Brutal Moments Of The Vietnam War

tunnel rats the Vietnam War that Communist forces began digging tunnel networks in South Vietnam in the late 1940s during the first indo-china war against French colonial rule by the Vietnam war in the 1960s the tunnels had evolved into a complex system with hospitals storage kitchens and headquarters the NBA and Via Kong went underground into the kuchi tunnels where the U.S forces bombed the area as well as providing shelter these tunnels help the NVA and Via Kong launch sneak attacks and ambushes as well as lay booby traps close to enemy positions to clear out these dangerous tunnels brave infantrymen from Australia New Zealand South Vietnam and the United States volunteered for this unenviable job they would gain the nickname tunnel rats the soldiers chosen were usually short at five foot six and under as they could fit in the claustrophobic conditions initially dogs had been used however this did not work as they could not detect booby traps grenades or tear gas can also be used to flush out the tunnels however this could alert the enemy or destroy intelligence the tunnel rat would be lowered down head first by his fellow soldiers and have to stealthily move around in the darkness navigating the dark tunnels armed only with an m1911a1 pistol a flashlight and a knife he would listen for any enemy movements followed by a second man who would radio to the surface to map the tunnels the m1911a1 pistol on its large 45 caliber round caused a blinding muzzle flash and a noise in the confined space which could temporarily cause deafness so tunnel rats would improvise their own suppressors or use a civilian revolver sent from home as part of these Search and Destroy missions the tunnel rats would search for enemy intelligence and place C4 charges on weak points so the tunnel could be later destroyed inside they could encounter booby traps such as punji sticks or released snakes and scorpions before they even found any enemies poison gas was also found in these tunnels but tunnel rats often risked not wearing a gas mask as they restricted Vision hearing and breathing if they encountered the NVA or via Kong the tunnel rats were instructed not to fire five to six shots in a row as it would tell the enemy that they were about to reload overall the job of the tunnel rat was stressful and terrifying and could see a man's nerves break in what was one of the most dangerous jobs of the war why were Korean soldiers so feared in the Vietnam War under the cover of the many flags campaign the United States war effort in Vietnam was supported by five Allied countries these were Australia New Zealand South Korea Thailand and the Philippines by far the largest contingent was sent by the Republic of Korea at one point in the late stage of the war there were more Koreans in Vietnam than Americans during the eight years of their deployment in Vietnam Koreans fought bravely and left a remarkable impression so remarkable that their enemies feared them and their allies awed them being one of the closest allies of the United States and Asia South Korea was willing to repay the Americans for the help given to them during the Korean War already in 1954 and 1961 South Korea had offered to send its troops to Vietnam to help defeat the Communists on both occasions the Americans and South Vietnamese had refused the offer ten years later however amidst the need for growing foreign participation the United States and its allies put the proposal on the table for Korea to enter the war after a series of negotiations held between the United States and South Korean administrations the agreement was made for South Korea to send its Armed Forces to South Vietnam under the following terms the United States forces in Korea would remain in the same number to prevent a threat from North Korea the United States would support the modernization of the South Korean army and the United States would Finance all expenses of Korean troops in Vietnam including Transportation equipment and allowances apart from this the U.S government agreed to increase the amount of financial help to the rising Korean industry and economy after the Korean National Assembly authorized The Campaign on May 21 1964 Korean units began to arrive in South Vietnam the Forerunner of the Armed Forces was the military assistance group that the Korean government deployed in late 1964. it consisted of a mobile Army surgical hospital a Taekwondo team and an engineer Construction Group focused primarily on reconstruction Medical Aid and counter-insurgency efforts this group was popularly known as the dove unit first Korean combat unit to arrive in Vietnam was the capital division better known as mango the tiger division the tiger division was one of the most famous units in the entire South Korean army the division that came to Vietnam consisted of only two brigades as one Brigade remained in Korea for reasons of National Security the Tigers arrived in Vietnam in September 1965 and were deployed to the queen non-region replacing the American first brigade of the 101st Airborne Division their task was to protect the vital routes 1 and 19. better known to its allies as the blue dragons division the Second Marine Division arrived in Vietnam at the same time as the tiger division they were initially deployed to Cameron Bay but subsequently moved to the duiwa area where they faced the 95th Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army the largest Korean unit to arrive in South Vietnam was the 9th Infantry Division the White Horse division the division arrived in September 1966 as part of the new agreement for sending additional Korean troops to South Vietnam consisting of an armored company a reconnaissance company an Engineering Battalion four-field artillery battalions and three infantry regiments the division counted 23 865 men the unit was deployed in the ningwa district at the junction of Route 1 and Route 21 with the task of controlling the local population and defending the ningwa air base and Cameron Bay by the end of the war South Korea deployed two more units a marine Battalion that arrived in 1967 and a 12-man c-46 crew in 1969. in total the Republic of Korea deployed 47 872 men to Vietnam between 1964 and 1969. all deployed units were under the command of Major General Che Myung shin once the 9th Infantry Division arrived in Vietnam General Che gathered all his units under the command of the core headquarters in yacht gen the recruitment for the Vietnam tours was made strictly on a voluntary basis the capital division was a reserve division but was filled up by volunteers from the entire Army South Korean commanders were able to carefully pick candidates as the number of volunteers largely exceeded the volume of the division this was the first International engagement of the South Korean army and everything had to be up to the highest standard only those of the best fitness skills and