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MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Mobley, Clarence Joseph, CSM.
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Contact Info
Last Address Hope Mills, NC
Date of Passing Mar 29, 2009
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CSM Clarence Joseph Mobley
FAYETTEVILLE - Retired Army Special Forces Command Sgt. Maj. Clarence Joseph Mobley, 84, of 315 Kirkwood Drive, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 29, 2009, in UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Clarence Joseph Mobley served faithfully and loyally in the service of his country for 34 years. During his career, he served and was a member of 1st Marine Raiders Battalion, and was one of the first 100 Special Forces master parachutists to have over 2,000 jumps to his credit. He also received 22 Air Combat medals to his achievements. Clarence served in World War II, Korea and the Vietnam War. He was also a well-known and liked Ranger instructor. During his service career, he was awarded seven Purple Hearts, the Silver Star with the Marines and Bronze Star with V for valor. After his distinguished military career, he was employed by the City of Fayetteville as a building inspector for 29 years before his retirement. Clarence was also a U.S. Marshal. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Mobley of Hope Mills; two sons, Thomas Winfred Mobley of Metairie, La., and Glenn Lee Mobley of Hope Mills; a daughter, Linda Gail Atkinson of Raeford; two sisters, Daisy Finnangan and Barbara Love of Sea Breeze, Fla.; a brother, Frank Mobley of Panama City, Fla.; five grandchildren, Thomas, Tammy, William, Ashley and Kimberly; and three great-randchildren, Scotty, Briggs and Trent. The Mobley family will receive friends from 6 to 8 tonight, April 2, 2009, at Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, 500 Ramsey St., Fayetteville. A celebration of the life of retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Clarence Joseph Mobley will be conducted at 1p.m., Friday, April 3, 2009, in Rogers and Breece Funeral Home chapel, with the Rev. Gary Strickland officiating. Following the rendering of full military honors, he will be laid to rest at Cumberland Memorial Gardens. The Mobley family has entrusted services to Rogers and Breece Funeral Home of Fayetteville.
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
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-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.
