Meanwhile, at 10:55 AM, A/3-39th came under sniper fire on the western
side
of Xom Cau Moi, and took 3 US WIA; two men were medevacked at 12:30
PM.
At 12:35, A/3-39th, now on the eastern side of
Xom Cau Moi, reported
taking sporadic sniper fire. The Scout Platoon, HHC/2-47th
Mech, was
dispatched to reinforce A/3-39th as of 12:45 PM. At 2:30 PM,
one of the
Scout APCs took an RPG and suffered 7 US WIA; they were medevacked
at 3 PM.
The contact continued until 10 PM, supported by arty, air, and gunships
from
D/3-5th Cav. A/3-39th reported 3 US WIA and a body count of
10 VC.
Meanwhile, at 2:45 PM, B/3-39th made contact about three-hundred
meters north
of A/3-39th's ongoing action in eastern Xom Cau Moi, closer to the
Kinh Doi
Canal. This action was also supported by artillery, gunships,
and air
strikes, and also continued until 10 PM. B/3-39th reported
4 US KIA (1LT Joe
Carrillo, SP4 James S. Singletary, PFC Michael H. Stewart, and another
man
whose name is unknown at this point) and 9 US WIA; the company reported
a
body count of 37 VC, with twenty more VC claimed by the supporting
gunships.
CPT Genetti, the CO of B/3-39th, was wounded in the arm during the
action.
1LT Czech won the Bronze Star for taking over on the scene from
CPT Genetti.
Arriving on the scene sometime later, 1LT Forrester, the new company
commander, won the Silver Star for "tak[ing] command and reorganiz[ing]
the
company. He then led the unit its assigned task of eliminating
an enemy
bunker complex located within a built-up area. With only limited
approaches
to the objective area, and after airstrikes and artillery were unable
to
dislodge the insurgent force, Lieutenant Forester led his men in
repeated
attacks on the fortified positions, until the enemy perimeter was
breached.
The proximity of friendly and enemy forces required that artillery
fire be
placed dangerously close to his own position, but Lieutenant Forrester
skillfully adjusted the supporting fire in support of the mission."
1LT Carrillo, platoon leader with B/3-39th, was posthumously awarded
the
Silver Star: "As the first squad proceeded toward the dangerous
Viet Cong
bunker position, the squad leader was seriously
wounded. . . . Lieutenant
Carrillo courageously moved from his relatively secure position,
through the
fierce barrage of hostile fire, to the injured man's position.
When the
insurgents saw an officer reach the casualty, they brought devastating
fire
upon the position, mortally wounding Lieutenant Carrillo."
PSG Thornburgh, platoon sergeant with B/3-39th, won the Silver Star
(in part,
he was also cited for actions later in the battle): ". . .
his platoon's
point man was instantly killed and the platoon leader [LT Carillo?]
wounded
[killed?] by enemy machine gun fire. Assuming command when
the platoon
leader was evacuated, Sergeant Thornburgh personally led a fire
team back
into the ambush site to recover the body of his slain comrade."
SSG Campbell, platoon sergeant with B/3-39th, won the Silver Star:
"While
conducting a house to house search of the area, Sergeant Campbell's
platoon
came under intense machine gun fire and several men were wounded.
When the
platoon leader went to assist a casualty, he was mortally wounded
by an enemy
bullet. Realizing the necessity to remove casualties from
the exposed
battlefield, Sergeant Campbell courageously moved through the intense
brrage
to assist a wounded comrade. Sergeant Campbell was seriously
wounded while
performing this valiant act."
The Battalion Field CP and the Battalion Recon Platoon set up for
the night
at the southern approach to the Y-Bridge. The bridge itself
was physically
occupied by ten tracks from the Scout Platoon, HHC/2-47th Mech.
LTC DeLuca,
the battalion commander, set up his CP in a one-room Buddhist pagoda,
while
CPT Wilfred A. Geschke, the battalion surgeon, set up an aid station
in a
small Catholic church near the pagoda.
A/3-39th set up for the night on the Kinh Doi
Canal immediately east of
Xom Cau Mai; and B/3-39th (according to the brigade after-action
report)
along the Kinh Doi Canal four kilometers west of the Y-Bridge (which
implies,
if the coordinates in the after-action report are correct, that
the company
was helicoptered out of its contact area and deposited in a new
position to
regroup).
NEXT
PAGE