discipline were chosen once recruitment was over the tiger division was filled with the best South Korea had the command Cadre was also the best the Army could offer hand-picked by senior commanders the cream of the crop of the Korean military academy were chosen for the mission they were put under the guidance of battle Hardin senior officers Veterans of the Korean War American soldiers and officers had only words of praise for their Korean allies the Korean army had come a long way since the Korean War when they were still learning from the American military in Vietnam Koreans were completely independent showing great skill in all aspects of warfare from tactics to Logistics back home South Koreans were trained to defend their country from potential invasions from the north the Americans believed that they would take the same stance in Vietnam as well so it was a complete surprise when they showed a high level of aggressiveness in searching for and fighting the enemy the South Korean soldiers were very thorough in their Search and Destroy missions they would scan the designated area leaving no Rock Unturned once the enemy was located Korean soldiers would encircle them slowly closing in and leaving very little space for the enemy to slip through the success of the missions largely depended on discipline after spending the day fighting against the enemy Korean soldiers would stand waist deep in the water at night to close off their perimeter the Korean troops attacked their enemies with everything they had although they did not kill as many as the American soldiers the count of weapons and material they captured was much higher they did their best to ensure that each of their attacks was a complete blow for the enemy whilst keeping their own casualty rate far below average it was not unusual for Korean units to have a kill ratio of more than 20 to 1 on their missions for these reasons the Americans leaned heavily on their Korean allies in performing dangerous missions in February 1967 the 11th company of the blue dragon Brigade suffered a night attack from two Viet Cong regiments in their base near the job bang Village in the Quan gai province in South Vietnam surrounded with barbed wire and Claymore mines housed with ready to fight to the death Koreans the base was attacked from all sides as usual the BC attacked in waves supported by strong mortar fire masses of charging VC soldiers did not frighten the Korean Marines who fired back with every weapon they had bullets rained on the charging enemy the Marines even acquired mortar shells at point-blank range nonetheless the Viet Cong broke into the base and the fight turned into hand-to-hand combat base commander Captain Chong kyung gin ordered his men to pull back to lure the VC deep into the base then he sent two squads to seal the Gap from which the Vietcong entered and trapped the enemy the Koreans charged the enemy with their bayonets by morning Korean Marines had pushed the enemy back to the Jungle after the air was cleared there were 254 bodies of Viet Cong lying all over the place only 15 Korean soldiers had been killed for this battle the Korean government awarded more decorations than for any other battle the Korean army had participated in for their heroism shown in battle the entire unit was promoted a rank the vehement performance of South Korean troops however left a stain on their service in Vietnam Korean soldiers often attack Villages that were suspected to provide cover and supplies to insurgents showing no mercy Korean soldiers were known to commit several massacres of Vietnamese civilians about which numerous reports were made despite all the reports these crimes were tolerated by Korean HQ and American commanders as well in 1970 U.S troops gradually began to withdraw from South Vietnam as the number of American soldiers in the country decreased Korean troops more or less maintained the strength of their forces it was only after the Paris peace agreement was signed in 1973 that the entire South Korean contingent left Vietnam with the rest of the foreign troops Viet Cong booby traps the Vietnam War during the Vietnam war most of the operations U.S armed forces conducted against Viet Cong insurgents in the North Vietnamese Army took place deep in the jungles as part of the South Vietnam pacifying program General William Westmoreland commander of the U.S army during the Vietnam war applied the Search and Destroy tactic the tactic included reconnaissance patrols deepened the insurgent's territory with the aim to find and eliminate their strong points for the Americans and their allies these missions were highly dangerous as well as patrolling far away from their bases soldiers were exposed to ambushes from an enemy that was well hidden and much better accustomed to fighting in the harsh environment of the jungle however the most terrifying threat to patrolling soldiers were booby traps booby traps were certainly one of the most notorious weapons of the Vietnam War as they became an integral part of the war strategy of the Viet Cong and the NVA they were used so often that they served as both defensive and offensive weapons during the war Vietcong and NVA soldiers became highly experienced in making deadly Contraptions that were responsible for the deaths of a great number of American soldiers booby traps were highly effective despite the fact that they were primitive and made using widely available materials such as bamboo iron mud and coconuts these devices were used to delay and disrupt the American forces and their allies the threat of booby traps was often enough to slow any advance to a snail's pace divert resources towards guard Duty and clearance operations inflict casualties and damage equipment when properly camouflaged they were very difficult to detect especially for soldiers exhausted by long and enduring patrols additionally booby traps were often covered by snipers to trigger an ambush apart from being highly dangerous booby traps were also used to psychologically sow fear among the enemy the fear of booby traps was so great that field units were under constant stress which created severe mental fatigue on both officers and soldiers pungy steaks pungy traps were long nails or sharpened steel rods hammered through bamboo and wood these spiked blocks were hammered to the bottom of a wooden box which was then dug into a shallow Hull or rice paddy the top of the wooden box was covered with a thin frame with grass and crops leaves and mud camouflage once a soldier on patrol stepped on it his leg would fall through and fall on the spikes or Stakes inside it was impossible to remove a trapped leg or legs without severe damage spikes were often smeared with excrement urine or poison to cause an infection within the victim's wound small pungy traps had sides around 16 inches wide and were around 23 inches deep there was also a large version of this pungy steak trap this huge hole