AirCav Blue Platoon Insertion
Laotian Border
21 August 1968
On the
Laotian border, a Huey is flying low. The jungle below stretches out ahead.
The Huey’s
crew are looking for signs of life. There seem to be a lot of wide paths converging
out here in the middle of nowhere, some of them unfinished.
A small
cluster of recent buildings looks suspicious too.
Particularly
the khaki washing on the line.
They have
discovered what looks like a cross-border staging area for NVA infiltration
into South Vietnam.
Acting on
this report, the AirCav send in a Blue Platoon to reconnoiter.
The Huey
slicks have gunship support.
The first
helicopters land while the others hover above, ready to offering covering fire if
it turns out to be a hot LZ.
Once the LZ
is secured, a squad heads off up a path towards the settlement, with a dog team
leading the way.
The other
two squads also fan out and head off in the same general direction, towards the
huts spotted from the air.
First
contact is made when the dog team trips a booby trap at the corner of a path.
It is a
near miss for the dog and handler. The dog picks up a scent leading into the bush
and the handler runs with it, deciding it is probably best to get off the trail
anyway.
Or not, as
the dog has just led them to another booby trap.
This time
they do not survive.
Having lost
visual contact with the dog team and heard a loud explosion, the squad behind
them decides caution is the best option.
Behind
them, the platoon leader is issuing orders, telling them to send out a fire
team to see what happened. This team has not even crossed the path when it
encounters VC, who open fire.
The three
men do not have the opportunity to react.
The rest of
the squad attacks the VC.
The VC keep
up their accurate fire, and the squad is wiped out.
Behind them,
the platoon commander and his radio operator decide to make a run for the LZ.
In response
to the firefight to their east, the nearest AirCav squad takes cover and
readies itself for a VC assault.
When the
assault does not occurr, they are ordered to move forward to outflank the VC
squad.
The end
fire team manages to trip another booby trap, but this fails to do anything
serious.
The squad
keeps moving forward, aware that its presence has now been announced.
The other squad
also advances.
It too
trips a booby trap, bringing the advance to a halt.
The squad
attempting to outflank the VC finds itself under fire from an old ruined temple
site.
Once again,
VC fire is accurate and the squad is swiftly cut down.
Leaving
just the squad commander, pinned down and still under fire.
A gunship
swoops in and attacks.
It fires
rockets and creates a lot of smoke and noise, but without much effect
initially.
The VC fire
back, but they are unable to match the volume of fire coming from the Hog.
Having
witnessed the destruction of his entire squad, the VC NCO decides to run for
his life.
The gunship
continues to fire at him as he runs across open ground.
But misses!
He makes it to cover.
The third squad
arrives on the scene, where all that remains is one GI.
All the
noise has attracted more VC on their flank, who open fire.
More US
losses ensue.
The gunship
hovering above turns to face the new threat…
But finds itself
receiving accurate reactive fire from below.
It is hit
and explodes.
It crashes
to the ground in front of the VC - there are no survivors.
By now, the
Blue Platoon’s reconnaissance has turned into a rout: the remaining few men on
the ground run for their lives.
Only the
platoon commander and his radio operator manage to make it back to the LZ,
while the VC move forward to consolidate the area.
The Blue
Platoon’s reconnaissance has failed on one level, proving disastrous for the unit,
but the AirCav now knows that it has found a major concentration of VC. Now all
it has to do is pile on…
© W.S. McCallum 8 March 2021
Web site © Wayne Stuart McCallum 2003-2020