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  The bunkers varied in size, but the typical individual fighting position was slightly more than a meter long with an open trench on one end, about one meter deep, and about a half-meter wide. Crew-served weapon bunkers (machine guns, recoilless rifles) and the command bunker located inside the perimeter were considerably larger. Overhead cover consisted of roughhewn logs covered with a meter of dirt. Dirt from the excavation was piled in front of the position to form a parapet to deflect incoming rounds from the bunker’s firing port. All fighting positions and bunkers were elaborately camouflaged with vegetation that was replaced daily. Cooking stoves were dug into the larger bunkers with underground chimneys dug horizontal for 50 or more meters, fanning out in several directions to dissipate the heat and smoke, making detection from the air almost impossible.

  The fortified camp was also well protected with booby traps, mines, and improvised explosive devices that could be command detonated from the fighting positions and trenches. The VC were particularly adept at rigging undetonated US artillery rounds and bombs with explosives. These explosive devices were buried along likely avenues of approach and hung from trees to inflict maximum casualties from airbursts. The devices were triggered by electrical firing wires from the enemy’s bunkers. The VC also employed homemade Claymore-type mines that were filled with nails, scrap metal, and bits of concrete. Sighted along likely avenues of approach, the Claymores were devastating, often killing and wounding dozens of troops caught in the open.

  By December of 1967, almost all members of the Dong Nai Regiment had been issued the AK-47 assault rifle. The weapon was particularly effective and reliable at close range, making it highly suitable for the jungle terrain of War Zone D. Crew served weapons included the RPD machine gun, the .57 recoilless rifle, and the B40 rocket launcher. The VC also had on hand a number of DH-10s, a Communist-manufactured version of the Claymore. The DH-10 was three times larger than a U.S. Claymore with more than 200 fragments packed inside. In terms of small arms, crew-served weapons, and munitions, the Dong Nai Regiment was as well armed as the Warriors of the 4/12th Infantry.

  The enemy wanted the combat to occur at as close a range as possible. By “hugging” the attackers, the VC made it difficult for US troops to call in artillery or air strikes without risking friendly casualties. The VC were also trained to emerge from their fighting positions to launch limited counterattacks or flank attacks when the US troops were disorganized, or when it was necessary to cover a withdrawal of their own troops.

  Attacking a fortified enemy base camp was the bete noir for US commanders even under the most favorable of circumstances, and the camp manned by the Dong Nai Regiment just two kilometers south of FSB Nashua was no exception. Some would later say it was like entering a tiger’s den armed only with a stick.

  LTC Schroeder was not overly concerned by the mortar attack against FSB Nashua. Such attacks were anticipated, and not particularly lethal since the troops were well dug in with overhead cover. Ground attacks were of greater concern. The Warrior commander’s priority was to complete defensive preparations around the base to insure it could withstand a ground assault. There was still much work to be done constructing a berm around the base and laying more defensive wire. Nevertheless, Schroeder decided he could spare two platoons from Alpha Company to patrol to the southeast in the direction of the enemy mortar site. The Warrior commander believed that the best defense was a strong offense.

  Schroeder also ordered Captain Jones’ Charlie Company to patrol to the west of Nashua. With Echo Company still patrolling north of the firebase, Schroeder thought that his patrols would detect any major enemy units staging for a ground attack on Nashua. Bravo Company, two platoons from Alpha Company, and a portion of Charlie Company remained at FSB Nashua where they continued to work on the fortifications.

  While the company commanders briefed their platoon leaders on their missions for the day, the grunts readied their equipment, loaded their rucksacks with extra ammunition and grenades, and gave their weapons a final cleaning. Most were still uneasy in their new surroundings. The mortar attack was an ominous sign.

  At 0912 hours, two platoons of Alpha Company departed FSB Nashua to locate the enemy mortar site. Captain Donald Drees, the company commander, accompanied the two platoons with his command group. Drees had previous command experience with Bravo Company 3/7th Infantry, and was in his second month of command of Alpha Company. Altogether, the two platoons and command group numbered around 75 men. Captain Drees knew how to maneuver his rifle company in the swampy areas and rice paddies that surrounded Saigon, but this was his first trek in the thick jungle terrain that surrounded Firebase Nashua.