was filled with sharpened bamboo Stakes pointing in various directions the top frame fitted with a cover was also made of bamboo camouflaged with mud and leaves and fastened around an axle if a soldier stepped on it he would fall into the pit and the top cover would turn on the axle to its previous position covering the Trap and waiting for a new victim to fall in during periods of ceasefire insurgents would lock the cover with a bamboo Cross Beam this was the most basic design for a pungy steak trap pungy traps were laid wherever the enemy was likely to land with some Force such as stream Banks helicopter landing zones or where they would take cover to escape gunfire such as ditches behind logs or in Long Grass Spike board Spike boards consisted of a treadle board with one side covered in spikes if a soldier stepped on a treadle the opposite spiked Silo fly up straight into his face or chest the possibility of surviving the Trap was very low trap Bridge the Trap Bridge was usually set up over a ditch filled with water or mud and lined with sharpened bamboo sticks sticks were cut low so they did not protrude over the water line or the ditch was blocked to keep the water level high therefore keeping them hidden if this wasn't possible then the sticks were covered in mud the middle of the bridge was partially cut so that it would break under the weight of the soldiers crossing over it once the bridge broke down all soldiers standing on it would fall on Sharp bamboo sticks trap ridges were used to hinder the progress of search and clearing operations Venus flytrap the Venus flytrap was another box trap in the case of this trap spikes were not hammered to the bottom of the box but to its sides instead spikes were overlapped and pointed downwards the injury would not be inflicted when the Soldier's foot fell inside but once he tried to get it out side closing trap a side closing trap consisted of two wooden slats with spikes attached both slats were fastened to two guide rods made of iron and were tightened with heavy rubber bands when a soldier dislodged the prop holding the slats apart the slats would spring together impaling his body bear trap another type of side closing trap the bear trap was a small trap that consisted of two spiked wooden boards joined at the end so they would pivot upwards boards were placed in a shallow camouflaged hole once stepped on the boards would strike the victim above his foot this trap was a traditional one used by locals for hunting bears tiger trap another hunting trap was a tiger trap unlike the bear trap this one struck from above the Trap consisted of a large Spike studded board suspended in a tree above the rotor path and waited with bricks and stones the board was connected to a tripwire when the wire was triggered by a patrolling Soldier it would unlink the trap to fall down and kill anyone standing below mace trap somewhat similar was the mace trap instead of falling down directly from above the mace trap would swing down taking out everyone in its way the mace was made in various forms it could be made as a concrete ball a spiked mud ball a wooden box or as it was most often a spiked log mace traps were usually very heavy and a large number of spikes were welded onto it it was suspended in a tree on the end of a Roper cable and attached to a tripwire on the enemy pathway mace traps functioned as a pendulum impaling the victims it usually struck a large number of soldiers at once it was one of the most frequent and most fearsome of all booby traps in the Vietnam War door trap this type of danger also existed in buildings very often these kind of swinging traps were scaled down to fit inside of a house door traps were given their name because they were suspended over the entrance of a doorway by opening the door the soldier would release the tripwire which would release the spiked bamboo stick or a smaller log and impale him bamboo whip trap another distinctive Vietnam War booby trap was the whip trap the bamboo pole was bent and held in an arch position by a catch connected to a tripwire stepping on the tripwire would simply release the catch forcing the bamboo pole into its original position striking the victim in the Chester legs there are versions with or without spikes attached to the pole whip traps could be positioned at different heights depending on the surroundings with or without spikes the whip trap was powerful enough to inflict heavy injuries snake pits snake pits were a special kind of animal booby trap that American soldiers were most afraid of the Vietcong often carried bamboo green pit vipers and backpacks so if the enemy would search inside these backpacks they would be bitten the same sort of vipers were used inside rat tunnels tied to bamboo sticks once the stick was moved the Viper would fall on the passing Soldier and bite him those vipers were also tied up to tree branches at face level after a couple of days due to Hanging without any food they would strike anyone that came within their vicinity these snakes were highly venomous although an exaggeration American soldiers nicknamed them two-step snakes Hornet trap a similar but less aggressive trap was the Hornet trap hives of Hornets or bees were placed along the patrol route and covered with a piece of paper fashioned to a tripwire once the Trap was triggered it would release the insects to The Misfortune of the enemy soldiers very often this kind of trap was accompanied by pungy traps attacked by the Hornets soldiers would panic and run away from the paved path straight into the hidden traps waiting for them Arrow trap this was probably the most sophisticated non-explosive booby trap it consisted of a long wooden board with a three feet long bamboo tube attached to it inside the tube was an arrow powered by a strong rubber band which was attached to the catch at the bottom of the board the catch was connected to a tripwire laid across the path Arrow traps were placed at an angle at certain distances so when a victim triggered the tripwire he would release the catch holding the rubber band and send an arrow straight into his own torso booby trap markers the Viet Cong designed booby traps to hold back American soldiers on their Search and Destroy missions however these traps were equally dangerous to all soldiers who bumped into them so they created markers to indicate where there was a booby trap in the vicinity by knowing how to interpret these markers they could determine the distance and the direction of the booby trap it was knowledge of vital importance to American patrols the hard part was that there were many different markers sometimes these were sticks laid in patterns forked sticks folded Palm leaves or broken branches bamboo tripods and bamboo rectangles laid on the ground were standard markers but even though they were relatively large they were still hard to notice soldiers on patrol had to pay attention to too many things