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MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Allen, Richard L., LTC.
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LTC Richard L. Allen passed away on 6 July 1981 in Lake Placid, FL. Born in Miami on 14 November 1926, he attended Georgia Military College and entered active duty in February 1945. Richard served with the 82nd Airborne Division, had two tours in Korea with the 1st Cavalry Division, and had three tours in Vietnam. He joined the 5th Special Forces Group in 1960 and remained with the 5th SFG until 1967. He served as an instructor at the Special Warfare School until his retirement in 1968. Richard Allen’s decorations include the Bronze Star w/OLC, Vietnamese Honor Medal, Master parachutist Badge, Combat Infantry Badge with Star, Air Medal with OLC, Purple Heart, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Korean Service Medal, Vietnamese Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Vietnamese Campaign Medal, Reserve Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Citation, Vietnam Civic Action Unit Citation, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and Vietnamese Gallantry Cross Unit Citation. He also served as B and C Detachment Commander. Dick is survived by his wife Barbara, 2 daughters, Darcy and Elizabeth, 1 son, Richard L. III, and his father Richard L, Sr. Internment was in Lake Placid, FL.
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.
