Criteria The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding ac... The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded to individuals who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States in a combat theater, distinguish themselves by heroism, outstanding achievement, or by meritorious service not involving aerial flight. MoreHide
Criteria The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, kill... The Purple Heart may be awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving under competent authority in any capacity with one of the Armed Forces, has been wounded, killed, or who has died or may die of wounds received in armed combat or as a result of an act of international terrorism. MoreHide
Comments
Source derived from Coffelt Database.
VICINITY BUON DRAY, 13 KM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF XA THO THANH.
Criteria The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to enlisted members of the Army who distinguish themselves by exemplary behavior, efficiency and fidelity during a specified period of conti... The Army Good Conduct Medal is awarded on a selective basis to enlisted members of the Army who distinguish themselves by exemplary behavior, efficiency and fidelity during a specified period of continuous enlisted active service (normally three years in peacetime). MoreHide
Comments
Source derived from News Clipping (Shadow Box).
Criteria The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served at any time between July 4, 1965, and March 28, 1973, in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspa... The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served at any time between July 4, 1965, and March 28, 1973, in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspace; or, for any period of service during the same time period in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia or the air spaces thereover and in direct support of operations in Vietnam. MoreHide
Criteria The Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Colors) was authorized to be worn by units individually cited for service in military operations in support of the government of Sout... The Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Colors) was authorized to be worn by units individually cited for service in military operations in support of the government of South Vietnam. The actions cited are for the same services that would have resulted in the award of a Valorous Unit Citation by the Army or a Navy Unit Citation. MoreHide
Description
5 May 65-26 Sep 70, DAGO 51, 71; Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1965-1970
20 Jul 65-28 Mar 73, DAGO 8, 74; Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1965-1973 (USARV & Subordinate Units)
Description Operation MacArthur (later renamed Operation Binh Tay–MacArthur) was a United States Army military operation in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam from 12 October 1967 to 31 January 1969. The earlOperation MacArthur (later renamed Operation Binh Tay–MacArthur) was a United States Army military operation in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam from 12 October 1967 to 31 January 1969. The early phases of the operation encompassed the Battle of Dak To from 3 to 23 November 1967.
January 1968
On 15 January a PAVN/VC force ambushed a 40 vehicle convoy 40km west of An Khê using three command-detonated mines, small arms and Rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), Division reaction force and convoy security elements broke up the attack killing 13 PAVN/VC. For his actions in this battle Specialist Five Dwight H. Johnson would be awarded the Medal of Honor. On 20 January two companies from the 1st Brigade received 75mm recoilless rifle fire 15km west of Đắk Tô and returned fire supported by artillery and helicopter gunships killing 23 PAVN/VC.[2]:43 On 23 January a unit of the 2nd Brigade found a weapons cache 17km west of Pleiku containing one individual and two crew-served weapons, 25 mines and three RPG-2 grenades. On 26 January at 09:30 a unit of the 1st Brigade engaged an enemy force 17km northwest of Đắk Tô supported by artillery, helicopter gunships and airstrikes killing 14 PAVN/VC; U.S. losses were four killed.
Cumulative operational results to the end of January were 1,703 PAVN/VC killed and 376 individual and 106 crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 359 killed.
February
On 13 February a Division company supported by artillery and helicopter gunships engaged an enemy platoon 15km northwest of Đắk Tô, the enemy withdrew at 13:00 leaving 12 dead. On 23 February a unit of the Division’s air cavalry squadron supported by helicopter gunships engaged two enemy companies killing 23. On 25 February helicopter gunships attacked ten PAVN/VC, killing all ten. On 26 February at 08:45 as a Division unit was being air-assaulted into a landing zone 19km west-northwest of Đắk Tô they came under fire and one helicopter made an emergency landing. The other helicopters diverted to an alternative landing zone and linked up with the downed helicopter at 12:15. PAVN/VC losses were 21 killed while U.S. losses were one killed. On 27 February at 08:00 a unit of the 25th Infantry Division in a night defensive position were hot by mortar fire followed by a ground assault. The unit returned fire supported by artillery, helicopter gunships and airstrikes and the enemy withdrew at 19:30 leaving 69 dead.
