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Promoted to SFC while MIA. See coffelt. FIRE SUPPORT BASE VEGHEL, by Roger Ables. On March 8, 1968, elements of the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) joined the 82nd Airborne Infantry to begin Operation Carentan I. This operation was designed to beat back communist forces that remained in Thua Thien Province in the wake of the Tet Offensive. The main thrust of the effort was directed north of Camp Eagle but would also include action west toward the A Shau Valley.
Screaming Eagles of the 1st Brigade?s 2nd Bn, 327th Airborne Infantry were given the task of clearing Route 547 from Hue westward to Fire Support Base (FSB) Bastogne. During the first week of the operation they killed 25 enemy soldiers who fought from bunkers that paralleled the road. On March 21, elements of the 2nd Bn., 501st Airborne Infantry were attacked in their night defensive position 5 miles west of Hue. Employing direct artillery fire to repulse the enemy, 22 of the assailants were killed. The following day gun ships of the 101st Aviation Battalion discovered an NVA company in open terrain and managed to kill 34 enemy troops. A light fire team of gun ships destroyed 3 sampans, resulting in 9 more enemy deaths. Carentan I ended on March 31 after resulting in the death of 861 enemy soldiers and the capture of significant stores of weapons, ammunition, and 17 tons of rice.
Carentan II immediately followed on March 31, 1968 with action continuing in the same sections of Thua Thien Province; southwest and west of Hue toward the A Shau and northwest from the coastal plains. Contact with the enemy was frequent and the fighting was often fierce and close as the highly trained NVA regulars fought to hold their base areas and to protect their valuable caches of weapons and supplies.
In mid April Operation Delaware was planned. Troops of the 1st Brigade 101st Airborne were to provide a blocking force for the 1st Air Calvary Division, which was to assault into the A Shau Valley in an operation that they called Lam Son 216. In addition to providing the blocking force, Screaming Eagles were to interdict enemy supply chains leading from the valley along routes 547 and 547A towards Hue. Joined by the 3rd ARVN Airborne, they were to operate in the Rao Nai and Rao Nho river valleys on the eastern edge of the A Shau Valley. They were ordered to clear and secure LZ Veghel where a FSB was to be constructed.
From April 15 to April 18, the 1/9th Air Cav worked the A Shau Valley in preparation for the Delaware operation. Following this reconnaissance, numerous marine and air force air strikes were conducted in the valley, including B-52 bombings. The pilots flying these missions reported to the 1st Cav that they had taken frequent and heavy anti-aircraft fire over the valley. It would also be some of the last days of good flying weather. Operation Delaware/Lam Son 216 was initiated on April 19, 1968.
On the initial assault into the A Shau, the 1st Cav experienced intense 23mm and 37mm anti-aircraft fire. They lost 10 helicopters and 13 others were damaged. The aircraft losses, enemy resistance, and persistent inclement weather temporarily halted their airmobile operations. A 1st Cav operation report dated April 23, 1968 stated that due to poor flying weather and the presence of NVA anti-aircraft fire, it took an additional 4 days to get the remainder of its 3rd Brigade into the A Shau Valley.
Meanwhile, on April 16, elements of the1/327th Airborne Infantry assaulted LZ Veghel, which was sited near the intersection of Routes QL 547 and 547A, and about two kilometers east of the Rao Nai river. Veghel actually existed as two crests with a saddle connecting them. Atop these crests was an entrenched NVA battalion. It would take three days of intense fighting before the paratroopers would overcome and seize the NVA position. On the 19th of April at approximately 1700 hours, a platoon from C Company of the 1/327th reached one of the crests, while A Company captured the other peak about 30 minutes later. The paratrooper battalion suffered 60% casualties in their quest of Veghel.
On April 20, 1968, a platoon from C Company was assigned to escort the many wounded soldiers to a dust-off site located down the slope. Three squads led the way but before they could reach the site, the NVA ambushed them, inflicting more wounds to the injured and killing other wounded as well as members of their escort.
A UH-1H helicopter belonging to the 17th Assault Helicopter Company crashed on to LZ Veghel on April 20th. On April 21st one of the ground commanders on LZ Veghel requested the removal of this aircraft as well as a downed Marine gunship. He believed that the downed aircraft would hamper ground operations on the LZ. A UH-1H from the 17th AHC with six men aboard was sent to Veghel to rig the downed Huey for extraction. The Marines would have to okay the extraction of their aircraft. The weather around Veghel was overcast with fog and low clouds. While one Huey was over the vicinity of Veghel the remainder of the 17th AHC was flying a combat assault in the area. At about 1500 hours, the maintenance aircraft was told that the extraction mission was cancelled, and this radio transmission was acknowledged . That was the last contact that anyone would have with the lone Huey. Parts of the missing aircraft would later be seen scattered over an area located about 5 kilometers from LZ Veghel. It had apparently exploded in mid-air after being hit by enemy anti-aircraft artillery. Neither the remains of the crew nor any of their personal effects have ever been found.
On April 23 at LZ Veghel, the 1st Battalion, 327th Airborne Infantry met with scattered resistance as they continued to clear the area in preparation for the arrival of heavy engineering equipment and howitzers. The following day a UH-1B gunship of A Company, 101st Aviation Division was shot down by 23mm anti-aircraft fire as it departed FSB Veghel. All four men aboard were killed. They represented the company?s first combat fatalities of the Viet Nam War.
While patrolling along Route 547, 15 miles west of Hue on the 25th of April, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 327th Airborne Infantry encountered 2 companies of NVA. Company A was sent in to sustain contact with the enemy. The action that day resulted in 32 NVA being killed and the capture of 7 weapons.
The Screaming Eagles left the mountainous jungles of Thua Thien Province in July. Fire Support Base Veghel has been abandoned. The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division would return again and again to the A Shau Valley, and FSB Veghel would often serve as a jumping off point.
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POSTED ON 9.9.2020. POSTED BY: LOIS MASSEY WESTBROOK. FRIENDS & CLASSMATES. I grew up knowing Frankie Johnson.. We were friends & classmates at Parker High School in Greenville, SC.... He was such a great guy loved by all who knew hi,... He was full of jokes & laughter and was very handsome .. All the females liked him and he treated us all with respect.. The last time I saw him was graduation from PHS 1966 > He lived in Greenville SC then.. It is now 2020 but he will forever be remembered, loved & missed... He is a hero..
Frankie has a military stone in his memory at Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery, Fountain Inn, Laurens County, SC.