around them to be fully focused on noticing these markers on long tiring marches their awareness was especially low and in these situations patrolling soldiers were easy victims to these potentially deadly booby traps Death Cards psychological warfare the Vietnam War death cards or calling cards were used in the Vietnam War by U.S soldiers as a form of psychological warfare they would place the cards with their unit written on them on dead enemy soldiers they had killed placing a card in the mouth or on the body as a way of striking fear into the NVA and Viet Cong who came across their dead comrades the most recognized and commonly used car in the deck was the Ace of Spades the Ace of Spades was a symbol of good luck for the 101st Airborne in World War II because of its good fortune in card games but in the Vietnam War it became a symbol of death and fear this particular card was chosen after a legend started to spread among the American soldiers that the North Vietnamese were superstitious of the Ace of Spades as a symbol of death and Ill Fortune even though this was completely false the popularity of the symbol nevertheless grew rapidly among American troops in February 1966 two lieutenants of Charlie Company 2nd battalion 35th Infantry Regiment asked the U.S playing card company to send them 1 000 card decks with just the Bicycle ace of spades in them the company said yes and sent them free of charge with the crates marked bicycle secret weapon the media even started to report how bombers could clear an entire area of North Vietnamese soldiers Faster by merely dropping playing cards with the Ace of Spades instead of bombs regardless of it actually having any effect on the enemy The Legend of the Ace of Spades became a morale booster for the American troops they put them in their helmets and placed them on the enemy they had killed implying the Ace of Spades was the last thing they saw offensive 1968 the Vietnam War as celebration of the Lunar New Year the Tet is an important holiday to Vietnamese people it had been established that the Tet holiday would be used as a truce between the Communist forces and the South Vietnamese for the Saigon government there was no reason to believe otherwise as they announced a ceasefire with the National Liberation Front in January 1968 the North Vietnamese and the Communist Viet Cong forces would use the event to their advantage to strategically launch an offensive when the enemy's guard was down most Vietnamese would spend the holiday with their families including the arvn soldiers who were on leave this made the cities in the South less defended by attacking major cities in the South such as whey and Saigon it was believed that the morale of the Saigon government its citizens and the arvn would collapse and then cause the United States to withdraw their defense of South Vietnam the Vietcong secretly moved into the cities in preparation checking into local hotels and blending in by disguising themselves as civilians on holiday they also smuggled their weapons into the cities by hiding them in delivery trucks holding rice and flowers on January 21st 1968 in preparation for the main offensive the North Vietnamese Army attacked the U.S combat base of kaisan U.S troops mainly consisting of Marines defended the base against two to three NVA divisions and artillery bombardments the attack would be intended as a diversion by General zap while the Communist forces prepared for their true objective of the Ted offensive attacking on the morning of January 30th 1968 a day earlier than scheduled tens of thousands of vietcongs struck the U.S and arvn bases and several cities including the major cities of hue and Saigon where fighting was particularly fierce The Defenders within Saigon were arvn troops many who were still returning to the city and handfuls of U.S troops consisting of U.S Marines or administrative staff unprepared for combat the Viet Cong managed to hit many key targets one particular Target was the U.S embassy in Saigon where Viet Cong sappers reached through its fortified walls with explosives diplomats sought shelter inside while a handful of U.S Marines and military police exchanged shots with them eventually The Defenders of the embassy were reinforced by U.S troops by helicopter and soon the Vietcong sappers were dead this particular attack was captured by cameras and caused a media Firestorm back in America way City saw intense Close Quarters fighting around the Citadel during the Battle of way five thousand North Vietnamese troops 150 U.S Marines and 421 arvn troops were killed after the battle had cleared it was discovered that the Viet Cong had arrested those associated with the South Vietnamese regime executed them and buried them in Mass Graves first phase of the Ted offensive was followed by a second phase on smaller cities on May 4th and Then followed by a third phase in August to September eventually U.S and South Vietnamese forces recaptured and secured the cities from the enemy forces at the expense of heavy civilian casualties but this did not cause any Rebellion against the Saigon government the Tet Offensive stunned America and president Lyndon B Johnson who had claimed the Vietcong forces were a weak amateur Force although the United States could claim victory because the Tet Offensive caused incredibly High casualties for the NVA and the Viet Cong it was also seen as a strategic victory for the Communist forces televised footage of the Tet Offensive uncensored and tuned into by millions of Americans back home shocked the American public opinion and strengthened the anti-war movement while support for President Johnson's Administration would fall to an all-time low and he would give way to the next U.S president Richard Nixon what was fragging the Vietnam War as the Vietnam War became more controversial in morale dip a disturbing new phenomenon emerged in the U.S military called bragging fragging would see soldiers turn on authority figures murdering their Superior officer or NCO although it wasn't always the case the term fragging came about because these intentional killings were often attempted with a fragmentation grenade the grenade would be thrown at the officer when he was sleeping or during combat therefore making it appear as an accident or as a casualty during an engagement with the anime on top of this as a grenade detonates the evidence is destroyed the disgruntled soldiers who carried out braggings were often in support units rather than combat units their motives for carrying out this crime would vary one motive was the level of discipline or harassment by the officer upon the subordinate it was difficult to instill discipline when officers were rotated every six months between units forming little connection to them respect for officers could also be tarnished by racial tensions and the popular youth culture of challenging authority figures another motive might have been the