Cumulative operational results to the end of February were 2,806 PAVN/VC killed and 578 individual and 129 crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 463 killed.
March
The new Division commander Major General Charles P. Stone used reconnaissance patrols from the Division and CIDG teams to watch the dozens of trails that led into Laos and Cambodia supported by scout planes and helicopters. An enemy force discovered by any of those means would face a gauntlet of air and artillery strikes and then a swarm of helicopter-backed infantry if they came within striking distance of one of the few towns that dotted the highlands. General Stone felt he could afford to let the enemy come to him because, as he put it, "I have everything the enemy wants and he has nothing I want."
In early March, U.S. forces were distributed evenly across Kontum, Pleiku and Darlac Provinces. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, were looking for the 33rd Regiment near Ban Me Thuot, although it now appeared that the enemy had retreated far to the southwest to rest and refit. The 2nd Brigade guarded Pleiku Province, aware that the 32nd Regiment had recently moved somewhere southwest of the provincial capital. The 1st Brigade had an even greater responsibility in Kontum Province, for it had to monitor the 24th Regiment that was somewhere north of Kontum city as well as the 66th and 174th Regiments that were in the Đắk Tô area. While General Stone and the new I Field Force commander General Peers doubted the B3 Front would initiate another major offensive in the next few months—partly because of its Tet Offensive losses and partly because of the seasonal onset of the rains of the southwest monsoon—they expected the enemy to seek small gains whenever he could.
After Tet, the commander of the B3 Front, General Thao, decided to shift his main focus away from Đắk Tô. While he would continue to threaten the allied bases there, he believed the thickening defenses between Ben Het Camp and Tân Cảnh Base Camp had substantially reduced his chances for success. By contrast, areas to the south were less well protected and thus offered a greater opportunity to pick off an isolated base or to ambush an unwary unit. The CIDG camps at Plei Kleng, 22km west of Kontum and Plei Mrong, 30km southwest of the capital, were especially enticing targets because they were lightly defended with little or no road access to the main allied bases. All the while, Thao would continue to restock his forward supply areas and to integrate replacements coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in anticipation of the next major phase of the 1968 general offensive.
The allies learned more about Thao’s intentions on 1 March when the commander of the 9th Battalion, 66th Regiment, Vu Nhu Y, turned himself in and spoke at length to allied interrogators. He explained that the post-Tet mission of the 1st Division was to draw allied units into the region in order to create opportunities for PAVN/VC units elsewhere in the country. The division and elements of the 40th Artillery Regiment would continue to harass Ben Het and Đắk Tô with indirect fire, while the 66th Regiment looked for opportunities to assault outposts. The same was true for the 174th Regiment. The North Vietnamese officer admitted that the 1st Division still had not fully recovered from the Đắk Tô campaign, even though it had recently obtained a fresh regiment, the 320th, to replace the battered 32nd, which had moved south to Darlac Province to operate under front control with the 33rd Regiment. The 320th Regiment, formerly the 209th Regiment, 312th Division, had just arrived from North Vietnam and was near full strength. General Thao could also reinforce an attack along Route 512 with the independent 24th Regiment if the need arose.
On 3 March at 18:00 a Division unit was attacked by fire 28km northwest of Pleiku and returned fire supported by helicopter gunships killing 15 PAVN/VC.[6]:32 On 4 March at 16:00 a unit of the 3rd Brigade searching a village 15km southeast of Pleiku engaged 40-50 VC. The unit was supported by helicopter gunships and airstrikes and the VC withdrew after three hours leaving 30 dead.[6]:33 On 8 March at 09:25 the 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment engaged an enemy force 25km south of Đắk Tô, two more troops joined the battle at 15:00 and the enemy withdrew at 19:00 leaving 14 dead; U.S. losses were one killed.[6]:37 On 16 March at 10:30 a unit of the 173rd Airborne Brigade engaged an enemy force 18km north-northwest of Kontum. The enemy withdrew at 12:40, but was reengaged at 15:30 until the enemy withdrew at nightfall leaving 50 dead; U.S. losses were one killed.[6]:45 On 17 March at 17:10 a unit of the 173rd Airborne in a night defensive position 19km northwest of Kontum received fire and the unit returned fire supported by artillery forcing the enemy to withdraw.
