last Europeans are driven from the emperor’s service. He effectively isolates Vietnam from development (technological and military) during a period of rapid European advancement. Persecutes Catholic missionaries.

  1827 to 1856 —A period of genocide. 130,000 Catholics put to death.

  1839 —The Opium War. Opium had been brought into China by the British who found it very profitable. When the Chinese try to stop the opium trade the British attack and defeat China. This becomes a pattern for colonialization in Asia.

  1841 to 1847 —The Emperor Thieu Tri loses part of Vietnam to the French.

  1845 —USS Constitution puts into Da Nang. The Marines land to assist in halting the killing of a French bishop. Marines stay four days. America’s first Vietnam involvement.

  1847 to 1883 —The Emperor Tu Duc loses all of Vietnam to the French.

  1850 —The French view Vietnam as a staging area and foothold into the rich markets of China held by the English.

  1858 —French attack and capture Da Nang.

  —French capture Saigon.

  —Vietnam cedes Saigon and surrounding provinces to France.

  1883 —French expansion continues until all of Vietnam is under French control.

  1880 to 1920 —Major immigration of Europeans to America.

  1887 —Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos grouped into the French Protectorate called the Indochinese Union.

  1920 to 1936 —A series of ill-fated nationalistic uprisings

  1937 —From Mao Tse-tung: (compare with 1284)

  The enemy advances, we retreat;

  The enemy camps, we harass;

  The enemy tires, we attac
k;

  The enemy retreats, we pursue.

  —Japanese capture Nanking (China), a war where only one side shows up—200,000 civilians murdered.

  1939 to 1945 —Japan occupies military installations in Vietnam, allows Vichy France to administer colony.

  1941 —Iraqis oust British.

  —First Airborne Infantry operation in warfare, Germany invades Crete.

  —Japanese land in Indochina. US cuts off oil to Japan.

  —Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh, THE LEAGUE FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF VIETNAM, established by Ho Chi Minh.

  1945 —Japanese intern French administrators.

  —Viet Minh take control throughout Vietnam and inter Japanese occupation forces. Democratic Republic of Vietnam is established.

  —British army enters Saigon, Chinese (Koumintang) army enters Hanoi, per Yalta agreement. The British will yield to the French, Chaing Kai-shek to Ho Chi Minh. Neither Ho nor the French will accept this result, and war begins in 1946.

  1946 —US/ USSR divide Korea at 38th parallel.

  —19 December, Viet Minh launch attacks against French. The beginning of the First Indochina War.

  —The TRUMAN DOCTRINE pledges economic and military aid to any nation threatened by communism.

  —The Berlin Blockade and Airlift.

  —The creation of NATO.

  —Mao Tse-tung rises to power in China.

  1950 —A period of Civil Rights sit-ins and boycotts begins in the southern United States.

  —The Korean War begins.

  —Korean truce talks get underway. US role is mostly defensive.

  —Jan-Apr, First Viet Minh invasion of Laos.

  —28 July, French attack Regiment 95 of Viet Minh along Street Without Joy;

  —22 October, French/Laotian Treaty of Association affirms Laos independence as a member of the French Union.

  1954 —7 May, Fall of French Garrison at Dien Bien Phu marks French defeat in First Indochina War. Ten thou sand French soldiers surrender to Viet Minh. France’s attempt to send relief force fails. American (Eisen hower/ Dulles) official response to request for relief is a telegram of encouragement. (American public revul sion to Korean War is said to have deterred Eisenhower from committing to intervention in Indochina.)

  —21 July, Geneva Cease-Fire Conference splits Vietnam into communist North and non-communist South along historical line at 17th parallel.

  —August, First Indochina War officially declared ended.

  —24 August, Communist Party outlawed in the United States.

  —US sends 200 military advisors to Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam.

  1955 —Warsaw Pact formed.

  —The Eisenhower/Khrushchev Geneva Summit, the cold war begins.

  —Russian tanks crush Hungarian Insurrection.

  —NAACP outlawed in Alabama.

  —Last French troops leave Indochina.—Scheduled elections on reunification of Vietnam not held.

  1959 —The Second Indochina War begins.

  —Laotian rebellion begins in earnest.

  —John F. Kennedy, “We will bear any burden …”

  —Bay of Pigs.

  —Berlin Wall.

  —Cuban Missile Crisis.

  1962 —MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) established.

  —Neutralization of Laos under coalition government.

  1963 to 1968 —Second Indochina War, troop build-up phase. Generally, the US public believes US is winning, dismay grows gradually. JFK to news media, “Get on the team.”

  —John F. Kennedy assassinated.

  —Red China explodes nuclear bomb.

  —Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

  —5 August, first US pilot (shot-down) captured by North Vietnam. Navy Lt (jg) Everett Alvarez, Jr., be comes first POW. US Veterans Administration declares this date as beginning of American Vietnam Era.

  1965 —First US ground troops land near Da Nang.

  —US begins operation Rolling Thunder. Bombing of the North.

  —Viet Cong attack US airbase at Pleiku, 70 US KIA

  —War in the Dominican Republic.

  —May, first five-day bombing halt of the North.

  —19 June, Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky leads military junta, takes control of Saigon Gpvernment.

  —27 June, first major ground action by US forces.

  —30 June, LBJ announces doubling of US troop strength by addition of 44 battalions increasing strength from 65,000 to 130,000.

  —29 July, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division arrives in Vietnam.

  —China states its support for Viet Cong as central strategy for world communist movement to encircle western world.

  —First (clandestine) peace negotiations between Washington and Hanoi begin in Paris. Hanoi demands total control of all Vietnam. The negotiation issues never change.