risk to the soldier's life their officer may be too incompetent or on the other end searching for Glory and gung-ho employing dangerous tactics at the expense of men under his command so that he can achieve medals and praise drug and alcohol use may also be a motive and problems were often caused when officers tried to intervene in their men's use of Narcotics something that was easy to obtain in Vietnam if caught bragging their officer perpetrators would be court-martialed and often charged with a life sentence although fragging had been apparent in past wars in the U.S military it was rare until the Vietnam War where there were hundreds of cases reported Operation Rolling Thunder March 2nd 1965 through November 2nd 1968 the Vietnam War Operation Rolling Thunder was one of the most intense aerial campaigns in U.S history as the largest U.S Air Force operation of the Vietnam War it lasted from March 2nd 1965 until November 2nd 1968. originally the operation was not the idea of the military but it was the brainchild of President Lyndon B Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S McNamara their idea was to use military force as a way to apply pressure against the North Vietnamese government that was helping communist insurgents known as the Vietcong in South Vietnam the reason why President Johnson's Administration decided to use aerial bombing rather than a land invasion was because of the fear that ground intervention would take many American lives and could lead to the involvement of China and the Soviet Union into the conflict the task of the campaign was to one boost the morale of the South Vietnamese people and the Saigon government since they were having problems fighting insurgents two persuade the North Vietnamese government to stop supporting insurgents in the south three to destroy the North Vietnamese industrial infrastructure and transport Communications between North and South Vietnam and four to prevent the influx of soldiers and material from the north to the South Operation Rolling Thunder was carried out by the U.S Air Force and the U.S Navy under the Pacific command but it was strictly controlled by the president's civilian Administration the strikes were initially conducted by the second division of the United States Air Force but as of April 1966 bombing raids were conducted by the seventh Air Force of the USAF most United States Air Force strikes were conducted from bases in Thailand while the Navy used aircraft carriers of the seventh fleet task 477 from the Yankee station in the Gulf of Tonkin the U.S Air Force and navy operated on completely different principles which on many occasions led to interference in the air over North Vietnam to prevent larger incidents from December 1965 the Pacific command divided operational zones into seven route packages the U.S Air Force had root packs 1 5 and 6A while the U.S Navy had root packs two three four and six B the border with China was put under the buffer zone and the City of Hanoi and haifang were also marked as prohibited areas although all kinds of aircraft were used in the operation it was the f-105 Thunder chief that took most of the combat with more than 75 percent of all the United States Air Force sorties on their missions Thunder Chiefs were carrying either five one thousand pound or six 750-pound bombs flying from bases in Thailand they had to be refueled in the air over Laos although the f-105 proved itself in combat they had a large casualty rate with almost half of the fleet destroyed after Operation Rolling Thunder was over the Air Force then introduced the F4 Phantom as a much better match for the North Vietnamese mix with its radar-guided aim 7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles soon the F4 would completely replace the f-105 in Vietnam War missions the biggest drawback of these aircraft was that they were limited by bad weather which was a big problem during the Rainy Seasons this could have been overcome with B-52 bombers which were allowed for use only a few miles north of the demilitarized zone the U.S Navy also used a variety of aircraft during the campaign at the beginning task 477 relied on Old Douglas A1 skyraiders a propeller plane that was capable of carrying heavy bomb loads as it proved to be very vulnerable to sophisticated North Vietnamese air defenses it was replaced with the Douglas A4 Skyhawk the A4 Skyhawk was for the Navy what the f-105 was to the Air Force it carried out most of the sorties over the Navy root packs but also suffered heavy losses by the end of the operation one-third of the entire fleet was shot down as the operation escalated another aircraft entered the fight the Grumman a6a Intruder was the first aircraft designed to strike targets at night or in bad weather it was equipped with a digital integrated attack system which allowed the pilot to execute the mission without having visual references as a defensive measure against U.S aircraft the North Vietnamese deployed a complete arsenal of anti-aircraft defenses from AAA artillery to surface-to-air missiles or Sams the main threat to U.S planes over North Vietnam were Soviet sa-2 missiles or the s-75 Divina famous for shooting down the U-2 spy plane in 1965 the Soviets deployed thousands of missiles launchers and Radars to North Vietnam once set up they posed a significant threat to American planes flying at high altitudes frustratingly the U.S civilian Administration forbade attacking Sam launching sites unless attacked by one they feared that striking them would lead to the death of Soviet instructors which would then have greater consequences the North Vietnamese however had no restraints in using their sa-2 systems against U.S aircraft which forced U.S Airmen to develop proper countermeasures U.S Air Force and navy counted them in two ways one was using aircraft equipped with electronic devices for jamming enemy Radars another method was to use the wild weasel f-105g aircraft equipped to locate and Destroy Sam Radars suppressing the Sams was organized as an entire sub operation called operation iron hand those Sams were credited with shooting down 101 enemy aircraft their effectiveness was largely diminished by these U.S countermeasures from a 5.7 Effectiveness in 1965 it dropped to 0.9 percent by 1968. another threat that the U.S aircraft had to deal with was the North Vietnamese Air Force their main aircraft was the mig-17 which at the time was becoming obsolete but it served its purpose very well much bigger threat with a mig-21s which were a good match for the F4 with their aa2a tall weimpel k-13 air-to-air missiles another frustration for American Pilots was that the North Vietnamese managed to build new airfields for their aircraft a proper response against them from the American side was forbidden due to the ban on such strikes from the chain of command although far less sophisticated AA guns proved to be the main threat to U.S aircraft with 