THIS WEEK SOMETIME AGO

This week, some time ago, a major battle took place now lost to time. For those that were there, it had an impact still shining through today. My best friend was an armor platoon leader. Many years later, I worked closely with then Gen Vessey and could easily see the traits that made him a superb soldier and human being.

Cavalry to the Rescue-The Battle For LZ Gold

Some combat leaders will say that all major battles are fought where four map sheets meet. The Battle for LZ Gold was exactly that with the added enhancement of being a replay of the classic cowboy, cavalry and settler movies.

But this was the scene at the Battle of LZ Gold/Suoi Tre 20-22 March 1967. At this time and place, the armor, acting as the cavalry of old, came to the rescue of an embattled, besieged infantry and artillery outpost in the nick of time. Hollywood could not have depicted it better. This time, it was real.

LZ Gold at XT 385708, was established as a fire support base in low flat scrubland adjacent to heavy jungle as part of Operation Junction City, the largest operation to date in the growing conflict.

The artillery unit, 2-77th (105mm), was commanded by Lt.Col. Jack Vessey—later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jack Vessey was very familiar with combat.

At the outset of World War 2, he faked his birth records to join the Minnesota National Guard at the age of 16. He rose from a private to 1Sgt. through North Africa. At Anzio Beach, he made his first great mark.

The German panzers had broken through, and portions of the assault force made it to part of the beach. This was a moment when the Commanding General, Mark Clark, seriously considered withdrawing from the lodgment.

1Sgt.Vessey was acting as Chief of Smoke in his artillery battery which was directly astride the German advance. With the bulk of the leadership dead or wounded, he took charge of his position, lowered the guns to zero elevation and broke the back of the tank attack. Gen Mark Clark awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross and commissioned him a Second Lieutenant. Much later, he performed a near re-enactment of that at LZ Gold/Suoi Tre 21 March 1967.

Securing Vessey’s artillery battalion was the 3-22d Infantry. Operating in the range of the firebase were 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry, the 2d Battalion, 34th Armor, and the 2d Battalion, 22d Infantry (Mechanized). All were sweeping the rough jungle and open areas in what were called Search and Destroy operations.

A sizeable full creek, the Suoi Samat, separated these elements from the firebase. For several days, the maneuver units had been trying to find a suitable ford site for the heavy forces. By 20 March, such a site still remained a mystery.

The armor element was a new addition to the US inventory. Previously, there was considerable discussion regarding the usefulness of mechanized and armored forces for what was viewed as a light infantry war. Regardless, Westmoreland brought in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, as well as, several mechanized elements and a tank battalion. All were to prove their worth with the 2-34th Armor proving to be the star of the show at LZ Gold. This was the Heavy Cavalry.

With LZ Gold established on 19 March, the VC began to pick up their actions. Prior to this, they had generally evaded engagement other than small unit clashes and sniper firing. Now, their presence began to be felt. The first indication of this was the near constant mortaring of the firebase itself. This, plus several other engagements in the area, caused the US elements to plan a linkup at the firebase. But first, a ford had to be found.

The two key maneuver elements, the 2d Battalion, 34th Armor, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Stailey, and the 2-22d Inf, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Julian, established laager positions several kilometers south of Gold the afternoon of 20 March. The plan was for the infantry to move out the following morning, 21 March, and find a ford of the Samat. Both battalions would then move to Gold.

LZ Gold was steadily improving its dispositions despite the VC mortar fire. The infantry elements conducted a number of night ambushes with no serious engagements. However, all reported significant signs of VC activity. This would abruptly change.

In the early morning hours of 20 March, an ambush patrol engaged a large force of Viet Cong moving toward the base and at the same time, the base came under heavy mortar attack. Over 600 rounds pounded the camp as waves of Viet Cong emerged from the jungle, firing recoilless rifles, rocket grenades, automatic weapons, and small arms.

The ambush patrol was quickly overrun. As the fighting grew more intense, the 2-34 and its supporting infantry, south of Gold, was ordered across the Suoi Samat to reinforce the fire base.

During the evening of 20-21 March, armor elements crashed through the jungle absent infantry, to find a crossing and relieve Gold. Several tanks lost treads and were simply left where they stopped. Speed was imperative and tanks simply crashed a trail in as direct a line to the firebase as the ground permitted.

While this was underway, conditions worsened at the fire base. The overall commander of the forces in the area, Colonel Marshall Garth, ordered all elements to close on Gold ASAP, leaving any elements behind that could not keep pace. A ford had to be found and found fast. Gold was close to being overrun.

At Gold, counter fire was seeking out the enemy mortars that were pounding the defenders. The enemy concentrated against the east side of the perimeter until, at 0711, Company B, 3-22, reported that its 1st Platoon had been overrun. A reserve force of Lt.Col. Vessey’s artillery helped to reestablish the perimeter, but within 45 minutes, the enemy had again broken through the 1st Platoon.