On 26 March two battalions of the 320th Regiment attacked Firebase 14. Companies A and B of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, had established the outpost a few days earlier to protect the Polei Kleng Camp 12km to the east. Employing flamethrowers in addition to automatic weapons and RPG-2s, the PAVN penetrated the northwest perimeter and briefly occupied a few bunkers until driven off by a U.S. counterattack. 135 PAVN and 19 U.S. were killed in the fighting. On 30 March the 173rd Airborne Brigade flew to Bình Định Province to swap places with the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, bringing all three brigades of the Division together for the first time in the war.
April
Beginning on 1 April and continuing for eight days, PAVN gunners fired some 400 mortar and recoilless rifle rounds into Firebase 14, which the 3/8th Infantry, had relinquished to the 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment. On 5 April, Companies A, B, and C from the 35th Infantry Regiment encountered a battalion from the PAVN 320th Regiment west of the base and killed 48 PAVN before they broke contact; U.S. losses were one killed. On 9 April a unit of the 3rd Brigade found a weapons cache 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Kontum containing 14 individual weapons, five M72 LAWs, one 60mm mortar and 65 60mm mortar rounds and 3,000 rounds of small arms ammunition. On 15 April at 13:00 a Company C, 1/35th Infantry was attacked by fire west of Firebase 14, the unit returned fire and was supported by artillery and airstrikes and reinforced by a unit of the 1st Brigade. The enemy withdrew leaving 12 dead; U.S. losses were nine killed.
The sudden spike in activity around Firebase 14 came into clearer focus on 20 April. A pair of PAVN deserters told their interrogators that the B3 Front was trying to strengthen its infiltration and supply routes that led from the tri-border area to the central plateau where the major cities were located. General Stone responded to this report by establishing a second outpost a short distance to the west of Firebase 14 manned by elements of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. Like Firebase 14, it was situated on a key piece of terrain that overlooked the surrounding area.
On 25 April at 08:00 a unit of the 2nd Brigade patrolling 22 miles (35 km) south-southwest of Đắk Tô killed two enemy snipers in trees, at 09:05 the unit was hit by mortar fire followed by small arms. The unit was reinforced by helicopter gunships and airstrikes which caused two secondary explosions. The enemy withdrew at 15:20 leaving eight dead; U.S. losses were two killed.[7]:29 On 27 April at 08:40 a 2nd Brigade patrol was attacked 25 miles (40 km) west of Kontum. An hour later another unit engaged an enemy bunkers complex in the area and contact continued until nightfall when the enemy withdrew leaving nine dead; U.S. losses were nine killed. On 28 April at 09:40 a Division unit engaged an entrenched enemy force 25 miles west of Kontum, the unit withdrew and artillery and airstrikes were directed onto the bunkers, the unit continued to receive mortar fire until 19:05; U.S. losses were five killed. On 29 April the PAVN sent a battalion to attack the new firebase on 29 April, but the defenders, Company B of the 1/14th Infantry, turned back the assault and killed 46 PAVN; U.S. losses were two killed. As long as Stone controlled the high ground west of Kontum, the PAVN/VC would find it difficult to mass his forces to attack the provincial capital.
During April the PAVN 325C Division commanded by, Senior Colonel Chu Phuong Doi, minus its 29th Regiment, which it had left behind in northern Quảng Trị Province, arrived in Kontum province. Scout helicopters from the 7/17th Cavalry, noticed a rise in enemy activity around Dak To in early April as the 95C and the 101D Regiments moved into the area. In the meantime, the PAVN 1st Division shifted south toward the Kontum-Pleiku border where it was better positioned to threaten the respective provincial capitals.
