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.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
People You Remember Malcolm Heaton, SGT, USAFSS , Voice Intercept/Linguist (Vietnamese)
Combat Crew Member in EC-47 Aircraft "Gooney Birds"
Det 2, 6994th Security Service, DaNang Air Force Base, Republic of Vietnam.
Robert Sullivan, SGT, USAFSS, Security Police
Detachment 2, 6994th Security Squadron
DaNang, Republic of Vietnam.
R.F. Jones, SGT, USAFSS. Voice Intercept/Linguist (Vietnamese)
Combat Crew Member in EC-47 Aircraft "Gooney Birds".
Det 2, 6994th Security Service, DaNang Air Base,
DaNang, Republic of Vietnam.
Stephen King, SGT, USAFSS, Voice Intercept/Linguist (Vietnamese)
Combat Crew Member in EC-47 Aircraft "Gooney Birds".
Da Nang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam.
Gery A. Then, Airman 1st Class, USAFSS, A20250
Combat Crew Member, EC-47 Aircraft "Gooney Birds"
DaNang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam.
Memories On 28 February 1973, my assignment as an Voice Intercept Operator flying the Z-position on EC-47 aircraft ceased. At that time, the Vietnam Conflict ceased. The unit I served, Det 2, 6994th Security Squardron (USAFSS), closed its doors to the Vietnam Conflict, and transported their personnel and equipment to Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand. Life and Death situations on the ground lay behind us, and the USAF Personnel loaded their duffle-bags, strapped into seat on a KC-130 Aircraft and flew over the unfriendly skies of Vietnam and Laos and began again in a new place. Our next duty station, Det 3, 6994th Security Squadron, became a whole new experience following our time in Vietnam.