  Alpha Company’s artillery forward observer (FO), Lieutenant Wayne McKirdy, and Sergeant Baker, his recon sergeant, accompanied the Alpha Company command group. McKirdy, a 23-year-old artillery officer, had been in Vietnam for five weeks, and had spent most of that time as an FO with Alpha Company. His experience in adjusting artillery fire was limited to the firing ranges at Fort Sill, and the relatively open terrain around Thu Duc. Adjusting artillery in the dense jungle around Nashua was much more difficult. Before the day was over, McKirdy would have to learn how to adjust artillery fire by sound rather than sight.

  Also accompanying Alpha Company was the 37-year-old Catholic Chaplain, Captain Angelo Liteky. The rugged and deeply tanned priest had already earned a reputation among the grunts of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade as an infantryman’s type of chaplain. He wasn’t afraid to get his boots muddy, and spent the majority of his time in the field with infantry companies. He held field services when the opportunity arose, but spent most of his time talking to the troops as he slogged along beside them. The troops loved and respected him. The padre always carried extra water and cigarettes, and volunteered to carry extra gear and equipment such as the chainsaws and gas containers that each platoon carried to cut emergency LZs for dust-offs. Though nearly twice the age of most of the men, the chaplain had no trouble keeping pace with the troops even when he was lugging heavy equipment. On occasion, he carried extra ammunition for the troops, but drew the line at carrying or firing a weapon. Standing over six feet tall with a lanky frame and closely cropped hair, Liteky could have easily passed for an infantry battalion commander rather than a Catholic priest. Before the day ended, Chaplain Liteky would be faced with the brutalities and inhumanities of war at the extreme.

  First Lieutenant Wayne Morris of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 25 yearsold, led Alpha Company’s 4th Platoon. The career NCO, Sergeant First Class Dan Garrison, was his platoon sergeant. Morris had earned his commission through the ROTC program at Tennessee Technological University, and had three years experience in the Tennessee Army National Guard before that. Both men were solid professionals, but Morris was a newcomer to Alpha Company. He had joined the company two weeks earlier on Thanksgiving Day. As the senior lieutenant in the company, Morris was put in charge of 4th Platoon. The platoon was technically an 81mm mortar platoon, but it was also equipped to fight as a rifle platoon. Because of their weight, the 81mm mortars were not carried on patrols, but were often flown in to bolster night defensive positions. The men of the 4th Platoon were still sizing up their new platoon leader, but most thought the six-foot-two Tennessean was a fast learner; an officer they would follow.

  Thirty-six enlisted men were present for duty in 4th Platoon on the morning of 6 December, while the 2nd Platoon led by Sergeant Jones started the day with 30 men. Morris’ 4th Platoon took the lead as the patrol left FSB Nashua. They followed a compass heading of 130 degrees. That direction was based on the crater analysis of the mortar rounds that impacted on the base earlier that morning.

  A few minutes after Drees’ platoons crossed through FSB Nashua’s perimeter wire, a scout dog accompanying the 4th Platoon alerted as the platoon approached a cleared area. After speaking with the dog’s handler, Captain Drees radioed the battalion TOC to request a combat tracker team. Thirty minutes later, two Labrador Retrievers and their handlers arrived and
began to work the area. The Labs did not detect a scent so the two Alpha Company platoons moved out across the clearing with 4th Platoon still in the lead.

  Once across the clearing, the grunts headed into a dense patch of jungle where progress slowed almost to a halt. The area had been defoliated the year before, but the vegetation had grown back into an impenetrable tangle of vines, saplings, and bushes some ten to10 to 12 feet high. Morris wrote that he “put three men with machetes in the lead to hack a path through the tangle….undergrowth snagged each and every part of our bodies and equipment.”

  For over an hour, the grunts cut through the undergrowth, covering only 100 to 125 meters. The troops moved in single file, stopping every few meters while the cutting teams were rotated. Thorny bushes and “wait-a-minute” vines slowed each man’s progress by catching on their rifles and web gear. Annoying insects buzzed around the sweatsoaked men. The temperature was well over 90 degrees. At each short halt, the men bent forward at the waist readjusting their loaded rucksacks. Some removed their helmets to mop their brows while others took sips of water from their canteens. Most of the grunts carried at least fifty pounds of equipment and ammunition distributed between their rucksacks and web gear. Radio operators carried their own gear as well as the PRC-25 radios. When the column moved out, the morning’s calm was again disturbed by the hacking of machetes and the crackling of radios as sergeants reported their squads’ progress.