5795 guns deployed their fire shot down the majority of all U.S planes the main reason for this was that the U.S aircraft were mostly flying on low altitudes to evade Sam radars Rolling Thunder was approved by the president on February 13 1965 and the first strike was made on March 2nd on a small Ammunition Depot near the border at the beginning it was obvious that the operation was Far Behind military expectations as the command failed to reach immediate superiority over the enemy forces because they were stalling and picking targets of low importance during the entire operation the rolling strategy was going too slow to make a significant impact on the tides of War one reason why the operation had never reached its full military potential was that the American civilian Administration far away from the action applied many limitations and saw the operation as just applying political pressure against North Vietnam on several occasions the president paused the entire operation in order to check the Readiness of North Vietnam to negotiate since the North Vietnamese never had the intention of doing so they used this period of time to recover from previous strikes the administration was in constant fear of provoking China and the Soviet Union into entering the conflict so they imposed a variety of Target restrictions this hampered the efforts of the military during the three and a half years of the campaign it didn't reach its political or military goals Rolling Thunder became a burden for Johnson's Administration both Johnson and McNamara while the creators of the operation would become their opponents on March 31 1968 President Johnson ordered a partial pause in the bombing Campaign which led to a complete halt on November 1st therefore ending Operation Rolling Thunder in the end Operation Rolling Thunder proved to be a failure not because of the air power and competence but due to the strategy of gradualism and the restrictive controls of the civilian Administration the monk that burned himself to death the Vietnam War 1963. on the morning of June 11 1963 at a Road intersection in Saigon the capital of South Vietnam several hundred Buddhist monks and nuns and gathered to carry out a peaceful protest it wasn't the height of the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam where there was a Statewide protest and unrest against What was seen as religious persecution by the Zim government who were seen as favoring the Roman Catholic minority it was alleged that important government and army positions were only being given to Roman Catholics and that those of the Buddhist Faith were having to convert sometimes forcibly in order to progress in public life on top of that the Buddhist majority felt the Roman Catholic minority were getting most of the government and foreign aid it had all come to a head a month before at the Vietnam city of hue when the Buddhists were banned from flying their flag in honor of the birth of their Prophet Gautama Buddha a large crowd of Buddhists who had protests against the ban had been fired on by government forces who killed nine of the protesters later the government would try to blame the deaths on the Vietcong the day before the intersection protest that was due to be held outside the Cambodian Embassy the Foreign Press had been invited to attend the protest with the promise that something big was going to happen on the actual day few members of the press that attended as there had been numerous such events that week so there was no reason to think that this one would be any different one of the few that did attend was Malcolm Brown a reporter from the news agency the Associated Press what he was to witness and photograph would have a profound effect on him and public opinion across the world on the day of the protest around 400 Buddhist monks and nuns marched to the intersection carrying banners and protesting about the government's oppression of their faith and culture then a car pulled up and three monks got out one of them being a devout monk called tikwangdo then duck sat in the middle of the intersection in the Lotus position on a cushion one of the other monks who had arrived with him then poured gasoline over him from a five gallon container as duke said a prayer in homage to infinite light he set fire to himself with a match the Flames engulfed him and Witnesses later testified that he did not once flinch cry out the crowd looked on in horror some in silence While others sobbed or prayed many falling to their knees some simply laid on the floor in shock and disbelief Nook had left a note asking the country's president Nodine ziem politely and passionately for religious equality in Vietnam especially for Buddhists it is said that despite the body being charred to ashes the heart remained intact and unburnt the reporter Malcolm Brown had managed to take a picture of Bill burning though horrifying it conveyed Duke's dignity and devotion as he endured what must had been a most painful death Fallout from the event was profound and far-reaching President Kennedy the main backer of South Vietnam at the time was utterly shocked communist China distributed millions of pictures of the burning claiming it was yet another example of American imperialism and oppressing the people of Asia the pro-government newspaper the times of Vietnam tried to blame all the unrest on the Buddhist monks and foreign journalists zm's government even went as far as to make fanciful claims that Duke had been drugged before being forced to commit suicide and another claim was that the American journalist that had taken the picture of Duke burning had bribed him to do it a few months later president diem's government was overthrown and ZM himself was assassinated all this was overshadowed the following year as North Vietnamese gun boats were alleged to have attacked U.S naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin off the west coast of Vietnam this event led to a sharp escalation of hostilities between the United States and North Vietnam leading to the Vietnam conflict turning into a full all-out War the fall of Saigon April 30th 1975 the end of the Vietnam War after almost two decades of fighting and millions of lives lost the Vietnam war came to an end in 1975. hardly anyone believe that after 19 years of bitter fighting the conflict would be resolved in just two months in March 1975 the strength and superiority of the South Vietnamese forces gave the impression that the conflict was still far from over yet on the last day of April the North Vietnamese flag was waving in Saigon the collapse of South Vietnam had already begun in 1973 when American forces started leaving the country this withdrawal of troops was followed by a reduction in financial and military aid after President Nixon resigned he was replaced by Gerald Ford who was unable to convince Congress to honor Nixon's promises to rescue Saigon from a communist takeover