MACV had begun to stack up tactical airstrikes and the L19 was circling them at various altitudes overhead and sending them against the oxbow land south of the river and the edge of the basecamp as their fuel ran low. Hiep now saw that we were in a truly desperate situation and called in his company commanders. It was almost as if this very near miss was quite minor compared to the other near misses which had preceded it. I told the gunners to make the same run and delay their fire for 2 seconds.

I can clearly remember lying on the ground behind the tree and watching in a very detached manner the line of red tracers sew a pattern from well behind me in a line less than a yard from my body as it stitched its way toward the enemy. I called for the first run and the initial tracer rounds stitched our rear. It was at the cusp of daylight and the gunners could not yet clearly separate VC from Rangers. While the BDQ was forced closer together, the concentrated enemy fire made it increasingly difficult to effectively defend the position.Īt this time, the first helicopter gunships arrived. No one could raise their head more than six inches without risking a hit. The Rangers were forced to hug the ground and seek cover behind any low root or ground. This became increasingly difficult as it allowed the VC 51 caliber’s to fire with great effect. Our center lost the two main trench lines and we were forced back to the edge of the jungle basecamp clearing.

We ceded our right (East) flank on the river and drew closer toward the center.

Bombing gunship iii