  —24 December, LBJ halts bombing of North, announces ‘peace offensive.’

  —31 Jan, US air bombardment of North resumes after efforts to negotiate prove fruitless.

  —10 March, Roman Catholic Premier Ky fires Buddhist General Nguyen Chan The, thus provoking Buddhists. The’s troops revolt in Da Nang.

  —Special Forces CIDG camps at A Loui, Ta Bat and A Shau (all in A Shau Valley) are closed because of VC/ NVA pressure (overrun?). For the next two years the valley belongs to the communist forces who openly ship tons of supplies down Highway 548 which runs the length of the A Shau.

  —7 May, Ky declares he will not leave office no matter what election results follow voting for constituent Assembly. Da Nang Buddhists demonstrate.

  —15 May, Ky sends his troops to Da Nang to quell demonstration—meet resistance from 1st Division troops—near civil war in South. Hue becomes center of Buddhist resistance and anti-American demonstrations.

  —29 May, Buddhist nun burns self to death at Hue pagoda.

  —30 June, US combat strength in Vietnam increased to 285,000.

  —Summer-Fall Viet Cong terrorism campaign attempts to disrupt and intimidate South Vietnam voters. Eighty percent of eligible voters cast ballots for 117-seat constitutional assembly.

  —End of ’66, general optimism prevails in US and South Vietnam.

  1967 —July, Viet Cong surprise attack on US air base at Da Nang, 12 US KIA, 45 US WIA, 25 aircraft destroyed.

  —General Nguyen Van Thieu and Premier Ky elected president and VP of South Vietnam.

  —13 December, remainder of 101st Airborne Div arrives in Vietnam. At end of year US combat strength in Vietnam reaches 480,000.

  1968 —20 Jan, Battle of Khe Sanh begins. Lasts 77 days.

  —29-30 Jan, Tet offensive begins. This begins second phase of Second Indochina War which lasts to May 1972. US public shocked by NVA accomplishments. Chasm in US thought widens, great disillusionment will hit Nixon Administration.

  —22 March, LBJ replaces Gen. William Westmoreland with Gen. Creighton Abrams as Commander, US Forces, Vietnam.

  —31 March, LBJ halts all US bombing above 20th parallel. He announces he will not seek another term as president.

  —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., assassinated.

  —6 April, US troops break seige at Khe Sanh.

  —May, 1st Cavalry Division and 101st Abn Div begin probing the A Shau Valley.

  —June, Khe Sanh de-activated.

  —Robert F. Kennedy assassinated.

  —My Lai massacre.

  —Spring-summer, Hanoi insists US stop all bombing of North before Hanoi will negotiate. LBJ halts all bombing of North Vietnam. Hanoi agrees to negotiate shape of conference table.

  —October, US Marines begin pulling out of Vietnam.

  —1 November, bombing of North terminated.

  —Richard Nixon narrowly defeats Hubert Humphrey for US presidency.

  1969 —101st Abn Div transformed to Airmobile.

  —101st moves into A Shau and surrounding mountain areas for 167 days. Much of NVA ability to attack population corridor destroyed. I Corps becomes mostly p
acified.

  —Paris peace talks expand to include VC and Thieu government.

  —July, first major US troop reduction and withdrawals. Peak strength hit 540,000.

  —VC 10-point peace plan—unconditional US withdrawal of forces, material and financial support of S. Vietnam. US declines. US counter-proposal—US and Hanoi each withdraw all forces over next 12 months. Hanoi answers it has no troops in South.

  —Thieu proposes VC participation in internationally supervised elections. VC decline.

  —15 Oct, Massive war moratorium demonstrations in US.

  —3 Nov, Nixon announces Vietnamization Plan.

  —15 Nov, 250,000 anti-war demonstrators march on capital.

  —My Lai story becomes public knowledge.

  1970 —March, in Cambodia, Lon Nol deposes Prince Norodom Sihanouk in coup. He demands communists vacate his country. Communists do not leave. Lon Nol requests US assistance (at urging of US).

  —30 April, Nixon announces incursion into Cambodian sanctuaries at Fish Hook and Parrot’s Beak. Allied forces uncover hundreds of tons of food, weapons and ammunition—communist troops defer—shift west toward Pheom Phen.

  —Massive US anti-war demonstrations.

  —Four students killed at Kent State.

  —Two students killed at Jackson State College.

  —7/402 sweeps Hills 714 and 882 wiping out NVA build-up in central I Corps.

  —30 June, All US troops out of Cambodia.

  —7/402 battles at Khe Ta Laou.

  1971 —4 Feb, NVA/VC close prison camps in S. Vietnam and move North due to ever increasing pressure from US/ARVN forces.

  —Lam Son 719, ARVN incursion into Laos to cut Ho Chi Minh Trail.

  —13 June, New York Times begins publishing The Pentagon Papers.

  —End of ’71, US troop strength in South Vietnam below 160,000.

  1972 —30 March, Nixon orders new bombardment of N. Vietnam, plus mining of Haiphong Harbor. Renewed anti-war demonstrations in US.

  —NVA invade northern South Vietnam. This marks beginning of Third Indochina War which is ground fought by Vietnamese.

  —Spring, Le Duc Tho and Henry Kissinger secret peace talks. May; US proposes internationally supervised cease-fire, repatriation of all US POWs and withdrawal of US forces.

  —1 May, NVA capture Quang Tri City, Quang Tri province and much of Thua Thien Province including all of A Shau and Khe Ta Laou and all firebases west of Hue. During remainder of year ARVN, led by 1st Inf Div (ARVN), recapture most of lost territory and expel NVA from I Corps.