PFC Richard E. Grossa, a machine gunner in B/3-39th, won the Bronze
Star:
"When Private Grossa's squad came under heavy enemy fire and two
men were
wounded, Private Grossa laid down a heavy base of fire, allowing
the men to
be moved to an evacuation point. Private Grossa continued
to inflict heavy
casualties upon the enemy until he was wounded[.]"
It was apparently on this day that a terrible mishap occurred between
B/2-47th Mech and the 3-39th. One platoon from B/2-47th Mech
was sweeping a
street when the officer in charge got confused about where the 3-39th
(or
perhaps it was the 6-31st) was located and ordered the APCs to fire
to the
left side of the street. "We did so and immediately got return
fire,"
recalled one trooper. "Then we were told to stop firing to
our left, the
Americans were on our left. Obviously, the individual giving
orders had
problems telling his left from his right. We were told that
one of our .50s
cut the legs off a man, killing him and one other. Later,
I met somebody
from that unit who confirmed this."
Meanwhile, at 11:15 AM, A/3-39th came under AK-47 and RPG fire from
an
estimated 50 VC in a bunker complex on the eastern edge of Xom Cau
Mai. The
Scout Platoon, HHC/2-47th Mech assumed a blocking position to the
north of
the contact as A/3-39th called in gunships, artillery, and air strikes.
At
12 PM, the attached scout platoon came under heavy fire from VC
attempting to
withdraw from the bunker complex. The VC finally broke contact
at 6:30 PM.
The attached scout platoon and A/3-39th reported 5 US WIA and a
body count of
27 VC.
MAJ Booras, S3 for the 3-39th, won the Silver Star for his involvement
in the
day's action; it is not clear from the citation which company Booras
was with
when "he personally led a blocking force into position against an
advancing
enemy platoon, directing mortar, automatic weapons, M79 and hand
grenade fire
against the insurgents. His courageous leadership was responsible
for the
annihilation of the enemy force without his element receiving a
single
casualty."
Flight Lieutenant Gary G. Cooper, a FAC pilot from the Royal Australian
Air
Force, earned the Silver Star while directing fire support for C/3-39th.
Cooper was credited with flying low-level through heavy enemy fire
to bring
air strikes within 150 meters of C/3-39th. As the sun set,
Cooper had the
jet pilots switch off their navigation lights and rotating beacons,
then
switched his on and went in low to draw the enemy's fire towards
him and away
from the jets as they made their passes. The enemy antiaircraft
fire was
indeed heavy. The recommendation for Cooper's Silver Star
noted that "one
helicopter was hit and exploded only 400 meters from Flight Lieutenant
Cooper. During the time he spent on target[,] another six
helicopters with
wounded crews had been hit so bad that they had to leave the area.
. . ."
Cooper's efforts continued after dark.
"[O]ne element [from the 3-39th]
was still pinned down, cut off from the main force and taking heavy
casualties," noted the Silver Star recommendation. "Flight
Lieutenant Cooper
had this element mark its position with a vertical strobe light
and with this
as a reference flew around at low altitude . . . to locate the overwhelming
hostile force. He was again met with intense 50 caliber and
automatic
weapons fire which was coming at him from three locations."
Cooper marked
the enemy target with a smoke rocket. "To prevent the fighters
loosing sight
of the smoke Flight Lieutenant Cooper circled low over the smoke
with
navigation lights on and had the fighters use him as a reference.
All the
time he was receiving intense ground fire which also gave the fighters
a good
target reference." The air strikes silenced two of the three
enemy
positions. The enemy soldiers at the third position "must
have retreated as
the intense ground fire ceased . . . Flight Lieutenant Cooper remained
in the
target area directing artillery onto likely enemy retreat avenues
until he
was forced to leave due to low fuel."
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