Cumulative operational results to the end of April were 4,162 PAVN/VC killed and 845 individual and 135 crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 601 killed.... More
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scaleThis campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack.
The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base.
At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000.
Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned.
Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese.
The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.... More
Description This campaign was from 1 June 1967 to 29 January 1968.The conflict in South Vietnam remains basically unchanged. As Operation JUNCTION CITY ended, elements of the U.S. 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions,This campaign was from 1 June 1967 to 29 January 1968.The conflict in South Vietnam remains basically unchanged. As Operation JUNCTION CITY ended, elements of the U.S. 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the forces of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam swung back toward Saigon to conduct another clearing operation, MANHATTAN. This took peace in the Long Nguyen base area just north of the previously cleared "Iron Triangle."
South Vietnamese Armed Forces became more active and capable under U.S. advisors. During the year the Vietnamese Special Forces assumed responsibility for several Special Forces camps and for the CIDG companies manning them. In each case all of the U.S. advisors withdrew, leaving the Vietnamese in full command.
With an increased delegation of responsibility to them, the South Vietnamese conducted major operations during 1967, and, in spite of VC attempts to avoid battle, achieved a number of contacts.
Despite the success of U.S. and South Vietnamese Army operations, there were indications in the fall of 1967 of another enemy build-up, particularly in areas close to Laos and Cambodia. In late October, the VC struck again at the Special Forces Camp at Loc Ninh. Fortunately Vietnamese reinforcements saved the camp. At the same time, approximately 12,000 VC troops converged on a Special Forces camp at Dak To. This camp was located in northern Kontum Province, where the borders of Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam meet. In response to this potential threat, the U.S. and South Vietnam committed a total of sixteen battalions to the region to counter a disturbing enemy resurgence at Kontum and Loc Ninh.... More
Criteria The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service... The National Defense Service Medal is awarded for honorable active service as a member of the Armed Forces during the Korean War, Vietnam War, the war against Iraq in the Persian Gulf, and for service during the current War on Terrorism. In addition, all members of the National Guard and Reserve who were part of the Selected Reserve in good standing between August 2, 1990, to November 30, 1995, are eligible for the National Defense Service Medal. In the case of Navy personnel, Midshipment attending the Naval Academy during the qualifying periods are eligible for this award, and Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Midshipmen ae only eligible if they participated in a summer cruise that was in an area which qualified for a campaign medal. MoreHide
Criteria The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served at any time between July 4, 1965, and March 28, 1973, in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspa... The Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who served at any time between July 4, 1965, and March 28, 1973, in Vietnam or its contiguous waters or airspace; or, for any period of service during the same time period in Thailand, Laos, or Cambodia or the air spaces thereover and in direct support of operations in Vietnam. MoreHide
Comments
Source derived from Coffelt Database.
Counteroffensive, Phase III, 1 June 1967 - 29 January 1968
Criteria This medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who: 1. Served for 6 months in South Vietnam during the period 1 Mar 61 and 28 Mar 73; or 2. Served outside the geographical l... This medal is awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who: 1. Served for 6 months in South Vietnam during the period 1 Mar 61 and 28 Mar 73; or 2. Served outside the geographical limits of South Vietnam and contributed direct combat support to the RVN Armed Forces for an aggregate of six months. Only members of the Armed Forces of the United States who meet the criteria established for the AFEM (Vietnam) or Vietnam Service Medal during the period of service required are considered to have contributed direct combat support to the RVN Armed Forces; or 3. Did not complete the length of service required in item (1) or (2) above, but who, during wartime, were: a. Wounded by the enemy (in a military action); b. Captured by the enemy during action or in the line of duty, but later rescued or released; or c. Killed in action or in the line of duty; or 4. Were assigned in Vietnam on 28 Jan 73, and who served a minimum of 60 calendar days in Vietnam during the period 29 Jan 73 to 28 Mar 73. MoreHide