with the War Powers Act introduced there was practically no chance of the United States returning its troops to South Vietnam in fact the Americans had left an enormous amount of weapons and equipment with their allies the army of the Republic of Vietnam the arvn in 1973 the arvn numbered almost 1 million soldiers and definitely had a numerical advantage over its enemies the weak and corrupt government in Saigon led by President win Vancouver however made disadvantage meaningless with American Financial Aid ending up in the pockets of politicians the arvn was denied fuel ammunition and supplies to support its Advantage by the end of 1974 this advantage had practically disappeared even more worrying though was the low morale of the general public resulting in limited support for the Army's operations in the country meanwhile the North Vietnamese Army the NVA was rebuilding its strength after losses suffered in 1972. in December 1974 they initiated an attack on fuklong Province the aim of the attack was to test the strength and morale of the arvn and gauge American willingness to interfere in the conflict with no response from the Americans the North Vietnamese decided in March 1975 to launch a larger offensive against the Arvin troops in the central Highlands five NBA divisions supported by artillery and new tanks received from the Soviet Union attacked on March 1st troops of the arbn fought bravely but were surrounded when the NBA's entered the town of Van Meter with the key road to Saigon cut off president two ordered the rest of his troops in the central Highlands to March to the coast and from there South to Saigon the withdrawal Under Fire turned into a chaotic flight of soldiers and civilians in the Northern parts of the country the situation wasn't any different an all-out attack by the NVA forces pushed the arvn forces to the coastal city of Danang with a total collapse of the command chain soldiers started evacuating by sea more than 70 000 of them failed to escape and ended up being captured by the NVA the spring offensive ended by the end of March and was a complete success for the NBA surprised by their easy Victory the North Vietnamese decided not to wait until the following year as was the plan but to attack the capital city of Saigon straight away facing a total defeat president 2 ordered his troops to organize the defense at the town of sunlok the South Vietnamese believed they could stop the Communists right there at the Gateway of Saigon indeed they fought bravely causing more than 2 000 casualties among the NBA but despite this the Arvin troops couldn't repel the Relentless onslaught of NBA troops once they were surrounded the South Vietnamese withdrew southwards on April 20th the NVA troops entered the town the Battle of sunlok was the last major battle of the Vietnam War there was practically nothing between the NBA forces and Saigon the fall of the capital city was imminent people inside the city were Panic stricken memories of the 1968 massacre in the town of whey were fresh in their memories and many feared something similar would happen there in Saigon the Americans and South Vietnamese linked to the government believe they had the most reason to be afraid when the spring offensive began the first American citizens had already started to fly out of Saigon in early April members of the American defense attache office the Dao started to leave the city as well at the same time President Ford announced the beginning of operation baby lift the aim of the operation was to evacuate children from the country and take them to other countries for adoption most of the children went to the United States but some also found families in Australia Canada France and West Germany the operation began with a tragedy though a plane carrying children and Dao staff crashed killing everyone on board however the operation managed to save more than 2 500 children more extensive was the evacuation of American Embassy personnel and other employees of the American government these included not only American citizens but also citizens of foreign countries and a great number of South Vietnamese all of them along with their families were desperate to escape when on April 21st sunlock fell into the hands of the North Vietnamese the evacuation escalated evacuees gathered at the Dao compound next to tanzan to an airport from there they were transferred to the Philippines Guam Wake Island and the Yokota Air Base in Japan at that point 20 c-141 and 20 C-130 aircraft landed each day at tensan wood on April 27th the NVA forces launched rocket attacks into Saigon on the following day 3 a37 dragonflies of the North Vietnamese people's Air Force bombed the tensa north air base the attacks continued into the early morning of April 29th U.S ambassador Graham Martin who was in charge of the evacuation decided to call off all fixed-wing evacuations he called for operation frequent wins to begin the evacuation by helicopters a helicopter evacuation was already planned as an option there was an established map of assembly areas and when the evacuation signal was transmitted on the Armed Forces Radio the prepared code the temperature in Saigon is 105 degrees and Rising was read out followed by the playing of the song I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas after the evacuation was initiated buses picked up evacuees from assembly areas and transferred them to the Dao compound from there helicopters from the Naval Air Force and CIA controlled air America flew evacuees to one of the 11 ships of the task force 76 which were joined by the USS Hancock and the USS Midway aircraft carriers the NVA anti-aircraft batteries avoided firing an American aircraft they didn't want to provoke any response from the Americans that would jeopardize their operation they did however continue to Shell the airstrip and the Dao compound it was only a matter of hours before the compound would fall into the hands of the North Vietnamese by the evening it became impossible for the evacuation of Dao to continue and helicopters were rerouted to the U.S embassy in Saigon 30 minutes after midnight on April 30th the last of the Marines protecting the site left the Dao compound but only after they had set it on fire more than 10 000 people gathered in front of the embassy waiting to be evacuated unfortunately there was no time for all of them to be saved even though every 10 minutes one ch-46 and ch-53 were landing and taking off in the embassy with NVA troops already entering the city the evacuation had to be completed fast the last of the Marine security guards took off from the embassy Rooftop at 7 53 am during the evacuation process other locations were used as well as those that had been designated one air America Bell 205 helicopter landed on the rooftop of the Pitman apartment building at 22 zalong Street to collect a South Vietnamese intelligence officer along with several other