  While Alpha Company searched for the enemy mortar site southeast of Nashua, Echo Company patrolled to the north. At 1120 hours, an Echo Company patrol detonated an anti-personnel mine, wounding several members of the patrol. A battalion resupply slick that was in the area picked up the wounded men and flew them to the 93d Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh. The remainder of the morning passed without incident.

  Shortly after noon, five ACAVs from Delta Troop, 17th Cavalry departed FSB Hanover headed for FSB Nashua. It was a routine road clearing operation for the Cav. After completion of the mission the Cav platoon was under orders to return to Hanover. Anticipating vehicular movement along the road, the VC buried anti-tank mines on a stretch of the road some five kilometers southwest of Nashua. The road was mined at a point where the road left a large clearing, and entered an area with heavy growth on both sides. At that point, the five ACAVs had to follow the road in single file. VC machine gunners were zeroed in on the ambush site.

  At 1230, the tracks rumbled across the clearing and then moved onto the road in single file. Seconds later, command-detonated antitank mines exploded under the first and fifth tracks in the column. The lead ACAV was flipped completely over on its command cupola by the explosion and its engine block was thrown fifty meters. The platoon sergeant seated in the open command cupola hatch was crushed to death under the vehicle. The ACAV that brought up the rear of the column was lifted off the road by the force of the explosion and landed on its side. After the explosions, both ACAVs were engulfed in flames and the ammunition began to cook off.

  Delta Troop’s ACAVs were an older variant of the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. The vehicles had supplemental armor modifications to increase crew protection. Armor gun shields were installed around the .50 caliber machine gun and two pintle-mounted M60 machine guns, but the armor shields offered no protection from anti-tank mines that exploded beneath the vehicles. Unlike the newer ACAVs that had diesel engines, Delta Troop’s ACAVs were gasoline powered, increasing the risk of fire and explosion.

  After detonating the anti-tank mines, enemy machine gunners opened up on the column from across the field that the vehicles had just crossed. The cavalrymen in the undamaged ACAVs returned fire, while others dismounted to assist their wounded comrades. All told, the platoon had two KIAs and seven men badly wounded with shrapnel, burns, broken bones, and contusions. Fearing that more mines were buried in the road, the Cav platoon leader did not move his undamaged ACAVs. The survivors fought for their lives as their platoon leader radioed Firebase Nashua for immediate assistance.

  LTC Schroder responded quickly. He ordered his Bravo Company commander, Captain Roberto Eaton, to prepare his company for an immediate airmobile assault into the area of the ambush. Then he dispatched the battalion resupply UH-1 to the scene to medevac the wounded. Eaton’s company was in battalion reserve, and had been working on the defensive perimeter of Fire Base Nashua.

  Captain Eaton was a seasoned Regular Army infantry officer. Born in Paraguay, and educated in the US, the 29-year-old Captain was a graduate of the University of Vermont where he had been commissioned in the Regular Army through the ROTC program. As a graduate of the Army’s Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, and Jungle Warfare Courses, he was more than qualified to command a light infantry company. As a lieutenant, he had served in every position a line officer could hold, and his reputation was that of a fighting commander who knew his stuff.

  When LTC Schroeder radioed Brigadier General Forbes to request an aviation company to lift Bravo Company, the general quickly diverted a lift company from another mission. Eaton and his CP group lined up on the PZ with the lead platoons. Two platoons were going in on the first lift to secure the ambush site. The other half of the company was scheduled to follow on a second lift.

  As soon as Captain Eaton’s first lift was airborne, another firefight broke out north of Nashua. One of Echo Company’s patrols was ambushed by an estimated enemy squad. As PFC Robert Buckner, the patrol’s point man, followed a trail ahead of a combat tracker team, he was fired upon by the concealed VC squad. Buckner spotted the enemy position and charged the VC. An enemy machine gunner fired a burst that mortally wounded Buckner before he reached their position. The remainder of the patrol then flanked the VC, forcing them to flee into the dense jungle. Captain Stan McLaughlin, the Echo CO, maneuvered his dispersed platoons in an attempt to cut them off.

