WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1968
The 3-39th was tasked with reconning the area south of the Y-Bridge.
Battalion log entry for 8:48 AM:  "A CO (-) FOUND 160MM RD AND 1 RPG RD.
CIVILIANS [in area of Xom Than Phuc, between Xom Cau Mai and Chanh Hung] SAY
THAT ABOUT 20 VC IN KHAKI UNIFORMS WITH BACK PACKS WERE IN THE AREA
YESTERDAY."
    1st Platoon, A/3-39th was lifted from An Nhut Tan at 10:25 AM and
inserted into LZ near company position in District 8 at 10:40 AM.  3d
Platoon, B/3-39th was lifted out of Rach Kien and inserted into the same LZ
in District 8 as of 11:03 AM.

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).
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