evacuees some South Vietnamese even used their own aircraft to get out of the city as well especially military figures and their families several South Vietnamese helicopters landed on ships of the task force 76 each of them was thrown overboard to make room for the other helicopters that were coming in some South Vietnamese Pilots even deliberately crashed their aircraft into the sea after they had disembarked their evacuees after the fall of swan lock president two was forced to resign on April 21st he was succeeded by vice president Chan van Huang who also resigned seven days later the last president of South Vietnam was General zwangwan min after suffering such a series of defeats the arvn was in a state of chaos what was left of it under the command of the third Corps Organized the defense of Saigon on April 27 the first Rockets fell on the city marking the beginning of the fall of Saigon the following day the NVA troops were already on the outskirts of the city officers and soldiers of the arvn defending the city were reluctant to fight and were surrendering unmasked to the nvas on April 30th a final push was made to seize the city arvn soldiers guarding the tense on what Air Base put up a fierce defense against the NBA's they withdrew from the base only after president Min announced the unconditional surrender of his forces at 10 24 am at noon nv8 tanks stormed the presidential Palace inside was President men sitting with his counselors on chairs on the palace steps waiting to hand over the government later that day he announced in a radio broadcast that the Saigon government was now dissolved on May 7 NVA troops held a Victory Parade in the streets of Saigon which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the late North Vietnamese leader the fall of Saigon on April 30th 1975 marked the end of the Vietnam war after 19 and a half years [Applause] taking a mortar to the leg this Marine kept fighting John P Bobo 1967 the Vietnam War John Bobo was not someone who was content with sitting at home waiting to be drafted he desired to serve his country without being asked born on February 14 1943 in Niagara Falls New York John was an exemplary young man and it would be his unflinching resolve that made him stand out and ultimately made him a hero while still a student at Niagara University John Bobo enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve once he completed his studies with a degree in history he was commissioned as a second lieutenant he didn't spend one day in the profession for which he studied after receiving his commission he immediately went to Quantico Virginia for the Marine Corps basic training and officer candidate course in June 1966 after the course was finished Bobo was assigned to the Third Battalion ninth Marines 3rd Marine Division that same month along with the rest of his unit he was deployed to Vietnam John Bobo's unit was one of four battalions engaged in operation Prairie 3 from March 19th until April 19 1967. the operation was conducted in order to eliminate the NVA presence in the Quang Chi Province South of the demilitarized zone the increasing activity of the North Vietnamese was becoming a growing concern so the U.S Marines were sent to patrol the region in search of them in the opening phase of the operation they experienced only like contact with the anime but the situation changed after just a few days soon the Marine patrols would find themselves severely hampered by heavy attacks followed by intense mortar shelling on March 30th 1967 India Company of the 3rd Battalion 9th Marines was on patrol six miles Northwest of the kamlo combat base their mission was to establish platoon Ambush positions from which they would conduct surprise attacks on enemy units just as the first and third platoons had established their ambushed positions the NBA attacked the company command group and the second platoon under the cover of night even though the North Vietnamese prevented the first and third platoons from returning to help their comrades the first attack was repelled by the U.S troops the second assault was more devastating however the NBA attacked with full company strength followed by mortar fire John Bobo as a commander of the second platoon organized his men into a defensive position even though they were outnumbered he jumped from one position to another encouraging his men to keep fighting if they gave way the entire command post would have been overrun Bobo and his men fought as if there was no tomorrow he was determined to throw everything he had at the enemy at one point he even picked up a rocket launcher from a Dead Soldier to use it against the enemy machine guns while he was running between positions a mortar shell suddenly exploded near him he didn't kill him but inflicted a massive injury to his right leg below the knee the platoon's medic rushed to evacuate him but received a stiff rejection not only did Bobo refuse to leave the combat area but he insisted that the medic help him to place himself in a firing position to provide cover for the rest of the group and allow them to move to a better position to engage the anime he needed to stop the heavy bleeding from his leg so he used his web belt as a tourniquet kneel so that he could press his injured leg into the ground with his lower leg torn apart John Bobo continued to fight off the enemy from his position for some time on until he was mortally wounded by enemy fire his unshakable courage in the face of the anime helped the rest of the unit reach a protective position from which they managed to repel the attack with the help of helicopter gunships the battle ended 16 Marines killed and 47 wounded once the firing stopped the Marines evacuated to their combat base carrying along the dead body of their second lieutenant John Bobo his body was later returned to the United States and buried in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston New York for his bravery shown in combat on March 30th 1967 John Bobo was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor it was not the only award he received for his service in addition to the Medal of Honor he also received a Purple Heart Medal a Combat Action ribbon and two medals awarded to him by the South Vietnamese government the national order of Vietnam medal and the rvn gallantry cross medal because of John Bobo's dauntless courage and bravery his men lived to fight another day as noted in his Medal of Honor citation his bold initiative reflected the highest traditions of the Marine Corps

Channel: Simple History

Views: 1,701,269

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, Brutal vietnam war moments, shocking moments of vietnam war, saigon, tet offensive, booby traps vietnam, rollnig thunder, ghosts, nam, Fall of Saigon, us marines, nva, vietcong, vc, jungle, avrn

Id: JO0Qvz-f0tQ

Length: 58min 35sec (3515 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 03 2023