  In the air, five minutes out of the LZ, Eaton and his Bravo Company men spotted a pall of thick black smoke from the burning ACAVs at the ambush site. Both badly damaged vehicles were still afire, and the cavalrymen were under machine-gun fire. As the lift ships made their final approach to the LZ, Eaton’s men standing on the skids could hear the battle. Their LZ was between the enemy and the beleaguered Cav platoon. Leaping from the lift ships as they settled to the ground, Bravo Company’s grunts spread out in an assault formation and quickly moved toward the wood line where the enemy machine gunners were positioned. As Eaton’s men advanced, a gunship team blasted the tree line with rockets and machine-gun fire. Outnumbered and outgunned, the VC machine gun teams withdrew into the jungle.

  After clearing the tree line, Captain Eaton left one platoon to secure the LZ for the second lift while the second platoon formed a perimeter around the ACAVs. The Captain had the foresight to bring mine dectectors in with the first lift, and his men began to sweep the area for additional mines. Several undetonated mines were found on the road. The mines were blown in place before a dust-off arrived to evacuate the wounded and dead cavalrymen. When the dust-off was complete, Schroeder ordered Captain Eaton to escort the undamaged ACAVs back to FSB Hanover. Bravo’s second airmobile lift was scrubbed by Schroeder, since the rescue mission had been successfully completed.

  With Captain Eaton’s men providing front, flank, and rear guard for the ACAVs, the column moved out. It was a slow cautious road march, but the column reached Hanover by dusk without further incident. However, the rescue and recovery mission took Schroeder’s most experienced commander and two of his platoons out of what was to be the major battle of that day.

  While Captain Eaton and his men rescued the ambushed Cav platoon, the Alpha Company patrol continued to move southeast of Nashua. The combat tracker team found a “hot” VC trail and followed it. At around 1330 hours, the point man, Sergeant Norman Tinker, broke through the undergrowth onto a rough trail running in a northeast direction. He immediately spotted two enemy soldiers who ran up the trail. The point man opened up on the pair as they ran. The VC left that trail and ran into jungle. Lieutenant Morris radioed Ca
ptain Drees and asked for instructions.

  Captain Drees called for gunship support, and directed Morris to move 4th Platoon on-line, wait for the 2nd Platoon to move in behind, and then sweep through the jungle to the west to establish contact with the enemy. A gunship team arrived on the scene and began to work over the heavily wooded area, while Morris maneuvered his men into position to begin the sweep. At 1400 hours, Captain Drees ordered his platoons forward. All was quiet again except for the swishing of jungle fatigues moving through the dense undergrowth and the occasional snapping of a twig. The quiet didn’t last for long.

  In Lieutenant Morris’ words, “We moved into the woods and within minutes all hell broke loose.” The jungle erupted in a tremendous roar as Chinese Claymores bellowed out thousands of steel pellets and tracer rounds from heavy machine guns seared through tree leaves and elephant grass. The two VC trail watchers had led Morris’ platoon directly to a heavily fortified base area. Alpha Company was nose-to-nose with an entrenched enemy battalion of the Dong Nai Regiment.

  The enemy fortifications ran several hundred meters parallel to the trail on its west side. They were laid out in NVA textbook fashion for all around defense. Lieutenant Morris’ 4th Platoon approached the enemy position dead-on, just slightly left of the center. The enemy opened up with everything they had against Morris’ platoon. Interlocking machine gun and AK-47 fire from camouflaged bunkers raked the platoon’s line. Several of Morris’ men were hit and dropped as enemy rounds tore their flesh. Simultaneously, a series of deafening explosions from command-detonated mines inflicted even more casualties. Enfilading fire along the length Morris’ battle line pinned his men down as they tried to regroup. The screams and moans of the wounded were heard above the sound of gunfire and explosions. The 4th Platoon battle line was less than thirty meters from the enemy bunker line, and the grunts were pinned down.