The brigade commander argued with higher headquarters to lay in air
strikes
that morning in the vicinity of the Y-Bridge. The day was
spent "mopping up"
in the area of the previous day's contacts, making sporadic contact
with
small groups of VC. At 8:30 AM, A/3-39th found 20 VC bodies,
plus an RPG
launcher, several AK-47s and AK-50s, and web gear.
At 10:50 AM, B/3-39th came under sniper fire
from a nippa palm area.
"The company attacked the area," noted a brigade-level after-action
report,
"engaging and killing 5 VC and capturing 1 AK-47. The company
continued to
search the area. At [4:30 PM] . . . [B/3-39th] engaged a VC
platoon[,]
killing 15 VC."
A/3-39th reported 4 US WIA, and B/3-39th reported
1 US WIA.
At 5:15 PM, a gunship supporting B/3-39th put
a rocket into a house from
which sniper fire had been received. There was a large secondary
explosion.
During this "mop up," the attached mech company
(B/2-47th Mech) took a
short U.S. artillery round at 5:45 PM, which killed two men and
wounded a
half-dozen. The mech troops thought the artillery fire had
been called in by
the 3-39th, but records are unclear on the matter. "After
cease fire was
called," noted the brigade log, "data was found to be correct on
guns.
[Accident believed] to be caused by cooling of tubes."
The Recon Platoon of E/3-39th also made contact. SP4 Richard
F. Grubb, a
radioman, won the Bronze Star: "When his platoon became held
down by intense
enemy fire, Specialist Grubb was occupying a security position on
the roof of
a nearby building. He immediately located the hostile positions,
reported
their location and, at great risk to himself, placed effective fire
upon
them." SP4 Walter L. Hall, a grenadier in the Recon Platoon,
also won the
Bronze Star for firing an M79 round "through a window 200 meters
away,
effectively silencing the enemy fire from that location."
Most of the contacts petered out by dusk, but A/3-39th remained in
contact
until after 8 PM. SSG Long, a platoon sergeant in A/3-39th,
earned the
Silver Star: "While clearing the enemy from a vital stretch
of houses, his
platoon came under intense machine gun fire and sustained many casualties.
.
. . Sergeant Long courageously assaulted the nearest machine gun
bunker with
grenade and rifle fire, completely neutralizing it."
SSG Duane P. Taylor, a squad leader in A/3-39th, won the Bronze Star:
"Observing that several of his men were having difficulty in repairing
a
damaged machine gun, Sergeant Taylor courageously ran across an
open rice
paddy under intense small arms fire to reach the friendly position
and repair
the weapon."
PFC David M. Gunderson, a rifleman in A/3-39th, won the Bronze Star
for
"assault[ing] a machine gun position which had immobilized his platoon.
Although wounded in the process, Private Gunderson took up a position
from
which he could place a[n] accurate volume of suppresive fire on
the enemy
positions for the remainder of his platoon to maneuver."
PFC Willo T. Naramore, a rifleman in A/3-39th, earned the Bronze
Star: "When
his platoon became pinned down by intense hostile fire, Private
Naramore left
his covered position and charged the nearest enemy bunker, eliminating
it
with hand grenades. . . . Private Naramore moved from bunker to
bunker,
firing his M-16 rifle and throwing grenades."
C/3-39th also made contact, reporting 1 US KIA (SP4 Jaime A. Rivera-Lopez)
and 2 US WIA.. SSG Rivera, a platoon sergeant in C/3-39th,
won the Bronze
Star: "Seeing his point man fall wounded from automatic weapons
fire,
Sergeant Rivera courageously attempted to reach the casualty's position.
While moving forward, Sergeant Rivera rallied his platoon into a
position
from which it could engage and eliminate the automatic weapons emplacement."
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