Within a few minutes, positions on the northeastern portion of the Company B perimeter were completely overrun by a human wave attack. Company A sent a force with desperately needed ammunition to assist Company B. Then, on the northern perimeter, the Viet Cong swarmed over a quadruple .50-caliber and attempted to turn it on the defenders, but the weapon was blown apart by the artillery. To make matters worse, Company A reported penetrations in portions of its northern perimeter.

On the smoke-covered battlefield, the reinforced defenders were still in desperate straits. Artillerymen were firing beehive rounds, steel flechettes released at the muzzle of the weapon. When the supply of beehive rounds was exhausted, they switched to high-explosive direct fire at point-blank ranges.

When howitzer positions were destroyed, Vessey rallied men from other sections to man the guns, and he himself assisted as a cannoneer. He was wounded during this action, but continued to lead and fire the artillery pieces. At one point, he spotted Viet Cong rocket launchers that were placing devastating fire into the battery perimeter. He seized a grenade launcher, moved into an open area and knocked out three of the insurgents' weapons. When an enemy tracer round ignited a drum of diesel oil and threatened to set off two drums of explosives nearby, Vessey ran to that point and helped move the drums to safety.

In all, two howitzers were totally destroyed by mortar and anti-tank rounds, and nine others were damaged. In addition, many of the more than 500 RPG anti-tank rounds, which were fired into the support base, landed in the ammunition stores. In spite of the withering small arms fire and the exploding stores of 105mm ammunition, the gun crews remained at their guns, cannibalizing the destroyed howitzers to keep the damaged ones firing.

Crew members from destroyed guns carried ammunition and stepped in to fill vacancies as casualties occurred in the operation crews. All cooks, clerks, and other available personnel of the artillery battalion which had been formed into a preplanned reaction force, now moved to block the penetration of the infantry’s perimeter.

By this time the infantry soldiers on the perimeter of the FSB who were subjected to the brunt of the assault, were fighting from isolated positions as the determined enemy force penetrated and encircled the defensive positions. Small elements of soldiers fought fiercely in hand-to-hand combat continuing to resist the assaulting enemy. As the fighting intensified and ammunition stocks were depleted, other troops reacted quickly to the situation, seizing weapons and ammunition from the dead and wounded enemy.

During the course of the action, the penetrating Viet Cong threatened the Command Post and the Fire Direction Center. These positions were successfully defended and the enemy assault was repulsed within meters of the position.

By the time the relief force reached the scene of the battle, it was estimated that over half of the troops on the eastern portion of the perimeter had exhausted their own ammunition and were using captured AK-47’s and Chicom carbines.

Vessey, in coordination with the Infantry leadership, went to the Infantry bunkers, moving troops to compensate for the casualties and encouraging them. The infantry security force was reduced to less than half strength, and many of the gun bunnies were using their small arms close in.

The eastern sector of the perimeter had fallen back under heavy pressure to positions around the artillery pieces. The Viet Cong were within five meters of the battalion aid station and within hand grenade range of the command post.

Following instructions from a helicopter overhead, the armored column finally crossed the stream and moved toward the fire base. To the northwest, the 2d Battalion, 12th Infantry, advancing on foot, had also almost reached the defenders.

Finally at around 0930 on the 21st, the lead tanks of C/2-34th, led by the company commander, Captain Roy Kimerling, broke through into Gold. The base was at the point of being overrun from 360 degrees and the VC were inside the wire. All the 105s were at zero elevation firing beehive as fast as they could be loaded. Vessey went to each gun position and instructed the gunners on how to crimp the fuzes on HE rounds so they would explode in less than 30 meters from the barrel-Anzio deja vu.

The noise was overwhelming as the new arrivals opened up with more than 200 machine guns and 90mm main guns. The ground shook as tracked vehicles moved around the perimeter throwing up a wall of fire to their outside flank. This was the classic cavalry scene arriving at the nick of time.

The armor, attacking without Infantry, fired canister in the rear of the attackers with Capt. Kimerling determining that the risk to the FSB troops was greater if he did not use canister in their direction.

They cut through the advancing Viet Cong, crushing many of them under the tracks. The Viet Cong, realizing that they could not outrun the encircling vehicles, charged them and attempted to climb aboard but were quickly cut down. The tanks simply fired canister at each other, effectively cleaning off the VC. Even the tank recovery vehicle of Company A, 2d Battalion, 34th Armor, smashed through the trees with its machine gun chattering.

Capt.Kimerling was greeted by Lt. Col. Vessey carrying an M16 and thanking him for arriving like the cavalry in the movies.

With victory almost within grasp of the enemy, the tanks and APCs had turned the tide. When the smoke cleared, it was apparent that the enemy had not only been defeated but had lost more than 600 men.

Hollywood could not have done it better. And, it was real.